Iowa Swimmers Break School Records on Day One of Hawkeye Invitational

Iowa's Roman Trussov swims the breast stroke leg of the 200 yard medley relay during their meet against Michigan and Nebraska Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 at the Campus Wellness and Recreation Center in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com)

Photo Credit: Brian Ray

IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams got off to a great start yesterday during the first day of the Hawkeye Invitational, breaking two school records at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center pool in Iowa City.

Iowa Women’s Press Release

The University of Iowa’s 200-yard freestyle relay swam to a school record during the opening day of the Hawkeye Invitational on Friday at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.

The quartet of junior Olivia Kabacinski, sophomore Emma Sougstad and freshmen Meghan Lavelle and Mekenna Scheitlin swam to a time of 1:31.30 to open up Friday’s final session. The previous record of 1:31.68 was set during the 2012 season.

“It was a good day; we got some NCAA cuts and set some good records,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “We’re looking forward to getting back in the pool tomorrow with some more swims and dives.”

Junior Olivia Kabacinski recorded an NCAA `B’ cut time of 22.88 in the 50 free. Kabacinski qualified for the finals with season-best time of 22.80.

Senior Becky Stoughton kept the momentum rolling in the 500 freestyle after swimming to a season-best time of 4:47.40.

The Hawkeyes had a strong showing in the prelims for the 200 individual medley event. During the qualifying session, Iowa placed five Hawkeyes into the eight-person `A’ final. Sophomore Emma Sougstad, who swam to a qualifying time of 2:00.94 in the prelims, paced the field swimming to a time of 2:01.13 in the finals. Juniors Colleen Champa and Allison Orvis were close behind taking second and fourth place. Champa finished second with a time of 2:02.19; Orvis placed fourth touching in at 2:04.31.

The quartet of Sougstad, senior Summer Campbell, junior Olivia Kabacinski, and freshman Rowan Hauber swam to a second-place finish in the 400 medley relay, coming in with a time of 3:41.66.

In the diving well, senior Joelle Christy led the Iowa divers on the 1-meter with a score of 283.40 in the finals. Fellow senior Lauren Kelba was just behind with a sixth-place finish after diving to a score of 270.45.

“It went great, I was very pleased to get three girls into the finals,” said UI diving coach Todd Waikel. “That’s the first step — getting into the finals. Once you’re there, you get the opportunity to battle again. Joelle, for example, was nearly 20 points higher tonight than she was this afternoon, that’s what you want as a coach.

“When we get to finals, I want us to step up and get even better, and that’s what we did tonight. I’m very pleased with the way we battled tonight and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

The Hawkeyes are in second place through day one with 220 points. Denver is leading the way with 238 points, Washington State is third (163) and Milwaukee is fourth with 92 points.

Prelims resume Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m. (CT).

Iowa Men’s Press Release

Senior Grant Betulius posted an NCAA “A” cut time, a school record, and a Campus Recreation and Wellness Center pool record to highlight the opening day of the Hawkeye Invitational for the University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team.

“It was a good day; we got an NCAA `A’ cut for Grant Betulius,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “Overall we had some great swims. We’re looking forward to getting back in the pool tomorrow with some more swims and dives.”

Betulius, a senior from Naperville, Illinois, posted a time of 45.56 seconds to lead off the 400-medley relay in the final race of the opening night. Betulius smashed the previous record, held by Dustin Rhoads (46.33) and topped the pool record of 46.30 that has held since the 2012 Big Ten Championships.

“You’ve gotta remember, getting an `A’ cut in an individual event is pretty incredible,” said Long. Only a handful of the people in the country can do that and it’s pretty remarkable that he accomplished that.”

Betulius is the first Hawkeye to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will be held from March 26-28 in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes also had a strong showing in the prelims for the 50 free event. During the qualifying session, Iowa placed seven Hawkeyes into the eight-man `A’ final. Sophomore Jackson Halsmer led the group swimming to an NCAA `B’ cut time of 19.91 — the seventh-fastest time in UI history. Betulius was close behind posting a third-place finish with a season-best time of 20.36. Jackson Allen finished fourth coming in at 20.41.

In the 200 IM, senior Chris Freeman kept the momentum rolling with a first-place finish recording an NCAA `B’ cut time of 1:49.03.

In the diving well junior Addison Boschult led the Iowa divers on the 3-meter posting a third-place finish with score of 351.40. Sophomore Brandis Heffner finished eighth diving to a score of 314.50.

“It went great, I was very pleased to get two men into the finals,” said UI diving coach Todd Waikel. “That’s the first step — getting into the finals. Once you’re there, you get the opportunity to battle again.

“When we get to finals, I want us to step up and get even better, and that’s what we did tonight. I’m very pleased with the way we battled tonight and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

The Hawkeyes are leading the invitational heading into Saturday with 249 points. Denver is second with 218.5 points followed by Notre Dame (188.5) and Milwaukee (70).

Prelims resume Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m. (CT).

Results: Hawkeye Invitational, Day One

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x