Three Freshman Records Fall as Boilers Jump to Fifth in Team Scoring at Big Tens

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Three new program freshman records were established and three Boilers won their heats in the evening finals, highlighting day two of the Big Ten Championships for Purdue men's swimming and diving Thursday.

With seven Boilers scoring points individually Thursday, Purdue jumped from ninth to fifth place in the team scoring. Fifth-place Purdue and eighth-place Wisconsin are separated by only 14 points entering day three of the four-day meet.

The Boilermakers enjoyed a strong showing in the 50 free. Danny Tucker, Matt Friede and Ben Ziolkowski all posted times under 20 seconds on the day, accounting for three of the five fastest times in program history. Tucker and Friede both qualified for the A final, with Tucker finishing third thanks to a time of 19.66. That ranks second in program history behind only Andrew Langenfeld's mark of 19.34, which was also a Big Ten record when it was set at the 2009 Big Ten meet.

Guillermo Blanco, Lyam Dias and Jan Petric all established new Purdue freshman records Thursday. Dias won the B final of the 200 IM with a time of 1:45.79, finishing .36 hundredths of a second ahead of Blanco's pace while finishing sixth in the A Final. Together, Dias and Blanco recorded two of the four fastest 200 IM times in program history.

Blanco was able to break his second freshman record of the season while leading off the 400 medley relay. He finished the 100 backstroke opening leg in 48.43. That time also ranks as the fourth fastest overall in program history. Albert Miller, Brendan Joyce and Friede teamed with Blanco to finish the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:13.07, good for the second-fastest mark in team history.

Petric established his new freshman mark in the 500 free (4:23.03) while finishing second in the C final. His time also represents the second fastest ever by a Boiler in the event.

On the boards, Jamie Bissett led the way by winning the consolation final of the 1-meter diving. Alec Back was close behind in third place of the consolation round. Together they accounted for 15 team points.

Chuck Destro recorded the other heat victory in the evening finals, touching first in the C final of the 50 free with a personal season-best time of 20.12.

The Big Ten Championships continue Friday with day three of the four-day, seven-session meet. The 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3-meter diving and the 200 free relay are scheduled for Friday. Preliminaries are set for 1 p.m. and finals at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Team Scores Through Thursday
1. #4 Michigan, 253
2. #9 Ohio State, 218
3. #11 Indiana, 189
4. Iowa, 152
5. #17 Purdue, 124
6. Penn State, 118
7. #16 Minnesota, 116
8. Wisconsin, 110
9. Northwestern, 72
10. Michigan State, 44

Purdue Highlights
* - New Purdue Season-Best Time
+ - New Personal Season-Best Time
(B) - NCAA Provisional Qualifying Time

500 Free
Jan Petric, 4:23.03* (B) - Finished 2nd in C Final
New Purdue Freshman Record & 2nd Fastest in Program History
Luke Trimmer, 4:25.71+ (prelim time) - Finished 5th in C Final
200 IM
Guillermo Blanco, 1:46.15+ (B) - Finished 6th in A Final, 13 Team Points
4th Fastest in Program History
Lyam Dias, 1:45.79* (B) - Won B Final, 9 Team Points
New Purdue Freshman Record & 2nd Fastest in Program History
50 Free
Danny Tucker, 19.66* (B) - Finished 3rd in A Final, 16 Team Points
2nd Fastest in Program History
Matt Friede, 19.80+ (B, prelim time) - Finished 7th in A Final, 12 Team Points
3rd Fastest in Program History
Ben Ziolkowski, 19.96+ (B, prelim time) - Finished 8th in B Final, 1 Team Point
5th Fastest in Program History
Chuck Destro, 20.12+ (B) - Won C Final
1-Meter Diving
Jamie Bissett, 346.30 - Won Consolation Final, 9 Team Points
Alec Back, 315.40 - Finished 3rd in Consolation Final, 6 Team Points
400 Medley Relay
Blanco, Miller, Joyce & Friede, 3:13.07* (B) - Finished 6th, 26 Team Points
2nd Fastest in Program History
Blanco sets 100 Back Freshman Record on Opening Leg (48.43); 4th Fastest in Program History