MINNEAPOLIS — LSU swimmer Craig Hamilton registered 15th in the 1650-yard freestyle with a new program record Saturday to give the Tigers a solid finish to the 2011 NCAA Men’s Championships in the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Center.
Hamilton closed strong in the final 200 yards of his race to improve his school-record time by 32 one-hundredths of a second with a mark of 15 minutes, 2.32 seconds. The sophomore’s effort gave him his first career honorable mention All-America honor.
Hamilton’s top-16 finish in the mile race Saturday and senior Hannes Heyl‘s top-eight finish in the 100 butterfly Friday delivered 14 points for the LSU men this weekend, placing the Tigers 26th in the final team standings for their highest NCAA finish since 2005.
“Craig had an incredible performance today,” co-head coach David Geyer said. “To be able to come off a full rest as a distance swimmer, rebuild for a few weeks and improve his performance was great to watch.
“Craig swam his own race in his heat, and everything worked out great. He certainly learned from his experience here as a freshman for his swims this year.”
Heyl also recorded a personal best on Saturday, swimming to a mark of 43.39 in the 100 free to take 23rd. The German concluded his stellar collegiate career as a nine-time NCAA All-American, the program record-holder in the 100 butterfly, a member of three record-breaking relays and ranked second all-time in the 100 free.
“Our goal is always to compete and finish at the highest level we can,” Geyer added. “Our goals were set high this year, but we are proud of Hannes and Craig for not only making it to the meet but scoring points for the program.”
California held off a late push from defending champion Texas to capture its first team title in 31 years with 493 points. The Golden Bears swept the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships this season as the women’s squad won the team title last Saturday.
2011 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships
March 24-26
University of Minnesota Aquatic Center
Final Team Standings
1. California – 493
2. Texas – 470.5
3. Stanford – 403
4. Arizona – 302
5. Florida – 291
6. Auburn – 269.5
7. USC – 206
8. Virginia – 200
9. Michigan – 181
10. Georgia – 125.5
11. Ohio State – 115
12. Tennessee – 106.5
13. Texas A&M – 99.5
14. North Carolina – 97
15. Minnesota – 91
16. Purdue – 88
17. Louisville – 73
18. Indiana – 61
19. UNLV – 56
20. Duke – 50
21. Arizona State – 48
22. Missouri – 44
23. Florida State – 32
24. Wisconsin – 21
25. Clemson – 16.5
26. LSU – 14
26. Penn State – 14
28. Virginia Tech – 11
29. Alabama – 10
30. West Virginia – 7
30. Northwestern – 7
32. SMU – 6
33. Wyoming – 5
33. BYU – 5
35. Iowa – 4
36. South Carolina – 2
37. Columbia – 1