Blake Pieroni Swims 1:31 200 Free Unshaved As Indiana Leads Michigan By Ten Points at Big Ten’s

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The third night of action from the 2018 Men’s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships from Minnesota saw the team race really heat up as Indiana and Michigan are separated by 10 points going into Saturday. The Hoosiers won every event in the pool on Friday night except the 400 IM and 200 free relay that were claimed by Michigan.

Indiana went 1-2 in three events on Friday night as Blake Pieroni swam an unshaved 1:31 in the 200 free and Ian Finnerty swam the second fastest time in the nation this year in the 100 breast. The Hoosiers also got a number of points in diving as that has kept them in the meet with Michigan’s impressive swimming depth.

Charlie Swanson of Michigan won the 400 IM to continue the Michigan tradition in the event as Indiana’s Gabriel Fantoni and Vini Lanza took home titles in the 100 back and 100 fly.

   Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 14                      
 
  1. Indiana University             1090.5   2. Michigan, University of          1080
  3. Ohio State University             870   4. Purdue University                 540
  5. University of Minnesota           480   6. Wisconsin, University of, Madi  479.5
  7. Iowa, University of             377.5   8. Pennsylvania State University   292.5
  9. Northwestern University           189  10. Michigan State University         173

This guy really knows how to end a performance. ????

Wait for it … ? pic.twitter.com/5AiGwSwgOq

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) February 23, 2018

100 Fly

Indiana junior Vini Lanza won the 100 fly title with a 44.79 to break the meet record of 44.91 by Ohio State’s Matt McHugh. Lanza won the race going away as Michigan’s Evan White was second (45.63) and Ohio State’s Noah Lense (45.91) was third.

Lanza won the final but was the only swimmer from IU in the top eight as Michigan had three championship finalists and still leads through eight events. Lanza’s victory is Indiana’s first since Ben Hesen won in 2008.

Ohio State’s Michael Salazar (45.97), Iowa’s Jerzy Twarowski (46.07), Ohio State’s Henrique Painhas (46.10), Michigan’s Miles Smachlo (46.16) and Michigan’s James Jones (46.74) also swam in the championship final.

#Buckeyes go 3-4-6 in the 100 butterfly A final! Noah Lense leads the way with a 45.91 for ?. Michael Salazar (45.97/PR) and Henrique Painhas (46.10) take fourth and sixth, respectively! pic.twitter.com/0KkY3cwykz

— Ohio State Swim/Dive (@OhioSt_SwimDive) February 24, 2018

 Event 8  Men 100 Yard Butterfly
=========================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 44.91  2/24/2017 Matt McHugh, Ohio State
         Pool: # 44.57  3/16/2007 ALbert Subirats, ARIZ
                 45.49  A NCAA A Standard
                 48.29  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Lanza, Vinicius  JR Indiana-IN          45.25      44.79!A       32  
              9.47        20.81 (11.34)
          32.92 (12.11)       44.79 (11.87)
  2 White, Evan S    SR Michigan-MI         45.54      45.63 B       28  
              9.95        21.45 (11.50)
          33.33 (11.88)       45.63 (12.30)
  3 Lense, Noah J    SO Ohio St-OH          45.41      45.91 B       27  
             10.09        21.45 (11.36)
          33.75 (12.30)       45.91 (12.16)
  4 Salazar, Michae  JR Ohio St-OH          45.99      45.97 B       26  
              9.85        21.33 (11.48)
          33.48 (12.15)       45.97 (12.49)
  5 Twarowski, Jerz  SR Iowa-IA             46.27      46.07 B       25  
              9.62        21.22 (11.60)
          33.26 (12.04)       46.07 (12.81)
  6 Painhas, Henriq  JR Ohio St-OH          46.05      46.10 B       24  
             10.08        21.85 (11.77)
          33.96 (12.11)       46.10 (12.14)
  7 Smachlo, Miles   SO Michigan-MI         46.37      46.16 B       23  
              9.75        21.37 (11.62)
          33.71 (12.34)       46.16 (12.45)
  8 Jones, James Wi  SO Michigan-MI         46.05      46.74 B       22  
              9.42        21.26 (11.84)
          33.55 (12.29)       46.74 (13.19)

400 IM

Michigan sophomore Charlie Swanson continued Michigan’s 400 IM tradition with a win on Friday night at the Big Ten Championships in Minnesota. Swanson swam a 3:39.16 to just break the pool record set by Ous Mellouli of USC at the 2005 NCAA’s. Swanson defends his title from last year that he won as a freshman. Michigan had a 1-2-3 finish with Thomas Cope (3:42.86) and Ricardo Vargas (3;43.73) finishing second and third. Senior captain PJ Ransford (3:46.27) had a spectacular finish to get fifth.

Michigan has now won 19 of the last 20 Big Ten titles in the 400 IM as Wisconsin’s Michael Weiss won in 2013. Michigan had seven guys score in the top 16.

Wisconsin’s Michael Milinovich (3:45.71), Purdue’s Adam Noens (3:46.28), Ohio State’s Nicholas Hogsed (3:47.07) and Indiana’s Spencer Lehman (3:47.12) also swam in the championship final.

WATCH: Charlie Swanson leads a 1-2-3-5 finish in the 400-yard IM, claiming the title for the second consecutive year. He is the fifth swimmer in program history to crack the 3:40 mark! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/DfJcXvfGH9

— Michigan Swimming & Diving (@umichswimdive) February 24, 2018

 Event 9  Men 400 Yard IM
=========================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 3:38.03  2009      Tyler Clary, Michiigan
         Pool: # 3:39.19  3/25/2005 Ous Mellouli, USC
                 3:39.95  A NCAA A Standard
                 3:54.49  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Swanson, Charle  SO Michigan-MI       3:44.02    3:39.16#A       32  
             23.13        50.35 (27.22)
        1:19.01 (28.66)     1:47.26 (28.25)
        2:16.94 (29.68)     2:47.10 (30.16)
        3:13.52 (26.42)     3:39.16 (25.64)
  2 Cope, Thomas E   SO Michigan-MI       3:42.75    3:42.86 B       28  
             22.58        49.13 (26.55)
        1:18.61 (29.48)     1:47.12 (28.51)
        2:17.41 (30.29)     2:48.25 (30.84)
        3:15.65 (27.40)     3:42.86 (27.21)
  3 Vargas Jacobo,   FR Michigan-MI       3:46.30    3:43.73 B       27  
             24.54        51.93 (27.39)
        1:20.66 (28.73)     1:48.41 (27.75)
        2:21.04 (32.63)     2:53.00 (31.96)
        3:18.85 (25.85)     3:43.73 (24.88)
  4 Milinovich, Jos  SO Wisconsin-WI      3:44.01    3:45.71 B       26  
             23.90        51.15 (27.25)
        1:19.61 (28.46)     1:47.51 (27.90)
        2:19.83 (32.32)     2:52.62 (32.79)
        3:19.34 (26.72)     3:45.71 (26.37)
  5 Ransford, Patri  SR Michigan-MI       3:46.20    3:46.27 B       25  
             24.83        52.85 (28.02)
        1:21.86 (29.01)     1:50.28 (28.42)
        2:22.22 (31.94)     2:55.33 (33.11)
        3:21.17 (25.84)     3:46.27 (25.10)
  6 Noens, Adam T    SR Purdue-IN         3:45.81    3:46.28 B       24  
             24.10        51.69 (27.59)
        1:21.00 (29.31)     1:49.09 (28.09)
        2:20.77 (31.68)     2:52.82 (32.05)
        3:20.07 (27.25)     3:46.28 (26.21)
  7 Hogsed, Nichola  JR Ohio St-OH        3:47.62    3:47.07 B       23  
             24.88        53.21 (28.33)
        1:23.14 (29.93)     1:51.61 (28.47)
        2:23.28 (31.67)     2:55.65 (32.37)
        3:22.22 (26.57)     3:47.07 (24.85)
  8 Lehman, Spencer  FR Indiana-IN        3:47.14    3:47.12 B       22  
             24.63        52.76 (28.13)
        1:22.24 (29.48)     1:50.51 (28.27)
        2:22.86 (32.35)     2:55.46 (32.60)
        3:21.97 (26.51)     3:47.12 (25.15)

200 Free

It was a heavily anticipated race between Indiana’s Blake Pieroni and Michigan’s Felix Aubock, but Pieroni blew him out of the water with a 1:31.14 unshaved on Friday night in Minneapolis at the Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships. Pieroni’s time comes just hours after Harvard’s Dean Farris went a 1:31.12 at Ivy League Championships. Pieroni went 1-2 with Mohamed Samy (1:32.56) as the Hoosiers collected big points.

Aubock ended up fading to fourth with a 1:33.23 as he was beat by Ohio State freshman Paul Delakis (1:32.86).

Pieroni destroyed his meet record of 1:32.13 from last season and also destroyed the pool record of 1:32.21 by Florida’s Brett Fraser from the 2011 NCAA’s. This is Pieroni’s third straight 200 free Big Ten title and is the first three time winner since Michigan’s Dan Madwed won from 2009-2011.

Minnesota’s Nicholas Saulnier (1:34.99), Michigan’s Mokhtar Al-Yamani (1:35.02), Wisconsin’s Ryan Stack (1:35.52) and Ohio State’s Andrew Loy (1:36.23) also swam in the championship final.

.@paul_delakis sets the SCHOOL RECORD in the 200 freestyle with a readout of 1:32.86 for ?! pic.twitter.com/NQXlQRXUPf

— Ohio State Swim/Dive (@OhioSt_SwimDive) February 24, 2018

 Event 10  Men 200 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 1:32.13  2/24/2017 Blake Pieroni, Indiana
         Pool: # 1:32.21  3/25/2011 Brett Fraser, FLOR
                 1:32.54  A NCAA A Standard
                 1:37.99  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Pieroni, Blake   SR Indiana-IN        1:34.01    1:31.14!A       32  
             21.32        44.34 (23.02)
        1:07.49 (23.15)     1:31.14 (23.65)
  2 Samy, Mohamed    SO Indiana-IN        1:33.94    1:32.56 B       28  
             22.57        45.97 (23.40)
        1:09.24 (23.27)     1:32.56 (23.32)
  3 Delakis, Paul J  FR Ohio St-OH        1:34.29    1:32.86 B       27  
             22.06        45.36 (23.30)
        1:09.10 (23.74)     1:32.86 (23.76)
  4 Aubock, Felix   SO Michigan-MI       1:33.10    1:33.23 B       26  
             22.03        45.47 (23.44)
        1:09.33 (23.86)     1:33.23 (23.90)
  5 Saulnier, Nicho  SO Minnesota-MN      1:34.88    1:34.99 B       25  
             21.85        45.99 (24.14)
        1:10.67 (24.68)     1:34.99 (24.32)
  6 Al-Yamani, Mokh  JR Michigan-MI       1:34.72    1:35.02 B       24  
             21.63        45.60 (23.97)
        1:10.16 (24.56)     1:35.02 (24.86)
  7 Stack, Ryan M    SR Wisconsin-WI      1:35.46    1:35.52 B       23  
             22.05        45.76 (23.71)
        1:10.23 (24.47)     1:35.52 (25.29)
  8 Loy, Andrew D    SO Ohio St-OH        1:34.47    1:36.23 B       22  
             22.04        46.02 (23.98)
        1:10.91 (24.89)     1:36.23 (25.32)

100 Breast

Indiana picked up yet another win on Friday night at the Men’s Big Ten Championships in Minnesota as junior Ian Finnerty re-broke his meet record in the 100 breast with a 50.72. He dropped from his 50.82 this morning and picked up another 1-2 finish with teammate Levi Brock (51.45). Minnesota senior Conner McHugh finished in third at 51.68 in his home pool.

This is the third year in a row Finnerty has won the 100 breast at Big Ten’s and is the first three time winner since Indiana’s Cody Miller won from 2011-2013.

Michigan’s Jacob Montague (51.80), Jeremy Babinet (52.22), Ohio State’s Jack Barone (52.24), Connor Isings (53.23) and Purdue’s Trent Pellini (53.50) also placed in the championship final.

 Event 11  Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
=========================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 50.82  2/23/2018 Ian J Finnerty, Indiana-IN
         Pool: # 50.82  2/23/2018 Ian J Finnerty, Indiana-IN
                 51.74  A NCAA A Standard
                 55.39  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Finnerty, Ian J  JR Indiana-IN          50.82      50.72!A       32  
             10.78        23.55 (12.77)
          37.17 (13.62)       50.72 (13.55)
  2 Brock, Levi B    SR Indiana-IN          51.81      51.45 A       28  
             11.17        24.14 (12.97)
          37.66 (13.52)       51.45 (13.79)
  3 McHugh, Conner   SR Minnesota-MN        52.04      51.68 A       27  
             10.97        24.20 (13.23)
          37.97 (13.77)       51.68 (13.71)
  4 Montague, Jacob  SO Michigan-MI         52.40      51.80 B       26  
             11.14        24.31 (13.17)
          37.98 (13.67)       51.80 (13.82)
  5 Babinet, Jeremy  SO Michigan-MI         52.61      52.22 B       25  
             11.25        24.76 (13.51)
          38.40 (13.64)       52.22 (13.82)
  6 Barone, Jack J   SR Ohio St-OH          52.90      52.24 B       24  
             11.19        24.49 (13.30)
          38.13 (13.64)       52.24 (14.11)
  7 Isings, Connor   FR Ohio St-OH          52.79      53.23 B       23  
             11.41        25.07 (13.66)
          38.89 (13.82)       53.23 (14.34)
  8 Pellini, Trent   FR Purdue-IN           52.88      53.50 B       22  
             11.30        24.80 (13.50)
          39.02 (14.22)       53.50 (14.48)

100 Back

Indiana had their third straight 1-2 finish in the 100 back with freshman Gabriel Fantoni (45.79) going 1-2 with Mohamed Samy (45.84) on Friday night in Minnesota at the Men’s Big Ten Championships. This is Indiana’s first 100 back Big Ten title since James Wells won in 2013. IU had four total finalists in the 100 back to Michigan’s one.

The Hoosiers are still in second despite four individual wins on tonight’s schedule. Michigan has had insane depth tonight as they lead into diving. Michigan had one swimmer in the final of the 100 back with Tristan Sanders (47.40) finishing in eighth.

Purdue’s Joe Young (46.76), Iowa’s Kenneth Mende (46.80), Indiana’s James Beckman (46.87), Indiana’s Jacob Steele (46.91) and Wisconsin’s Matt Novinski (47.12) also swam in the championship final.

 Event 12  Men 100 Yard Backstroke
=========================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 44.65  2/24/2017 Shane P Ryan, Penn State
         Pool: # 44.83  3/16/2007 Albert Subirats, ARIZ
                 45.25  A NCAA A Standard
                 48.49  B NCAA B Stanard
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Fantoni, Gabrie  FR Indiana-IN          45.82      45.79 B       32  
             10.57        21.95 (11.38)
          34.32 (12.37)       45.79 (11.47)
  2 Samy, Mohamed    SO Indiana-IN          46.52      45.84 B       28  
             10.80        22.19 (11.39)
          34.21 (12.02)       45.84 (11.63)
  3 Young, Joseph A  JR Purdue-IN           46.59      46.76 B       27  
             10.83        22.13 (11.30)
          34.36 (12.23)       46.76 (12.40)
  4 Mende, Kenneth   JR Iowa-IA             46.83      46.80 B       26  
             11.14        22.79 (11.65)
          34.94 (12.15)       46.80 (11.86)
  5 Beckman, James   JR Indiana-IN          46.87      46.87 B       25  
             11.02        22.73 (11.71)
          34.71 (11.98)       46.87 (12.16)
  6 Steele, Jacob A  FR Indiana-IN          47.00      46.91 B       24  
             10.76        22.65 (11.89)
          34.80 (12.15)       46.91 (12.11)
  7 Novinski, Matt   FR Wisconsin-WI        46.85      47.12 B       23  
             10.83        22.64 (11.81)
          34.88 (12.24)       47.12 (12.24)
  8 Sanders, Trista  SR Michigan-MI         47.02      47.40 B       22  
             10.94        22.73 (11.79)
          35.05 (12.32)       47.40 (12.35)

3M Diving

Purdue’s Steele Johnson won the 3 meter board in commanding fashion breaking the meet record with 540.55. The meet record belonged to Indiana’s Michael Hixon who finished in second tonight at 509.95. Hixon was followed by two other IU divers as they scored major points to keep them in the team race with Michigan.

Johnson’s win is Purdue’s first Big Ten title in 3m since David Boudia in 2011.

Andrew Capabianco (488.40), James Connor (479.65) and Cody Coldren (414.95) scored major points for the Hoosiers.

Purdue’s Joey Cifelli (443.70), Ohio State’s Stephen Romanik (433.75) and Christo Law (381.40) also competed in the championship final.

 Event 13  Men 3 mtr Diving
=========================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 520.40  2/24/2017 Michael Hixon, Indiana
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Johnson, Steele  JR Purdue-IN          489.30     540.55!        32  
  2 Hixon, Michael   SR Indiana-IN         475.35     509.95         28  
  3 Capabianco, And  FR Indiana-IN         431.25     488.40         27  
  4 Connor, James    JR Indiana-IN         483.10     479.65         26  
  5 Cifelli, Joseph  JR Purdue-IN          483.50     443.70         25  
  6 Romanik, Stephe  SR Ohio St-OH         425.20     433.75         24  
  7 Coldren, Cody    SR Indiana-IN         434.80     414.95         23  
  8 Law, Christo     JR Ohio St-OH         421.20     381.40         22

200 Free Relay

Michigan desperately needed a pool win to close out Friday night’s session of the 2018 Men’s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships from Minnesota and they got one in the 200 free relay. Paul Powers (19.27), Luiz Gustavo Borges (18.90), Evan White (19.36) and James Peek (18.96) won the relay for the Wolverines to give them life going into tomorrow. They just out-touched Indiana who was second at 1:16.56.

The win for Michigan is their first Big Ten title in the 200 free relay since 2015.

The Hoosiers swam Ali Khalafalla (19.47), Blake Pieroni (18.90), Bruno Blaskovic (18.97) and Nikola Miljenic (19.22) as they ultimately came up short. The Hoosiers still lead by 10 points going into the last day tomorrow.

Minnesota was third thanks to a solid leadoff by Big Ten champion Bowen Becker (18.80). The Golden Gophers were third in the relay at 1:17.02.

Iowa (1:17.50), Ohio State (1:17.82), Wisconsin (1:18.25), Penn State (1:19.21) and Purdue (1:19.38) also placed in the top eight.

WATCH: Paul, Gus, Evan and James come within .07 seconds of the school record and end the third day of the Big Ten Championships with a win in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/cHZiKdLsia

— Michigan Swimming & Diving (@umichswimdive) February 24, 2018

 Event 14  Men 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
==================================================================================
  Meet Record: ! 1:16.42  2013      Michigan, Michigan
                          Turk, M. Ortiz, Fletcher, B. Ortiz
         Pool: # 1:14.71  3/15/2007 Auburn, AUB
                          C. Cielo, M. Targett, S> Goodrich, B. Lundquist
                 1:17.62  A NCAA A Standard
                 1:18.35  B NCAA B Stanard
    School                           Seed     Finals       Points 
==================================================================================
  1 Michigan-MI  'A'              1:16.65    1:16.49 A       64  
     1) Powers, Paul Q SR             2) r:0.26 Borges, Luiz Gutavo FR
     3) r:0.33 White, Evan SR         4) r:0.34 Peek, James SR        
              9.36        19.27 (19.27)
           28.23 (8.96)       38.17 (18.90)
           47.51 (9.34)       57.53 (19.36)
         1:06.38 (8.85)     1:16.49 (18.96)
  2 Indiana-IN  'A'               1:18.72    1:16.56 A       56  
     1) Khalafalla, Ali A SR          2) r:0.32 Pieroni, Blake SR     
     3) r:0.28 Blaskovic, Bruno FR    4) r:0.35 Miljenic, Nikola FR   
              9.58        19.47 (19.47)
           28.49 (9.02)       38.37 (18.90)
           47.30 (8.93)       57.34 (18.97)
         1:06.41 (9.07)     1:16.56 (19.22)
  3 Minnesota-MN  'A'             1:19.15    1:17.02 A       54  
     1) Becker, Bowen T JR            2) r:0.26 Pokkinen, Tuomas SO   
     3) r:0.20 Thomas, Matthew SO     4) r:0.23 Saulnier, Nicholas SO 
              9.18        18.80 (18.80)
           27.77 (8.97)       38.06 (19.26)
           47.15 (9.09)       57.34 (19.28)
         1:06.77 (9.43)     1:17.02 (19.68)
  4 Iowa-IA  'A'                  1:19.61    1:17.50 A       52  
     1) Smith, Jack A JR              2) r:0.45 Scott, William SO     
     3) r:0.20 Kamin, Matthew JR      4) r:0.13 Myhre, Joseph SO      
              9.40        19.61 (19.61)
           28.96 (9.35)       39.18 (19.57)
           48.05 (8.87)       58.28 (19.10)
         1:07.08 (8.80)     1:17.50 (19.22)
  5 Ohio St-OH  'A'               1:19.12    1:17.82 B       50  
     1) Koethke, Kalvin J SO          2) r:0.19 Chavez, Mossimo JR    
     3) r:0.41 Musterait, Kevin SR    4) r:0.23 Loy, Andrew SO        
              9.49        19.89 (19.89)
           28.84 (8.95)       39.03 (19.14)
           48.30 (9.27)       58.36 (19.33)
         1:07.57 (9.21)     1:17.82 (19.46)
  6 Wisconsin-WI  'A'             1:20.84    1:18.25 B       48  
     1) Zelen, Tyler D FR             2) r:0.23 Stack, Ryan SR        
     3) r:0.10 Braun, Kevin SO        4) r:0.25 Back, Griffin SO      
              9.44        19.63 (19.63)
           28.94 (9.31)       39.23 (19.60)
           48.38 (9.15)       58.83 (19.60)
         1:08.03 (9.20)     1:18.25 (19.42)
  7 Penn St-MA  'A'               1:21.38    1:19.21         46  
     1) Castano, Gabriel FR           2) r:0.13 Roberson, William FR  
     3) r:0.27 O'Neill, Ryan SR       4) r:0.24 Wilson, Austin SO     
              9.72        19.86 (19.86)
           29.23 (9.37)       39.50 (19.64)
           48.94 (9.44)       59.22 (19.72)
         1:08.55 (9.33)     1:19.21 (19.99)
  8 Purdue-IN  'A'                1:21.36    1:19.38         44  
     1) Gomez Treig, Gabriel A FR     2) r:0.23 Lawrence, Ryan FR     
     3) r:0.25 Gardner, Joseph JR     4) r:0.08 Boone, James JR       
              9.95        20.38 (20.38)
           29.64 (9.26)       39.81 (19.43)
           49.27 (9.46)       59.68 (19.87)
         1:09.13 (9.45)     1:19.38 (19.70)

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