Despite yet another comeback in the final day of competition thanks to four top eight finishers in the platform dive event, Indiana's men's swimming and diving team fell just short of a second place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
The Hoosiers finished in third on the final day of competition with 549 points, just 3.5 shy of second place Ohio State, after trailing by 72.5 points at one point earlier in the day. Michigan's team however breezed to it's second straight Big Ten title, earning 738.5 points in the process.
After the 100-yard freestyle put the Hoosiers 72.5 points behind OSU, sophomore Cody Miller won his second consecutive 200-yard breaststroke title in a time of 1:54.07, his career-best and second-best time in school history. Miller's NCAA A-Cut time, combined with a fifth place finish from junior Sam Trahin (1:56.97), drew the Hoosiers within 37.5 points of the Buckeyes.
After senior Tyler Shedron finished eighth in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 1:46.21, a successful platform dive put the Hoosiers within 1.5 points of the Buckeyes heading into the final event of the championships. Sophomore Conor Murphy led the way for IU, earning the fifth best score in school history of 426.55 in a second place effort. Juniors Zac Nees (4th; 391.35), Casey Johnson (6th; 372.35) and Mick Dell'Orco (7th; 337.00) followed, and gave the Hoosiers a chance to earn second place heading into the last event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, if they finished ahead of Ohio State.
Competing in the first heat, the IU team of juniors Jim Barbiere and Daniel Kanorr and sophomores Cody Miller and James Wells finished with the school's third-best time ever of 2:55.60, nearly six seconds better than their seed indicated. However, Ohio State competed in the second heat, and finished with a time of 2:53.81, almost two seconds ahead of the Hoosiers' team. That gave Ohio State the edge over Indiana, as the Buckeyes finished only 3.5 points ahead of the Hoosiers at the end of the competition.
Next up for the Hoosiers are the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships from March 8-10 in Bloomington, where several IU divers will be competing. As for the swimmers, those who have qualified for the NCAA Championships will compete in a month from now, from March 22-24 in Federal Way, Wash.
