INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.— One of the nation's most dominant swimming & diving programs returned to the top of the NCAA-II world on Saturday The Drury men's team won the NCAA-II Swimming & Diving National Championship, and the women's program finished as the national Runner-Up at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Drury men's team won their 23rd swimming & diving National Championship, their 21st men's title under head coach Brian Reynolds, and their 13th National Championship at the NCAA-II level. The title marked a return to the top of the team podium for the first time since 2014 for the Panthers. Combining the men's and women's national championships, it is the 34th national title for Reynolds and the 36th national swimming & diving championship for Drury.
Drury took the crown with 525 points, 74 better than defending champion Tampa, who finished second. McKendree finished third with 349 points, and Grand Valley State was fourth with 291.5.
As expected, the women's race to the national championship came down to the final event of the five-day meet. Nova Southeastern's win in the 400 Free Relay gave the defending national champs enough to get past the Panthers by 12 points, winning 475-463 in one of the closest finishes in meet history. Colorado Mesa finished third with 376 points, and Indianapolis was fourth with 346.
For the Drury women's team, it was their best finish at the national championship in four years when they were the Runner-Up in 2021. It is their fifth Runner-Up finish since 2015.
"It's bittersweet," said Reynolds. "It's been a while, and we've had place finishes for a lot of years. But I had high hopes to get both (championships) tonight, but I'm elated to win the men's title. I'm super proud of the way we swam on both sides of the meet. To pull off the number of national titles we won this year is unheard of."
The Drury men's team started the final night of competition with just a 45-point lead over Tampa, but the Panthers put the title out of reach in the 200 Breaststroke. Davi Mourao, the national champion in the event in 2023, picked the perfect time to come through with one of his best performances of the year. Swimming in the final individual event of his storied career, Mourao overtook Jeremias Pock from Indianapolis, a swimmer who beat Mourao in the GLVC Championships last month, near the final turn and pulled away the final 25 yards. Mourao's time of 1:52.51 was nearly five seconds faster than his time at the conference meet just 28 days earlier.
"Davi is the king of Breaststroke," said Reynolds. "He's a gritty swimmer and he put so much work into the team this year to help us win the title and his relay swims were spectacular."
Also helping Drury's point total in the 200 Breast was Joao Nogueira, who won the consolation final to finish ninth with a time of 1:56.67.
Drury's points in the 200 Breast gave the Panthers a 50-point with only 1-meter diving and the 400 Free Relay remaining.
The Panthers held a slim lead heading into the 200 Backstroke and got their first real breathing room over Tampa after Drury swimmers finished first and third. Ivan Adamchuk won his third national individual title at this year's championship, taking the 200 Back in 1:41.18. Alvaro Zornoza took the bronze (1:42.37), and Viktor Khnykin tacked on another point in 16th (1:46.91) as Drury's lead over Tampa went from 17 points to 39 points.
Drury's lead after the 200 Breast was enough to clinch the team championship, but there was still drama in the 1-meter diving competition as Israel Zavaleta won his second national championship of the week. Zavaleta, a graduate student from Mexico City, went into the sixth and final round of the competition, trailing defending national champion Julio Osuna Kelly from Wayne State by 0.25 points. Zavaleta's final dive got him past Kelly by just 1.25 points for the national title. Zavaleta finished with 603.25 points to Kelly's 602.
Drury nearly capped the night with a championship in the men's 400 Free Relay. Yuri Cabral, Alvaro Zornoza, Alejandro Villarejo, and Matteo Vissotto were the national runner-up as they combined for a time of 2:52.61, just 0.03 seconds behind Grand Valley State.
Earlier in the night, Matheus Siniscalchi was 11th in the 1650 Free (15:30.34). Lucas Mineur was 11th in the 100 Free (43.73), and Cabral was 14th (43.96).
The Drury women's team had swimmers swept the medals in the 200 Breaststroke as Jonette Laegreid won her second individual national championship of the week. Laegreid won the event and set a Division II record with a time of 2:08.59. Mellie Wijk, winner of two national titles this week, was second (2:11.64), and Claire Conover won bronze (2:12.66). Gwen Bergum was sixth in the event with a time of 2:15.17.
Maria Munoz gave the Panthers a sixth-place finish in the 200 Back (1:59.25).
Drury's 400 Free Relay team, with Wijk, Ellie Walker, Belen Morales, and Ashlyn Moore, came in sixth (3:21.40).
"With our women's team, it's emotional to because you get pretty close to these kids," added Reynolds regarding his senior-heavy women's squad. "I love them, and I love the effort they put in. If you look at the trajectory these kids have had over their four years, it's nothing short of spectacular…I'll miss them dearly."
The men's swimming & diving national championship is Drury's 38th national title in NAIA and NCAA Athletics. Drury has won two national championships in men's basketball, 23 in men's swimming & diving, and 13 in women's swimming & diving. The Panthers won 10 NAIA men's swimming championships and 2025 marked their 13th NCAA-II crown. Drury has won three NAIA women's swimming titles and 10 in NCAA-II.
Under Reynolds, the Panthers had a dynasty from 2005-2014, winning 10 consecutive men's swimming national championships and six titles in seven years during that time frame in women's swimming. Brian Reynolds, a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame, completed his 42nd year at Drury in 2024-25.
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