Big Ten Prelims Day Three: Ohio State's Matt McHugh Doubles Up

Day three prelims at the 2017 Men's Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championship featured the 100 butterfly, 400 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and 100 backstroke. The Indiana Hoosiers still lead the Michigan Wolverines.

Feb 24, 2017 by Maclin Simpson

Big Ten Prelims Day Three: Ohio State's Matt McHugh Doubles Up

The Indiana men's swimming team continued to pull away from Michigan in today's prelims at the 2017 Big Ten Championship in Columbus, Ohio. It's early to say, but most of this deck has already been dealt. Ohio State may even threaten Michigan depending on its numbers on Saturday. Underneath each event, we've also put in a table comparing the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference meets.

100-YARD BUTTERFLY

Big Ten Conference record: 45.24 (Chris Brady - Michigan, 2009)
NCAA 'A' cut: 45.73
2016 Invited: 46.44

Last year's Big Ten champion, Matt McHugh, is going into finals tonight ranked first with a 45.29; however, Vini Lanza's 44.6 split on Indiana's 400 medley relay on Thursday should preclude a photo finish. Sitting in third, Buckeyes freshman Noah Lense uncorked a 45.71 this morning and looks to add huge points for Ohio State.

1.) Matt McHugh (OSU): 45.29 (NCAA 'A')
2.) Vinicius Lanza (Indiana): 45.56 (NCAA 'A')
3.) Noah Lense (OSU): 45.71 (NCAA 'A')
4.) Cannon Clifton (Wisconsin): 46.27
5.) Tuomas Pokkinen (Minnesota): 46.28
6.) Miles Smachlo (Michigan): 46.30
7.) Jerzy Twarowski (Iowa): 46.43
8.) Evan White (Michigan): 46.53

	# Under 2016 Invited	8th Place	16th Place
Big Ten	7	46.53	47.19
SEC	11	46.23	47.01

400 IM

Big Ten Conference record: 3:35.98 (Tyler Clary - Michigan, 2009)
NCAA 'A' cut: 3:40.76
2016 Invited: 3:45.61

Freshman Charles Swanson from Michigan took the top spot this morning in 3:44.99, with the rest of the field seeming somewhat reserved. Jakub Maly, last year's runner-up, was 3:42.79 in 2016 and currently sits in fifth with a 3:47.54. With four swimmers in the A final, Michigan is trying to close in on Indiana.

1.) Charles Swanson (Michigan): 3:44.99
2.) Patrick Ransford (Michigan): 3:46.48
3.) Ching Lim (OSU): 3:46.66
4.) Cameron Stitt (Michigan): 3:47.15
5.) Jakub Maly (Minnesota): 3:47.54
6.) Adam Noens (Purdue): 3:48.03
7.) Stephen Holmquist (Michigan): 3:48.10
8.) Joshua Brooks (Purdue): 3:48.39

	# Under 2016 Invited	8th Place	16th Place
Big Ten	1	3:48.39	3:52.46
SEC	8	3:46.44	3:48.51

200 FREESTYLE

B1G Conference record: 1:32.14 (Michael Wynalda - Michigan, 2014)
NCAA 'A' cut: 1:32.97
2016 Invited: 1:34.67

Wow, Indiana. Just when you think Michigan might make a move, the Hoosiers put five guys in the A final. That five became four after Wisconsin's Matthew Hutchins beat Indiana's Anze Tavcar in a swim-off. Hutchins was 1:31 anchoring the relay, so lookout for a gutterball tonight. Blake Pieroni is the favorite here, already having set the Big Ten record as the leadoff in the 800 freestyle relay for the Hoosiers. Wisconsin looks to gain some big points as well -- the Badgers are trying to keep themselves safely ahead of the Minnesota Gophers. Overall this is a really fast field, showing mid-distance supremacy over the SEC.

1.) Marwan El Kamash (Indiana): 1:33.25
2.) Mohamed Samy (Indiana): 1:33.55
3.) Joshua Fleagle (OSU): 1:33.63
4.) Felix Auboeck (Michigan): 1:33.70
5.) Blake Pieroni (Indiana): 1:33.72
6.) Brett Pinfold (Wisconsin): 1:34.03
7.) Jackson Miller (Indiana): 1:34.07
8.) Anze Tavcar (Indiana): 1:34.32*
8.) Matthew Hutchins (Wisconsin): 1:34.32*

	# Under 2016 Invited	8th Place	16th Place
Big Ten	10	1:34.32*	1:35.94
SEC	9	1:34.99	1:35.63

100 BREASTSTROKE

B1G Conference record: 51.41 (Richard Funk - Michigan, 2015)
NCAA 'A' cut: 51.93
2016 Invited: 52.92

The returning Big Ten champion Ian Finnerty was 51.75 last year, which means that a two-peat looks to become reality. Conner McHugh from Minnesota broke his own school record with this morning's 52.73 and having been 51.63 on the relay could mean more in the cards tonight. Michigan's Chris Klein had an impressive race this morning, improving on his 13th-place finish from last year's championship.

1.) Ian Finnerty (Indiana): 52.05
2.) Chris Klein (Michigan): 52.62
3.) Jack Barone (OSU): 52.67
4.) Conner McHugh (Minnesota): 52.73
5.) Jacob Montague (Michigan): 52.82
6.) Levi Brock (Indiana): 52.88
7.) Eric Sande (Minnesota ): 53.03
8.) Gunther Casell (Penn St): 53.41

	# Under 2016 Invited	8th Place	16th Place
Big Ten	6	53.41	53.87
SEC	9	53.06	53.64

100 BACKSTROKE

Big Ten Conference record: 44.72 (Ben Hesen - Indiana, 2008)
NCAA 'A' cut: 45.37
2016 Invited: 46.51

Returning champion and top seeded Matt McHugh of Ohio State did not have the relay leadoff he wanted on Thursday, but it does not get any easier tonight as he will have a hard time fighting off Shane Ryan, who was 44.95 in the 400 medley relay for Penn State. McHugh was able to rock a 45.07 last year, so you know he's teething at a membership to the 44-second club. Still significantly behind the SEC, this year's top eight was faster than last year, having taken 47.19 to make it in the big boy final, as opposed to 47.59 in 2016. Look out Michigan. OSU has four swimmers in this final and isn't far behind.

1.) Matt McHugh (OSU): 45.25 (NCAA 'A')
2.) Shane Ryan (Penn St): 46.08
3.) Bob Glover (Indiana): 46.32
4.) Tristan Sanders (Michigan): 46.68
5.) Thomas Trace (OSU): 46.72
6.) Luke Papendick (Michigan): 47.10
7.) Mark Belanger (OSU): 47.11
8.) Andrew Appebly (OSU): 47.19