March 6, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Notre Dame swimmer Ted Brown (Kokomo, Ind./Western H.S.) competed at the Boiler-Make-It Invitational Sunday afternoon in the Boilermaker Aquatic Center at Purdue University. The sophomore, who finished second in the event at last month’s BIG EAST Championships, swam the 500-yard freestyle in the last-chance meet, posting a time of 4:31.52 that is the sixth-best mark for an Irish student-athlete this season.
Brown, whose season-best mark of 4:25.89 placed him 56th in Division I this season heading into the weekend, was trying to improve upon his time – an NCAA consideration (B) mark – in an attempt to increase his chances of earning a spot in the NCAA Championships, slated for March 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn. Brown, the University record holder in the race, concluded his season holding four of Notre Dame’s top six times in the 500 free. He also was the team’s leader in the 200 freestyle (NCAA B cut of 1:38.64) and ranked second in the 1,000 free (9:22.88), third in the 200 butterfly (1:49.75), and fifth in the 400 individual medley (4:03.48). Brown currently stands as the team leader in points scored in individual events for the second consecutive season, with 279.5.
Next up for the Irish is the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, which will take place next Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, in the same facility at Purdue. Freshman Sam Stoner (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) will be Notre Dame’s lone entrant, taking part in one-meter action on Friday and three-meter competition the following day. Stoner finished fifth at last month’s BIG EAST Championships off both boards. Seven divers from the zone C meet will earn spots in the NCAA Championships.
The swimming field for the NCAAs will be announced on Friday, March 11. Notre Dame, aiming for its first-ever swimming qualifier in the national championships, figures to have one possibility: sophomore Tim Kegelman (Yorktown, Va./Tabb H.S.), who came into the weekend ranking 17th in Division I in the 100 butterfly (47.66). He also holds NCAA B cuts in both the 200 fly (1:47.53) and 200 IM (1:49.48) and, thus, would be eligible to swim all three should he qualify for the NCAA Championships. All three of his season-best times are University records, and Kegelman won BIG EAST titles in both the 100 fly and 200 IM, while taking fifth in the 200 fly. He also led all competitors in points scored at the conference meet (89.5), acting as a big reason the Irish were able to capture their first-ever BIG EAST championship.