Iowa 3rd Following Day 1 of Hawkeye Invitational

Nov. 30, 2012

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Hawkeye Invitational – Nov. 30 Results

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team posted the second-fastest time in school history during the opening day of the Hawkeye Invitational. The Hawkeyes sit in third place with 138.5 points following the Friday’s competition.

Michigan is leading the five-team field with 387 points, followed by Notre Dame (205.5), Iowa (138.5), Denver (114) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (102).

“We had a lot of great swims,” said UI head coach Marc Long. “We haven’t had very many events, but I like where we’re headed. We’re swimming well, diving well. It should be an exciting next two days.”

Iowa posted its top performance in the evening’s final race, the 400 medley relay. The Hawkeye quartet of sophomore Grant Betulius, freshman Roman Trussov and seniors Byron Butler and Jordan Huff posted a time of 3:12.71. The time is the second fastest in school history and the fourth-best nationally in 2012-13.

“It’s way ahead of last year’s (time),” said Long. “We’re happy with the time, of course, you always want to win. Michigan is putting up times that are No. 1 in the country. We want to step up and beat them. We like the time, but we’re trained to race.”

Iowa also got a fourth-place finish by its “B” 400 medley relay. Juniors Dustin Rhoads and Andrew Marciniak, freshman David Ernstsson and junior Gianni Sesto swam to a time of 3:16.52, the seventh fastest time in the UI record books.

The Hawkeyes opened Saturday’s final with a pair of top-six finishes in the 200 freestyle relay. Iowa’s “A” relay featuring sophomore Brian Donatelli, Huff, Betulius, and Sesto posted a season-best time of 1:20.55 to finish fourth. The Hawkeye “B” relay consisting of freshmen Jackson Allen, Ernstsson, senior Mitch Taylor and Rhoads touched the wall with the sixth-fastest time in 1:21.53.

Iowa got a fifth place showing by freshman Addison Boschult in the 3-meter springboard. The Omaha, Neb., native finished with a total of 308.20 points, a career-best score.

The Hawkeyes were represented by a pair of student-athletes in the “B” final of the 500 freestyle. Junior Manuel Belzer posted an NCAA “B” standard en route to a second place finish in his heat and a 10th place showing overall. Belzer posted a season-best time of 4:24.68. Senior Patrick Weigand clocked a time of 4:32.69 to finish 15th.

Junior Tyler Lentz tallied a seventh place finish to lead the Hawkeyes in the 200 IM, posting a time of 1:48.93. The Hawkeyes’ Kyle Noser was 14th overall in 1:53.28, while freshmen Quillan Oak and Matthew Boyd were 17th and 21st, respectively. Oak won the “C” final, touching out in 1:52.13, while Boyd was fifth in his heat in 1:52.45.

Iowa had five competitors finish among the top-14 in the 50-free. Huff placed eighth in the “A” final with a time of 20.66. Donatelli sprinted to a win in the “B” final in 20.63 seconds, followed by Betulius (20.78, 10th), Sesto (20.92, 12th) and freshman Jackson Allen (20.97, 14th). All five competitors posted season-best times during the preliminaries.

Action resumes Saturday with prelims beginning at 10 a.m. (CT).