WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Jordan Rzepka's 100-point final dive in a silver medal-winning performance on the tower followed by another medal in a freestyle relay headlined the final night of action at the Big Ten Championships for Purdue men's swimming & diving.
The Boilermakers won bronze in the 400 free relay with a program-record time of 2:50.09. Nikola Aćin, Nick Sherman, Keelan Hart and Brady Samuels teamed up for the NCAA automatic qualifying time. The Boilermakers won medals in a pair of relays at Big Tens for the first time since 1998.
Samuels also eclipsed his own Purdue freshman record in the 100 free in both the prelims and A final.
All five Purdue divers that competed scored for the third day in a row, accounting for 80 team points in platform diving. But it was not enough to overtake Wisconsin for fourth place in the team scoring. The Boilermakers scored 821 points over the four days of competition.
Rzepka won silver for the second day in a row despite being the first diver to compete in the championship final again. He thrilled the crowd with a score of 100.70 on a forward 2 ½ three twister in the sixth and final round. It was the lone 100-point dive of the championships and the freshman also had the top-scoring dive (83.25) of the penultimate round Saturday. Rzepka moved into ninth place in program history with a list score of 443.10 and became the first Boilermaker since Steele Johnson in 2017 to win medals in both a springboard event and the tower at Big Tens in the same year. Johnson (in 2015) was also Purdue's last two-time silver medalist.
Before teaming up for the relay record in the final event of the meet, Samuels, Aćin, Sherman and Hart all scored individually in the 100 free. They teamed up to account for 65 points, Purdue's most in any swimming event this week. Samuels placed fifth in the A final while moving into second place in team history with a time of 42.41. Aćin took sixth in the same race and then posted a team season best of 42.24 on the leadoff leg of the 400 free relay. Samuels' anchor leg split of 41.78 was a big reason why Purdue eclipsed the relay record.
Sherman and Hart finished 1-2 in the C final of the 100 free. Sherman's time of 43.11 would have also won the B final. Hart moved into ninth place in team history with a time of 43.46. Sherman also won the B final of the 200 IM on Thursday while setting a program record.
Skyler Younkin and Liam Walker both moved into the top five in team history with career bests in the B final of the 200 butterfly. Younkin nearly became just the second Boilermaker to break 1:45, posting a mark of 1:45.01 that's good for second place in the record book. Walker moved into fourth place at 1:45.21. Sam Wilcher's program record (1:43.82) in the 200 fly has stood since 2010.
Coleman Modglin (1:55.02, 5th) and Andrew Alders (1:58.72, 13th) moved up Purdue's all-time leaderboard in the 200 breaststroke while scoring in their preferred stroke for the second day in a row. Brett Riley was a B finalist in the 200 back, joining Aćin, Samuels and Sherman among the team's swimmers to score in all three of their individual events.
Selected Purdue swimmers will race at the Boiler-Make-It NCAA last chance meet on Sunday, March 6. Swimming qualifiers for the men's NCAA Championships will be announced Wednesday, March 9. The NCAA Zone Championships serves as the qualifier for the divers, with the Midwest's Zone C meet set for March 7 to 9 in Ann Arbor.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1.) #4 Indiana 1499.52
2.) #9 Ohio State 1406.5
3.) #13 Michigan 1056.5
4.) #24 Wisconsin 869.5
5.) Purdue 821
6.) #25 Northwestern 796
7.) Minnesota 637
8.) Penn State 626
The Boilermakers won bronze in the 400 free relay with a program-record time of 2:50.09. Nikola Aćin, Nick Sherman, Keelan Hart and Brady Samuels teamed up for the NCAA automatic qualifying time. The Boilermakers won medals in a pair of relays at Big Tens for the first time since 1998.
Samuels also eclipsed his own Purdue freshman record in the 100 free in both the prelims and A final.
All five Purdue divers that competed scored for the third day in a row, accounting for 80 team points in platform diving. But it was not enough to overtake Wisconsin for fourth place in the team scoring. The Boilermakers scored 821 points over the four days of competition.
Rzepka won silver for the second day in a row despite being the first diver to compete in the championship final again. He thrilled the crowd with a score of 100.70 on a forward 2 ½ three twister in the sixth and final round. It was the lone 100-point dive of the championships and the freshman also had the top-scoring dive (83.25) of the penultimate round Saturday. Rzepka moved into ninth place in program history with a list score of 443.10 and became the first Boilermaker since Steele Johnson in 2017 to win medals in both a springboard event and the tower at Big Tens in the same year. Johnson (in 2015) was also Purdue's last two-time silver medalist.
Tyler Downs was the top qualifier in the prelims (437.95) again while qualifying for his third championship final of the week in the dive well. But he was unable to duplicate his score in the final, settling for fifth place. The Olympian finished top six in all three events, highlighted by a bronze medal on 1-meter. The Boilermakers won a medal in all three diving events for the fourth time in the last five years dating back to 2018.💯 @Jordan_Rzepka 💯
— Purdue Diving (@PurdueDivers) February 27, 2022
Saved his best for last. Made for electric moment at the Burke Aquatic Center. #BoilerUp ⚡️
🔢 Scores: https://t.co/lKMLR2rCbc pic.twitter.com/BynMLvyAw7
Before teaming up for the relay record in the final event of the meet, Samuels, Aćin, Sherman and Hart all scored individually in the 100 free. They teamed up to account for 65 points, Purdue's most in any swimming event this week. Samuels placed fifth in the A final while moving into second place in team history with a time of 42.41. Aćin took sixth in the same race and then posted a team season best of 42.24 on the leadoff leg of the 400 free relay. Samuels' anchor leg split of 41.78 was a big reason why Purdue eclipsed the relay record.
Sherman and Hart finished 1-2 in the C final of the 100 free. Sherman's time of 43.11 would have also won the B final. Hart moved into ninth place in team history with a time of 43.46. Sherman also won the B final of the 200 IM on Thursday while setting a program record.
Skyler Younkin and Liam Walker both moved into the top five in team history with career bests in the B final of the 200 butterfly. Younkin nearly became just the second Boilermaker to break 1:45, posting a mark of 1:45.01 that's good for second place in the record book. Walker moved into fourth place at 1:45.21. Sam Wilcher's program record (1:43.82) in the 200 fly has stood since 2010.
Coleman Modglin (1:55.02, 5th) and Andrew Alders (1:58.72, 13th) moved up Purdue's all-time leaderboard in the 200 breaststroke while scoring in their preferred stroke for the second day in a row. Brett Riley was a B finalist in the 200 back, joining Aćin, Samuels and Sherman among the team's swimmers to score in all three of their individual events.
Selected Purdue swimmers will race at the Boiler-Make-It NCAA last chance meet on Sunday, March 6. Swimming qualifiers for the men's NCAA Championships will be announced Wednesday, March 9. The NCAA Zone Championships serves as the qualifier for the divers, with the Midwest's Zone C meet set for March 7 to 9 in Ann Arbor.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1.) #4 Indiana 1499.52
2.) #9 Ohio State 1406.5
3.) #13 Michigan 1056.5
4.) #24 Wisconsin 869.5
5.) Purdue 821
6.) #25 Northwestern 796
7.) Minnesota 637
8.) Penn State 626