2017 Men's Big Ten Championships

Indiana Wins 3 Titles, Leads B1G Championships

Indiana Wins 3 Titles, Leads B1G Championships

The No. 3-ranked Indiana University men's swimming and diving team won three conference titles on Thursday night.

Feb 23, 2018 by Kolby Paxton
Indiana Wins 3 Titles, Leads B1G Championships

Release courtesy of Indiana Athletics


The No. 3-ranked Indiana University men's swimming and diving team won three conference titles on Thursday night at the 2018 Big Ten Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

The Hoosiers sit in second place overall after two days of competition with 529.5 points, just nine points behind leader Michigan. Ohio State is third with a total of 407 points. IU has won the Big Ten title in five of the first seven events, including all three relays.

Indiana put on a historic showing in the 400 medley relay, as the Hoosiers team of Gabriel Fantoni, Ian Finnerty, Vini Lanzaand, and Blake Pieroni won with a school record, Big Ten record, pool record, and NCAA "A" cut time of 3:01.30.

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To put the time in perspective, the mark is the fifth-fastest time in history and is the fastest time ever posted outside a NCAA Championship meet. The Hoosiers won the race by over five seconds, beat the conference mark by two seconds, and posted the fastest time in the nation by over three seconds.

All four splits for the four Hoosiers were the fastest in the event, led by Fantoni's great leadoff 100 back time of 45.17. Fantoni recorded the third-fastest 100 back of any freshman in history, behind only Ryan Murphy (44.63) and Ralf Tribuntsov (44.95). Fantoni's mark is the fourth-fastest time in school history.

In the diving well, the Hoosiers had three in the championship final. Both Michael Hixon and James Connor put on a show, as Hixon was able to outduel his teammate to win the Big Ten title with a school, conference, and pool record score of 493.60.

Hixon's crown was the fourth of his career and the third 1-meter title for the senior. The redshirt senior is the first diver in league history to win three 1-meter championships since Hoosiers alum Mike Collier (1997-99).

Connor was tremendous in winning the silver, posting a score of 477.30 that would have broken the pool record as well. Connor's score is the second-best of his illustrious career and the fourth-best mark in the storied history of IU diving.

Freshman Mory Gould was terrific for Indiana, placing seventh overall in the championship final with a personal-best score of 372.65. Gould's PR ranks him as the 13th-best performer in the event in Hoosier history. 

In the "B" final of the 1-meter dive, freshman Andrew Capobianco came out on top, winning to place ninth overall with a personal-best score of 414.85. Capobianco's great score ranks his as the sixth-best diver in the event in school history. Cody Coldren placed 16th overall with a total of 339.55. 

Vini Lanza successfully defended his title in the 200 IM, winning the Big Ten crown with a school record, pool record and NCAA "A" cut time of 1:41.34. Lanza's mark is the fourth-best in the country this year. Lanza has won four titles in the first two days of the Big Ten Championships, bringing his career total to nine. 

In the "B" final of the 200 IM, Wilson Beckman placed third to finish 11th overall with a time of 1:45.57, while freshman Jacob Steele was second in the "C" final to place 18th with a personal-best time of 1:46.69. 

In the championship final of the 50 freestyle, senior Ali Khalafalla won bronze, touching the wall third with a time of 19.23. Freshman Bruno Blaskovic was fifth in the "A" final with a mark of 19.46. Nikola Miljenic had a great swim in the "B" final, winning with a personal-best time of 19.48. In the "C" final, Josh Romany tied for 18th overall with a time of 19.88, while Oliver Patrouch was 22nd in 19.93. 

Adam Destrampe posted the second-best time of his career in the championship final of the 500 freestyle, placing seventh overall with a NCAA B cut time of 4:19.14. In the "C" final of the 500 freestyle, the Hoosiers finished 3-4-5 to place 19th, 20th, and 21st overall with NCAA "B" cuts. 

Trey Hubbuch led the trio with a time of 4:22.31, while Ethan Curl was right behind him with a personal-best score of 4:22.93. Freshman Spencer Lehman touched the wall with a PR of 4:23.54. 

The No. 3-ranked Hoosiers will continue competition at the 2018 Big Ten Championships on Friday morning with the prelims of the 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, and 3-meter dive. The action gets started at noon ET at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.