Results: Prelims | Finals | Dive-by-Dive Scoring
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Purdue's 800 Free Relay Team: Abby Jagdfeld, Rhiannon Sheets, Allie Davis & Nika Karlina Petric
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Honorable Mention All-America acclaim for the Boilermakers' 800 freestyle relay team highlighted day two of action at the NCAA Championships for Purdue women's swimming and diving.
The 800 free relay team of Rhiannon Sheets, Abby Jagdfeld, Nika Karlina Petric and Allie Davis finished 12th in heat one of the evening finals with a time of 7:05.53.
All four swimmers that were part of the Boilers' 800 free relay garnered their first career All-America honor. It was Purdue's first All-American relay since 2011 when the 400 and 800 free relays were both among the top 16 at NCAAs for Honorable Mention recognition. Current Boilermaker Emily Fogle was part of the 800 free relay that season as a freshman.
Davis closed the race Friday with a team-best 200 split of 1:45.65 on the anchor leg.
The 800 free relay team earned 10 points for Purdue. After two days of action, the Boilers are tied for 26th place with 24 team points. Among Big Ten universities, they rank fifth in the team scoring.
Individually, Sheets finished tied for 16th in the prelims of the 200 freestyle Friday morning, advancing to a swim-off with Cincinnati's Jackie Keire for the final spot in the consolation final of the event. Both swimmers improved on their prelim times in the swim-off, but Keire rallied over the final 50 yards to take the race by 12 hundredths of a second with a time of 1:45.18. They both posted a time of 1:45.36 in the prelims and Sheets shaved six hundredths of a second off her time in the swim-off (1:45.30).
Keire took an early lead in the swim-off thanks to an opening 50-yard split of 24.94. Sheets responded and took a lead of 45 hundredths of a second into the final 50 yards. But Keire closed with an impressive kick and split the last 50 at 25.92 to win the race.
Sheets' time of 1:45.30 in the swim-off was only 14 hundredths of a second off the Purdue record she established while leading off the record-setting 800 free relay team on the opening night of the Big Ten Championships last month.
Kaersten Meitz posted a career-best time of 1:47.38 in the 200 free, moving up to eighth place in program history while finishing 45th in the prelims. Davis (1:46.57) finished tied for 32nd in the prelims. The 200 free featured 61 swimmers competing in the prelims.
Francesca Marr and Fogle raced side-by-side in lanes one and two of their heat of the 100 breaststroke. Fogle's time of 1:01.27 was just eight hundredths of a second off her season best and she finished 41st. Both swimmers qualified for the NCAA Championships via the 200 breaststroke, which is scheduled for Saturday.
After earning All-America honors with a fifth-place finish in the championship final of 1-meter diving Thursday, Mary Beth Dunnichay did not enjoy similar success on 3-meter. She finished 31st in the prelims with a score of 300.70. She earned a score of at least 50 points on five of her six dives, but missed the fourth dive of her list and was not able to recover after a score of 21 on that attempt.
All seven of Purdue's individual qualifiers are scheduled to compete Saturday on the final day of the NCAA Championships. The Boilermakers will be represented in the 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving and 1650 free. Prelims begin at 11 a.m. and finals at 7 p.m.
Purdue Entries on Day Two of NCAA Championships
^ -- Personal Season-Best Time/Score
800 Free Relay
Sheets, Jagdfeld, Petric & Davis, 7:05.53 - Finished 12th (10 Points); Honorable Mention All-America
200 Free
Rhiannon Sheets, 1:45.30 (Swim-Off Time) - Finished T-16th in Prelims
Out Touched by Cincinnati's Jackie Keire (1:45.18) in Swim-Off After Both Had Time of 1:45.36 in Prelims
Allie Davis, 1:46.57 - Finished T-32nd in Prelims
Kaersten Meitz, 1:47.38^ - Finished 45th in Prelims; 8th Fastest Time in Program History
3-Meter Diving
Mary Beth Dunnichay, 300.70 - Finished 31st in Prelims
100 Breast
Emily Fogle, 1:01.27 - Finished 41st in Prelims
Francesca Marr, 1:02.65 - Finished 50th in Prelims
Purdue's Saturday Schedule at NCAA Championships
Saturday, March 21 - 11 a.m. Swimming Prelims, 1:45 p.m. Diving Prelims; 7 p.m. Finals
200 Breast - Emily Fogle & Francesca Marr
200 Fly - Rhiannon Sheets
Platform Diving - Mary Beth Dunnichay & MacKenzie Tweardy
1650 Free - Allie Davis & Kaersten Meitz