Northwestern
Big Ten Championships
Men's Swimming Finishes Fifth at Big Ten Championships
2/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Feb. 24, 2001
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -
The Northwestern men's swimming and diving squad finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday. It was the best finish for the Wildcat men's swimming squad since 1973. Minnesota won the championships with 797 points, followed by Michigan with 549 points. For the weekend, NU set ten school records.
The Wildcats witnessed the setting of two school records in finals on Saturday. Sophomore Kellan O'Connor (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Preparatory) broke his own school record in the 200 butterfly. His time of 1:44.92 automatically qualifies him to the NCAA Championships and placed him second overall. O'Connor's second-place finish in that event was the highest finish for the Wildcats in the three days of competition.
Freshman Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) continued his success from the first two day of competition with a fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke. His time of 1:44.94 met the NCAA qualifying B standard. Swanson completed his championships with two school records, his first coming in the 200 individual medley in a third-place time of 1:47.87 and his second coming in the 400 individual medley in a time of 3:51.48.
Freshman Adam Barker (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) finished third in the platform diving event with a 455.00 points.
The 400 freestyle relay of Swanson, Nick Barnes (Frankfort, Ind./Frankfort), Jason Merchant (Pearl City, Hawaii/Punahou) and Steve Steketee (Golden, Colo./Golden) broke the school record with a sixth-place time of 2:57.56. The old record, set in 1997, was 2:57.63.
Others Wildcat scorers in Saturday's finals included Steketee, Merchant, Aaron McCracken (Naperville, Ill./Central), Mark Hamming (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Mike Shue (Ft. Myers, Fla./Ft. Myers). Steketee finished seventh in the 100 freestyle with a time of 44.46, McCracken finished 10th in the 200 breaststroke in an NCAA qualifying B standard time of 2:00.17, Hamming finished 11th in the 200 fly in a time of 1:48.22, and Merchant finished 12th in that same event with a time of 1:48.49. Both Hamming and Merchant met the NCAA qualifying B standard in the 200 butterfly. To round out the Wildcat scoring, Shue finished 14th in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 15:36.97.
Final Team Standings:
1. Minnesota - 797 pts.
2. Michigan - 549 pts.
3. Penn State - 538 pts.
4. Wisconsin - 321 pts.
5. Northwestern - 290 pts.
6. Indiana - 284 pts.
7. Ohio State - 278 pts.
8. Purdue - 269 pts.
9. Iowa - 196 pts.
10. Michigan State - 143 pts.
Wildcat Finishes in Saturday's Finals:
1650 freestyle - Mike Shue 15:36.97 (14th), David Hersh 15:48.14 (20th), Tommy Lockman 15:49.69 (22nd), Dan Williams 15:50.27 (23rd).
Platform diving - Adam Barker 455.00 (3rd), Elliot Massuda 317.50 (11th).
200 backstroke - Tony Swanson 1:44.94 (4th).
100 freestyle - Steve Steketee 44.46 (7th).
200 butterfly - Kellan O'Connor 1:44.92 (2nd), Mark Hamming 1:48.22 (11th), Jason Merchant 1:48.49 (12th).
200 breaststroke - Aaron McCracken 2:00.17 (10th).
400 freestyle relay - Tony Swanson, Nick Barnes, Jason Merchant, Steve Steketee 2:57.56 (6th).
