Wednesday Results / Thursday Heat Sheets / Meet Central
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Purdue men's swimming & diving opened the Big Ten Championships by eclipsing the program record in the 200 medley relay for the second year in a row.
The Boilermakers finished fourth with an NCAA automatic qualifying time (A Cut) of 1:24.53, besting their 2018 benchmark (1:26.19) by 1.66 seconds. Joe Young, Trent Pellini and Erik Juliusson contributed to the record for the second year in a row. But it was freshman Nikola Acin's 50 freestyle split of 18.90 on the anchor leg that made the big difference. That was an improvement of .88 hundredths of a second vs. last season.
If any Purdue swimmer qualifies for the NCAA Championships individually, the 200 medley relay team will also earn a berth to the national championship meet. The Boilermakers have not had a relay qualify for NCAAs since the 200 medley team in 2015. That year's quartet also established a program record (1:26.57) in the event on the opening night of Big Tens, meaning Purdue has eclipsed 200 medley relay record in three of the last five seasons.
Juliusson (20.66) posted a time drop of .46 hundredths of a second vs. his 50 butterfly split from 2018. Pellini (23.31) was faster by .32 hundredths on the breaststroke leg and Young matched his 21.66 backstroke split on the leadoff leg.
The Boilermakers' 800 free relay team of Batuhan Hakan, Acin, Gabi Gomez Treig and Kiki Komlenic posted the seventh-fastest time (6:29.59) in program history while finishing ninth.
Acin became the first Boilermaker to swim on both relays on the opening night of Big Tens since Guillermo Blanco in 2015. Even while doubling up, Acin's 200 split (1:35.12) in the longer event was a team best. That mark would rank second in a program history, and be more than a second faster than the program's freshman record (1:36.36), if Acin could duplicate it in the 200 free Friday. Hakan's leadoff split of 1:37.89 does count as a personal season best for the sophomore.
The Big Ten Championships continue Thursday with prelims at noon ET and finals at 7:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
* – Purdue Season-Best Time
(A) – NCAA Automatic Qualifying TIme
200 Medley Relay (52 Points)
Young, Pellini, Juliusson & Acin, 1:24.53* (A) – Finished 4th (52 Points); PROGRAM RECORD
800 Free Relay (40 Points)
Hakan, Acin, Gomez Treig & Komlenic, 6:29.59* – Finished 9th (40 Points); 7th Fastest in Program History
WEDNESDAY TEAM SCORES
T-1.) No. 3 Indiana 120
T-1.) No. 6 Michigan 120
3.) No. 13 Ohio State 108
4.) Minnesota 100
5.) Wisconsin 96
T-6.) No. 24 Purdue 92
T-6.) Northwestern 92
T-6.) Penn State 92
9.) Iowa 88
10.) Michigan State 68
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Purdue men's swimming & diving opened the Big Ten Championships by eclipsing the program record in the 200 medley relay for the second year in a row.
The Boilermakers finished fourth with an NCAA automatic qualifying time (A Cut) of 1:24.53, besting their 2018 benchmark (1:26.19) by 1.66 seconds. Joe Young, Trent Pellini and Erik Juliusson contributed to the record for the second year in a row. But it was freshman Nikola Acin's 50 freestyle split of 18.90 on the anchor leg that made the big difference. That was an improvement of .88 hundredths of a second vs. last season.
If any Purdue swimmer qualifies for the NCAA Championships individually, the 200 medley relay team will also earn a berth to the national championship meet. The Boilermakers have not had a relay qualify for NCAAs since the 200 medley team in 2015. That year's quartet also established a program record (1:26.57) in the event on the opening night of Big Tens, meaning Purdue has eclipsed 200 medley relay record in three of the last five seasons.
Juliusson (20.66) posted a time drop of .46 hundredths of a second vs. his 50 butterfly split from 2018. Pellini (23.31) was faster by .32 hundredths on the breaststroke leg and Young matched his 21.66 backstroke split on the leadoff leg.
The Boilermakers' 800 free relay team of Batuhan Hakan, Acin, Gabi Gomez Treig and Kiki Komlenic posted the seventh-fastest time (6:29.59) in program history while finishing ninth.
Acin became the first Boilermaker to swim on both relays on the opening night of Big Tens since Guillermo Blanco in 2015. Even while doubling up, Acin's 200 split (1:35.12) in the longer event was a team best. That mark would rank second in a program history, and be more than a second faster than the program's freshman record (1:36.36), if Acin could duplicate it in the 200 free Friday. Hakan's leadoff split of 1:37.89 does count as a personal season best for the sophomore.
The Big Ten Championships continue Thursday with prelims at noon ET and finals at 7:30 p.m.
| 200 MEDLEY RELAY SPLITS AT BIG TENS | ||
| Boilermaker | 2019 | 2018 |
| Joe Young (Back) | 21.66 | 21.66 |
| Trent Pellini (Breast) | 23.31 | 23.63 |
| Erik Juliusson (Fly) | 20.66 | 21.12 |
| Nikola Acin (Free) | 18.90 | NA |
| Nikola Bjelajac (Free) | NA | 19.78 |
WEDNESDAY AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
* – Purdue Season-Best Time
(A) – NCAA Automatic Qualifying TIme
200 Medley Relay (52 Points)
Young, Pellini, Juliusson & Acin, 1:24.53* (A) – Finished 4th (52 Points); PROGRAM RECORD
800 Free Relay (40 Points)
Hakan, Acin, Gomez Treig & Komlenic, 6:29.59* – Finished 9th (40 Points); 7th Fastest in Program History
WEDNESDAY TEAM SCORES
T-1.) No. 3 Indiana 120
T-1.) No. 6 Michigan 120
3.) No. 13 Ohio State 108
4.) Minnesota 100
5.) Wisconsin 96
T-6.) No. 24 Purdue 92
T-6.) Northwestern 92
T-6.) Penn State 92
9.) Iowa 88
10.) Michigan State 68