Feb. 25, 2005
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Senior David Hughes and Sophomore Dan Walter both won their consolation finals Friday night at the Big Ten Championships. Walters earned his ninth-place points in the 100 breaststroke, while Hughes claimed his in the 100 backstroke.
Walter posted a time of 55.46, another NCAA provisional mark, but slightly slower than his prelim time of 55.38. Hughes sliced nearly a second off his prelim mark of 49.57, cruising to the wall with a provisional cut of 48.80.
Louis Paul, last night's winner in the 200 individual medley, was the Boilermakers' top finisher in the 100 back, placing fifth at 48.21. In the 100 breast, Giordan Pogioli claimed fifth in 54.87. Paul and Pogioli were Purdue's lone `A' finalists of the evening.
Paul's leadoff split in the 800 freestyle relay was a major highlight, as he broke his own varsity record in the 200 free. The native Australian posted a time of 1:36.05, surpassing his previous mark of 1:36.15. Paul also posted a solid 50-back split in the 200 medley relay, completing his leg in 22.61.
Despite Paul's efforts, the Boilermaker relays struggled to find points. The 200 medley relay placed eighth in 1:29.77, however, the 800 free relay placed fifth with a NCAA provisional cut of 6:35.18. Three of Purdue's four relays has finished eighth at this year's meet.
Purdue received more consolation points from Eric Prugh in the 200 free and Romain Maire in the 400 IM. Prugh was slightly up from his prelim of 1:39.33 and placed 11th overall in 1:39.07. Maire was slightly down, going from a prelim of 3:55.52 to a final cut of 3:56.88, giving the Frenchman 15th place.
"We were much better tonight, we swam with some real fire the last half of the meet," said head coach Dan Ross. "I was glad to beat Ohio State in the last relay, because that's who were trying to catch for fifth. Our best day is tomorrow, the guys are excited to compete and I think we'll move up that one spot."
Sophomore Steve LoBue captured his second straight top-eight showing of the weekend, placing fifth off the 3-meter springboard with 559.40 points. Indiana's Marc Carlton won the event with a meet and conference record tally of 667.30 points.
Four IU divers and three Ohio State divers finished among the top eight alongside LoBue, making the meet a two-team battle for first between the Hoosiers and Buckeyes. Minnesota leads Indiana, 469-468, with one day of competition remaining. Northwestern is a distant third with 327 points, and Michigan sits fourth with 282 points.
The Buckeyes' scores off the 3-meter helped them pull away from Purdue for fifth place, and lead 240-213. Rounding out the 10-team field are Wisconsin (191), Penn State (184), Michigan State (138) and Iowa (82).
The final day of prelims commence at noon with the 200 back, with finals beginning at 8 p.m. Live results of the Big Ten Championships can be accessed here.