Michigan Piles Up Points at Big Tens; IU’s Cody Miller Brilliant in Breaststroke

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana, March 1. MICHIGAN continued to cruise to the Big Ten Men's Championship title, an outcome all but mathematically clinched unless the Wolverines come down with the Norovirus and can't swim on the final day. Meanwhile, Indiana had some special swims including a stunner from Cody Miller in the breaststroke.

Michigan did it again in the men's 200-yard freestyle as the Wolverines put up a time that would have won NCAAs last year. They did so in both relays the first evening. Zach Turk (19.48), Miguel Ortiz (19.08), Sean Fletcher (19.27) and Bruno Ortiz (18.59) ripped off a 1:16.42 in the event. That swim beat the Big Ten record of 1:16.65 set by the NCAA-winning Northwestern relay of Bruno Barbic, Matt Grevers, Mike Alexandrov and Kyle Bubolz in 2007. It also crushed the meet record of 1:16.78 by Minnesota in 2011, and the pool record of 1:18.02 set by IU in 2009. And, to repeat ourselves, it is faster than the 1:16.58 used by California to win at NCAAs in 2012.

Ohio State's Jason Schnur, Zach Holmes, Zach Birnbrich and Tim Phillips took second in 1:17.95, while IU's Daniel Kanorr, James Well, Cody Miller and Eric Ress raced to third in 1:17.97. The top five teams all managed NCAA A cuts as Purdue (1:18.05) and Minnesota (1:18.26) finished fourth and fifth.

Wisconsin's Michael Weiss led a threesome under the pool record in the men's 400-yard IM as he touched in 3:39.17 for the win. Michigan's Kyle Whitaker (3:40.94) and Dylan Bosch (3:42.17) also cleared the previous facility record of 3:42.70 set by IU's Steve Schmuhl this morning in prelims. That record had stood to Michigan's Alex Vanderkaay with a 3:44.38 since 2006. IU's Sam Trahin (3:42.75) and Schmuhl (3:43.51) also beat the NCAA A cut in finals.

Michigan's Sean Fletcher just missed the Big Ten record in the men's 100 fly with a 45.59. That swim came up short of Chris Brady's 45.25 from 2009, and 45.45 from the 2009 Big Ten meet, as conference and meet marks set while swimming for the Wolverines. Ohio State's Tim Phillips touched second in 45.85 as the top two cleared the NCAA A cut. Penn State's Sean Grier took third in 46.00.

Michigan's Anders Nielsen clipped the Big Ten record in the men's 200 free with a winning 1:33.20. That swim beat the previous standard of 1:33.31 set by Wolverine Peter Vanderkaay in 2006. Teammate Michael Wynalda, who had turned in a 1:33.61 to lead prelims for an NCAA A cut, took second in 1:33.91. Meanwhile, Hassaan Abdel Khalik (1:34.03) and Justin Glanda (1:34.43) took third and fourth for the Wolverines as Michigan demonstrated dominance in the event.

Indiana's Cody Miller held off a pair of Wolverines in the men's 100 breast, and took down another Northwestern Big Ten record as he blasted a 51.50. That swim beat the 51.56 set by Mike Alexandrov in 2007 that had been an American record even though dual citizen Alexandrov represented Bulgaria at the time. USA Swimming would later change the rules regarding American records, requiring sports citizenship for the U.S. as well. The time is one of the fastest in the history of the event, as Miller shot up to fourth all time behind Damir Dugonjic (50.86), Kevin Cordes (51.10) and Alexandrov (51.35).

Michigan's Richard Funk took second in 51.91 as he moved up to 14th all time in the event as well in what turned into one of the fastest record 100 breast heats in history. Teammate Bruno Ortiz, who has been posting jaw-dropping times in sprint free, took third in 52.42 to add another NCAA A cut as the top three all beat the standard.

Indiana's James Wells clinched the 100 back title in what proved to be an exciting finish. He clocked a 46.04, while Penn State's Sean Grier (46.12) and IU's Eric Ress (46.14) took second and third. The win is a bit surprising as Ress is a former NCAA runner-up in the backstroke event, but could be keeping some gas in the tank for NCAAs.

Indiana piled up big points in diving again, although Ohio State's Shane Miszkiel took home the three-meter crown with 467.10 points. IU's Darian Schmidt (456.85), Mick Dell'Orco (440.10), Casey Johnson (407.10) and Bryce Ogden (369.70) took second, third, fifth and seventh to add plenty of points to IU's team tally.

Team Scores
Michigan 601
Indiana 464
Ohio State 335
Minnesota 247
Purdue 216
Iowa 190
Wisconsin 187
Penn State 150
Northwestern 100
Michigan State 86

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