GREENSBORO, N.C. – All-America accolades via top-10 finishes for Greg Duncan and the 200 freestyle relay team highlighted Thursday at the NCAA Championships for Purdue men's swimming & diving.
Duncan finished fifth in 1-meter diving while qualifying for his first career championship final at NCAAs. He earned All-America honors at the meet for the fourth time in his career, but it was his first full-fledged accolade.
Nick Sherman, Nikola Aćin, Ryan Hrosik and Ryan Lawrence teamed up for the 10th-place showing for honorable mention All-America acclaim in the Boilermakers' first of four relays this week. Their time of 1:16.62 was just .12 hundredths shy of the program-record time that won them silver at the Big Ten Championships. Sherman's leadoff leg split of 19.60 moved the junior into sixth place in program history in the 50 free. Aćin led the way with an impressive split of 18.64 on the second leg.
The quartet teamed up to produce Purdue's first All-American relay team in a freestyle event since 2013. The Boilermakers have produced at least one All-American (in any event) every year this century that the NCAA Championships have been held.
Individually, Sherman eclipsed the program record in the 200 individual medley. His time of 1:43.43 bested Guillermo Blanco's benchmark (1:43.87) that had stood since the 2015 Big Ten Championships. Sherman won heat 5 of the prelims and improved on his time from Big Tens by .97 hundredths of a second. He finished 19th of 49 overall, just three spots shy of earning a second swim and scoring finish.
Aćin was also 19th (of 50) in the prelims of the 50 free. He posted a time of 19.43 that was just .04 hundredths shy of his career best from Big Tens, which also ranks third in team history.
Trent Pellini and Aćin both impressed with their 100 splits on the 400 medley relay to close Thursday's action. They teamed with Michael Juengel and Sherman for a 20th-place finish in the event. The times by Pellini (51.26 in 100 breast) and Aćin (41.85 in 100 free) were both faster than Purdue's program records in those events. They'll have an opportunity to race individually in their premier events later this weekend. The 100 breaststroke is Friday and the 100 free Saturday.
Duncan improved on his prelim score by seven points in the final. Most impressively, he was able to finish top eight (in the prelim) among a field of 46 divers while continuing to recover from a back injury that has limited his ability to hurdle off the springboards dating back to the Big Ten Championships in February. He'll compete again Friday on 3-meter.
Action continues Friday with swimming prelims at 10 a.m. ET, diving prelims at 12:15 p.m. and finals at 6 p.m. Purdue competes in the 200 free, 100 breast, 3-meter diving and 200 medley relay Friday. ESPN3 is streaming the action live all weekend.
THURSDAY TEAM SCORES (12th-20th Place)
T-12.) Missouri 42
T-12.) Stanford 42
14.) Virginia Tech 39
15.) Alabama 38
T-16.) Purdue 28
T-16.) Ohio State 28
18.) LSU 23
19.) Miami (Fla.) 19
20.) Florida State 18.5
PURDUE EVENTS THURSDAY AT NCAAs
1-Meter Diving
Greg Duncan, 374.85 – Finished 5th in Championship Final (14 Points); All-American
200 Free Relay
Sherman, Aćin, Hrosik & Lawrence, 1:16.62 – Finished 2nd in Heat 4, 10th Overall (14 Points); H.M. All-Americans
50 Free
Nikola Aćin, 19.43 – Finished 19th (of 50) in Prelims
200 IM
Nick Sherman, 1:43.43 – Finished 19th (of 49) in Prelims; Program Record
400 Medley Relay
Juengel, Pellini, Sherman & Aćin, 3:07.34 – Finished 4th in Heat 3, 20th Overall
THURSDAY'S RELAY SPLITS
50s on 200 Free
Sherman 19.60
Aćin 18.64
Hrosik 19.33
Lawrence 19.05
100s on 400 Medley
Juengel (Back): 47.39
Pellini (Breast): 51.26
Sherman (Fly): 46.84
Aćin (Free): 41.85
Duncan finished fifth in 1-meter diving while qualifying for his first career championship final at NCAAs. He earned All-America honors at the meet for the fourth time in his career, but it was his first full-fledged accolade.
Nick Sherman, Nikola Aćin, Ryan Hrosik and Ryan Lawrence teamed up for the 10th-place showing for honorable mention All-America acclaim in the Boilermakers' first of four relays this week. Their time of 1:16.62 was just .12 hundredths shy of the program-record time that won them silver at the Big Ten Championships. Sherman's leadoff leg split of 19.60 moved the junior into sixth place in program history in the 50 free. Aćin led the way with an impressive split of 18.64 on the second leg.
The quartet teamed up to produce Purdue's first All-American relay team in a freestyle event since 2013. The Boilermakers have produced at least one All-American (in any event) every year this century that the NCAA Championships have been held.
Individually, Sherman eclipsed the program record in the 200 individual medley. His time of 1:43.43 bested Guillermo Blanco's benchmark (1:43.87) that had stood since the 2015 Big Ten Championships. Sherman won heat 5 of the prelims and improved on his time from Big Tens by .97 hundredths of a second. He finished 19th of 49 overall, just three spots shy of earning a second swim and scoring finish.
Aćin was also 19th (of 50) in the prelims of the 50 free. He posted a time of 19.43 that was just .04 hundredths shy of his career best from Big Tens, which also ranks third in team history.
Trent Pellini and Aćin both impressed with their 100 splits on the 400 medley relay to close Thursday's action. They teamed with Michael Juengel and Sherman for a 20th-place finish in the event. The times by Pellini (51.26 in 100 breast) and Aćin (41.85 in 100 free) were both faster than Purdue's program records in those events. They'll have an opportunity to race individually in their premier events later this weekend. The 100 breaststroke is Friday and the 100 free Saturday.
Duncan improved on his prelim score by seven points in the final. Most impressively, he was able to finish top eight (in the prelim) among a field of 46 divers while continuing to recover from a back injury that has limited his ability to hurdle off the springboards dating back to the Big Ten Championships in February. He'll compete again Friday on 3-meter.
Action continues Friday with swimming prelims at 10 a.m. ET, diving prelims at 12:15 p.m. and finals at 6 p.m. Purdue competes in the 200 free, 100 breast, 3-meter diving and 200 medley relay Friday. ESPN3 is streaming the action live all weekend.
THURSDAY TEAM SCORES (12th-20th Place)
T-12.) Missouri 42
T-12.) Stanford 42
14.) Virginia Tech 39
15.) Alabama 38
T-16.) Purdue 28
T-16.) Ohio State 28
18.) LSU 23
19.) Miami (Fla.) 19
20.) Florida State 18.5
PURDUE EVENTS THURSDAY AT NCAAs
1-Meter Diving
Greg Duncan, 374.85 – Finished 5th in Championship Final (14 Points); All-American
200 Free Relay
Sherman, Aćin, Hrosik & Lawrence, 1:16.62 – Finished 2nd in Heat 4, 10th Overall (14 Points); H.M. All-Americans
50 Free
Nikola Aćin, 19.43 – Finished 19th (of 50) in Prelims
200 IM
Nick Sherman, 1:43.43 – Finished 19th (of 49) in Prelims; Program Record
400 Medley Relay
Juengel, Pellini, Sherman & Aćin, 3:07.34 – Finished 4th in Heat 3, 20th Overall
THURSDAY'S RELAY SPLITS
50s on 200 Free
Sherman 19.60
Aćin 18.64
Hrosik 19.33
Lawrence 19.05
100s on 400 Medley
Juengel (Back): 47.39
Pellini (Breast): 51.26
Sherman (Fly): 46.84
Aćin (Free): 41.85