The final day of the 2014 Ohio State Invite kicked off with a high-energy prelims session, one that is sure to set the stage for an exciting finish tonight at the finals session. Here’s a recap of the four events that took place at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion this morning:
200 Backstroke
Danielle Galyer of Kentucky had the fastest time in prelims by five seconds, finishing in 1:53.57, just one second off the NCAA A cut time. Taking second and third were Bridgette Alexander of Kentucky and Hannah Manger from Purdue, in 1:58.06 and 1:58.71, respectively. With the exception of Galyer’s impressive lead, the field is close. For the men, Ohio State’s Steven Zimmerman won in 1:44.19, barely holding off Rowan Williams, also of Ohio State, who finished in 1:44.43. Right behind both of these men was former NCAA Champion in the event Drew Teduits of Wisconsin in 1:44.89. The top 8 spots are all held by the men of Ohio State and Wisconsin, with Matheus Gerotto of Kentucky and Harrison Curley of Kenyon rounding out the top 10 for the A final.
100 Freestyle
Wisconsin’s Ivy Martin was the only woman under 49 seconds, finishing in 48.86. Behind her were Purdue’s Abby Jagfeld in 49.78 and Chase Kinney of Wisconsin in 50.08. For the men, Josh Fleagle of Ohio State took the event in 43.92, followed by Cannon Clifton of Wisconsin in 44.01 and Michael Disalle of Ohio State in 44.39. There is potential for a tight race between these three men tonight, and time will tell if an Ohio State swimmer or a Wisconsin swimmer gets their hand on the wall first in this event tonight.
200 Breaststroke
Purdue claimed the top two spots in this event, with Francesca Marr finishing in a 2:11.82, followed by Emily Fogle in 2:14.48. Fogel touched barely ahead of Kentucky’s Kendra Crew (2:14.54). Marr holds a strong lead over the rest of the field in this event. Wisconsin’s Nick Schafer was the only man under 2 minutes in prelims, winning the men’s event in 1:58.06. Taking second was Dimitry Dolgov of Ohio State in 2:00.17 and third was Dustin Tynes of Ohio State in 2:00.53. The top 10 spots in this event are held by Wisconsin and Ohio State swimmers.
200 Butterfly
Kentucky’s Christina Bechtel swam an impressive 1:54.29 in the prelims event, achieving the NCAA A cut time. She was three seconds ahead of the rest of the field, including second place finisher and teammate Abby Myers in 1:57.57 and Purdue’s Rhiannon Sheets in 1:58.03. Kyle Higgins of Kentucky won the men’s event in 1:46.54, closely followed by Nicholas Caldwell of Wisconsin in 1:46.92 and Ching Hwan Lim of Ohio State in 1:47.95.
The 1650 Freestyle event is underway this afternoon, and the results of this event will be reported along with the finals session tonight. Stay tuned for the recap of the finals session tonight at 3 pm. Final team scores will also be reported at this time.
For live results, check out http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/livestats/m-swim.