East Lansing, MI – The Michigan State (MSU) Spartans hosted B1G rival Ohio State (OSU) at McCaffree Pool today in what would end up being a primarily one-sided battle favoring the scarlet and gray on both the men’s and women’s sides. The Spartans were able to sprinkle in a few individual wins here and there, but the Buckeyes were unrelenting across most of the board, racking up enough points to put the meet away fairly early.
Final Scores
Women – OSU 148.5, MSU 93.5
Men – OSU 168.0, MSU 75.0
Women’s Meet
While the Michigan State women started off the meet with a solid win in the 400y medley relay (3:50.50), the women from Ohio State took the reigns for the majority of the women’s events. Lindsey Clary, Annie Gillig, and Taylor Vargo were some of the names in the individual event win column for the Buckeyes, as was Zhesi Li who took first in the 100y butterfly. Li arrived at Ohio State after a notable international run, which included a 2009 World Championships win as anchor of China’s 400 medley relay. However, her career stalled in 2012 when she tested positive for a banned substance, leading to a two-year suspension.
The Spartans’ first individual win came from Kenny Cutler as she stepped up and took the women’s 100y freestyle in 53.34. This was followed by MSU diver Cristee Cordes scoring the most points in the 1 mtr competition, and teammate Madison Nowack clocking the fastest time in the 100y backstroke (57.65).
Men’s Meet
The CSCAA 12th-ranked Buckeye men made their presence known from the get-go, as they started the meet off with a new McCaffree Pool record in the 400y medley relay. 3:17.27 was the time produced by the foursome of Steven Zimmerman (49.70), DJ Macdonald (54.76), Matt McHugh (47.81), and Michael Disalle (45.00), clearing the next best finish by over two seconds.
Freshman of the Week from November 25th, Brayden Seal, scored the second OSU win, topping the field in the 1000y freestyle in a time of 9:25.87 – a commanding 10+ seconds faster than the rest of the field. The 200y freestylers kept the momentum up as the trio of Josh Fleagle, Steffen Hillmer, and Ching Hwang Lim swept a 1-2-3 finish in their event.
Two out of the three OSU swimmers with the last name of DiSalle earned individual wins, as Michael DiSalle took the 50y freestyle in 21.15 and Jack Disalle snagged first in the 100y distance in 46.80.
Ian Rodriguez claimed one of two Michigan State individual event wins, as he touched first in the 200y IM with a time of 1:53.03. Teammate Connor Lamb swam to a win in the 500y freestyle, clocking the first place time of 4:38.00 for his efforts.
Full Meet Results Available Here