Michigan built its lead behind three first-place finishes during Day 3 of the 2014 Big Ten Championships. Through 14 events, the Wolverines have recorded 599 points. Indiana sits in second with 406 points, while Ohio State checks in with 354 points. Penn State is in fourth place with 265 points, while Purdue rounds out the top five with 219.5 points.
Ohio State began the evening with a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay, earning an NCAA automatic cut of 1:17.93. Buckeyes' Tim Phillips followed with another first-place finish, recording an NCAA automatic mark of 45.62 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly, while Penn State's Shane Ryan won the 100-yard backstroke in an NCAA automatic time of 45.13 seconds. Michigan's Kyle Whitaker met NCAA automatic standards in the 400-yard individual medley (3:38.51), while teammate Michael Wynalda set a new Big Ten record in the 200-yard freestyle (1:32.52). Wolverines' Richard Funk placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke with an NCAA automatic cut of 51.75 seconds. Indiana's Darian Schmidt concluded the evening with a first-place finish in the three-meter diving event with 451.90 points.
Action resumes Saturday with preliminaries set for 11 a.m. ET, with finals at 6:30 p.m.
Senior Darian Schmidt made it a sweep of the springboard diving events with the 3-meter title and the Hoosiers remain in second place after three days of the Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Indiana enters the final day of competition with 406 points. Michigan leads (599), with Ohio State on the Hoosiers heels with 354 points. Penn State is fourth (265), followed by Purdue (219.5).
Anze Tavcar, Cody Miller, Eric Ress and Yianni Thermos started the night with a fifth-place finish in the 200 free relay, going 1:19.65. That is well off the school record of 1:17.97 set at last year’s Big Ten meet.
Steve Schmuhl moved up two spots from his 2013 finish in the 400 individual medley, taking third in a time of 3:43.55. That is just 7/100ths of a second off an A cut and 1/100th of a second faster than his prelim swim. Michael Mohler took 27th overall after finishing the bonus final in 3:57.55.
Max Irwin made his first championship final in an individual event, with the freshman finishing eighth in the 100 butterfly in a time of 47.76. In prelims he went a career best 47.67. In a consolation final where first through fourth were separated by 1/10th of a second, James Wells touched fourth in 47.89, good for 12th overall. His time of 47.79 in prelims is a career best.
Joe Powell finished 18th in the 100 fly after clocking a career best and NCAA B cut of 48.06 in the bonus final. Kyle Johnson went a career best 49.19, good for 32nd. Curtis Goss won his heat and placed 39th overall with a career-best time of 49.77.
Jackson Miller took fifth in the consolation final of the 200 freestyle, good for 13th overall with a time of 1:36.92. His prelim swim of 1:36.34 is a career best. Anze Tavcar bettered his personal best by 1/100th of a second, finishing in 1:38.18, 33rd overall. Bradley Stamper set a new career time of 1:39.42 to place 41st in the field. Grayson Smith’s time of 1:39.52 put him 44th in the field. Sam Lorentz popped a 1:40.29, a new career best and 50th overall.
Cody Miller’s string of Big Ten backstroke titles came to an end as he finished second in 51.99, 2/10ths of a second off the winning time. His mark is the third-best in IU history and gives him three times under 52 seconds and all five top times in IU history.
Mike Hurley placed 12th overall after a 53.68 in the consolation final. Tanner Kurz swam the consolation final with Hurley, finishing 15th in 54.22. Marijn Van Zundert was 29th in his first Big Ten meet, with a career best of 55.84. Blaine Nichols also posted a career best (57.40), placing 38th.
It was a 3-4 finish for Indiana in the 100 backstroke, with Ress third in a time of 46.14. Wells, coming off the 100 fly earlier in the evening, finished fourth in 46.21. Bob Glover won the consolation final with his career best time of 48.22. Curtis Goss was 30th with a career time of 49.48, while Yianni Thermos went 49.65, also a career best.
After a solid prelim session where he finished way ahead of the field with a score of 453.45, Schmidt missed on his first two dives of finals and found himself in eighth place. However, the execution of his high degree of difficulty dives, including 92.75 points on his reverse 3 1/2 somersault tuck, and 95 points on his forward 4 1/2 somersault tuck vaulted him to the title with a score of 451.90.
That gives Schmidt four career Big Ten titles, with the 1-meter crowns in 2013 and 2014, and the 3-meter titles in 2012 and 2014.
Not to be outdone, freshman Joshua Arndt followed up his seventh-place finish on the 1-meter by earning a bronze on the 3-meter with a career-best score of 423.15, just over a point out of second place. Emad Abdelatif was fifth (399.55) and Conor Murphy seventh (381.95). Abdelatif’s score of 401.10 in prelims was a career best.
Danton Rogers took 10th overall after posting a career best score of 371.65 in the consolation final. Andrew Hull was 15th overall, scoring 338.45 points in the consolation final. Bryce Ogden missed out on the consolation final by less than four points, placing 17th with a score of 314.75. George Andrews finished 32nd (239.60).
Iowa
Senior Andrew Marciniak bested his previous school record by one one-hundredth of a second Friday night, as the Hawkeyes had their best showing at the Big Ten Championships during the final. Iowa currently sits in eighth with 130 points, while host Michigan leads the pack with 599 points.
During the morning prelims of the 100 breaststroke, Marciniak qualified for the ‘A’ final of the event, touching out in 53.58. The time is a new school record, besting Marciniak’s previous record of 53.59, set last season.
In the finals, Marciniak would go on to place seventh, finishing in 53.89, while sophomore Roman Trussov came in eighth, touching the wall in 54.24. Freshman Nick Zito placed 17th (54.12) with his time being the sixth-fastest in program history. All three Hawkeyes posted times that qualified for NCAA ‘B’ cut consideration.
Iowa also received scoring efforts from senior Dustin Rhoads and junior Grant Betulius in the 100 backstroke. Rhoads, swimming in the ‘A’ final, touched out in 46.79 to take sixth in the event. His prelim time of 46.53 improves upon his career-best time of 46.99, which currently ranks second all-time. The school record holder in the event, Betulius, finished in 14th place (48.19), while swimming in the ‘B’ final.
Rhoads also placed himself in the top-10 in the 100 butterfly during morning qualifications. Rhoads placed himself into the ‘B’ final of the event when he finished in 48.13, a time that ranks sixth all-time in program history. Rhoads would go on to finish 16th, touching out in 48.78.
Northwestern
Three Wildcats scored points for Northwestern Friday night in the evening finals of the Big Ten Championships Friday at the Canham Natatorium in four difference events including 3-meter diving, 100 fly, 100 back and the 200 yard freestyle.
Mark Ferguson earned Northwestern a pair of points finishing No. 15 with a time of 48.49 in the 100 fly. He also reached the consolation final in the 100 yard back, swimming a 49.53 in the evening session to score a point for NU.
“There was a lot of competition. It was a very deep field,” Ferguson said of the 100 fly, where the consolation final field was determined by less than a second, with each swimmer finishing between 47.79 and 48.78. “I knew it was going to be a close race and whoever was able to hang on would win.”
For the second consecutive day, freshman Andrew Cramer reached the scoring finals in diving. In the 3-meter prelims, Cramer scored a 331.00, finishing No. 13 to advance to the evening’s finals and punching his ticket to eventually tally the NU school record in the event.
Cramer finished No. 12 in the finals, posting a 363.95 score Friday night in the scoring consolation final at the Canham Natatorium.
“Coming out of prelims, I was a little disappointed coming with my last two dives. I just really wanted to have a separate meet, really try to put everything in and make my last three meter event of my freshman year consistent,” Cramer said. “I’m trying to take everything that [diving coach] Alik [Sarkisian] has taught me and put in in tomorrow in the tower diving.”
In the 200 yard freestyle, Chase Stephens swam another NCAA “B” Cut time, posting a 1:37.32 in the consolation final to earn two points for the ‘Cats.
Northwestern also saw some impressive times by the Wildcat freshman in the bonus finals Friday night.
Freshman Andy Jovanovic cruised in the bonus final of the 100 yard butterfly, finishing in the top spot in the race with a time of 47.94, a career-best for the first year swimmer. Jovanovic’s time of 47.94 registered as an NCAA “B” Cut time, as he bested his previous career best which was set during the TYR Invite. During the bonus final of the 200 yard free, Charlie Cole recorded a career-best time and NCAA “B” Cut, swimming 1:37.39.
Uula Auren posted another NCAA “B” Cut time in the 100 yard breastoke during the bonus final, swimming in 55.06. Van Donkergoed also swam in the 100 breast, posting a time of 55.43.
Northwestern began the finals finishing with a 1:22.83 time in the 200 free relay. NU’s team of Matt Wilcox, Dominik Cubelic, Ross McAuliffe and Jack Morris scored 18 points for the Wildcats in the relay.
In the bonus final of the 400 yard IM, sophomore Jordan Wilimovsky finished at No. 18 with a time of 3:54.76 and Andrew Seitz earned a No. 24 finish, swimming 4:00.29. Grant Halsall reached the bonus final of the 100 fly and swam a 48.55 to finish No. 21 in the evening session. Halsall also reached the bonus in the 100 back and posted a time of 49.63.
Entering the final day of the conference meet, NU has tallied 107 points to rank No. 9.
Penn State
Sophomore Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) and junior Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.) capped off a truly memorable night for the Penn State swimming program with first and second place finishes in the 100 backstroke. The Nittany Lions also posted a win in the 200 freestyle relay, as the team tied Ohio State for the top spot with a time of 1:17.93.
“Tonight was a big night for Penn State Swimming and Diving,” said head coach Tim Murphy. “We got huge wins in the 200 freestyle relay and 100 backstroke to begin and end the night. We posted a number of best times today throughout the prelims and finals.
Ryan won the race in grand fashion, besting his own record of 45.48 that he turned in at the morning prelims with a time of 45.13, making the sophomore a qualifier of the NCAA “A” standard. Teammate Savoy was the only other competitor to finish under the 46 second barrier with a time of 45.61, the best time of his career.
Ryan’s title marks the first time a Nittany Lion has stood atop the podium in the 100 backstroke at the championship in program history. The gold and silver medal finish was the first time Penn State pulled off the feat in the same event at the Big Ten Championships in program history. Ryan’s win is also the first victory in an individual event since 2003 and just the eighth in Penn State history.
“The first and second place finishes in the 100 backstroke was especially nice to see,” said Murphy.
The 200 freestyle relay started off the historic evening for the Nittany Lions in thrilling fashion. The Penn State team of Ryan, John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.), Savoy and Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) were neck-and-neck with Minnesota and Ohio State down the stretch. Minnesota managed to touch first with the Lions and Buckeyes recording the exact same time of 1:17.93. However, the Blue and White and OSU each claimed a share of the title, as Minnesota was disqualified for a false start. The team reached the NCAA “A” cut with the time.
The gold medal is the program’s third in the 200 freestyle relay in Big Ten Championship history and just the sixth of any PSU relay team at the championships. The last time a Penn State relay team won a Big Ten Championship final was in 2002 when the 200 and 400 freestyle relays each won first.
The titles in the 100 backstroke and 200 freestyle relay mark the first time the Nittany Lions have claimed multiple titles at the Big Ten Championships since 2002 and the fourth time the Blue and White has pulled off the accomplishment in program history.
Hauser continued his strong showing in the championship with a win in the “B” final of the 200 freestyle race for a ninth place finish and a Penn State record with a time of 1:34.88. The senior improved on the record he set in the opening night of the championship, where he turned in a mark of 1:35.41 in the first leg of the 800 freestyle relay.
In the diving portion of the competition, junior T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) qualified for the “B” final in the three-meter diving event with a score of 322.15 and improved his mark to 349.00 in the evening final session to grab 14th place. Thursday’s final was the first time the junior qualified for the evening session at the Big Ten Championship.
“T.J. finishing 14th in the three-meter diving event with a score of 349.00 to score points for the team is big,” said Murphy. “I am most proud of our team’s effort across the board. We need to carry our momentum into tomorrow’s morning session.”
