Michigan Maintains Lead After Day Two of Championships
Michigan remains on top after posting three first-place finishes during day two of the 2014 Big Ten Men's Swimming & Diving Championships. Through seven events, the Wolverines have recorded 308 points. Indiana sits in second with 216 points, followed by Ohio State with 158 points. Penn State is fourth with 154 points, while Minnesota rounds out the top five with 141 points.
Michigan's Connor Jaeger defended his title in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing the event with an NCAA automatic mark of 4:12.52. Teammate Kyle Whitaker placed first in the 200-yard individual medley with an NCAA automatic time of 1:41.30. Minnesota's Derek Toomey won the crown in the 50-yard freestyle, securing an NCAA automatic time of 19.14 seconds. Indiana's Darian Schmidt won the one-meter diving event for the second consecutive year, recording 381.30 points. The Wolverines closed the evening with a first-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay (3:06.08).
Action continues Friday with a preliminary session set for 11 a.m. ET, followed by finals at 6:30 p.m.
Indiana
Darian Schmidt successfully defended his Big Ten title on the 1-meter springboard and the 400 medley relay team ended the night with a new school record to cap day two of the 2014 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Hoosiers are in second place with 216 points, trailing leader Michigan (308). Ohio State is third (158) with Penn State (154) and Minnesota (141) rounding out the top five.
Schmidt needed a strong sixth and final dive to win the title and he did just that, scoring 75 points on a reverse 1 1/2 somersault 2 1/2 twist free to finish with 381.30 points, just .15 points ahead of Purdue’s Jamie Bissett. Emad Abdelatif took fourth (358.30), with Joshua Arndt seventh (335.15) in his first career Big Ten championship final.
Indiana went with a different look for its 400 medley relay team to end the night and it paid off. Eric Ress swam the opening backstroke leg and put up the fourth-fastest time in IU history with a 45.25. Cody Miller swam the breaststroke leg, followed by Max Irwin with the butterfly. James Wells, who is the usual backstroker in the race, anchored with a 100 freestyle as the quartet went 3:07.98, good for third overall and an NCAA A cut.
That tops the previous school record of 3:08.40 set by Wells, Miller, Steve Schmuhl and Daniel Kanorr at the 2013 NCAA Championships.
In the 500 freestyle, Jackson Miller was the top Hoosier finisher as he took second in the C final and 18th overall with a career time of 4:22.19. Grayson Smith was 21st after going 4:25.22 in the bonus final, putting up a career time of 4:22.78 in prelims. Bradley Stamper was 23rd after touching the wall in 4:26.75, with a career time of 4;22.39 also coming in prelims.
Max Irwin finished 20th in prelims with a career-best time of 4:22.70 but elected not to swim the bonus final. Michael Mohler was third in his heat and 44th overall with a new career best of 4:30.71.
Indiana posted a 3-4-5 finish in the 200 individual medley, led by a third-place finish from Schmuhl. Schmuhl went a career best 1:42.05 which is an NCAA A cut and the third-fastest time in IU history. Right behind him was Ress, who took fourth in a personal best and NCAA A cut of 1:42.95. That time ranks fourth on the all-time IU list. In fifth was Cody Miller at 1:43.74. His prelim time of 1:43.30 is an NCAA A cut. Mike Hurley was just 3/100ths of a second off his personal best as he took 10th overall in a time of 1:45.12. That is an NCAA provisional time. In the bonus final, Bob Glover tallied a fifth-place finish, good for 21st overall at 1:48.16. His time of 1:47.59 in prelims is a career best. Blaine Nichols put up his top career time of 1:53.05 in heat two of prelims, good for 61st.
Anze Tavcar won the consolation final of the 50 freestyle with a career-best time of 19.91, picking up key points for the Hoosiers. Yianni Thermos took third in the C final, 19th overall, with a career time of 20.24. In prelims, Sam Lorentz posted his career best of 20.54, which was good for 33rd. Tanner Kurz was 41st with his career best of 20.66.
In earlier action on the 1-meter springboard, Bryce Ogden won the consolation final to take ninth overall with a score of 351.85. Conor Murphy was third in the consolation final, good for 11th overall with his score of 319.45. Danton Rogers finished 16th in the field after posting a score of 299.10 in the consolation final. Andrew Hull missed out on the consolation final by less than one point, finishing 17th with a score of 294.50. George Andrews was 26th after tallying 258.70 points.
Iowa
The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team posted two times that rank fourth-best in program history Thursday night. The times came during the finals of day two of the 2014 Big Ten Championships. The Hawkeyes currently sit in ninth place with 68 points, while defending national champion Michigan leads the team standings with 308 points.
“Tomorrow is a strong day for us,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “We are excited for some great performances.”
The Hawkeyes received a pair of great performances Thursday evening from freshman Nick Zito, and the 400-medley relay. Zito swam to the fourth-fastest time in program history during the finals of the 200 IM when he touched out in 1:47.88. The time marks a new season best for Zito, as well as an NCAA ‘B’ cut time.
In Thursday’s final event, the 400-medley relay, the Hawkeyes swam to the fourth-best time in school history when they finished in seventh, touching the wall in 3:11.15. The quartet of junior Grant Betulius and seniors Andrew Marciniak, Dustin Rhoads, and Gianni Sesto teamed up to record the time, which qualifies for NCAA ‘B’ cut consideration.
Iowa also placed three members into the C final of the 50 freestyle, with sophomore Charles Holliday (20.28), Sesto (20.45), and freshman Jackson Halsmer (20.63) all representing the Hawkeyes in the finals.
The team returns to the pool Friday morning with prelims beginning at 11 a.m. (CT) and finals slated to start at 6:30 p.m.
Northwestern freshman diver Andrew Cramer earned the Wildcats points on the 1-meter diving springboard with a 316.65 score Thursday night in the Big Ten Championships during the evening session’s finals.
Cramer advanced to the finals of 1-meter diving with a 297.35 score for the Wildcats during the prelims, finishing No. 14. In the finals of the 1-meter, he boosted his score to finish at No. 12.
Senior Chase Stephens earned 12 points for the ‘Cats in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing No. 7 overall after earning a bonus swim in the championship final. Stephen’s time of 19.89 registered as an NCAA “B” cut time.
After advancing to the scoring consolation final in the morning, NU sophomore Jordan Wilimovsky swam a 4:22.08, NCAA “B” cut time in the evening final, finishing No. 15 to earn a pair of points for the Wildcats.
The ‘Cats 400 yard medley relay team of Dominik Cubelic, Uula Auren, Andy Jovanovic and Stephens ended the night with a time of 3:14.14 for the ‘Cats.
With the points, Northwestern increased its score Thursday with 79 points to rank No. 8.
The Big Ten Championships continue Friday at 10:00 a.m. CT with the morning session prelims in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 3-meter diving.
Penn State
Junior Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) broke Vincent Reydam’s five-year Penn State record in the 50 freestyle event with a blistering time of 19.31 seconds on the way to a second place finish to earn 17 valuable points for the Blue and White. Ryan’s produced Penn State’s seventh silver medal or better performance in the event at the Championships.
The Nittany Lions sit in fourth place with 154 points at the halfway point of the championships, just four points behind third place Ohio State. Michigan is currently in first with 308 points and Indiana is in second with a total of 216. The Lions have a 13 point cushion over Minnesota, the fifth place team.
“We did a good job today,” said first year head coach Tim Murphy. “What was nice about tonight was our guys moved up from their standings in the morning. Obviously every point counts and we are in a dogfight but we have been solid across the board and we have a lot of swimming left. From a swimming standpoint we have been real competitive. There are two more days so there is a lot to happen but we are looking forward to it.”
John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.) joined Ryan in the final of the 50 “A” final and also picked up an impressive performance, touching the wall in a career-best time of 19.81 for a sixth place finish. Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) recorded a second place finish in the “B” final with a mark of 19.93 to place 10th overall in the 50.
“All three [Ryan, Hauser and Austin] did a good job,” said Murphy. “Getting two swimmers in the finals was a step forward and three guys in the top 16 was important. I think everyone is trying to do their part and we are getting some good, fast swims.”
Ryan wasn’t the only Nittany Lion to break a program record on Thursday evening, as Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) bested his own Penn State record in the 500 freestyle by swimming a time of 4:17.65 in the prelims to qualify for the “A” final. In the evening session Ankosko raced to a sixth place finish with a time of 4:19.64.
Another top-eight finisher on day two was Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.), who placed seventh in the 200 IM. The junior finished the morning session with his best time of the season in 1:45.42 to grab the final spot in the “A” final. Savoy followed up with a 1:46.11 in the finals to finish seventh.
With four “A” finalists in the first day of individual competition, the Nittany Lions are just one shy of their entire total of five “A” finalists from the entire 2013 Big Ten Championships.
The Blue and White closed out the evening session with a fourth place finish in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:08.01, finishing just .03 seconds off the medal stand, as Indiana placed third with a mark of 3:07.98. Penn State’s team of Savoy, James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.), Ryan and Hauser hit the NCAA “A” qualifying standard with their performance. The Nittany Lions have now reached the “A” mark in all three of the relays during the championship.
“The relays have been real solid,” Murphy said. “I think it’s reflective in the team score.”
Another notable performance was turned in by freshman Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.), who reached his first NCAA standard of his career, hitting the “B” mark in the “C” final of the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:22.69, shaving over three seconds off his best time prior to the championship.
The team will be back at the pool on Friday, which is the third of the four day championship. Prelims are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and the finals will start at 6:30 p.m.
