March 1, 2014
Saturday Results: Finals | Prelims >>> Complete All-Session
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Lyam Dias' second new breaststroke record of the weekend as well as a new program benchmark in the 400 freestyle relay highlighted the final day of action at the Big Ten Championships for Purdue men's swimming and diving.
Dias obliterated Giordan Pogioli's 2005 program record (1:54.85) in the 200 breaststroke, lowing the benchmark to 1:53.06 in the finals after initially breaking the record with a time of 1:54.43 in the prelims. The top three finishers in the A final of the event - Indiana's Cody Miller (1:52.58), Dias and Michigan's Richard Funk (1:53.49) - all finished within one second of each other.
Dias punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships Friday with an A Cut time and new Purdue record in the 100 breaststroke. His performance this week should also earn the Boilers' relay teams a spot at the national championship meet.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Matt Friede, Austin Flager, Filip Bujoczek and Danny Tucker established a new Purdue record with a time of 2:53.55, eclipsing the 2009 team's mark of 2:54.31. Tucker closed the race with an anchor split of 42.21, helping the Boilers take fifth in the event.
Nate Cox had a chance to win the Big Ten title in platform diving going into his final dive, but settled for second place. He had the top score of the preliminary round Saturday afternoon. After Jamie Bissett was the runner-up in both springboard events, the Boilers took second in the championship final of all three diving events this week.
Bissett, Cox and Bissett were named Second Team All-Big Ten for their performances this week at Big Tens. Jacob McGough was the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Purdue finished in sixth place in the team scoring. Minnesota not only leapfrogged the Boilers Saturday, but also overtook Penn State for fourth place. Purdue set eight new team records this week to increase its season total to nine.
Tucker (seventh in 100 free) and Sean Mokhtari (eighth in platform diving) also scored in the championship finals of their events Friday.
Nate Hopkins moved up to second place in program history in the 1650 free, placing ninth in the mile with a time of 15:09.37. Luke Trimmer also scored in the event by taking 13th overall. Friede joined Tucker as Boilers to score in the finals of the 100 free. Alec Back scored in the consolation round of platform diving.
Guillermo Blanco moved into third place on the Purdue all-time Top 10 list in the 200 butterfly. He took third in the B final of the event with a time of 1:46.15. Danny Conway won the C final of the 200 fly and also improved his standing in program history, moving into seventh place with a time of 1:46.15.
Selected swimmers will get a chance to represent the Boilers at the NCAA Championships later this month in Austin, Texas. Those earning berths will be announced in approximately 10 days. The divers will look to punch their tickets to NCAAs at the Zone C Championships, set for March 13-15 in Columbus this year.
Purdue's Top Finishers & Notables
* -- New Purdue Season-Best Time
^ -- New Personal Season-Best Time
(A) - NCAA A Cut Qualifying Time
(B) - NCAA Provisional Qualifying Time
(Z) - NCAA Zone Qualifying Score
400 Free Relay
Friede, Flager, Bujoczek & Tucker, 2:53.55* (B) - Finished 5th (28 Points); NEW PROGRAM RECORD
Platform Diving
Nate Cox, 419.20* (Z) - Finished 2nd in Championship Final (17 Points); 8th Best in Program History
Sean Mokhtari, 361.20 (Z, Prelim Score) - Finished 8th in Championship Final (11 Points)
Alec Back, 331.25^ (Z) - Finished 4th in Consolation Final (5 Points)
100 Free
Danny Tucker, 43.22*(B) - Finished 7th in A Final (12 Points)
Matt Friede, 44.26^ (B) - Finished 8th in B Final (1 Point)
Austin Flager, 44.39^ - Finished 21st in Prelims, Scratched from C Final; 9th Fastest in Program History
1650 Free
Nate Hopkins, 15:09.37* (B) - Finished 9th (9 Points); 2nd Fastest in Program History
Luke Trimmer, 15:17.33^ (B) - Finished 13th (4 Points)
200 Breast
Lyam Dias, 1:53.06* (A) - Finished 2nd in A Final (17 Points); NEW PROGRAM RECORD
200 Back
Alex Toetz, 1:49.16 - Finished 31st in Prelims
200 Fly
Guillermo Blanco, 1:46.15* (B) - Finished 3rd in B Final (6 Points); T-3rd Fastest in Program History
Danny Conway, 1:47.28^ (B) - Won C Final; 7th Fastest in Program History
Stephen Seliskar, 1:48.41^ - Finished 4th in C Final
Jan Petric, 1:48.81 (Prelim Time) - Finished 6th in C Final
Final Team Scores
1. #2 Michigan, 889
2. #6 Indiana, 564
3. #7 Ohio State, 515
4. #11 Minnesota, 378
5. #25 Penn State, 349.5
6. #22 Purdue, 329.5
7. Wisconsin, 299.5
8. Iowa, 188
9. Northwestern, 158
10. Michigan State, 107.5
2014 Big Ten Individual Honors
Swimmer of the Championships: Shane Ryan, Penn State
Diver of the Championships: Darian Schmidt, Indiana
Freshman of the Year: Jakub Maly, Minnesota
Swimming Coach of the Year: Mike Bottom, Michigan
Diving Coach of the Year: Drew Johansen, Indiana