INDIANAPOLIS- Nine members of the LSU men’s swimming and diving team will compete for the NCAA Championships from March 23-25 at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis.
ESPN3.com will stream the championship finals sessions live each Friday and Saturday. Thursday’s sessions along with the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday will also be streamed live on www.ncaa.com and www.indianasportscorp.org/ncaasd.
“We’re excited to get this meet started. All nine men here have been really cohesive over the past 48 hours and are truly invested in each other,” said head swimming coach Dave Geyer.
“The divers are excited for the swimmers, and the swimmers are excited for the divers. It’s going to be a great week, and we know we have to step up and perform at our best to make an impact here.”
On the swimming side, senior Logan Rysemus will take part in his third and final NCAA’s to wrap up his stellar career, while junior Jake Markham will make his first-ever appearance in the championships. In the relays, the 400 free, as well as the 200 and 400 medley squads also notched qualifying spots in the meet.
For the diving squad, LSU qualified all four of its men for NCAA’s, marking the most-ever in program history.
A native of Tacoma, Washington, Rysemus qualified for both the 100 fly and 100 back. Last season, Rysemus picked up Honorable Mention All-America accolades in both events after taking fourth in the fly and eighth place in the back in the consolation finals. This season, Rysemus broke his own school record in the 100 back at the Art Adamson Invite with a time of 45.89 for the 20th-fastest time in the country.
Rysemus boasts the 19th-fastest time in the nation in the 100 fly, clocking at 45.98. Rysemus also holds the school record in the event after touching the wall at 45.19 at last year’s SEC Championships.
Markham, a native of Denver, Colorado, picked up his first NCAA berth in the 200 free with a ‘B’ cut time of 1:33.94 to break his own school record at the SEC Championships, swimming to the 23rd-fastest time in the country.
Rysemus and Markham are both slated to compete in the 100 free with times of 43.28 and 43.35, respectively that are good for fourth and fifth on LSU’s all-time list. Markham is also slated to compete in the 200 fly with a time of 1:43.96.
In the relays, the 400 free, 200 and 400 medley squads also received bids for the NCAA’s. The 200-medley team of Karl Luht, Silas Dejean, Rysemus and Markham tallied an automatic qualifying time at the Bulldog Last Chance Invite, finishing at 1:24.87 to break the school record.
The team qualified in the 400-medley relay after posting a time of 3:08.00 in the SEC Championships, breaking their second school record this season.
Rysemus, Luht, Lewis Clough and Markham will also compete in the 400-free relay after earning a time of 2:53.60.
For the diving team, all four divers qualified for the NCAA’s for the first time in their careers after an impressive showing at the Zone Regionals.
In just his first collegiate season, freshman Juan Celaya-Hernandez qualified on both springboards and platform. The native of Mexico shattered all three school records at the SEC Championships with scores of 467.05 on one-meter, 469.95 on three-meter, and 496.55 on platform. Celaya-Hernandez secured gold on platform for his performance and collected two silver medals on both springboards.
Matthew Phillip, a sophomore from Frisco, Texas garnered his first-ever berth in the NCAA Championships after coming in fifth overall with a two-list score of 704.10 at Zones. Phillip also compiled a score of 412.75 at SEC’s for a career-high on platform and fourth on LSU’s all-time list.
Sophomore Matt McClellan will compete in two events at NCAA’s after qualifying on three-meter and platform. A native of Cypress, Texas, McClellandove to career bests in both events at SEC’s, earning a career-high on three-meter with a score of 399.45 to move to fourth on LSU’s all-time list, and a score of 321.90 on platform.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, senior Andrew Suchla rounds out the divers after receiving his first set of NCAA bids on both one and three-meters at Zones in his final season.
“With four divers qualified in 11 events, we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us. The level of competition is strong and deep, but we have prepared for this all year long,” said head diving coach Doug Shaffer.
“It is important for us to stay focused, present and automatic. I’m excited for the next three days of competition.”
Thursday, March 23
10:00 a.m.
Day 2 Swimming Trials
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
12:15 p.m. One-meter Diving Trials 15 minutes following trials Consolation Finals (9-16)
6:00 p.m.
Day 2 Finals
200 Freestyle Relay Consolation
200 Freestyle Relay Final
500 Freestyle Consolation
500 Freestyle Final
200 Individual Medley Consolation
200 Individual Medley Final
50 Freestyle Consolation
50 Freestyle Final
One-meter Diving Finals
400 Medley Relay Consolation
400 Medley Relay Final