Results | Thursday Heat Sheets | Meet Central
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 21 Purdue women's swimming and diving kicked off the Big Ten Championships in record-setting fashion by setting three new program benchmarks Wednesday evening at the opening-night relays.
The Boilermakers established new records in both the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays. Individually, Rhiannon Sheets eclipsed the Purdue record in the 200 free with her split of 1:45.16 leading off the 800 free relay.
The Boilermakers had not set new records in both a freestyle and medley relay in the same year since 2011 when new benchmarks were established in all five relay events. Additionally, Purdue has already set new records in more events than it had in each of the last two Big Ten Championships.
The 800 free relay team of Sheets, Abby Jagdfeld, Nika Karlina Petric and Allie Davis finished fourth with a time of 7:03.15, besting the team record of 7:06.90 from 2011 by more than 3 ½ seconds. Ariel Martin established the Purdue record in the 200 free (1:45.25) on the leadoff leg of the event at the 2011 Big Ten Championships.
The Boilermakers recorded an NCAA A Cut qualifying time in the 800 free relay for the second year in a row. As long as at least one Purdue athlete qualifies for the national championship meet individually, even a diver, the 800 free relay team will also have an opportunity to race at NCAAs.
Meanwhile, the 200 medley relay record changed hands by the slimmest of margins. Hannah Manger, Emily Fogle, Kylie Vogel and Anji Li placed sixth with a time of 1:39.03, clipping one hundredth of a second off the program record from 2012. Three years ago, Fogle and Vogel teamed with Amy Katz and Lauren Gustafson for the Purdue record.
The Boilermakers are tied with Penn State for fifth place in the team scoring after the opening night relays, only two points behind fourth-place Indiana, which won the 800 free relay Wednesday.
Sheets now owns two individual Purdue records once again, adding the 200 free mark to her 200 butterfly record from 2012. She also held the team's top standard in the 100 fly until it was eclipsed by three teammates -- Alex Todd, Vogel and Meagan Lim -- late last season. Sheets was part of the record-setting 400 medley relay team in 2012 as well, which also featured Fogle.
Jagdfeld, Petric, Davis, Manger and Li were all part of their first Purdue records Wednesday.
Lisa Butler, Lauren Roth and Gustafson teamed with Martin for the previous 800 free relay record in 2011.
The first full day of action at the Big Ten Championships begins Thursday with prelims at 11 a.m. The 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 1-meter diving are the individual events on the schedule for Thursday.
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Team Scoring
1. #17 Michigan, 68
2. #24 Wisconsin, 66
3. #14 Minnesota, 62
4. #15 Indiana,. 58
T-5. #21 Purdue, 56
T-5. Penn State, 56
7. Iowa, 46
T-8. #22 Ohio State, 42
T-8. Northwestern, 42
10. Illinois, 36
T-11. Rutgers, 24
T-11. Nebraska, 24
13. Michigan State, 16
Purdue's Top Finishers & Notables
* -- New Purdue Season-Best Time
(A) -- NCAA Automatic Qualifying Time
(B) -- NCAA Provisional Qualifying Time
200 Medley Relay
Manger, Fogle, Vogel & Li, 1:39.03* (B) - Finished 6th (26 Points); NEW PROGRAM RECORD
800 Free Relay
Sheets, Jagdfeld, Petric & Davis, 7:03.15* (A) - Finished 4th (30 Points); NEW PROGRAM RECORD
Rhiannon Sheets opening split of 1:45.16 is a new Purdue Record in 200 Free