200 yard medley relay
In what many viewed as the first major litmus test of this meet, the Michigan Wolverines pulled of a big upset to win the 200 medley relay. Their foursome of Miguel Ortiz, James Ridgeway, Sean Fletcher, and Neal Kennedy touched the wall in 1:25.39, which ties them for the second-best time in the nation. Ohio State, sans Tim Phillips, was second in 1:25.57. Ohio State’s Andrew Elliott got the Buckeyes off to a big lead, which was no surprise. When Michigan’s James Ridgeway snatched the lead back with a 24.0 breaststroke split over Elliott Keefer, it was definitely a surprise. On the final two legs, the two squads were about even, and so Michigan hung on for the win.
Ohio State expected to take the medley relays pretty handily, and they may have already begun doubting their chances at a repeat after this race. Penn State was also surprisingly fast to finish third in 1:25.94, which also places them in the top 10 in the nation. Among other impressive splits in the meet was Michael Richards of Minnesota, who anchored their fourth-place finish with a freestyle split of 18.71. He looks like an even bigger lock in the sprint freestyles after that swift mark.
800 yard freestyle relay
Ohio State and Michigan took two different tacts in this relay. OSU put their best 200 freestyler, Lincoln Farbach, on the third leg, and he gave the Buckeyes a sizable lead. Michigan, however, saved super-freshman Kyle Whitaker for the anchor leg, and despite hitting the water over two seconds behind, the young star wasn’t intimidated. He showed awesome discpline to hang back through the first 100: knowing that he would bring it home strong. On the back half of his race he really tore into his legs and zoomed past Ohio State’s Zach Holmes. Whitaker’s closing 100 yards were done in an incredible 48.4 seconds on his way to a split of 1:33.4, versus a 51.7 (1:36.65) for Holmes, to win the race by over a second. Michigan’s final touch was in 6:20.11, which is well under the NCAA automatic qualifying standard and is again the second-best time in the country.
Despite the fade, the Buckeyes still put up an NCAA A-cut of 6:21.10. Indiana in third will also be back in Minneapolis for NCAA’s with a finish in 6:21.81. Eric Ress, who is a much better backstroker, led off in a solid 1:34.6 that is easily a career best, which hints at big things to come in his backstroke individuals.
Team Standings
Michigan looked incredibly strong through the first two relays to take a big lead in the team scoring. Ohio State, with two runner-up finishes, is firmly in second. Based on the performances we saw tonight, expect this placing to continue throughout the meet. Indiana fought in the 800 free relay to pick up big points, but Minnesota’s consistency through the two relays in depth has them in third. Look for that depth to continue to pull them towards the top of the standings throughout the meet.
1. Michigan 80
2. Ohio State 68
3. Minnesota 60
4. Indiana 58
5. Penn State 55
6. Purdue 48
7. Iowa 46
7. Wisconsin 46
9. Northwestern 38
10. Michigan State 37