Following is a summary of Division II news from the week of March 9-13.

• The Division II National Championships Festival launched in style Tuesday night with an opening ceremony for more than 1,000 student-athletes in Houston. The winter-sports version of the festival will crown champions in wrestling, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
• Four meet records were set during the first day of competition at the swimming and diving championships. Coaches thought it would be the fastest meet in Division II history, and they just might be right.
• Grand Valley State pole vaulter Dianna Noonan is among the many athletes with compelling stories who are competing at the festival. Noonan is 70 percent deaf and wears hearing aids, but that hasn’t stopped her from clearing the bars in life. Check out other features on St. Cloud State wrestler Tad Merritt, Indianapolis track coach Scott Fangman and Nebraska-Kearney wrestler Marty Usman.
• In other championships matters, the contingency plan developed in case all seven teams had to travel to the top-seed’s campus in regional play was deployed in the men’s basketball championship’s West region. Regional play gets underway this weekend.