ATLANTA – Zach Welsh placed 10th among a field of 47 in 1-meter diving at the NCAA Championships, earning his first career All-America honor as Purdue Men’s Swimming & Diving’s top finisher Thursday at the national championship meet.
The Boilermakers have at least four entries in all three diving events this week and Welsh made a run at earning a berth in the 1-meter championship final. His list score of 342.20 was just 2.5 points shy of eighth place and the final spot in the final.
Welsh was top 10 at NCAAs for the first time in his career. Going back to the women’s NCAA Championships last week, Purdue has had a top-10 finisher in all four diving events so far.
Big Ten champion Max Miller was also among the top 15 for much of the prelim until a missed dive in the final round led to the junior slipping to 21st. Nathaniel Grannis (30th) made his debut at NCAAs and Tyler Wills (40th) competed on 1-meter at the national championship meet for the first time.
All four Boilermakers compete again Friday on 3-meter and will be joined by teammate Holden Higbie.
Sophomore Evan Mackesy also made his debut at NCAAs on Thursday, racing twice in the prelim session. He placed 22nd of 36 in the 400 individual medley, with his time of 3:42.24 again eclipsing the Purdue record entering the season.
About an hour later, Mackesy joined Jānis Dzirkalis, Alex Hotta and Nathaniel Thomas in the 200 freestyle relay. Purdue finished 22nd among the relay teams that raced in the morning. Dzirkalis’ leadoff leg split of 19.13 was again faster than the team record in the 50 freestyle entering the season.
Alex Hotta and Dzirkalis led the way in Wednesday’s 200 medley relay. They teamed with Lucas Byrd and Thomas for a time of 1:23.70, which was also faster than the Purdue record in the event entering the season. With a leadoff leg time of 20.95, Hotta went sub-21 seconds on a 50 backstroke for the first time in his career. Dzirkalis closed the race with a 50 free split of 18.59, going sub-18.6 on a relay yet again.
Along with 3-meter diving, Purdue’s remaining events at NCAAs include the 500 free (Mackesy) Friday as well as the 200 IM (Mackesy) and platform diving (four entries) Saturday. Swimming prelims begin at 10 a.m. and diving prelims follow at noon. Finals sessions start at 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
1-Meter Diving
• Zach Welsh, 342.20 – Finished 10th in Prelim (7 Points); Honorable Mention All-America
• Max Miller, 314.95 – Finished 21st in Prelim
• Nathaniel Grannis, 293.55 – Finished 30th in Prelim
• Tyler Wills, 268.35 – Finished 40th in Prelim
400 IM
• Evan Mackesy, 3:42.24 – Finished 22nd in Prelims
200 Medley Relay
• Hotta, Byrd, Thomas & Dzirkalis, 1:23.70 – Finished 24th Overall
Hotta leadoff leg split of 20.95 is a lifetime best in 50 backstroke
200 Free Relay
• Dzirkalis, Hotta, Thomas & Mackesy, 1:16.98 – Finished 30th Overall
PURDUE’S DAILY SCHEDULE IN ATLANTA
All Start Times Approximate
Friday, March 27
• 500 Free (Mackesy) – First Prelim Heat at 10:34 a.m., Final at 6:51 p.m.
• 3-Meter Diving (Grannis, Higbie, Miller, Welsh, Wills) – Prelim at 12 p.m.; Final: Rounds 1-3 at 6:25 p.m., Rounds 4-6 at 7:10 p.m.
Saturday, March 28
• 200 IM (Mackesy) – First Prelim Heat at 10 a.m., Final at 6 p.m.
• Platform Diving (Grannis, Higbie, Springfield, Wills) – Prelim at 12 p.m.; Final: Rounds 1-3 at 6:25 p.m., Rounds 4-6 at 7:08 p.m.
Welsh an All-American via Top 10 Finish on 1-Meter
