Nov. 19, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Boilermakers used wins from Giordan Pogioli and Steven LoBue to push Northwestern into third place during the second day of competition at the Purdue Invitational.
Through 14 of 20 events, Purdue leads its Big Ten rival for the runner-up spot to No. 7 Florida, 451 to 423. The Gators, with 603.5 points, built themselves a very comfortable lead after scoring eight swimmers in the 400 individual medley; Florida also scored six in the 200 freestyle and wrapped the session with a victory in the 800 free relay.
Rounding out the six-team field are Southern Illinois (346), Missouri (244.50) and Missouri State (241).
Purdue was able to build its lead over Northwestern by outscoring them 61-25 off the 3-meter springboard and 39-16 in the 100 breaststroke.
For a second-consecutive night, all four Boilermaker divers scored among the top eight. LoBue led Purdue's attack off the 3-meter with 334.85 points; he was followed by teammate Josh Karshen in second place with 301.30 points. JR Hillis and Zach Schultz placed sixth and eighth.
The Boilermakers were nearly as impressive in the 100 breast, as four of their swimmers finished among the top 15. Pogioli won the race with an NCAA provisional mark of 55.14, beating the rest of the field by over a second.
Sophomore Jin-Soo Kim came in fourth at 57.38 and junior Chris Lashley came through with a seventh-place showing of 58.46. Steve Miskovetz placed 15th at 58.91.
Northwestern won three races, but the Boilermakers were always able to keep it close through every race.
In the 100 fly, Matt Grevers and Kyle Bubolz finished first and second, but Purdue scored five athletes who combined for 37 points, equaling the Wildcat duo's total. Grevers and Bubolz again captured the top-two spots in the 100 back, but the Boilermakers had swimmers scoring in the fifth, sixth and 11th places.
Northwestern also beat Purdue in both the 200 medley and 800 free relays, but only outscored the Boilermakers by 10 points in these events.
Other Boilermakers scoring among the top eight Saturday included Romain Maire in the 400 IM (2nd; 3:54.09) and freshman John Schmitt in the 200 free (5th; 1:40.51). Their 800 free relay placed fourth in 6:45.85 and their 200 medley relay was third in 1:30.84.
Competition resumes at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center at 10 a.m. for prelims. Finals are slated to start at 4 p.m.