Wisconsin Men Hit 200 Free Relay A-Cut With 1:16.79 At Minnesota Last Chance

2023 Minnesota Last Chance Meet

• March 4-5, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Short Course Yards 
• Results on Meet Mobile “2023 Minnesota Last Chance Meet” 

In their final opportunity to qualify relays for the NCAA Championships, the University of Wisconsin men got the job done by the slightest of margins, hitting the NCAA A-cut in the 200 freestyle relay by 0.01 seconds.

The team of Andrew Benson, Ben Wiegand, Taiko Torepe-Ormsby, and Cooper Scharff combined for a time of 1:16.79 in the event, just sneaking under the NCAA A-cut of 1:16.80. This is the school’s first A-cut of the season, allowing the team to bring any relays which hold an NCAA B-cut to the championships as well. Currently, the Wisconsin men hold B-cuts in all 4 of the other relays, meaning the team will be eligible to compete in all 5 relays at the meet for the first time in several years. 

Wisconsin got another likely NCAA qualifier out of senior Will Myhre in the 100 breaststroke. Myhre swam a time of 51.84 in the event, dropping .27 seconds off of his entry time. His performance ranks him 21st in the NCAA, with the results of the PAC-12 Championships still pending results. With roughly the top 30 swimmers in the country earning NCAA bids, that should put him within the cut-off. 

Other Notable Swims: 

• Wisconsin junior Wesley Jekel improved his NCAA chances in the 100 backstroke, posting a time of 45.70 to cut a tenth off of his time from the Big 10 Championships. His swim ranks him 29th in the country, leaving him on the bubble of NCAA qualification depending on event selection and the results of the PAC-12 Championships. 
• Minnesota’s Kaiser Neverman also improved his chances of NCAA selection in the 200 butterfly, coming into the wall almost a half-second faster than his season best with a time of 1:42.56. That swim ranks him 26th in the NCAA this season, putting him within comfortable reach of an invite.