Championship Central | Results
Indianapolis, Ind. – The Cincinnati men won two individual titles on the way to moving into first place on the second day of the 2019 American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at the IUPUI Natatorium. The Bearcats recorded five podium finishes on Thursday.
Cincinnati, The American’s 2018 champion, leads the way through eight scored events with 345 points, while ECU finished day two with 320 points. UConn won the 50 freestyle and ended the day in third place with 288 points. SMU captured its second diving title and owns 204 points to enter Friday’s action. Friday’s prelims begin at 10 a.m. ET with finals starting at 6 p.m. ET.
Cincinnati swept the podium in the 500 freestyle, as Din Selmanovic, Tobias Van Dyke and Justin Crew placed first, second and third, respectively, to pick up big points for the Bearcats. Selmanovic’s time of 4:18.55 met the NCAA B Standard criteria and ranks third all-time in meet history. He was the 2018 runner-up in this event, while Crew improved from a fourth-place finish a year ago. UConn took three of the final eight spots in this event. The finals field of 13 featured five UConn swimmers and four Bearcats.
Four of the top eight 200 IM prelim times went to the Bearcats with reigning champion Dominic Polling leading the pack with a season-best B-Cut mark of 1:46.00. Polling carried the momentum into the title race, besting his personal record with a first-place time of 1:45.43—only 0.13 seconds off from The American’s meet record. ECU freshman Marek Osina also clinched a B-Cut time, clocking a personal-best time of 1:45.96, for second place. UConn’s Cooper Knapp claimed third place with his time of 1:47.99, while teammate Emils Gustav Jurcik placed fourth (1:48.13). Cincinnati captured the next three spots.
Entering the meet with the fastest 50 freestyle time in The American, UConn’s Will Kearsey clocked 19.95 seconds for a B-Cut time in the prelims to lead the field heading into the finals. Three ECU swimmers followed with the next-best times. Kearsey then swam a lifetime-best in the finals with his time of 19.78 seconds to become the first Husky to take home gold in this event. His mark was also the second-fastest in meet history. For a second-straight year, ECU’s Gustavo Santos finished second with his B-Cut time of 19.85 seconds, while teammates Gavin Erdmann (20.02 seconds) and Eric Hinderup (20.07 seconds) placed third and fourth, respectively.
SMU freshman Parker Hardigree kept the streak alive, become the third Mustang to take home the 3-meter dive title. SMU is the only team in conference history to place first in the 1 and 3-meter dives. Hardigree, who won the 3-meter on Wednesday, returned to the diving board, scoring a personal-best 324.00 in the 1-meter to earn his second-straight title of the meet. His top score in the final round came on a reverse 2 1/2 somersault tuck. ECU freshman Luke Stivers earned his first trip to the podium with his score of 288.20, while teammate Devin Nugent improved from a fifth-place finish last season with his second-straight top-three performance. Nugent scored 281.65 to earn the final podium spot in the 1-meter. Three Cincinnati divers made the top eight.
Wining its second-straight and third overall 200 freestyle relay title, ECU’s team of Erdmann, Hinderup, Santos and Victor Dos Santos captured first place with a time of 1:19.27 for the second-fastest time recorded at the meet in conference history. Santos and Erdmann also swam with the Pirates’ 2018 champion team. UConn’s team of Kearsey, Jurcik, Luke Martin and Kyle Dunlap was this year’s runner-up (1:20.35), while SMU’s squad of Ralph Koo, Carson Klein, Matthew Nutter and Lucas Schenke claimed the last podium spot (1:20.61).
Men’s Teams Scores
1. Cincinnati – 345
2. ECU – 320
3. UConn – 288
4. SMU – 204
Championships Schedule:
FRIDAY, MARCH 1
SESSION 4 – 10:00 A.M. (SWIMMING PRELIMS)
12:30 P.M. (DIVING PRELIMS)
SESSION 5– 6:00 P.M. (FINALS)
Prelims – Women’s 3M Diving
Consols – Women’s 3M Diving
Women’s 400 Individual Medley
Men’s 400 Individual Medley
Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly
Men’s 100 Yard Butterfly
Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle
Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle
Women’s 100 Yard Breaststroke
Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke
Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke
Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke
Finals – Women’s 3M Diving
Women’s 400 Yard Medley Relay*
Men’s 400 Yard Medley Relay*
SATURDAY, MARCH 2
SESSION 6 – 10:00 A.M. (SWIMMING PRELIMS)
12:30 P.M. (DIVING PRELIMS)
SESSION 7 – 5:00 P.M. (FINALS)
Prelims – Women’s Platform Diving
Prelims – Men’s Platform Diving
Women’s 1,650 Yard Freestyle^
Men’s 1,650 Yard Freestyle^
Finals – Women’s Platform Diving
Women’s 200 Yard Backstroke
Men’s 200 Yard Backstroke
Women’s 100 Yard Freestyle
Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle
Women’s 200 Yard Breaststroke
Men’s 200 Yard Breaststroke
Women’s 200 Yard Butterfly
Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly
Finals – Men’s Platform Diving
Women’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay*
Men’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay*
All times eastern