Feb. 22, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. -
The Northwestern men's swimming and diving squad dove into the pool for the first day of competion at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. on Thursday. The Wildcats are currently in sixth place with 105 points with two days of competion left. The University of Minnesota leads all schools with 241 points, followed by Penn State (170), Michigan (162), Wisconsin (114) and Ohio State (109).
The Wildcats witnessed the setting of six school records on Thursday. In prelims, Kellan O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Preparatory) swam a 1:48.07 to break the 200 individual medley record, previously set by Andy Brown in 1995 with a time of 1:49.90. O'Connor and teammate Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) qualified to the evening finals in that event, seeded second and third respectively. O'Connor's record stood until finals when Swanson swam a 1:47.87 to finish third overall and put the record under his name. In finals, O'Connor finished right behind Swanson in fourth place with a time of 1:48.57. Both O'Connor and Swanson met the NCAA qualifying B standard in the 200 individual medley.
Senior captain Steve Steketee (Golden, Colo./Golden) swam a 20.35 in the 50 freestyle prelims to break his own school record of 20.53 set in 1999. His finals time of 20.37 placed him 10th overall.
Mike Shue (Ft. Myers, Fla./Ft. Myers) finished 10th in the 500 freestyle with a school-record time of 4:23.73, which broke the oldest standing record for the Wildcat men's swim program. The previous record-holder was Dan van Hemert with a time of 4:24.53 in 1994. Shue's time also met the NCAA qualifying B standard.
The 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay also broke school records. The 200 freestyle relay of Swanson, Steketee, Adam Kennedy (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) and Nick Barnes (Frankfort, Ind./Frankfort) finished in sixth place. Their time of 1:20.65 broke the NU record of 1:21.06 set in 1997. The 400 medley relay of Swanson, Aaron McCracken (Naperville, Ill./Central), O'Connor and Steketee placed fifth in a time of 3:16.01. The old record was set in 1997 with a time of 3:16.20. Both relays swam the NCAA qualifying B standard.
Competition continues tomorrow with prelims starting at noon and finals at 7 p.m. Events scheduled for tomorrow include the 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 3-meter diving, 200 medley relay and 800 freestyle relay.
Wildcat Finishes in Thursday Finals:
1-Meter Diving - Elliot Massuda 237.85 (11th), Adam Barker 203.45 (21st).
500 Freestyle - Mike Shue 4:23.73 (10th).
200 Individual Medley - Tony Swanson 1:47.87 (3rd), Kellan O'Connor 1:48.57 (4th).
50 Freestyle - Steve Steketee 20.37 (10th).
200 Freestyle Relay - Tony Swanson, Steve Steketee, Adam Kennedy, Nick Barnes 1:20.65 (6th).
400 Medley Relay - Tony Swanson, Aaron McCracken, Kellan O'Connor, Steve Steketee 3:16.01 (5th).