The Ohio State Buckeyes played host to Big Ten Conference rival Michigan State this weekend at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. On Friday afternoon, both squads participated in non-scoring long course meter time trials so that Olympic hopefuls, whether foreign or domestic, had another opportunity to race in that configuration. The scoring portion occurred this morning under the normal NCAA lineup with Ohio State exercising full authority, taking 27 out of a possible 32 events, including diving. The Buckeyes safely put away their Big Ten foe 182-104 for the women and 186-101 for the men.
Women’s Meet
The 200 medley relay was the first stop on the Buckeyes’ road to victory. The ladies from Ohio State locked down first and second with their A relay posting a 1:42.82, leaving the Spartans out touched to third by .02 at 1:45.07.
Buckeye swimmer Lindsey Clary aquired several top finishes for her team, starting with the only sub-10 minute 1000 free of the field at 9:58.87. Later in the session, she would out pace Spartan swimmer Haley Kornburger in the 500 yard free, 4:56.14 to 5:07.58. Clary’s teammate, Liz Li, snagged a few wins of her own. The sophomore touched first in the 100 back at 55.65 and almost led her team to a podium sweep, but Michigan State’s Madison Novak clocked a 56.88 to interrupt the Buckeyes’ progress. Li also split the fastest 100 free of the field at 50.21 while teammate Annie Jongekrijg matched her with the 50 free title (23.52) and a third place finish in the 100 (51.65).
Taylor Vargo took home both of the breaststroke races, she clocked a 1:04.08 in the 100 and 2:16.30 in the 200. The Michigan State ladies pulled through with some tough racing in the 200 breast as Marina Borri spearheaded a 2-3-4 finish with her hit of 2:22.16. The Spartans finally fired back with two event wins from senior Elizabeth Brown. Her marks of 58.12 in the 100 fly and 2:08.04 in the 200 IM amassed a wealth of points for the Spartans in this dual.
Hannah Thek, Ohio State’s highest scoring diver and the only sophomore in the flight, had standout performances on the 1 and 3 meter boards. She dove for 285.83 on the 1 meter over Spartan diver Julia Oppediasano’s 269.25 while also registering a score of 364.75 on the 3 meter. The Michigan State women polished off their competition with their winning time of 3:30.36 in the 400 free relay.
Men’s Meet
Much like their female counterparts, the Buckeyes put together a sub-1:30 200 medley relay to best their rivals’ relay finish of 1:31.64.
Brayden Seal of Ohio State got the job done for his team in the distance events this morning. Accompanied by teammates Jovan Mitrovic and Joey Long in the 1000 free, Seal’s 9:19.78 led a podium sweep and later he collected another title with his touch of 4:32.25 in the 500 free.
While Dj MacDonald’s stellar swims in the 100 breast (55.31) and 200 breast (2:03.77) went straight to the bank, Michigan State’s answer to the Buckeyes’ campaign was Alec Kandt. He finished in just behind MacDonald, posting a 56.90 and a 2:06.21 in the corresponding events, and even prevented a Buckeye takeover in the 100 breast.
Another quality pair of swims coming from Matt McHugh gave a boost to the Buckeyes’ score. His 50 free hit of 20.50 cleared his competition by over half a second and his 49.19 100 fly trumped Spartan swimmers Alex Trompke (49.64) and Nate Weeks (51.10). Weeks also turned right around to race and win the 200 IM in 1:53.92 for Michigan State.
On the diving boards, Ohio State’s Colin Zeng was the front-runner on a 1-2-3 sweep for his team. His score of 370.95 on the 1 meter and 404.10 on the 3 meter shot him straight to the top of the leader board. The visiting Spartans capped the day’s events with their winning 400 free relay time of 3:06.70.
Women’s Score
- Ohio State 182 – Michigan State 104
Men’s Score
- Ohio State 186 – Michigan State 101
*Some events are scored with swimmers in exhibition