INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.— Israel Zavaleta won the national championship in the 3-meter diving competition and the Drury men's team ended the night winning a national title and setting an NCAA-II record in the 400 Medley Relay on the third night of the NCAA-II Swimming & Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Thursday.
 
The Drury men's team and the women's squad ended the evening in first place with two more days of competition remaining.
 
The Drury women's team is in front by a razor-thin margin over defending national champion Nova Southeastern. The Panthers have 262 points to Nova Southeastern's 254. Colorado Mesa is in third with 174 points and Indianapolis is in fourth with 169.
 
Zavaleta's win and the men's victory in the 400 Medley Relay propelled the men's squad to the lead with 269 points. Tampa, the defending men's national champion, is in second with 239 points. Indianapolis is in third with 170 points, and McKendree's 169 points have the Bearcats in fourth.
 
Israel Zavaleta became Drury's first national champion in the men's three-meter diving event since Nate Brisley in 2006. Zavaleta, a gradate transfer from Mexico City, took the title as he racked up 596.55 points to defeat defending national champion Julio Osuna Kelly, who took first for Indianapolis last season and now competes for Wayne State. Kelly finished with 571.30 points.
 
The Panthers capped the night by winning the national championship and setting a Division II record in the 400 Medley Relay. Ivan Adamchuk, Davi Mourao, Alejandro Villarejo, and Lucas Minuer posted a time of 3:06.75. The four topped a mark they set earlier this season in Dallas at the SMU Invitational. The Panthers still had to hold off defending champion McKendree to win by 0.26 seconds.
 
"It doesn't get much closer than that," said Drury head coach Brian Reynolds. "McKendree is super-fast and we went head-to-head with them just like that in the conference championship meet. This race went exactly the same way, so hats off to our guys because they knew what they were up against, and they knew it was going to take all four of them tonight."
 
The Drury women's 400 Medley Relay team was the national runner-up as Kirsten Lee, Jonette Laegreid, Mellie Wijk, and Belen Morales combined for a time of 3:37.94, just 0.43 seconds behind winner Colorado Mesa.
 
"Jonette did a great job of closing a gap on her leg," said Reynolds. "Mellie closed it even more, and Belen did a great job, but we couldn't quite squeeze it out in the last 25 yards."
 
For Wijk, it was her second runner-up finish of the day as the senior from Halmstad, Sweden, started the night with a second-place finish in the 100 Butterfly. Her time of 53.89 was behind Luna Mertins' record-setting time as the Lynn product finished in 51.78.
 
Lee won the consolation race in the 100 Fly (54.74) and freshman Yevheniia Zhukova was 15^th (55.56).
 
Senior Claire Conover dropped nearly two seconds of her time in the 400 Individual Medley as she finished fourth with a time of 4:16.54. Gwen Bergum was eighth (4:25.45), Maria Munoz was won the consolation race (4:17.44), and Laegreid rallied to come in 11^th (4:20.08).
 
Ellie Walker gave the Panthers an eighth-place finish in the 200 Free, touching the wall in 1:48.87. Freshman Nikol Maniko was 12^th (1:49.51).
 
Men's swimmer Alejandro Villarejo won bronze in the 100 Fly, posting a time of 46.18.
 
Joao Nogueira was fifth in the 400 IM with a time of 3:51.05.
 
Drury picked up points from three swimmers in the 200 Free as Matteo Vissotto came in fifth (1:35.26), Lucas Minuer won the consolation race (1:34.51), Alvar Zornoza was 14^th (1:36.63), and Ivan Adamchuk was 16^th (1:38.71).
 
Tampa had three swimmers in the 200 Free finals, including the national champion in the event, but the Spartans could not hold the lead after men's 3-meter diving and the 400 Medley Relay as Drury won both events to move in front.
 
"I liked the way our kids attacked the day," stated Brian Reynolds. "Kirsten Lee swam her first final event at an NCAA championship and had an outstanding performance to finish ninth. We can kind of rely on Mellie and she finished second in the 100 Fly. The rest of the kids sort of fell in line and stepped it up tonight."
 
Day four of the national championships starts with preliminary heats at 9 am (Central).
 
Live Results
 
NCAA-II Championship Schedule (all times Eastern)
Friday, March 14 | Watch live on NCAA.com
Trials | 10 a.m.
Finals | 5:30 p.m.
500-yard freestyle (W)
500-yard freestyle (M)
100-yard backstroke (W)
100-yard backstroke (M)
100-yard breaststroke (W)
100-yard breaststroke (M)
200-yard butterfly (W)
200-yard butterfly (M)
3-meter diving (W)
200-yard freestyle relay (W)
200-yard freestyle relay (M)
 
Saturday, March 15 | Watch live on NCAA.com
Trials | 10 a.m.
Finals | 5:30 p.m.
???????1,650-yard freestyle (W)
1,650-yard freestyle (M)
100-yard freestyle (W)
100-yard freestyle (M)
200-yard backstroke (W)
200-yard backstroke (M)
200-yard breaststroke (W)
200-yard breaststroke (M)
1-meter diving (M)
400-yard freestyle relay (W)
400-yard freestyle relay (M)
 
 
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