Fogle Blasts A Cut 2:07.30 200 Breast as Purdue Sweeps Invite

Emily Fogle‘s 200 breaststroke at the Purdue Invitational today is remarkable on it’s own.  Her 2:07.30 was not only an NCAA Automatic Qualifying Standard; it was also a Purdue Team and Pool Record that moves her to the top of the NCAA for the season so far.  More than that though, it is a story of perseverance as Fogle’s rise to the top of the rankings has been over a winding and mountainous path of multiple hip surgeries, family tragedy, and seasons unfinished.  She is back and in better form than she has ever been, contributing to a Purdue women’s squad that is proving to be strong on many fronts.  The Boilermaker men and women finalized the sweep of their home invitational today, at a meet that has produced many notable times over the course of the weekend.

Live results and team scores are at this link.

The miles were raced during the prelim session this morning with the women’s race producing four NCAA B-cuts and the men’s race landing one.  The Purdue women scored big points finishing 1,3,4 in the 1650 freestyle.  Kaersten Meitz took the win at 16:09.96, followed by third place teammate Alexa Davis (16:25.84) and Nika Karlina Petric (16:29.08) all under the provisional standard.  They were split by Air Force’s Genevieve Miller who took the second place spot at 16:16.13. Meitz’ time lands her third in the NCAA according to the current list. The men’s winner was Missouri State’s Minki Kang who swam nearly nine seconds under the B-standard at 15:21.45.

The women’s 200 back final produced four NCAA B cuts, with two each from Purdue and Notre Dame.  UND’s Alice Trueth won the event by over a second at 1:56.56, followed by Purdue’s Madeline Barta at 1:57.88.  The third and fourth place finishers were Notre Dame’s Katie Miller (1:58.60) and Purdue’s Hannah Manger (1:58.73.)  The men’s 200 back had two provisional cuts with Wyoming’s Ryan Ball taking a commanding win with 1:44.70 over Notre Dame’s Robby Whitacre at 1:46.30.

The women’s 100 free had two women below the 50-second mark to earn B cuts.  Wyoming’s Emily Ridout was out-touched by Purdue’s Gracie Hernandez, 49.92 to 49.83.  The men’s 100 was similar, with a tight finish and two B cuts from Purdue’s Filip Bujoczek losing at the touch to Notre Dame’s Tabahn Afrik, 44.29 to 44.10.

In the women’s 200 breast, there were two B cuts behind Emily Fogle’s nation leading 2:07.30 performance.  Wyoming’s Maria Harutjunjan was second at 2:14.03, and Purdue’s Annie Spalding was third at 2:15.52.

Fogle’s 200 breast is obviously a highlight, but she was not the only Pool Record setter in the 200 breast tonight at Purdue. Fellow Boilermaker Marat Amaltdinov turned in a 1:54.61 to take down the facility mark in the men’s event, which ranks him at #4 nationally.  Missouri State’s Artur Osvath set a Bears Team Record with his 1:56.39 second place finish to take the #9 ranking, and Wyoming’s Gabriel Rooker was also close to a second under the provisional time at 1:58.99.

The women’s 200 fly featured another Missouri State Team Record as Dora Kiss improved to a 1:57.18 to take the win.  This is a gigantic improvement over her career best, and accompanies the Bears Record she set yesterday in the 100 fly with her 54.82 seventh place finish.  That 200 fly time also lands her at the #8 ranking in the NCAA per the current database.  Behind Kiss were three more B cuts from Notre Dame’s Nicole Smith, and Purdue teammates Emmy Rawson and Meagan Lim who clocked in at 1:57.54, 1:58.55 and 1:59.06 respectively.

The men’s 200 fly was a high-scoring event for the Wyoming Cowboys.  The Pokes had five in the A-final with the highest finish being Wade Nelson at third place with 1:48.15.  Ahead of him were Purdue’s Daniel Conway at 1:48.10 and Notre Dame’s Matt Grauslys with the only B-cut in the event at 1:46.97.

Purdue took the win for both the men’s and women’s platform diving events.  Sydney Couch (290.00) and Max Showalter (398.05) took home the top points for the Boilermakers.

The 400 free relay was once again owned by Purdue’s strong women’s squad of Alexa Davis, Gracie Hernandez, Breanna Robinson and Kaersten Meitz in 3:19.20.  The closest finisher behind them was Wyoming at 3:21.95.  The men’s 400 free relay was taken by Notre Dame, as the team of Tabahn Afrik, Justin Plaschka, Kevin Bradley and Daniel Spears combined to claim the event by four seconds at 2:56.60.