Nova S’Eastern Women Pummel the NCAA Division II Record in the 800 Free Relay with 7:08.50

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

2024 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: March 12-16, 2024
• Times: Prelims 10AM Eastern, Finals 5:30PM Eastern
• Location: SPIRE Institute Aquatics Center in Geneva, Ohio
• Defending Champions:
  • Nova S’eastern women (1x)
  • Indianapolis men (1x)
• Psych Sheets:
  • Women’s Psych Sheet
  • Men’s Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Video (NCAA.com)

Day 1

Women’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA DII: 7:12.56 – Nova S’eastern (Ronningdal, Murzilli, Lowy, Trieschmann, 2023)
• Meet: 7:13.65 – Nova S’eastern (Ronningdal, Murzilli, Lowy, Trieschmann, 2023)

Podium:

1. Nova S’eastern – 7:08.50
2. Colorado Mesa – 7:15.54
3. Drury – 7:15.55
4. West Florida – 7:19.25
5. Wingate – 7:19.32
6. Simon Fraser – 7:20.12
7. UIndy – 7:21.02
8. Wayne State – 7:22.29

Nova S’eastern kicked off the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship with a bang, setting a new meet and division record in the 800 free relay. The quartet of Emilia Ronningdal, Rafaela Raurich, May Lowy, and Emily Trieschmann absolutely destroyed the old marks, both of which had been set by NSU last year.

Along with then-teammate Ilaria Murzilli, Ronningdal, Lowy, and Trieschmann had established the division record at the 2023 Sunshine State Conference Championships with 7:12.56. A month later they went 7:13.65 to break the meet record of 7:14.69 which had previously been set by Queens in 2015.

Seeded first and swimming in lane 4 on Tuesday night, Nova S’eastern led from wire to wire. Ronningdal started with 1:46.71 to put NSU out front with a comfortable lead. She handed off to Rafaela Raurich, whose 1:46.09 makes her the fastest #2 leg for the Sharks by 3 full seconds. Lowy followed with 1:49.97, and Trieschmann brought them home in 1:45.73.

Nova S’eastern becomes the first Division II women’s relay to break the 7:10 barrier.

SwimSwam: Nova S’Eastern Women Pummel the NCAA Division II Record in the 800 Free Relay with 7:08.50