Swimcloud

Ohio State Invite Recaps - Day 3

The Ohio State men’s swimming and diving team was crowned champions of the Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational Sunday, marking the sixth win at the premier meet for the Scarlet and Gray. The Buckeyes posted a team total of 1,546, which bested second-place finisher Wisconsin a margin of 723 points. 
 
“A lot of guys got second swims in finals or consolation finals, so that helps with our goal to get as many scoring opportunities as possible,” head swimming coach Bill Wadley said. “When you say you have a strong team, what you’re really trying to say is it doesn’t all fall on one guy. Everybody has to raise the next guy up so they will perform at their best.
 
“I thought our team raced really well all weekend long,” Wadley continued. “We won most of the races and the times we posted are very good for this time of the year. We feel good about it. There are certainly places we can be better, but that’s the nature of having a big family. It's hard to have everybody in the family happy on the same day, but I think most of our guys are satisfied with what they did.”
 
Distance specialist Brayden Seal started the final session off, taking the runner-up spot in the 1650 freestyle with an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 15:14.43.
 
Five Buckeyes – Steven Zimmerman, Rowan Williams, Thomas Trace, Connor McDonald and Andrew Appleby - qualified for the championship final of the 200 backstroke. Zimmerman claimed second in 1:43.21, while Williams and Trace followed in third (1:43.21) and fifth (1:45.70), respectively. All were NCAA provisional qualifying times.
 
In the 100 freestyle, Ohio State claimed first and third behind swims from Josh Fleagle and Michael DiSalle. Fleagle posted an NCAA ‘B’ standard of 43.49 for the win, while DiSalle touched in 43.73.
 
Junior DJ MacDonald earned second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:56.17, an NCAA ‘B’ time. Ohio State and Wisconsin dominated the championship final, with seven Buckeyes making the cut and three Badgers.
 
The 200 butterfly event went to senior Tamas Gercsak. The Budapest, Hungary native recorded one of two NCAA provisional times for the Buckeyes in the race with a mark of 1:44.67. Freshman Ching Lim continued his strong start to the season with the other qualifying mark, finishing third (1:46.32).
 
Ohio State sealed the victory with a win in the 400 freestyle. Behind swims from DiSalle, Steffen Hillmer, Zimmerman and Fleagle, the Buckeyes posted a top-time of 2:55.98, picking up another 74 points in the event.
 
The Ohio State Invitational will serve as an end to the first half of the season for the Buckeyes. The squad will train throughout the winter break and return to dual-meet competition Jan. 16 vs. Denison.

Team Standings:
1. Ohio State – 1546.5
2. Wisconsin – 823.5
3. Kentucky – 512.5
4. Kenyon - 398
5. Purdue – 167.5
6. Virginia - 103
7. Miami - 65

The Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team posted 24 season-best times Sunday at the Ohio State Invitational, saving their strongest performances for the final day of competition. Hosted by the Buckeyes at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, the invitational concluded with Purdue on top the team standings, while the Buckeyes placed fourth with 652.5 points.
 
“I’m pleased, we have some kids going lifetime bests without the benefit of tech suits,” head swimming coach Bill Dorenkott said. “Today was our best day in terms of being solid this morning and solid tonight.
 
“We didn’t make the decision regarding the tech suits until last week,” Dorenkott continued. “The decision was based on the kids we have and who our team is. We’re trying to build confidence without using the suits as a crutch. We leave this meet very confident and ready to prepare for the end of the year.”
 
Sophomore standout Lindsey Clary started the Buckeyes off on the right note, winning the 1650 freestyle in an Ohio State school record and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 16:13.63. Buckeye Susan Gottlieb set the previous school record of 16:14.53 in 1990.
 
“We made the decision to put Clary in a tech suit today, because I thought she had a good chance to qualify for the NCAAs this afternoon,” Dorenkott said. “I expect that time will qualify.”
 
In the 200 backstroke, junior Annie Gillig earned a spot in the championship final, placing sixth overall with a time of 2:00.18. In prelims, Gillig touched in 1:59.00, a season-best and NCAA ‘B’ time.
 
Three Buckeyes – Amy Bopp, Maren Reeder and Taylor Vargo - earned top-10 standing in the 200 breaststroke. Bopp posted an NCAA ‘B’ standard of 2:15.67 for fifth, while Reeder and Vargo earned seventh and 10th, respectively.
 
Bopp, a sophomore the season, followed up her performance in the 200 breaststroke with another top-five showing, this time in the 200 butterfly. In a time of 1:59.60, the Clifton Park N.Y. native broke the 2-minute barrier to record a season best and finish fifth. 
 
In platform diving, senior Taylor Ford captured third place with a score of 255.60.  
Ohio State rounded out the meet with the 400 freestyle relay. The quartet of Zhesi Li, Rachael Dzierzak, Annie Jongekrijg and Aliena Schmidtke placed fourth in the event with a time of 3:24.75.
 
The Ohio State Invitational will serve as an end to the first half of the season for the Buckeyes. The squad will train throughout the winter break and return to dual-meet competition Jan. 16 vs. Toledo.

 

Purdue

No. 25 Purdue women’s swimming won two more individual events and a relay to finish off a team victory at the Ohio State Invitational Sunday afternoon.

The Boilermakers finished the weekend with 1097 points, topping second-place Kentucky by 163 points. Big Ten rivals No. 23 Wisconsin (698 points) and No. 18 Ohio State (652) finished third and fourth, respectively. It was the Boilers’ first victory at an invitational meet since winning the Purdue Invitational in November 2012. Purdue last won a multi-day invitational meet on the road in November 2004 at North Carolina.

Abby Jagdfeld won the A final of the 100 freestyle and established a new Purdue freshman record, accomplishing the impressive double feat in an event for the second day in a row. Emily Fogle won the A final of the 200 breaststroke to sweep the breast events for the weekend. The Boilermakers finished the day with a victory in the 400 free relay after also winning both medley relays earlier in the weekend.

Jagdfeld broke Rhiannon Sheets’ 100 free freshman record with a time of 49.78 in the prelims, a mark she then matched on the leadoff leg of the 400 free relay. Jagdfeld out touched OSU’s Zhesi Li by nine hundredths of a second to win the A final with a time of 49.83. Saturday, the freshman from Wisconsin won the 200 free with a new Purdue freshman-record time.

Fogle and Francesca Marr finished 1-2 in the A final of the 200 breast. Marr had the best time of the day in the prelims (2:11.82), but Fogle’s 2:11.93 mark in the finals was good enough for the victory. Fogle improved on her prelim time (2:14.48) by two and half seconds.

Kylie Vogel, Grace Hernandez and Sheets teamed with Jagdfeld to win the 400 free relay with a time of 3:19.55 that ranks fifth in program history.

Led by a runner-up finish in the A final by Sheets, six Boilermakers scored team points in the 200 butterfly (the most of any event Sunday). MacKenzie Tweardy also accounted for a runner-up finish when she took second in platform diving. The senior finished less than one point behind the event winner, Miami’s Cheyenne Cousineau.

All five distance freestyle specialists that competed in the mile for the first time this season finished in the top 11. Nika Karlina Petric took third and moved into second place in program history with a career-best time of 16:18.88.

Trish Regan (200 back) and Vogel (100 free) also posted third-place finishes in A finals. Anji Li won the B final of the 100 free. Hannah Manger’s prelim time of 1:58.71 in the 200 back moved her into fourth place in program history. She settled for fourth in the A final after Regan improved on her prelim time (2:02.05) by more than three seconds.

Sheets’ time of 1:56.83 in the 200 fly was only .16 hundredths of a second off the program-record mark she established as a freshman at the 2011 Ohio State Invitational.

The Purdue men dominated platform diving, finishing 2-3-4-5-6 behind unattached diver and event winner Zhipeng Zeng (439.75). Steele Johnson led the way with a runner-up finish and a score of 402.85 that was good for 10th in program history. Jamie Bissett competed from the towers again after focusing on springboard events as a junior. He took third followed by Nate Cox, Alec Back and Sean Mokhtari.

The Purdue swimmers are idle from competition until hosting Michigan State at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center Jan. 10. Selected Purdue divers will return to Columbus next month for the USA Diving Winter Nationals, Dec. 16-21.

Team Scores
1. #25 Purdue, 1097
2. Kentucky, 934
3. #23 Wisconsin, 698
4. #18 Ohio State, 652.5
5. Kenyon, 211.5
6. Univ. of Miami (Diving Only), 112
7. Virginia (Diving Only), 104

 

Kentucky

Sophomore Danielle Galyer won her fourth event of the weekend and senior Christina Bechtel claimed her third win as the Kentucky swimming and diving team broke three more school records on the final day of the Ohio State Invitational Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.

In the three-day competition, the Wildcats broke a total of seven school records, three on Sunday’s final day. Galyer and Bechtel’s wins both came with program-record times, while Bechtel’s victory in the 200 butterfly also marked an OSU Invite record and an NCAA ‘A’ qualifying time.

“Overall, I’m really pleased with how we did this weekend,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “We had seven school records, highlighted by Christina and Danielle today. We’re really proud of their performances, especially what Danielle did against some really tough competition all weekend. We’re proud of how far we’ve come, but we have a lot of work ahead as we prepare for the NCAA Championships in the spring.”

The UK women finished second overall in the seven-team women’s standings with 934 points, while the men placed third with 512.5 points. The Purdue women won with 1,097 points, while Ohio State claimed the top finish in the men’s competition with 1,546.5 points.

Bechtel has not lost a butterfly event this season, and Sunday was no different. The senior touched the wall in 1:52.36, shattering her own school record, breaking the Ohio State Invitational meet record and earning an NCAA ‘A’ qualifying time. Her record-setting swim comes a day after breaking the UK and OSU Invite record in the 100 butterfly with an NCAA ‘A’ qualifying time. Also in the 200 butterfly Sunday, senior Abby Myers placed third with a 1:58.24, an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time.

Galyer recorded her first win of the day, and her fourth of the weekend, in the women’s 200 backstroke. The sophomore notched her third school record in as many days with a 1:53.28. The win, with an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time, came by 2.46 seconds, ahead of teammate Bridgette Alexander, who placed second in 1:55.74. The freshman also earned an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time.

Sophomore Kendal Casey recorded a runner-up finish in the women’s 1,650 freestyle. With a time of 16:15.91, she posted the second-fastest time in school history and finished 2.28 seconds behind Sunday’s winner. Sophomore Kelly Berger also tallied a top-10 finish, placing seventh in 16:49.18.

In the men’s 200 butterfly, sophomore Kyle Higgins placed second in 1:45.32. The third-fastest time in program history, Higgins earned an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time with the runner-up finish. Junior Matt Roman also placed in the top five, finishing fifth in 1:48.73.

Kendra Crew placed third in the women’s 200 breaststroke with an NCAA ‘B’ time of 2:13.33. Freshman Annie Davies finished sixth with a 2:17.02, the 10th-fastest time in program history.

In the men’s 1,650 freestyle, UK notched three top-seven finishes, all from sophomores. Drew Aviotti led the way in third with a time of 15:22.64, while Brandon Flynn was sixth with a time of 15:41.20. Jamie Stevenson came in seventh in 15:43.61.

In the diving competition, on platform, senior Lindsay Keahey led the way for the Wildcats with a 245.15 to place fourth. Sophomore Rebecca Hamperian was sixth with a 236.80, while senior Christa Cabot finished seventh with a score of 235.80. Freshman Levi Lindsey notched the best score for the UK men with a 244.45 to place 13th.

Senior Kristen Wilson posted a top-five finish in the women’s 100 freestyle. Wilson touched the wall in 50.73, a season-best time, to finish in fifth overall. In the men’s 100 freestyle, sophomore Sean Gunn’s 45.78 earned him an eighth-place finish in the finals.

UK’s third school-record time of the day came in the women’s 400 freestyle relay. A 3:03.42 gave Kentucky a sixth-place finish in the event and a program-best time by nearly 15 seconds.

 

Wisconsin

A competitive three days of competition came to an end at the Ohio State Invitational for the Wisconsin swimming and diving program, as the men's team solidified its second-place finish and the women's team came in third place on the final day of events Sunday.
 
“We had a terrific meet,” UW head coach Whitney Hite said. “For where we are in the season and with how little rest we had, basically just having a normal week and throwing on some fast suits, we performed very well. I’m really pleased with where we are with the team right now.”
 
Wisconsin concluded with a strong showing in the 1650-yard freestyle, as distance specialists Jenny Holtzen and Matt Hutchins each earned NCAA 'B' cuts. Holtzen, a junior out of Fayetteville, Arkansas, placed fourth (16:20.43) and recorded a new personal best. Sophomore and Christchurch, New Zealand, native Matt Hutchins won the event with a time of 15:05.25, the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this season.
 
“Ivy Martin was her typical, spectacular self. Jenny Holtzen was terrific and had a really great mile and 500, so she’s doing very well. Aja Van Hout was really good,” Hite said. “I could really continue to go down the list. We were good from top to bottom, but those three were very good.”
 
In the 200-yard backstroke, Drew teDuits won the event with a time of 1:41.96, an NCAA 'B' cut and less than a second off from an 'A' cut. Not far behind were Austin Byrd and Brett Pinfold, who came in fourth (1:45.43) and sixth (1:45.82), respectively, to also earn NCAA 'B' cuts.
 
Sophomore Cannon Clifton earned a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 43.72. Lombard, Illinois, native Damon Zito touched fifth (45.26), while sophomore Ryan Barsanti’s time of 46.36 earned him 10th place.
 
“The men were terrific as well,” Hite said. “I’m very pleased with where we are and what we were able to accomplish. Cannon Clifton was great. Matt Hutchins was very good and he had a terrific mile today. Brett Pinfold, Drew teDuits, really just top to bottom we did great all around. I couldn’t think of how we could do better, so we were just fantastic.”
 
Leading the Badgers in the 200-yard breaststroke was Nick Schafer for the men and Anna Meinholz for the women, who each earned NCAA 'B' cuts. Schafer picked up an individual victory with his time of 1:56.17, while Meinholz came in fourth place (2:15.55). Jake Mandli placed seventh (2:01.46) and Josh Anderson touched 10th (2:03.16), while Holtzen’s time of 2:21.28 earned her ninth place.
 
Maria Carlson also won the consolation final with a time of 2:16.47, the sixth-fastest time overall.
 
In the 200-yard butterfly, sophomore Dana Grindall and senior captain Nick Caldwell both came in fourth place to earn NCAA 'B' cuts with times of 1:59.32 and 1:47.04, respectively.
 
Of note in the 200-yard butterfly were freshmen Hannah James and Max Dolan, who each won the consolation final. James, a native of Punta Gorda, Florida, clocked in at 2:01.96 to earn the ninth-fastest time overall, while Southbury, Connecticut, native Dolan and his time of 1:49.99 marked the ninth-fastest overall.
 
To close out the meet, Kinney, Van Hout, Tamblyn and Grindall combined for a second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:21.14, the fastest this season. Competing for the men were Barsanti, Hutchins, Ryan Stack and Byrd, who finished in fourth place with a time of 3:02.77.
 
On the boards, sophomore Ashley Peterson placed fifth in the platform event with a score of 239.00 and freshman Max Reynolds’ score of 176.05 earned him an 18th-place finish.
 
“Ashley Peterson dove incredibly well,” Hite said. “The diving competition was stiffer than the swimming competition at this invite, but she did very well, so that was nice to see.”
 
Wisconsin returns to action when it travels to the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas, which is set to take place Dec. 4-6.

 

Virginia

Three Virginia divers qualified for the NCAA Zone Championships in the platform event Sunday (Nov. 23) on the final day of the Ohio State Invitational.
 
Senior JB Kolod (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and junior Colby Shinholser (Burtonsville, Md.) each qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships on platform, placing sixth (327.05) and eighth (305.75), respectively. Junior Carl Buergler (Arlington, Va.) placed 10th, while junior Jordan Sacks (Wilmette, Ill.) and freshman Jake Bowtell (Darien, Conn.) finished 12th and 16th, respectively.
 
On the women’s side, junior Becca Corbett (Louisville, Ky.) qualified for Zones with a score of 229.60, good enough for eighth place. Freshman Emily Langworthy (Gaithersburg, Md.) finished ninth, while junior Katie Warburg (Wilton, Conn.), senior Laura Gartrell (Fairfax, Va.) and freshman Corey Johnson (Ambler, Pa.) placed 11-13.
 
Next up, the Cavalier men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs will travel to Athens, Ga., for the Georgia Fall Invitational Dec. 5-7.

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