Feb. 25, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The 18th-ranked Purdue men's swimming and diving team completed the second session of the Big Ten Championships on Thursday afternoon with one record-breaking performance and 11 athletes advancing to finals inside the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the campus of Ohio State University.
Vinny Donnelly kicked off the session by breaking Purdue's freshman record in the 500-yard freestyle. The Tampa, Fla., native touched the wall in 4 minutes, 25.67 seconds to break the previous record of 4:27.41 set by Matthew Martin in 1998 and better the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard. Donnelly moved to fourth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event and qualified for Thursday evening's session with the 19th-fastest time.
Purdue has six divers set to score points after the 1-meter springboard preliminary competition. The Boilermakers earned a clean sweep of the top three qualifying places. Sophomore David Boudia, the defending Big Ten champion in the event, led the way with his score of 389.15 points. Junior David Colturi was next with a season-best score of 377.00, and senior Kyle Mitrione placed third with a season-best score of 350.30.
Junior J.P. Perez earned the ninth qualifying position after he put 313.75 points on the board during his six-dive list. Freshman Jimmy Page advanced to the final of his first conference championships competition by scoring 293.00 and placing 13th. Junior Danny Cox rounded out the group by earning the 16th spot in the final with his score of 280.50.
Sophomore Ben Wachtel moved to third on Purdue's all-time performance list in the 50 freestyle while adding his name to the list of NCAA provisional qualifiers in the event. The Carmel, Ind., native swam to a time of 19.93 in the event to qualify sixth for Thursday evening's final.
Chuck Destro also put himself in position to score in the shortest freestyle event on the docket. The freshman from Pittsburgh earned the 11th qualifying spot while recording a season-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 20.23 that is just one-hundredths of a second behind Purdue's freshman record in the event.
Senior Andre Koop earned his spot in the final of the 200 IM by recording the 16th-fastest time during the session. The Newton, Kan., native touched the wall in a season-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 1:48.27. His time also improves his standing in fifth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event.
Freshman Andrew Starr is joining Donnelly in Thursday evening's 500 freestyle. Starr moved to fifth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event and recorded an NCAA provisional-qualifying time when he completed the race in 4:27.13 during the afternoon session.
Senior Sam Wilcher also qualified to contest the 200 IM in Thursday evening's session, but was scratched from the event to focus solely on the 400 medley relay. The Arlington Heights, Ill., native dropped more than eight seconds off of his previous season-best time and bettered the NCAA provisional-qualifying standard when he touched the wall in 1:49.21.
Freshman Alec LaMothe chopped more than six seconds off of his previous season-best time in the 500 freestyle when he finished in 4:27.50. Senior Travis Smith lowered his season-best time by almost eight seconds with his 4:29.18 clocking. Juniors Drew Wolfred and Matt Stewart completed the race in 4:30.17 and 4:30.80, respectively, and senior A.J. Boeh logged a season-best time of 4:34.69.
Each of Purdue's other four contestants in the 50 freestyle swam season-best times as well. The group was led by sophomore Kyle House, who touched the wall in 20.96. Senior Gage Barry clocked a time of 21.03 and was followed by sophomores Jimmy Brooks and Brendan Joyce in 21.06 and 21.13, respectively.
The Boilermakers added three additional season-best times in the 200 IM. Sophomore Albert Miller led the trio with his 1:52.69 clocking. He was followed immediately by senior Nathan Taylor in 1:52.72. Junior Scott Dean arrived at the wall in 1:53.08.
Thursday's evening session, which features finals in all of the preliminary events plus the 400 medley relay, begins at 7 p.m. ET. Live results and live video from the championships can be found at purduesports.com.