Ohio State Invite Day 1 Finals: Battle Brewing Between Buckeye, Hoosier Women

2021 OHIO STATE FALL INVITATIONAL

• November 18-20, 2021
• McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
• SCY (25 yards)
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results also on Meet Mobile: “2021 Ohio State Fall Invitational”

Night 1 of the 2021 Ohio State Fall Invitational will see 10 events: the women’s and men’s 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 400 medley relay.

This morning’s prelims session was headlined by Bruno Blaskovic‘s 19.21 50 free pool record. He was joined in the event by a number of his IU teammates, including German freshman Rafael Miroslaw, who also put up quick best times.

At the other end of the freestyle spectrum, Indiana also saw a strong swim from freshman Mariah Denigan in the women’s 500 free, where she went 4:42.76. That time would have ranked her third in the nation before invites got underway nationwide.

The 11 teams competing include Ohio State, Kentucky, Pitt, Notre Dame, Indiana, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Miami (Fla.), UCLA, Navy and Kenyon.

2021 NCAA CUT LINES

WOMEN’S 200 FREE RELAY

• NCAA A Cut: 1:28.43

1. Ohio State – 1:27.39
2. Indiana – 1:28.88
3. UCLA – 1:29.23

Ohio State’s A-team of Katherine Zenick, Amy Fulmer, Emily Crane and Teresa Ivan combined to get under the NCAA A cut in the 200 free relay, going 1:27.39 for the win. Zenivk split 22.21, Fulmer went 21.54, Crane was 21.80 and Ivan anchored in 21.84.

Indiana went with Ashley Turak (22.32), Anna Peplowski (21.98), Elizabeth Broshears (22.06) and Noelle Peplowski (22.52), finishing well behind Ohio State with a 1:28.88. UCLA was the only other team under 1:30, going with Claire Grover (22.44), Rachel Rhee (22.52), Gabby Dang (22.18) and Sophia Kosturos (22.09) for a 1:29.23.

MEN’S 200 FREE RELAY

• NCAA A Cut: 1:17.07

1. Indiana – 1:16.63
2. Virginia Tech/Ohio State – 1:17.43

Indiana’s team of Bruno Blaskovic, Rafael Miroslaw, Gabriel Fantoni, and Jack Franzman combined to get under the NCAA A cut, winning the men’s 200 free relay in 19.26. Blaskovic, who was 19.21 this morning, ledd off in 19.26. Miroslaw, who broke 20 for the first time today  (he has limited yards experience), threw down a 19.06; Fantoni followed in 19.20 and Franzman anchored in 19.11.

Virginia Tech and Ohio State tied for second in 1:17.42. VT’s Youssef Ramadan hit a speedy 19.21 leadoff leg, followed by Carles Coll Marti in 19.00, Antani Ivanov in 19.54 and Blake Manoff in 19.58. Ohio State went with Hunter Armstrong (20.53), Sem Andreis (19.02), Ruslan Gaziev (18.77) and Alex Quach (19.11).

WOMEN’S 500 FREE

• NCAA A cut: 4:36.30

1. Sally Tafuto, Ohio State – 4:40.49
2. Mariah Denigan Indiana – 4:41.21
3. Ella Ristic, Indiana – 4:42.21

Ohio State senior Sally Tafuto, the 2021 Big Ten champion in the 500, staged a comeback performance to win the first individual event of the night.

Mariah Denigan, the top qualifier in prelims, led for the first 400 yards before Tafuto started to close on her. Denigan was still holding on at the 450-yard mark, but put up a 28.73 in her final 50 compared to Tafuto’s 27.22. In the end, Tafuto would win in 4:40.49 with a wild 54.87 closing 100 (54.83/56.99/56.97/56.83/54.87) while Denigan wound up second in 4:41.21 (54.07/56.51/56.50/56.86/57.27). The swim marks a best time for Denigan, a freshman, nonetheless, bettering her prior best time of 4:42.65.

Third-place finisher Ella Ristic, an Indiana sophomore, was just off her own best time with a 4:42.21 (54.08/56.64/56.68/57.01/58.32).

Tafuto is the first woman in the country under 4:41 this season.

MEN’S 500 FREE

• NCAA A cut: 4:12.22

1. Michael Brinegar, Indiana – 4:16.82
2. Mike Calvillo, Indiana – 4:18.13
3. Warren Briggs, Indiana – 4:18.62

It was an Indiana 1-2-3 sweep of the men’s 500 free, led by junior Michael Brinegar in 4:16.82. Brinegar actually trailed his teammate Mikey Calvillo by eight-tenths of a second going into the final 50 yards, but a 24.25 final 50 split from Brinegar, almost as fast as his first 50, gave him a relatively-comfortable win.

Brinegar’s time is the fastest in the Big Ten so far this season.

WOMEN’S 200 IM

• NCAA A Cut: 1:54.32

1. Mac Looze, Indiana – 1:56.14
2. Noel Peplowski, Indiana – 1:56.80
3. Bailey Bonnett, Kentucky – 1:57.19

Mac Looze, the daughter of Indiana head coach Ray Looze, won the 200 IM in 1:56.14. That wasn’t quite a lifetime best for her, but it was a full second faster than the time she swam to place 5th at last year’s Big Ten Championship meet.

That’s the first mid-season invite win of Looze’s career.

Her teammate Noelle Peplowski finished 2nd in 1:56.80, while Kentucky fifth-year Bailey Bonnett was third in 1:57.19. While Kentucky swimmers went 3-4-5, not among those top finishers was Izzy Gati, who was ninth in 2:00.86. Gati was sixth at SECs last season in that race in a 1:56.

MEN’S 200 IM

• NCAA A Cut: 1:41.34

1. Carles Coll Marti, Virginia Tech – 1:43.44
2. Jacob Steele, Indiana – 1:44.87
3. Tristan Dewitt, Indiana – 1:45.26

Virginia Tech’s men got their first win of the meet when sophomore Carles Coll Marti won the race in 1:43.44. That shaves .03 seconds off his best time in the event.

He’s recently returned to the US from Kazan, Russia, where two weeks ago he swam at the European Short Course Championships. He swam six events there, with sixth-place finishes in both the 100 IM and 200 IM.

He held off a 2-3-4 finish from the Indiana Hoosiers, which included a new lifetime best of 1:45.45 from freshman Luke Barr in fourth place.

WOMEN’S 50 FREE

• NCAA A Cut: 21.74

1. Ashley Turak, Indiana – 22.21
2. Katherine Zenick, Ohio State – 22.23
3. Amy Fulmer, Ohio State – 22.24
4. Emily Crane, Ohio State – 22.25

Indiana’s Ashley Turak gave the Hoosiers back-to-back wins by topping a tight 50 free field in 22.21. Ohio State, winners of the 200 free relay in an “A” cut earlier in the meet, had swimmers touch in 22.23, 22.24, and 22.25, a veritable photo finish among the top four swimmers.

In fifth place was UCLA’s Ashley Grover in 22.42. That’s her first swim of the season for the Bruins.

MEN’S 50 FREE

• NCAA A Cut: 19.00

1. (TIE)Youssef Ramadan, Virginia Tech/Bruno Blaskovic, Indiana – 19.28
3. Hunter Armstrong, Ohio State – 19.37

The men’s 50 free final was rich with storylines, led by the NCAA 100 fly contender Youssef Ramadan of Virginia Tech swimming 19.28. That’s the best time he’s been outside of a conference or NCAA Championship meet.

He tied with Indiana’s Bruno Blaskovic, who missed most of last season, and the summer, with a back injury. His early-season results weren’t promising, breaking 20 seconds just once in 19.99, but his time of 19.21 in Thursday’s prelims was a bounce-back and was a few tenths better than he was midseason in 2019-2020: a year that ended with him winning the Big Ten title in the event.

Ohio State’s Hunter Armstrong, an Olympian in the 100 back this summer, continued his strong sprint start to the season with a third-place 19.37. He later split 45.6 leading off the Buckeye’s 400 medley relay.

WOMEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY

• NCAA A Cut: 3:31.66

1. Ohio State – 3:30.23
2. Indiana A team – 3:33.41
3. Indiana B team – 3:33.45

Ohio State came out on top in the last women’s event of the day, winning the 400 medley relay by over three seconds. Emily Crane Led off in 52.65, followed by Jose Panitz in 58.64, Katherine Zenick in 51.81 and Amy Fulmer in 47.13.

Indiana’s relays were separated by just .04, with freshmen posting speedy lead-offs on both. Anna Peplowski went 52.66 on the A relay and Kacey McKenna was 52.57 on the B.

MEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY

• NCAA A Cut: 3:05.37

Team Scores After Day 1

Women:

1. Ohio State – 579.5
2. Indiana – 548
3. Kentucky – 499.5
4. UCLA – 436.5
5. Notre Dame – 323.5
6. Virginia Tech – 314
7. Navy – 216
8. Pitt – 186
9. Cincinnati – 64

Men:

1. Indiana – 812.5
2. Ohio State – 511.5
3. Notre Dame – 455.5
4. Virginia Tech – 449
5. Kentucky – 318
6. Pitt – 246.5
7. Cincinnati – 205