COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jordan Rzepka and Brady Samuels both finished top 10 in all three of their individual events, headlining a group of 16 Boilermakers that scored for Purdue men's swimming & diving at the Big Ten Championships.
As juniors, Rzepka and Samuels scored in all three of their events for the third in a row. Senior Ethan Shaw also accomplished the feat in each of his upperclassman seasons. In their return to their home state, Rzepka was top four in all three diving events, winning medals on 3-meter (bronze) and platform (silver) for the second time in his career. Shaw posted lifetime bests in the 500 freestyle (4:19.62, 2nd), 200 butterfly (1:45.05, 3rd) and 200 freestyle (1:35.81, 5th) – and will graduate ranked among the program's all-time top five in all three events.
Dylan Burau broke the Purdue record in the 200 backstroke, eclipsing a mark that had stood since the 2019 Big Ten Championships. He joined Coleman Modglin (200 breast), Samuels (100 back, 100 free) and Rzepka as championship finalists for the Boilermakers.
Holden Higbie, Idris Muhammad, Aaron Frollo and Connor McCarthy also scored in all three of their individual events for the first time at Big Tens. Higbie accomplished the feat as a freshman diver, winning the 1-meter consolation final Thursday.
Counting individual events and relay splits, Purdue posted 48 lifetime bests total at the conference championships. Nineteen of those times go into the program record book as marks that rank among the top 15 in team history. The Boilermakers also registered top-10 times in all five relays.
Rzepka accounted for a team-high 81 team points, leading the squad in scoring at Big Tens for the second time in his three years. Since the Big Ten went to the top-24 scoring format in 2016, Rzepka's total ranks second behind only Steele Johnson's 85 points in 2017. Rzepka has already surpassed the 200-point benchmark in just three years and is 9-for-9 in top-10 finishes in his career at Big Tens. He has won four medals while qualifying for eight consecutive championship finals.
Samuels is now a six-time A finalist at Big Tens while accounting for 191 team points in three years.
Modglin closed out his career as a four-year scorer at Big Tens. He scored in both breaststroke events all four years. His point total increased every season. Shaw's point total also improved each of the last three years. Their classmate Charlie King won the C final of the 200 fly in his final race at Big Tens. A day earlier, he won a head-to-head swim-off in the 100 fly to claim the final spot in the B final. King competed through an ankle injury he sustained on Feb. 3 and represented Purdue as a Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
The Boilermakers had four freshmen score this season – Pat Broderick (1650 free, 400 IM) and Nathaniel Thomas (50 free) among the swimmers, Max Miller and Higbie among the divers.
Selected swimmers will compete at an NCAA last chance meet Friday and Saturday at Indiana. Championship season continues with the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships (March 14-16 at Louisville), CSCAA National Invitational Championships (March 14-16 in Ocala, Fla.) and NCAA Championships (March 27-30 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis).
As juniors, Rzepka and Samuels scored in all three of their events for the third in a row. Senior Ethan Shaw also accomplished the feat in each of his upperclassman seasons. In their return to their home state, Rzepka was top four in all three diving events, winning medals on 3-meter (bronze) and platform (silver) for the second time in his career. Shaw posted lifetime bests in the 500 freestyle (4:19.62, 2nd), 200 butterfly (1:45.05, 3rd) and 200 freestyle (1:35.81, 5th) – and will graduate ranked among the program's all-time top five in all three events.
Dylan Burau broke the Purdue record in the 200 backstroke, eclipsing a mark that had stood since the 2019 Big Ten Championships. He joined Coleman Modglin (200 breast), Samuels (100 back, 100 free) and Rzepka as championship finalists for the Boilermakers.
Holden Higbie, Idris Muhammad, Aaron Frollo and Connor McCarthy also scored in all three of their individual events for the first time at Big Tens. Higbie accomplished the feat as a freshman diver, winning the 1-meter consolation final Thursday.
Counting individual events and relay splits, Purdue posted 48 lifetime bests total at the conference championships. Nineteen of those times go into the program record book as marks that rank among the top 15 in team history. The Boilermakers also registered top-10 times in all five relays.
Rzepka accounted for a team-high 81 team points, leading the squad in scoring at Big Tens for the second time in his three years. Since the Big Ten went to the top-24 scoring format in 2016, Rzepka's total ranks second behind only Steele Johnson's 85 points in 2017. Rzepka has already surpassed the 200-point benchmark in just three years and is 9-for-9 in top-10 finishes in his career at Big Tens. He has won four medals while qualifying for eight consecutive championship finals.
Samuels is now a six-time A finalist at Big Tens while accounting for 191 team points in three years.
Modglin closed out his career as a four-year scorer at Big Tens. He scored in both breaststroke events all four years. His point total increased every season. Shaw's point total also improved each of the last three years. Their classmate Charlie King won the C final of the 200 fly in his final race at Big Tens. A day earlier, he won a head-to-head swim-off in the 100 fly to claim the final spot in the B final. King competed through an ankle injury he sustained on Feb. 3 and represented Purdue as a Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
The Boilermakers had four freshmen score this season – Pat Broderick (1650 free, 400 IM) and Nathaniel Thomas (50 free) among the swimmers, Max Miller and Higbie among the divers.
Selected swimmers will compete at an NCAA last chance meet Friday and Saturday at Indiana. Championship season continues with the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships (March 14-16 at Louisville), CSCAA National Invitational Championships (March 14-16 in Ocala, Fla.) and NCAA Championships (March 27-30 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis).
| ACTIVE CAREER SCORING LEADERS AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS | |||||
| Boilermaker | Career Points | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Jordan Rzepka | 228 | 81 | 71 | 76 | NA |
| Brady Samuels | 191 | 65 | 67 | 59 | NA |
| Coleman Modglin | 106 | 36 | 34 | 26 | 10 |
| Ethan Shaw | 66 | 36 | 23 | 7 | -- |
| Sam Bennett | 62 | DNC | 47 | 15 | NA |
| Idris Muhammad | 52 | 22 | 30 | -- | NA |
| Holden Higbie | 40 | 40 | NA | NA | NA |
| Andrew Alders | 33 | DNC | 15 | 18 | -- |
| Dylan Burau | 28.5 | 27 | 1.5 | NA | NA |
| Charlie King | 25 | 20 | 5 | -- | 2 |
| Aaron Frollo | 23 | 16 | 7 | DNC | -- |
| Andrew Witty | 22 | 9 | 13 | -- | -- |
| Connor McCarthy | 18.5 | 14.5 | 4 | -- | NA- |
| Max Miller | 17 | 17 | NA | NA | NA |
| Andrew Swenson | 14 | -- | 14 | DNC | -- |
| Pat Broderick | 13 | 13 | NA | NA | NA |
| LIFETIME BEST TO MOVE UP/JOIN PURDUE'S ALL-LEADERBOARDS | |
| • Dylan Burau – Team Record in 200 Back (1:41.53) • Ethan Shaw – 2nd in 500 Free (4:19.62) • Ethan Shaw – 3rd in 200 Fly (1:45.05) • 400 Medley Relay – 3rd (3:06.94) …Samuels, Witty, King, Muhammad • Coleman Modglin – 4th in 100 Breast (52.97) • 200 Medley Relay – 4th (1:24.07) …Samuels, Witty, King, Muhammad • 800 Free Relay – 4th (6:25.31) …Shaw, McCarthy, Frollo, Kelly • Charlie King – 5th in 100 Fly (46.53) • Ethan Shaw – 5th in 200 Free (1:35.81) • 400 Free Relay – 5th (2:53.18) …McCarthy, Samuels, Muhammad, Thomas • Dylan Burau – 6th in 100 Back (47.06) |
• 200 Free Relay – T-6th (1:17.80) …Samuels, Muhammad, Thomas, McCarthy • Aaron Frollow – 7th in 500 Free (4:23.11) • Pat Broderick – 7th in 1650 Free (15:16.70) • Maxwell Blume – 8th in 200 Breast (1:56.93) • Maxwell Blume – 10th in 100 Breast (53.53) • Nathaniel Thomas – 11th in 50 Free (19.74) • Andrew Witty – 11th in 200 Breast (1:57.40) • Aaron Frollo – 12th in 1650 Free (15:24.13) • Connor McCarthy – 12th in 100 Free (43.56) • Connor McCarthy – 13th in 200 Free (1:36.66) • Griffin Seaver – 13th in 200 Fly (1:46.92) • Raymond Whittaker – 14th in 100 Breast (53.95) • Raymond Whittaker – 14th in 200 Breast (1:58.20) • Mason Kajfosz – 15th in 200 IM (1:47.82) |
| 2024 LEADERS AT BIG TENS | |
| Purdue's Top Individual Scorers 1.) Jordan Rzepka – 81 Points Platform – 2nd in A Final (28 Points) 3-Meter – 3rd in A Final (27 Points) 1-Meter – 4th in A Final (26 Points) 2.) Brady Samuels – 65 Points 100 Free – 5th in A Final (25 Points) 100 Back – 7th in A Final (23 Points) 50 Free – 2nd in B Final (17 Points) 3.) Holden Higbie – 40 Points 1-Meter – Won B Final (20 Points) Platform – 2nd in B Final (17 Points) 3-Meter – 22nd in Prelim (3 Points) T-4.) Ethan Shaw – 36 Points 500 Free – 6th in B Final (13 Points) 200 Fly – 7th in B Final (12 Points) 200 Free – 8th in B Final (11 Points) T-4.) Coleman Modglin – 36 Points 200 Breast – 8th in A Final (22 Points) 100 Breast – 5th in B Final (14 Points) |
Purdue's Top Point Totals in Individual Events 1.) 1-Meter Diving – 50 Points 3 Scorers – Rzepka, Higbie, Miller 2.) Platform Diving – 45 Points 2 Scorers – Rzepka, Higbie 3.) 3-Meter Diving – 43 Points 3 Scorers – Rzepka, Miller, Higbie 4.) 50 Free – 42.5 Points Samuels, Muhammad, Thomas, McCarthy 5.) 100 Back – 34 Points 3 Scorers – Samuels, Muhammad, Burau T-6.) 100 Free – 31 Points 3 Scorers – Samuels, McCarthy, Muhammad T-6.) 200 Breast – 31 Points 3 Scorers -- Modglin, Witty, Whittaker 8.) 1650 Free – 26 Points 3 Scorers – Broderick, Frollo, Seaver 9.) 200 Fly – 23 Points 3 Scorers – Shaw, King, Seaver 10.) 200 Back – 22 Points 1 Scorer – Dylan Burau |