FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Jordan Rzepka finished top five in an event for the second year in a row at the NCAA Championships, earning his fourth career All-America honor as Purdue accounted for three of the top 18 finishers in 1-meter diving Thursday.
Rzepka (7th), Max Miller (9th) and Zach Welsh (18th) were all among the top 18 in the 1-meter prelim. Miller went on to place fourth in the consolation final (12th overall), matching his finish at NCAAs from a year ago to repeat as an honorable mention All-American in event.
Rzepka moved up to fifth in the championship final. He ripped his final dive – a forward 2 ½ one-twist pike (5152B) – for a score of 72 in both the prelim and final. That total ranked third among the 48-diver field in the prelim and allowed him to rocket up the leaderboard into the top eight to advance to the championship final.
Unfortunately, it was Miller (358.10) that narrowly missed out on a spot in the championship final in the process. The sophomore finished ninth in the prelim, just 0.6 tenths of a point behind Rzepka (358.70) and 0.4 tenths behind Utah's Elias Petersen (358.50) for eighth.
Miller did become Purdue's first male diver to earn 1-meter All-America honors at NCAAs in consecutive years since Steele Johnson and Joe Cifelli in 2017 and 2018.
A top-20 showing in his debut at the NCAA Championships was a strong showing for Welsh, who is one of three Purdue freshmen competing in the dive well this week. He'll be among the five Boilermakers in Friday's 3-meter event.
Rzepka improved on his prelim list total by 29 points in the final (388.60) to move up into the top five. With his best events – 3-meter and platform – still to come this week, the senior now has an excellent opportunity to be an All-American in all three events. Thursday was his second career All-America honor on 1-meter. He finished fourth on the platform last year for his other top-five showing at NCAAs.
Swimmer Brady Samuels was incorrectly announced as an entry in the 50 freestyle for Thursday via PurdueSports.com. While his Purdue record (19.24) in the event was an NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) and good enough for inclusion after he qualified for the meet in the 100 butterfly, it turned out that he was in fact entered in the 200 free instead of the 50. The 200 free served as a backup in case he did not make the required top-28 cut in the 100 fly. At the NCAA Championships, swimmers are not allowed to adjust/change their events after original entries are submitted. Because the 100 fly and 200 free are both contested Friday, Samuels had no intention of competing in the 200 free once he officially made the cut in the 100 fly.
The NCAA Championships continue Friday with swimming prelims at 1 p.m. ET, the 3-meter diving prelim at 3 p.m. ET, the 3-meter consolation final at 8:15 p.m. ET and the finals session at 9 p.m. ET. All six Boilermakers in attendance are expected to compete.
THURSDAY AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
1-Meter Diving
• Jordan Rzepka, 388.60 – 5th in Championship Final (14 Points); All-America
• Max Miller, 359.40 – 4th in Consolation Final, 12th Overall (5 Points); Honorable Mention All-America
• Zach Welsh, 336.65 – 18th in Prelim
50 Free
• Brady Samuels – Incorrectly Listed as an Event Entry
Rzepka (7th), Max Miller (9th) and Zach Welsh (18th) were all among the top 18 in the 1-meter prelim. Miller went on to place fourth in the consolation final (12th overall), matching his finish at NCAAs from a year ago to repeat as an honorable mention All-American in event.
Rzepka moved up to fifth in the championship final. He ripped his final dive – a forward 2 ½ one-twist pike (5152B) – for a score of 72 in both the prelim and final. That total ranked third among the 48-diver field in the prelim and allowed him to rocket up the leaderboard into the top eight to advance to the championship final.
Unfortunately, it was Miller (358.10) that narrowly missed out on a spot in the championship final in the process. The sophomore finished ninth in the prelim, just 0.6 tenths of a point behind Rzepka (358.70) and 0.4 tenths behind Utah's Elias Petersen (358.50) for eighth.
Miller did become Purdue's first male diver to earn 1-meter All-America honors at NCAAs in consecutive years since Steele Johnson and Joe Cifelli in 2017 and 2018.
A top-20 showing in his debut at the NCAA Championships was a strong showing for Welsh, who is one of three Purdue freshmen competing in the dive well this week. He'll be among the five Boilermakers in Friday's 3-meter event.
Rzepka improved on his prelim list total by 29 points in the final (388.60) to move up into the top five. With his best events – 3-meter and platform – still to come this week, the senior now has an excellent opportunity to be an All-American in all three events. Thursday was his second career All-America honor on 1-meter. He finished fourth on the platform last year for his other top-five showing at NCAAs.
Swimmer Brady Samuels was incorrectly announced as an entry in the 50 freestyle for Thursday via PurdueSports.com. While his Purdue record (19.24) in the event was an NCAA provisional qualifying time (B Cut) and good enough for inclusion after he qualified for the meet in the 100 butterfly, it turned out that he was in fact entered in the 200 free instead of the 50. The 200 free served as a backup in case he did not make the required top-28 cut in the 100 fly. At the NCAA Championships, swimmers are not allowed to adjust/change their events after original entries are submitted. Because the 100 fly and 200 free are both contested Friday, Samuels had no intention of competing in the 200 free once he officially made the cut in the 100 fly.
The NCAA Championships continue Friday with swimming prelims at 1 p.m. ET, the 3-meter diving prelim at 3 p.m. ET, the 3-meter consolation final at 8:15 p.m. ET and the finals session at 9 p.m. ET. All six Boilermakers in attendance are expected to compete.
THURSDAY AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
1-Meter Diving
• Jordan Rzepka, 388.60 – 5th in Championship Final (14 Points); All-America
• Max Miller, 359.40 – 4th in Consolation Final, 12th Overall (5 Points); Honorable Mention All-America
• Zach Welsh, 336.65 – 18th in Prelim
50 Free
• Brady Samuels – Incorrectly Listed as an Event Entry