Two current (Lilly King and Blake Pieroni), plus one former (Cody Miller), Indiana swimmers were on the USA Olympic team this past summer, and the Hoosiers seem to be riding that wave of success into a strong showing at the NCAA level so far this season.
The Indiana men beat defending NCAA champion Texas back in October, and tonight at the 2016 Winter Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia, they won three of the four events contested. They were led by senior Marwan el Kamash, who set a new school record in the 500 free, with a time of 4:13.44, while winning the A-final of that event.
That time was a new personal best for el Kamash by almost four seconds, with his previous best time coming from 2014 when he was a freshman at the University of South Carolina. That’s also just off the NCAA “A” cut, and a time that should secure him a place in the A-final of this event at NCAA, if he can repeat that time in prelims.
Three other Indiana swimmers joined el Kamash in tonight’s championship final.
Sophomore Vini Lanza picked up a second win for the Hoosier by taking the 200 IM in 1:43.57, which according to the school’s press release, now ranks him 4th in school history in the event.
Senior Sam Lorentz placed 3rd overall in the A final of the 50 free, but the Indiana men came back a few minutes later to win their collective 4th event of the night. The 400 medley relay team of Bob Glover, Ian Finnerty, Lanza, and Lorentz got the win with a time of 3:09.51. Indiana placed 7th in that event at NCAA’s last year.
On the women’s side, highlights included placing 3rd (Stephane Marchuck) and 6th (Cassie Jernberg) in the A final of the 500 free, as well as Bailey Pressey‘s victory in the B final of the 200 IM, along with 3rd- and 4th-place finishes in the 400 medley relay.