Michigan Wolverines Rolling Towards Big Ten Men’s Title

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

IOWA CITY – The Michigan Wolverines continued on their path to the Big Ten Men’s Championship title with another big night.

Michigan kicked off what should be a huge night for the Wolverines with a pool record in the 200-yard free relay. Paul Powers (19.46), Vinny Tafuto (19.26), Jason Chen (19.47) and Bruno Ortiz (18.61) won in 1:16.80 to clear Iowa’s pool mark of 1:17.61 from 2012.

Indiana, definitely showing signs of assistant coach Dennis Dale’s sprint expertise, grabbed a school record 1:17.60 for second and an NCAA A cut. Anze Tavcar (19.83), Blake Pieroni (19.45), Yianni Thermos (19.33) and Ali Khalafalla (18.99) put together that strong swim.

Ohio State’s Josh Fleagle (19.75), Matt McHugh (19.27), Thomas Trace (19.51) and Michael DiSalle (19.56) took third overall in 1:18.09.

Michigan won again as Dylan Bosch took down the pool record in the men’s 400-yard IM with a 3:40.61. Meanwhile, Indiana’s Steve Schmuhl also picked up an NCAA A cut with a second-place time of 3:41.88. Minnesota’s Jakub Maly rounded out the top three in 3:42.54.

Ohio State’s Matt McHugh lowered his own pool record in the men’s 100-yard fly with an NCAA A cut 45.75 to win tonight. That swim cleared his prelim pool record of 45.89.

Michigan’s Aaron Whitaker chased down second-place honors with a time of 46.37, while Minnesota’s Daryl Turner posted a third-place 46.52.

Ohio State’s Josh Fleagle led a trio of swimmers under the NCAA A cut with a 1:33.16. That swim just missed Blake Pieroni’s pool record of 1:33.10 set as a relay leadoff on night one.

Michigan’s Anders Nielsen touched second overall in 1:33.49 with Indiana’s Blake Pieroni earning third overall with a time of 1:33.52.

Michigan’s Bruno Ortiz (51.83) and Richard Funk (52.19) then went 1-2 in the men’s 100-yard breast to keep piling up the team points and clear the NCAA A cut. Ortiz already posted a pool record with a 51.77 this morning.

Ohio State’s DJ MacDonald posted a third-place time of 52.43 with Purdue’s Lyam Dias earning fourth in 52.72.

Penn State went 1-2 in the men’s 100-yard back. Shane Ryan took down the pool record with a 45.54 for an NCAA A cut. That swim eclipsed the 45.56 set by Iowa’s Grant Betulius last December.

Nate Savoy placed second for Penn State with a 46.10, off his prelim 46.05, while Ohio State’s Matt McHugh took third in 46.37.

Indiana’s James Conner closed out the night with 494.60 points to win the three-meter diving competition. Purdue’s Steele Johnson took second with 476.05 points, while Ohio State’s Stephen Ettienne placed third in 462.50.

Indiana’s Michael Hixon, who won the one-meter last night and topped NCAAs in this event last year for Texas, took fourth with 461.70 points.

The result is surprising only in that Hixon likely should not have even been trying to dive. Hixon was in the emergency room until 5 a.m. this morning getting IVs due to flu-like symptoms that included bouts with nausea. And, yes, he still finished fourth with his best score while at IU.

Team Scores

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2015 Big Ten Men’s Championships, Day Three – Results

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