INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue's Kaersten Meitz capped her big week at the USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships by finishing fourth in the 400-meter freestyle Friday.
Meitz was a championship finalist for the second time this week after also taking sixth in the 800 free Monday. She established new Purdue long-course records in both events, posting a time of 4:08.34 in the 400 Friday. That was more than a second faster than her qualifying time (4:09.46) from the Boilermaker Aquatics early bird meet last month at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center. The rising senior was seeded eighth in the event and finished fifth in the prelims with a time of 4:09.30.
Meitz's performance Friday is likely to earn her a berth at the World University Games later this summer in Taipei, Taiwan, though Team USA's official roster will not be announced until after the Phillips 66 National Championships. She would join diver Joe Cifelli and the men's basketball team as Boilermakers slated to compete at the World University Games in August. Nika Karlina Petric (Slovenia, 2015), Marat Amaltdinov (Russia, 2015) and diver MacKenzie Tweardy (USA, 2013) are other Purdue swim-dive student-athletes to compete at the WUG in recent years. The Boilermakers have never had a female swimmer qualify for Team USA at the World University Games. However, Kim Fritsch (1991-94) did race for Team USA at the 1991 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Japan and Marisa Watts (1995-98) qualified for the USA roster at the 1999 FINA World Cup in Brazil.
Meitz also placed fourth in the B final (12th overall) in the 200-meter free this week, eclipsing the two-minute mark in the long-course race for the first time in her career. She posted a time of 1:59.56 in the finals. The three-time NCAA Championships qualifier was eligible to compete in the 1,500 free Saturday, but has chosen to forgo that opportunity. Three top-12 finishes at USA's Swimming premier national meet of the year is an impressive accomplishment regardless of the year.
Nine current Boilermakers raced in Indianapolis this week. Cady Farlow had a strong showing in the 50-meter breaststroke, winning her heat and finishing in 27th place (of 67) in the prelims with a time of 32.41. Additionally, incoming Boilermaker Trent Pellini (Dana Point, California) also performed well in the 50 breast. He finished 32nd in the prelims and as an 18-year-old earned a place in the C final, which is reserved for swimmers 18 and under at USA Swimming national meets. He finished fifth in his second swim.
Chris Bals, Tim Barth, Taite Kitchel, Will Schrensky, Jackie Smailis, Jake Thomas and Joe Young also represented this Boilermakers this week at Nationals.