Males’s swim & dive earns eighth place end at NCAAs

Following 4 days of competitors on the Jean Ok. Freeman Aquatic Heart in Minneapolis, Minn., the Cardinal (4-2, 3-2 Pac-12) drew the 2022-23 season to an in depth with an eighth-place end on the 2023 NCAA Division I Males’s Swimming & Diving Championships.

It was a decent turnaround for head coach Dan Schemmel’s swimmers, who headed to those nationwide championships from March 22-25 just some weeks after securing third place on the Pac-12 convention championships. However the squad battled by way of that end-of-season fatigue to notch season and all-time bests, a combined 28 All-America honors and its second greatest nationwide rating in Schemmel’s time on the helm. 

Opening evening noticed Stanford seize two top-10 relay finishes, with a 1:22.69 for tenth within the 200-yard medley relay and a 6:11.49 for seventh within the 800-yard freestyle relay. The previous, courtesy of senior Leon MacAlister, sophomore Ron Polonsky, junior Andrei Minakov and freshman Rafael Gu, was a season greatest by over a second.

The next day, Polonsky was once more a key factors scorer for the Cardinal, securing fifth place within the 200-yard particular person medley at a 1:40.62 that was simply two-tenths shy of his season greatest.

Sophomore Jack Ryan, in the meantime, continued a stellar season off the diving boards to earn a bronze medal within the 1-meter occasion, scoring 429.45.

Minakov and Gu have been then again within the line-up for day two’s relay, the 200-yard freestyle relay, joined by juniors Luke Maurer and Jonny Affeld. That staff’s effort of 1:16.44 was good for 14th place total.

The closest Stanford got here to a person medal was on day three, when Minakov’s time of 44.27 narrowly missed the 100-yard butterfly podium. His 44.17 within the morning’s heats apart, although, that’s the quickest the junior has been this season. 

Additionally scoring in that occasion was sophomore Aaron Sequeira, who completed sixteenth total after placing up a season and lifelong greatest 44.87 in prelims.

Playing cards raked in factors in every of the subsequent two occasions as nicely, by way of Maurer (1:32.54, twelfth place) within the 200-yard freestyle and Polonsky (51.41, eleventh place) within the 100-yard breaststroke. 

Maurer and Polonsky have been every barely faster of their qualifying heats, with season bests of 1:32.40 and 51.14 respectively. That 51.14 from Polonsky stands as each a brand new lifetime greatest for the sophomore, and a brand new Stanford file, whereas Maurer’s 1:32.40 was additionally a lifetime greatest.

Each swimmers have been again behind the blocks for the 400-yard medley relay, linking up with Minakov and MacAlister to supply a 3:03.61 for eleventh place.

Sequeira continued a robust exhibiting in Minneapolis with one other lifetime greatest on day 4, clocking in at 1:39.91 within the morning to qualify for the 200-yard backstroke remaining, the place he completed 14th.

Junior diver Ethan Foster was one other particular person factors scorer on the ultimate day of competitors, taking tenth place off the platform with a rating of 358.80.

Relay regulars Maurer, Minakov and Polonsky then added freshman Andres Dupont to finish the Cardinal’s 400-yard freestyle relay staff, touching in a season greatest mark of two:47.61 to finish the meet — and season — on a excessive.

Full outcomes of the 2023 NCAA Division I Males’s Swimming & Diving Championships may be discovered right here.