Courtesy: UNLV Athletics
MINNEAPOLIS – Senior Daniel Nicusan set a program record in the men’s 200 IM to lead the UNLV men’s and women’s swimming teams on day two of the Minnesota Invitational Thursday at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.
In total, the Scarlet & Gray collected four top-5 finishes among seven combined top-10 finishes and nine top-15 finishes on the day.
THE RUNDOWN – MEN:
– Nicusan’s 200 IM record mark of 1:45.12 gave him an NCAA ‘B’ cut and fourth-place finish. It also surpassed the previous 10-year record (1:45.44) held by former Rebel Giacomo Gremizzi since 2014.
– Following closely behind Nicusan in the 200 IM were seniors Cooper Kiel (1:47.01) and Michael Breitbart (1:47.97) in seventh and eighth, respectively. Kiel’s time went down as the 10th fastest mark in school history.
– In the 500 free, redshirt sophomore Colby Raffel earned a 13th-place finish with a season-best time of 4:25.26.
– Closing out the night strong in the 200 free relay, Nicusan, sophomore Wikus Potgieter, redshirt freshman Emil Perez and Breitbart gave the Scarlet and Gray’s ‘A’ squad a fourth-place finish (1:19.51).
THE RUNDOWN – WOMEN:
– Junior Erika Carlson showed a strong effort in the 500 free A final, posting a season-best time of 4:47.90 that earned her a seventh-place finish.
– Adding a top-10 finish in the 500 free, sophomore Ava Olson took 10th overall and second in the ‘B’ final with a season-best time of 4:47.82. The time moved her into fifth all-time in program history.
– Freshman Grace Wharton led the Scarlet & Gray women in the 200 IM, placing 11th overall and third in the B final with a season-best time of 2:00.94. It was the eighth fastest time in school history.
– In the 50 free, senior Bridget Sullivan placed 14th, reaching the wall in 23.11 seconds.
– In the final event of the night, the Rebel ‘A’ squad of Sullivan, Carlson, senior Heather Gardner and senior Pilar Cohen finished fourth (1:32.15) in the 200 free relay.
UP NEXT: The Rebels will continue competition at the invite on Friday. Prelims will start at 8 a.m. PT, followed by the finals at 4 p.m. PT.
