2018 MEN’S B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, February 21st – Saturday, February 24th
- Prelims 11am | Finals 6:30pm
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (Central Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: Indiana (results)
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide
- Live Video
- Live Results
- NCAA Qualifying
Day 2 finals at the Men’s B1G Ten Championships will feature the 500 free, 200 IM and 50 free, along with timed final heats of the 400 medley relay.
Felix Auboeck of Michigan led the 500 free prelims by over two seconds, and is favored to repeat as champion and challenge his meet record of 4:10.63. His teammates PJ Ransford and Ricardo Vargas qualified 2nd and 3rd this morning and will battle for the runner-up spot.
Indiana’s Vini Lanza will also look to repeat in the 200 IM, putting up the top time of the prelims in 1:42.06. Michigan’s Evan White and Tommy Cope were 2nd and 3rd this morning, and Lanza’s teammates Ian Finnerty and Blake Pieroni will also be in the mix.
A smoking 18.69 this morning makes Minnesota junior Bowen Becker the big favorite in the 50 free, as he moved to #2 in the country with that swim. Defending champ Paul Powers of Michigan sits 2nd, but was 0.35 slower than Becker in prelims.
Indiana, who won both relays on opening night, will be favored in the 400 medley tonight where they return three of the four men who won the title last year. The only leg they’ll be replacing, backstroke, will have freshman Gabriel Fantoni who led-off in a sizzling 20.95 on the 200 medley relay last night. He’ll likely be joined by Finnerty, Lanza and Pieroni.
500 FREE FINAL
B1G Meet Record: 4:10.63, Felix Auboeck (MICH), 2017
- Felix Auboeck, MICH, 4:09.29
- Ricardo Vargas, MICH, 4:11.11
- PJ Ransford, MICH, 4:15.56
As anticipated Felix Auboeck of the Michigan Wolverines won gold in the 500 free, lowering his own meet record set last year in a time of 4:09.29. The sophomore got out to an early lead, but after the halfway mark his teammate Ricardo Vargas didn’t lose anymore ground, taking 2nd in 4:11.11. Both swimmers finish well under the ‘A’ cut of 4:12.49.
PJ Ransford made it a podium sweep for Michigan with his 3rd place finish (4:15.56), and seniors Brayden Seal (4:16.52) of Ohio State and Victor Goicoechea (4:16.63) of Wisconsin took 4th and 5th.
200 IM FINAL
- B1G Meet Record: 1:41.14, Kylie Whitaker (MICH), 2014
- Vini Lanza, IU, 1:41.34
- Evan White, MICH, 1:42.05
- Paul DeLakis, OSU, 1:42.83
Indiana’s Vini Lanza successfully defended his title in the 200 IM, clocking 1:41.34 to break the school record. Lanza was out like lightning in the fly, splitting 21.52, before eventually getting overtaken by Michigan’s Evan White heading into the free leg. Lanza then blasted home in 24.21 to overtake White and book the win. The junior gets under the NCAA ‘A’ cut of 1:41.88.
White, who had the fastest back and breast splits in the field, took silver in 1:42.05. Ohio State’s Paul DeLakis moved up from 5th to 3rd on the freestyle, splitting 24.14 to touch in 1:42.83. Ian Finnerty of Indiana and Tommy Cope of Michigan tied for 4th in 1:42.94, and Blake Pieroni took 6th in 1:44.17. Charlie Swanson was an impressive 1:43.05 in the B-final.
50 FREE FINAL
- B1G Meet Record: 18.69, Bowen Becker (MINN), 2018
- Bowen Becker, MINN, 18.93
- Paul Powers, MICH, 19.04
- Ali Khalafalla, IU, 19.23
He was a little slower than this morning, but Bowen Becker did enough to win the B1G title in the 50 free with his swim of 18.93. The Minnesota Golden Gopher was a staggering 18.69 in the prelims.
Last year’s champ Paul Powers of Michigan matched his prelim swim identically, earning the runner-up spot in 19.04. Ali Khalafalla of Indiana and Luiz Gustavo Borges of Michigan both added a few one-hundredths to their prelim swims, taking 3rd and 4th in 19.23 and 19.28 respectively. IU freshman Nikola Miljenic had an impressive B-final win in 19.48.
1 MTR DIVING
- Michael Hixon, IU, 493.60
- James Connor, IU, 477.30
- Steele Johnson, PUR, 466.95
Indiana’s Michael Hixon posted a meet record score of 493.60 to win the 1-meter, with teammate James Connor 2nd. Steele Johnson of Purdue picks up bronze, with his teammate Joseph Cifelli 4th.
400 MEDLEY RELAY TIMED FINAL
B1G Meet Record: 3:03.28, Indiana, 2017
- Indiana, 3:01.30
- Minnesota, 3:06.90
- Michigan, 3:06.95
The Indiana quartet of Gabriel Fantoni (45.17), Ian Finnerty (50.16), Vini Lanza (44.86) and Blake Pieroni (41.11) dominated the 400 medley relay, clocking a blistering 3:01.30. That swim breaks the B1G meet and conference record, their school record, and blows by the ‘A’ cut by six seconds. They take over the top spot in the country by over three seconds, and Fantoni’s 100 back time also puts him #2 in the NCAA for the season.
Minnesota got by Michigan for 2nd, as Bowen Becker ran down Paul Powers with a 41.33 anchor. Tom Donker (48.18), Conner McHugh (51.23), Matthew Thomas (46.16) and Becker clocked 3:06.90 to the Wolverine’s time of 3:06.95. Jacob Montague (51.93) and Evan White (45.65) had notable splits for Michigan on breast and fly, and Powers anchored in 42.00.
Ohio State (3:07.44) placed 4th and Iowa (3:08.24) was 5th.
Indiana has made up the difference. Great team race!
Wow, very close between MI & IN. Even with MI getting sooooo many points in all 3 individual races tonight, IN gets it all bk with diving pts. Looks like IN brought 4 divers knowing that’s where they could score big points to catch back up.
3:01.3!
What is the Gophers record in the 50 free?
Becker’s 18.69 from prelims.
Y’all… Michigan ain’t playing in that 500 free. I hope there’s video of this?
http://mgoblue.com/news/2018/2/22/mens-swimming-diving-aub-cks-crown-imers-guide-wolverine-men-on-day-two-at-big-tens.aspx?path=mswim
There’s a video of the 500 free here
In all honesty, paul powers is such a burn-out. Everyone expected so much out of him but he hasnt delivered any of his promises. Very Disappointing to his team, coaches and other swimmers!!!
It’s weird that you used 4 exclamation points.
“Burnout” seems extreme. He was a Big Ten champion last season and became the fastest man ever in the Big Ten in the 50 free (until Becker swam this morning). He’s had 1 individual swim here so far and it was a prelim…..
Came fifth at short course world champs last season, pretty damn impressive.
One of the coldest takes I’ve seen on here in awhile.
Yep 19.6 to 18.8 such a waste
Paul Powers is no joke, the dude is fast. Maybe a little overshadowed by the dominance of Dressel in the 50 free, Dressel makes seeing 18.8 in the results “average,” which is really not the case. I must say, Powers has never delivered in our (old teammates)fantasy swim league, and he is usually picked in the 15th-18th round if at all. I wouldn’t call 18.8 a disappointment by any stretch.
Given his performances, I don’t know how you can say this— and besides… it seems a bit hurtful, don’t you think?
This sounds oddly similar to a Donald Trump tweet