COLUMBUS, Ohio – Trent Pellini and Brett Riley moved into third place in program history for Purdue men's swimming with career-best times Thursday at the Big Ten Championships.
Pellini placed fifth in the A final of the 100 butterfly, finishing among the top five in an event for the second day in a row and fourth time in his career. His premier event, the 100 breaststroke, remains on the schedule for Friday. He dropped .36 hundredths of a second off his prelim time in the final Thursday, finishing with an NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) of 46.36.
Riley placed third in the B final of the 400 IM, also dropping time in the final via a B Cut of 3:46.74. He improved on his time at Big Tens last season by 1.5 seconds and was 1.28 seconds faster in the final vs. the prelim.
The Boilermakers have now posted nine times this week that rank among the top three in program history. Nick Sherman accounted for the first individual mark (1:33.81) of the bunch when he eclipsed the 200 freestyle record Tuesday on the opening leg of the 800 free relay. Thursday, he raced individually in the 200 free and for an encore he won the B final of the event. His winning time of 1:34.77 also bested John Schmitt's previous record (1:34.94), which had stood since 2009. Sherman dropped 0.86 hundredths off his prelim time.
Liam Walker moved into eighth place in program history with a career-best time of 47.48 while scoring in the C final of the 100 fly.
Nikola Aćin (1:36.55) and Batuhan Hakan (1:37.09) scored in the C final of the 200 free. They join Pellini, Riley and Sherman as Boilermakers with an opportunity to score in all three of their individual events this week. Riley and Sherman aim to accomplish the feat for the second year in a row.
Purdue remained in fourth place in the team scoring, holding a 39.5-point lead on fifth-place Wisconsin. Action resumes Friday with prelims at 11 a.m. and finals at 6:30 p.m. ET. On the schedule for Friday is the 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly and 200 free relay.
TEAM SCORING (INCLUDING DIVING FROM LAST WEEK)
1.) #11 Michigan 767
2.) #8 Indiana 763.5
3.) #21 Ohio State 748
4.) Purdue 483.5
5.) #19 Wisconsin 444
6.) #20 Northwestern 413
7.) Penn State 360.5
8.) Iowa 325.5
9.) Minnesota 287
10.) Michigan State 107
Pellini placed fifth in the A final of the 100 butterfly, finishing among the top five in an event for the second day in a row and fourth time in his career. His premier event, the 100 breaststroke, remains on the schedule for Friday. He dropped .36 hundredths of a second off his prelim time in the final Thursday, finishing with an NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) of 46.36.
Riley placed third in the B final of the 400 IM, also dropping time in the final via a B Cut of 3:46.74. He improved on his time at Big Tens last season by 1.5 seconds and was 1.28 seconds faster in the final vs. the prelim.
The Boilermakers have now posted nine times this week that rank among the top three in program history. Nick Sherman accounted for the first individual mark (1:33.81) of the bunch when he eclipsed the 200 freestyle record Tuesday on the opening leg of the 800 free relay. Thursday, he raced individually in the 200 free and for an encore he won the B final of the event. His winning time of 1:34.77 also bested John Schmitt's previous record (1:34.94), which had stood since 2009. Sherman dropped 0.86 hundredths off his prelim time.
Liam Walker moved into eighth place in program history with a career-best time of 47.48 while scoring in the C final of the 100 fly.
Nikola Aćin (1:36.55) and Batuhan Hakan (1:37.09) scored in the C final of the 200 free. They join Pellini, Riley and Sherman as Boilermakers with an opportunity to score in all three of their individual events this week. Riley and Sherman aim to accomplish the feat for the second year in a row.
Purdue remained in fourth place in the team scoring, holding a 39.5-point lead on fifth-place Wisconsin. Action resumes Friday with prelims at 11 a.m. and finals at 6:30 p.m. ET. On the schedule for Friday is the 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly and 200 free relay.
| TOP 3 TIMES IN TEAM HISTORY SO FAR AT BIG TENS | |||
| Event | Boilermaker(s) | Time | All-Time Rank |
| 200 Free | Nick Sherman | 1:33.81 | 1st |
| 100 Back | Michael Juengel | 46.97 | T-2nd |
| 200 IM | Trent Pellini | 1:44.00 | 2nd |
| 50 Free | Nikola Aćin | 19.39 | 3rd |
| 100 Fly | Trent Pellini | 46.36 | 3rd |
| 200 IM | Nick Sherman | 1:44.13 | 3rd |
| 200 Medley Relay | Juengel, Pellini, Hrosik, Aćin | 1:23.82 | 1st |
| 800 Free Relay | Sherman, Hakan, Wenker, Alders | 6:24.63 | 1st |
| 400 Medley Relay | Juengel, Pellini, Sherman, Aćin | 3:05.92 | 2nd |
TEAM SCORING (INCLUDING DIVING FROM LAST WEEK)
1.) #11 Michigan 767
2.) #8 Indiana 763.5
3.) #21 Ohio State 748
4.) Purdue 483.5
5.) #19 Wisconsin 444
6.) #20 Northwestern 413
7.) Penn State 360.5
8.) Iowa 325.5
9.) Minnesota 287
10.) Michigan State 107