COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wisconsin was everywhere, it seemed, when the 200-yard freestyle went off Friday at the Big Ten championships.
The Badgers placed seven swimmers among the race's 24 finalists, the most of any team in the field, and piled up points that could pay dividends as UW chases another top-five showing at the conference championships. It was part of a performance on the meet's penultimate day that also saw UW topple two more school records in the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle relay.
Senior Brett Pinfold continued his fantastic final act at the Big Ten meet with a fourth-place finish in the 200 free in a time of 1:33.85, just off his best of 1:33.79. Senior Matt Hutchins raced to a seventh-place showing in 1:35.32 after logging a personal-best time of 1:34.32 during the morning preliminary round.
All told, the Badgers' contingent combined to pile up an impressive haul of 87 points in the event. Swimming out of the consolation final, senior Ryan Barsanti was 12th, junior Ryan Stack took 15th and junior Victor Goicoechea was 16th. Senior Sean Maloney won the "C" final to take 17th overall and junior Anthony Lyons took 23rd.
"My college coach always told me that the strength of a team is the 200 free," UW head coach Whitney Hite said. "We had more scoring swims in the 200 free than any team in this conference. This is a really good team and it was really fun to watch how they performed."
Still, those points weren't enough to keep the Badgers from slipping two spots in the team standings, but UW's hopes for a third-consecutive top-five finish are still very much alive heading into the meet's final day.
Wisconsin stands sixth with 502 points, well within striking distance of fifth-place Purdue (505.5) and fourth-place Minnesota (551). Indiana (999) leads the race for the team title, ahead of second-place Ohio State (939.5) and third-place Michigan (923.5).
"We're in a real tight race for fourth with Minnesota and obviously with Purdue just a little ahead of us now, but tomorrow is our best day," Hite said. "We're expecting some great performances and looking forward to a strong finish."
Cannon Clifton has made a name of himself as a sprint specialist for the Badgers, but the senior added another line to his resume in the 100 butterfly. Clifton laid down an impressive swim of 45.81 seconds to take third place, claiming the Badgers' school record in the event — his fourth individual UW record, along with the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle — in the process. The time also fell just short of the automatic NCAA qualifying mark of 45.73.
Ohio State's Matt McHugh won in 44.91, followed by Indiana's Vincius Lanza in 45.07.
"Cannon continues to roll," Hite said. "He had an awesome swim in the fly today. School record as a senior, you can't ask for more than that. I know that he's going to be faster when we rest him a little bit more and he'll be better at NCAAs, but it's certainly fun to see him enjoy the moment."
Clifton's teammate, fellow senior Harrison Tran, came home 14th after setting a personal best of 47.16 in the morning preliminary session, a mark that ranks fifth all-time at UW.
Clifton was back on relay duty to end the night, leading the way for UW's entry in the 200 freestyle relay. He clocked his lead 50 freestyle leg in 19.42, the fastest relay split of his career and a mark that was just off his school-record swim of 19.39 in the event Thursday.
He combined with Barsanti, Stack and sophomore Jonathan Salomon to record a school-record time of 1:18.47.
In the 400 individual medley, freshman Michael Milinovich took the top spot in the consolation final, finishing ninth overall with a time of 3:46.04 that ranks No. 2 in school history.
"We had some really great performances tonight," Hite said. "Michael Milinovich's swim in the B final of the 400 IM, that's the second-fastest time in school history and, out of a freshman, that's outstanding."
UP NEXT
The final day of competition in Columbus begins with preliminary races in the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly at 10 a.m. (CT). Diving trials on the 10-meter platform follow at 12:30 p.m., and the 1650 freeestyle getting underway at 2:30 p.m. Finals in those events, as well as the 400 freestyle relay, get underway at 5:30 p.m. Both sessions will be available via BTN Plus.
QUOTABLE
Head coach Whitney Hite on the 200 freestyle relay: "The relay was pretty good. I say pretty good because we were one one-hundredth off a B cut and ultimately that is a relay that we need to be competing in at NCAAs. We have a time trial tomorrow, but anytime you break a school record, it's the best we've ever been and so you've got to be somewhat pleased with it. We're not satisfied but certainly we know we can do better."
