Michigan Takes 5 of Top 6 Spots in 200 Free; Records Fall En Masse on Day 3 of Men’s Big Ten Championship

B1G Recap Day 3: Finals
Reported by Natalie Schumann and Jessica Campbell

200 Free Relay

The night started with the first of multiple B1G, meet and pool records. Michigan’s team of Zach Turk (19.48), Miguel Ortiz (19.08), Sean Fletcher (19.27), and 50 freestyle champion Bruno Ortiz (18.59) won the very tight final in a total time of 1:16.42. Ohio State touched second (1:17.95) just ahead of Indiana (1:17.97). Purdue was third with a 1:18.05, followed by Minnesota (1:18.26).

Minnesota’s lead off leg swimmer, Derek Toomey, would have won last night’s 50 freestyle by over a tenth of a second with his time of 19.11. Penn State (1:18.68), Northwestern (1:19.62), Iowa (1:19.82), and Wisconsin (1:12.77) scored the remaining points in the final. Michigan State’s relay was disqualified.

400 Individual Medley

Surprise superstar Michael Weiss of Wisconsin defeated last year’s champion Kyle Whitaker by over a second, finishing nearly four seconds faster than his prelim time with a stunning 3:39.17. The time would have placed second at the 2012 NCAA meet. Whitaker clocked in at 3:40.94, just ahead of teammate Dylan Bosch (3:42.17). Whitaker placed second at NCAA’s last year with just a 3:41.37, showing how high the stakes have been raised in this year’s competition.

Indiana’s Sam Trahin (3:42.75) and Steve Schmuhl (3:43.51), the top seeds heading into the night, finished fourth and fifth. Ohio State’s Tamas Gercsak (3:45.17), Michigan’s Connor Jaeger (3:47.07), and teammate Ryutaro Kamiya (3:51.32) filled out the rest of the final.

100 Butterfly

Third seed Sean Fletcher secured another B1G title for Michigan, touching first with a pool record time of 45.59. Ohio State’s Tim Phillips (45.85) and Penn State’s Sean Grier (46.00) rounded out the top three. Jacob Jarzen took fourth with a 46.08, giving Michigan State its first individual A final appearance. Michigan’s John Wojciechowski (46.28), Wisconsin’s Daniel Lester (46.37), Iowa’s Byron Butler (47.14) and Ohio State’s Garrett Trebilcock (47.22) were the remaining finalists.

200 Freestyle

1-2-3-4. As expected, Michigan’s endless powerhouse of 200 freestylers dominated the final heat, claiming the top four spots as well as sixth. Mid-season pickup Anders Nielsen set new B1G, meet and pool records with his time of 1:33.20, which would have placed third at last year’s NCAA’s. Nielsen came in mid-year for the Wolverines, but has come up to speed very quickly. He initially broke this Meet Record leading off the 800 free relay, then Michael Wynalda took it back in prelims, and now Nielsen owns it again. It’s all in the Michigan family, though. The old Pool Record belonged to the great Dan Ketchum.

Teammates Wynalda (1:33.91, 2nd), Hassaan Abdel Khalik (1:34.03, 3rd), Justin Glanda (1:34.43, 4th) and Peter Brumm (1:35.43, sixth) completed their high-scoring run, adding 81 points to the team total from the A final alone.

Also on the podium were Ohio State’s Zachary Holmes (1:35.35, fifth), teammate Alex Miller (1:35.90, seventh) and Indiana’s James Barbiere (1:36.13).

100 Breaststroke

Indiana’s Cody Miller became a three-time B1G champion tonight in the 100 breaststroke with his win in this race, breaking the B1G, meet and pool records. His time of 51.50 would have made him the 2012 NCAA champion in the event. He out-touched Michigan’s Richard Funk (51.91) to continue his winning streak, and Michigan’s sprinter Bruno Ortiz showed his versatility with a third place finish (52.42).

Minnesota’s three qualifiers, Max Cartwright (53.17), Jared Anderson (53.24) and Joshua Hall (53.60), finished fourth, fifth and seventh. Indiana’s freshman Tanner Kurz made his first B1G top eight appearance, finishing sixth with a 53.28, and Wisconsin’s Nicholas Schafer (53.65) finished eighth.

100 Backstroke

Indiana’s second defending B1G champion of the night did not disappoint. James Wells secured another title with his 46.04, which was half a second slower than his prelim time. Penn State’s Sean Grier (46.12) was second, followed by Indiana’s Eric Ress (46.14). All three times were faster than Wells’ 2012 B1G championship time of 46.30.

Ress may have been the favorite coming in, but Wells had the confidence of being the defending champion from last season when Ress was hurt. Now, Wells proved he belongs among the best in the country, with or without a Ress injury.

Michigan’s Miguel Ortiz (46.43, fourth), Penn State’s Nate Savoy (46.51, fifth), Iowa’s Grant Betulius (46.70 sixth), Michigan’s Sean Fletcher (46.77 seventh), and Michigan State’s Jacob Jarzen (47.20 eighth) also made the podium.

3-Meter Springboard Diving

Ohio State’s Shane Miszkiel outscored Indiana’s 1-meter springboard champion Darian Schmidt, scoring a 467.10 to Schmidt’s 456.85. Indiana’s Mick Dell’Orco was right behind, finishing third with a score of 440.10. Helping out the Minnesota team total were Mikey Ross and Jordan Lesser, finishing fourth and sixth. Two additional divers placed in the top eight for Indiana, Casey Johnson and Bryce Ogden, followed by Purdue’s Jamie Bisset in eighth.

Looking Ahead

The final day of competition includes the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 400 freestyle relay, 1650 freestyle, and platform diving. In other words, tomorrow holds many opportunities for Michigan to increase their lead, but also plenty of spots where other teams can close the gap. Despite the Wolverines’ success, Indiana has kept things relatively close (140 points) with unparalleled diving performances.

Team Rankings Through Day 3

1. Michigan     601
2. Indiana        464
3. Ohio State   335
4. Minnesota   247
5. Purdue         216
6. Iowa             190
7. Wisconsin    187
8. Penn State    150
9. Northwestern 100
10. Michigan State  86