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2015 Big Ten Championships Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Iowa City, Iowa NU's Place: 7th/10 Thursday Results  Thursday Photo Gallery |
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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Junior Jordan Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif./Malibu) twice broke the school record in the 500 free Thursday and earned a podium finish in the event to lead Northwestern on the first full day of the 2015 Big Ten Championships hosted by Iowa at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
Wilimovsky was one of three individual scorers for NU on the day, and coupled with the Wildcats effort in the 400 medley relay, Northwestern will enter Friday in seventh place among the 10-team field. NU has 98 points to lead eighth-place Penn State by nine. NU trails a tight race for fourth that included Purdue (136.5), Wisconsin (134) and Minnesota (132).
The 2015 Big Ten Championships continue tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 27, with preliminary heats at 11 a.m. CT, diving prelims at 1 p.m. CT and finals at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Preliminary Portion of Thursday's Action:
Wilimovsky annihilated the Northwestern school record in the 500 freestyle Thursday morning to highlight NU's preliminary swims.
Wilimovsky lowered his previous career-best in the 500 free by 4.24 seconds to swim an NCAA `B' provisional qualifying time of 4:15.62 and qualify second overall for Thursday night's championship final. His time bested Eric Nilsson's 2009 school record in the race by 1.69 seconds. The current U.S. National Team member in open water swimming and the 1,500-meter freestyle finished behind only Anders Nielsen of Michigan in the prelims; Nielsen set a pool record with a 4:14.84.
Sophomore Charlie Cole (Bernardsville, N.J./Bernards), who Wednesday night swam the third-fastest 200 free in school history to lead off NU's 800 free relay, swam the fifth-fastest 500 free Thursday morning to qualifying 12th overall for the evening's consolation final. His NCAA `B' cut of 4:20.57 represented a drop of 5.93 seconds from his previous career-best in the race.
Though he did not earn a second swim, sophomore Jonathan Lieberman (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) cut nearly five seconds from his career-best in the 500 free, as well, to touch in 4:26.58, ending up 28th overall in the morning prelims. Not to be outdone, freshman Jonathan Blansfield (Westport, Conn./Staples) dropped exactly 8.0 seconds from his season-best at his first-career Big Ten meet for a 40th-place 4:30.54 while sophomore Stephen Shull (Evanston, Ill./Homeschooled) cut near six seconds from his career-best in the race for a 44th-position 4:31.55.
Senior Andrew Seitz (Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley) was Northwestern's lone representative in the 200 IM Thursday morning; he swam a career-low 1:51.15 that was more than two seconds better than his previous best to finish 57th.
Freshman Almog Olshtein's (Haifa, Israel/Haifa) first-career individual Big Ten Championships swim was an NCAA `B' cut of 19.87 that placed him 10th overall as the second seed for Thursday night's consolation final. His time makes him the fifth-fastest 50 freestyle racer in school history.
Classmate Gage Kohner (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton Community) was NU's next best swimmer in the event with a 20.52 to place 38th.
During 1-meter diving prelims early in the afternoon Thursday, senior John Andrade (Avon, Conn./Notre Dame) was Northwestern's top finisher with a score of 286.10. Just behind him was sophomore Reed Dillon (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrenceville Central) in 26th with a season-best 272.35.
Northwestern's top diver during the regular season, Andrew Cramer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral), did not travel to the Big Ten meet with injury difficulties.
Finals Portion of Thursday's Action
Cole opened the 500 free action for Northwestern with another NCAA `B' cut, this one a 4:20.98 in the consolation heat to finish a solid 12th overall in the conference and set the stage for Wilimovsky's championship final.
Nielsen took the early lead in the 500 free championship race with Wilimovsky hot on his heels and Wisconsin's Matthew Hutchins just behind Wilimovsky in what quickly became a three-man race. At the 400-yard mark, Nielsen held a three-quarter second edge on Wilimovsky and Hutchins, who were nearly neck-and-neck. At that point, Hutchins turned on the jets to pass both of his rivals in the next 50 yards. He then held off Nielsen in the final 50 yards for the win with a 4:14.00 against the Wolverine's 4:14.06 and Wilimovsky's third-place 4:14.70. There was a 1.39 second separation between Wilimovsky and the fourth-place swimmer.
Wilimovsky's swim further lowered his school record in the event by another .92 of a second. All three of the top swimmers in the championship final came in under the old pool record set by 2012 Olympian Connor Jaeger in November of 2012 and equaled by Nielsen Thursday morning. Though Wilimovsky's time was .11 of a second shy of an `A' automatic qualifying time for the NCAA Championships, his effort will certainly punch his ticket to the national meet.
In Northwestern's final individual swim of the day, Olshtein broke 20.00 again in the 50 free with a `B' cut of 19.92 to place 12th overall.
The night concluded with the 400 medley relay and featured the Wildcats' team of Andy Jovanovic (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy), Uula Auren (Helsinki, Finland/ Mäkelänrinteen Lukio), Mark Ferguson (Perth, Australia/John XXIII) and Olshtein swimming a 3:12.61 to make them the fifth-fastest team in that event in program history. The squad finished in ninth place overall at the meet.
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