MINNEAPOLIS — LSU swimmer Craig Hamilton raced to 35th-place in the 500-yard freestyle on Day 1 of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Championships Thursday at the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Center.
Hamilton, a sophomore from Edinburgh, Scotland, posted a solid mark of 4 minutes, 23.14 seconds, less than a second off his program record and seed time of 4:22.17.
His effort in the 500 free is a potential promising sign of things to come as he aims for a top-16 finish in his signature event — the 1650 freestyle — on Saturday.
Senior Hannes Heyl will open his NCAA program Friday with the 100 butterfly-100 backstroke double. The eight-time NCAA All-American is seeded 15th in the 100 fly (46.55) and 23rd in the 100 back (47.15).
The Day 2 prelims begin at noon (CDT), while the finals start at 7 p.m. Minnesota will live stream the prelims, which can be accessed at www.GopherSports.com. Live video of the finals will be available on www.ESPN3.com.
For updates on LSU’s efforts, visit our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/LSUswimdive, or follow us on Twitter @LSUSwimDive.
2011 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships
March 24-26
University of Minnesota Aquatic Center
Schedule of Events
Friday, March 25
Prelims – Noon
200 medley relay
400 individual medley
100 butterfly (Heyl)
200 freestyle
100 breaststroke
100 backstroke (Heyl)
Three-meter Diving – 2 p.m.
Finals – 7 p.m. (ESPN3.com)
200 medley relay
400 individual medley
100 butterfly
200 freestyle
100 breaststroke
100 backstroke
Three-meter Diving
800 freestyle relay
Saturday, March 26
Prelims – Noon
200 backstroke
100 freestyle (Heyl)
200 breaststroke
200 butterfly
400 freestyle relay
Platform Diving – 1:30 p.m.
1650 freestyle early heats – 4:45 p.m. (Hamilton)
Finals – 7 p.m. (ESPN3.com)
1650 freestyle final heat
200 backstroke
100 freestyle
200 breaststroke
200 butterfly
Platform Diving
400 freestyle relay