Feb. 24, 2005
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Senior Louis Paul won his third-straight Big Ten 200 individual medley title by the narrowest of margins Thursday night, beating Northwestern's Mike Alexandrov by .09 seconds.
"I just kept thinking there is no way he (Alexandrov) can beat me, but that's just the confident attitude I've always instilled in myself," said Paul. "My final turn was better than his, so I expected him to fade. Although he didn't I still knew I was going to get to the wall first."
Paul touched the wall with an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 1:45.00, with Alexandrov following at 1:45.09. Minnesota's Adam Mitchell was a close third with his time of 1:45.44. Earlier in the day, Paul set new varsity, meet and conference records with his prelim mark of 1:44.65.
"I'm unhappy with the time, but thrilled with the result," said Paul. "I expected to swim faster at night, but not as fast as I did this morning. I feel ecstatic about winning this event the last three years, but it's even more special to be able to contribute to Purdue."
Paul held the previous varsity and Big Ten Championship record of 1:45.56, which he set last season at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. The old conference record of 1:45.33 had been held by Minnesota's Paul Nelsen since 1994.
"What an awesome accomplishment this is for Louis, we're all very proud of him," said head coach Dan Ross. "To win this race, in a field this competitive, is just amazing. I told him Alexandrov would be coming on late in the race, but Louis handled his competition well."
Junior Giordan Pogioli slipped a few places in the 200 IM, finishing with a 15th-place time of 1:50.04. Pogioli placed 12th in prelims at 1:49.18. In the bonus finals, freshman Romaine Maire placed first with an NCAA provisional mark of 1:49.57, and newcomer Jin-Soo Kim was seventh at 1:53.88.
The bonus finals are a new addition to the men's championships meet, featuring the prelims No. 17 through 24 finishers.
Purdue began tonight's slate with an eighth-place showing in the 200 freestyle relay. The team, which featured Adam King, Trey Smith, John Mullen and Eric Prugh, finished with a season-best time of 1:22.09. The Old Gold and Black ended the night with a eighth-place finish in the 400 medley relay, posting an NCAA provisional and season-best time of 3:17.26.
The 400 medley relay was comprised of Maire (50.47), Pogioli (54.56), Paul (47.77) and Smith (44.46).
Off the 1-meter springboard, Indiana walked away with 70 points, but Ohio State's Mitch Richeson claimed the championship. Richeson crushed the field with 367.60 points, beating runner-up Marc Carlton of Indiana by more than 25 points. Carlton won in prelims with 341.15 points, but could not duplicate his effort at night, scoring 342.05 points.
Sophomore Steve LoBue, making his Big Ten Championships debut, placed seventh with 312.95 points. Clayton Davis and Josh Karshen scored for Purdue during prelims with their 10th and 13th-place showings.
Minnesota leads the field after one night of competition with 217 points. Indiana is a distant second with 165 points and is followed closely by Northwestern's 154 points. Michigan is in fourth with 128 points.
Wisconsin and Ohio State are in a tight battle for fifth, with the Badgers holding on to a 102-100 lead. Purdue (79), Penn State (69), Michigan State (55) and Iowa (36) round out the 10-team field.
Ross expected his team to be in seventh after the first session of competition, saying earlier this was not his team's strongest day event-wise. However, the 20-year veteran head coach believes his team will move up the standings on Friday and Saturday.
"I was upset with our performance in the 400 medley relay, but there's still a long way to go and lots of time to right the ship," said Ross. "There are a lot of bright spots on tomorrow's schedule with Giordan going in the 100 breast, and David Hughes looking strong in the 100 backstroke."
Friday's races begin at 1 p.m. with the prelims of the 400 individual medley, and diving prelims begin at 3 p.m.
Live results of the Big Ten Championships can be accessed here.