Indiana
Another Big Ten title in diving and a new school record in the 200 freestyle relay led the way for Indiana on day three of the 2015 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Iowa City, Iowa.
The Hoosiers currently sit in third place with 371 points.
The night started in record-setting fashion as Anze Tavcar, Blake Pieroni, Yianni Thermos and Ali Khalafalla took silver in the 200 freestyle relay with a school-record time of 1:17.60. That is also an NCAA A cut.
It was an Indiana diver at the top of the medal stand again, but this time freshman James Connor took gold, scoring a school-record 494.60 points in the 3-meter springboard final. Michael Hixon, who won last night’s 1-meter event, battled to a fourth-place finish with a career best 461.70 points despite battling a severe case of the stomach flu.
Senior Steve Schmuhl raced to a silver medal in the 400 individual medley, clocking a season-best time of 3:41.88. That is an NCAA automatic qualifying time and goes down as the third-fastest time in IU history. Schmuhl qualified second overall for the championship final after going 3:42.31 in prelims. That is also an NCAA automatic qualifying time and the fifth-fastest time in IU history.
Grayson Smith took 23rd overall with a 3:56.55 in the bonus final after going a career best 3:53.98 in prelims. Ethan Curl was 26th with his career time of 3:54.87.
Max Irwin powered to a victory in the consolation final of the 100 butterfly with a career-best time of 47.21. That is the third-fastest time in Indiana history. Right on his heels was Joe Powell who took third in the heat and 11th overall with a career time of 47.33 Nick Wonder placed 19th overall after clocking a career best of 47.93 in the bonus final.
Pieroni continued his assault on the Indiana record book in the 200 freestyle, placing third in a time of 1:33.52. That is the second-fastest time in school history, just off his school record of 1:33.10 set on Wednesday leading off the 800 freestyle relay. His prelim time of 1:33.83 ranks third on the all-time list.
Jackson Miller put down the fourth-fastest time in IU history in the 200 free with his championship final swim of 1:34.50, good for fifth place. All five of the top times in IU history in the 200 freestyle have been swum during the 2014-15 season with Pieroni and Miller.
Anze Tavcar won the consolation final to finish ninth overall with a time of 1:35.49. Finishing 38th overall was Yianni Thermos (1:39.01-career best), with Timothy Martin 40th in 1:39.47 (career best).
Tanner Kurz finished eighth overall in the 100 breaststroke after going 53.15 in the championship final. Mike Hurley took second in the consolation final with a career best 53.10, while Cody Taylor was seventh in the heat in 54.27. His prelim swim of 54.04 was a career best. Levi Brock was 20th overall with a career time of 54.78 in the bonus final. Jonathan Panchak was 31st overall in a career best 55.55.
Ryan Gordon took second in the consolation final of the 100 backstroke, clocking in at 47.60. That was just 1/100th of a second off his career best of 47.59 set in prelims. Bob Glover went 47.81 in the morning but elected not to swim in the bonus final.
Ali Khalafalla went a career time of 48.78, good for 32nd in the field. Nick Wonder was right behind in 33rd with his career-best time of 48.79, while Curtis Goss took 37th in a career time of 49.25.
Joshua Arndt took 11th overall in the 3-meter springboard consolation final after posting a score of 378.00. Cody Coldren was 17th (317.10) and Danton Rogers 23rd (289.65).
Iowa
The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team wrapped up day three at the 2015 Big Ten Championships inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium in Iowa City, Iowa. UI junior Roman Trussov highlighted the day’s competition with a school record in the 100-yard breaststroke, touching out with a time of 52.85. Trussov was one of three Hawkeyes to compete in the ‘A’ championship finals Friday night, joining Jerzy Twarowski in the 100-yard butterfly and Grant Betulius in the 100-yard backstroke.
The Hawkeyes currently sit in eighth place with 151.5 points, while Michigan (529) and Ohio State (448) hold the top two sports.
“It’s a strange meet and we’re getting some great swims from every team,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “As a team, we might have the biggest group we’ve had in the NCAAs since Glenn Patton was here. It’s important to look at the number of records and NCAA qualifiers we’ve had this season.
“A meet like this will always have world-class swimmers involved in it. I’m proud of this group and we’re excited to get back at it tomorrow.”
The quartet of Jackson Halsmer, Betulius, Charles Holliday, and Brandon Farnum opened Friday’s finals session in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The foursome shared an eighth-place finish with Northwestern’s relay team -- touching out with a time of 1:19.38.
Freshman Chris Dawson had a strong showing in the 400 IM, swimming to a third-place finish in the ‘C’ final. Dawson touched out with a career-best time of 3:52.37 to finish 19th overall. The Centennial, Colorado, native’s time ranks fourth all-time in UI history.
In the 100-yard butterfly prelims, R.J. Hemminsen (48.29), Chris Freeman (47.29), and Twarowski (47.04) represented the Black and Gold. Twarowski led the pack bringing home a seventh-place finish, coming in at the 47.16 mark in the ‘A’ finals.
Kyle Gannon led the Hawkeyes in the ‘C’ final of the 200-yard freestyle, posting a time of 1:37.35. David Ernstsson (1:38.18) and Thomas Rathbun (1:38.50) touched in shortly after.
In the 100-yard breaststroke championship finals, Trussov finished seventh, touching out with a time of 53.06 following a UI school record-setting time of 52.85 in the prelims. Mike Nelson also recorded an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 54.75 to finish 18th among the field.
Grant Betulius capped the swimming events with a seventh-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke championships finals. The Naperville, Illinois, native touched out with a time of 46.67.
In the diving well, Addison Boschult and Matt Mauser qualified for the consolation-finals off the 3-meter. Boschult scored five points for the Hawkeyes, diving to a 12th-place finish with a score of 348.30. Mauser followed with an additional two points off a 15th-place showing, diving to a personal-best score of 329.05.
“It was exciting to get those guys into the consolation finals,” said UI head coach Todd Waikel. “Addison has never made the finals of any kind off of the 3-meter. Having Matt come out as a freshman and have the performance he did was outstanding. There’s more to come and I’m excited about his future, he’s got a bright one ahead of him.
“We’ve got the tower tomorrow and we’re ready to leave it all out there.”
Ohio State
Junior Josh Fleagle and sophomore Matt McHugh captured Big Ten titles to headline Ohio State’s efforts on the third day of the 2015 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. The Buckeyes rank second in the team standings with 243 points, while Michigan maintains a first-place standing (321). The final day of the conference showcase is scheduled Saturday with prelims at 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET and finals commence at 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET.
Fleagle, who hails from St. Mary’s, Ohio, was crowned the conference’s champion in the 200 freestyle. Touching in an Ohio State record time of 1:33.16, Fleagle also earned an automatic qualification for the NCAA championships. The last Buckeye to earn a Big Ten title in the event was Jason Schnur in 2012.
Ohio State’s second champion of the evening was standout Matt McHugh. Winning the 100 butterfly in an NCAA ‘A’ cut time of 45.75, McHugh extended the Buckeyes’ dominance in the event, after former team member Tim Phillips captured the title last season.
Senior Michael DiSalle took sixth in the 200 freestyle, with a season-best time of 1:34.62. Competing in the consolation final was freshman Brayden Seal, who was 12th with another season-best mark for the Buckeyes, 1:36.30. In prelims of the 100 butterfly, Peter Lyon posted a season-best time of 48.44.
Another Buckeye, DJ MacDonald, set an Ohio State record in the 100 breaststroke. MacDonald lowered his own school record with a finals time of 52.43. The Toledo, Ohio, native earned third in the event, contributing 16 points toward Ohio State’s total. Freshman Jack Barone swam to a season-best time of 53.98 in prelims, before placing 14th in the consolation final in 54.20. Also qualifying for finals was Keanu Stevenson, who captured a season-best 54.32 in prelims as well as a 54.77 in finals (19th).
The Buckeye diving contingent had another solid showing, with senior Stephen Ettienne, senior Shane Miszkiel and freshman Stephen Romanik qualifying for the championship final of the 3-meter event. Ettienne recorded his second Top 3 standing of the meet, placing third with a finals score of 462.50. Miszkiel earned sixth with a score of 407.10 and Romanik reported a 380.20 for eighth. All three divers improved their scores in finals.
Ohio State had three representatives in the championship final of 400 individual medley – Tamas Gercsak, Chris Depietro and Dimitry Dolgov. Gercsak dropped a season-best time of 4:46.30 for fifth, while Depietro claimed sixth in a finals time of 3:49.27. Dolgov rounded out the crew with a seventh-place touch in 3:49.27. Depietro and Dolgov also had strong showings in prelims, registering season-best marks of 3:48.08 and 3:47.84, respectively. Rookie Ching Hwang Lim competed in the consolation final and recorded a season-best time of 3:49.45 for 12th.
The 100 backstroke event was also cluttered with Buckeyes, as five team members added points. McHugh, who earned third in a season-best time of 46.37, led the field, while senior Steven Zimmerman followed in fifth with a time of 46.60, a season best. In the consolation final, freshman Thomas Trace placed 11th in 47.65, senior Connor McDonald claimed 12th in 47.71 and sophomore Andrew Appleby finished 14th in 47.80. All three Buckeyes – Trace (47.62), McDonald (47.43) and Appleby (47.43) – dropped season-best times in prelims.
In the 200 freestyle relay, the Buckeye quartet of Fleagle, McHugh, Thomas Trace and Michael DiSalle placed third. With a time of 1:18.09, the group topped their seed time by a full second.
Penn State
Led by Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) and Nate Savoy’s (Reading, Pa.) gold and silver performance in the 100 back, the Penn State men’s swimming and diving team has surged into seventh place at the 2015 Big Ten Championships with 169 total points.
Ryan’s medal was his second of the championship session and goes along nicely with his bronze from the 50 free a day ago. On Friday he touched the wall in 45.54, and took home a golden 20 points for his team.
Not too far off his pace was Savoy who was right behind Ryan with a 46.10 performance, which earned the Nittany Lions 17 total team points.
Also scoring in the 100 back was Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.), who placed 13th with his 47.79 time.
Netting more crucial team points for head coach Tim Murphy’s squad were Andrew Schuehler (Camden, N.J.) who finished 11th in the 100 breast and scored six points with his 53.43 time, as well as Bob Bantley (Maple Glen, Pa.), who earned three points with his 1:36.72 performance in the 200 free.
The Lions added to their Friday point total with a fourth place finish in the 200 free relay. The team of Savoy, Ryan, Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec) and Jeff Young (Hershey, Pa.) finished in 1:18.36 which earned a total of 14 points.
Penn State is now 17.5 points ahead of host Iowa who sits in eighth place and 73 points behind sixth place Minnesota with just one more day of competition to go.
The B1G’s final day gets underway at 12 p.m. eastern with preliminaries and wraps up with finals at 7:30 p.m. in Iowa City.
Wisconsin
The Wisconsin men's swimming and diving team took down another two school records during the third day of competition at the 2015 Big Ten Men's Championships on Friday.
Starting off the night in impressive fashion was the relay team of Cannon Clifton, Brett Pinfold, Damon Zito and Ryan Barsanti, who teamed up to capture fifth place and break the school record in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Clocking in at one minute, 18.52 seconds, the relay squad broke a school record that had stood since 2008, while also achieving an NCAA "B" cut.
"We've come a really long way in the four years that I've been here with this event," UW head coach Whitney Hite said of the 200 freestyle relay. "What you're seeing is an evolution. We're getting better as a team. We're developing swimmers to be the best they can be, and you saw that today in the relay."
The day's second school record for UW came in the 100-yard breaststroke, as senior Nick Schafer reset his own record in the event with a time of 52.86 seconds.
"Nick keeps shaving off time in the 100 breaststroke and he's getting better every day," Hite said. "That puts us at five school records so far this championship, and that's pretty darn good. I don't think there are a lot of programs out there that are breaking as many records as we are."
Touching in 46.46 seconds, Drew teDuits claimed a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke. Junior Austin Byrd won the consolation final, after his preliminaries time of 47.25 marked a personal best and the third-fastest swim in UW history. Ryan O'Donnell finished in 21st place with a time of 48.31, while freshman Todd McCarthy came in 23rd with his time of 48.78.
A total of six Badgers made it back to finals in the 200-yard freestyle. Senior team captain Nick Caldwell led the group with a seventh-place finish and final time of 1:35.58. Sophomore Pinfold followed behind in eighth place after his preliminaries time of 1:35.17 set a personal best and marked the fourth-fastest performance in program history.
Racing in the consolation final, Matt Hutchins finished in 13th place with a time of 1:36.57, while Zito came in 16th place. Zito, a senior from Lombard, Illinois, set a personal record in preliminaries and etched his name into the program's all-time list for the event with a time of 1:36.79, the 10th-fastest ever by a Badger. Freshman Ryan Stack finished in 19th place with an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:37.81, while fellow freshman Nathan Mueller came in 24th after touching in 1:39.09.
Leading Wisconsin in the 100-yard butterfly was sophomore Clifton, who finished eighth overall. Touching in 47.03 in preliminaries, the Irving, Texas, native set a personal best and recorded the fourth-fastest time in school history. Byrd's preliminaries time of 47.77set a personal best of his own and went down as the seventh-fastest time in program annals. Sophomore Harrison Tran came in 22nd place during finals, while his time of 48.12 earlier that morning in preliminaries marked a personal record.
In the 400-yard individual medley, Josh Anderson came in eighth place. The junior out of Austin, Texas, also recorded a personal best and the third-fastest swim in UW history during preliminaries, touching in 3:47.56. Freshman Max Dolan finished 18th overall and made his way onto the program record board with a time of 3:50.73, the eighth-fastest time ever by a Badger.
Wisconsin sits in fifth place (250 points) through three days of competition at the Big Ten championships, and is just 2.5 points behind Purdue for fourth place.
Heading into the final day Saturday, the Badgers are well within striking distance and seeking the program's first top-four team finish since 2001.
"Tomorrow sets up to be one heck of a battle. There isn't a group of guys that I'd rather go into the last day of a tight meet like this with," Hite said. "With six top-eight swims tonight, we've come a long way as a program. We still have a ways to go, but it's nice to take a step back every once in a while and celebrate everything we've accomplished.
"This program is on the rise. We have a great opportunity to prove that tomorrow."
The 2015 Big Ten Men's Championships conclude Saturday, with preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. (CT) and finals set for 5:30 p.m.
