University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Compete On Fourth Day Of U.S. National Championships
8/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
A contingent of University of Minnesota swimmers competed on the fourth day of competition Friday at the ConocoPhillips National Championships in Irvine, Calif. The 100-meter freestyle, 800 freestyle relay, 200 individual medley and 1500 freestyle prelims were contested on Friday. The meet concludes on Saturday evening.
In the 100-meter freestyle, three Gophers took the pool, led by junior Tyler Schmidt (Topeka, Kan.) who finished 39th in 51.66. Junior Matt Engel (Nashotah, Wis.) placed 50th in 51.83 and junior Mike Woodson (St. Louis, Mo.) finished 77th in 52.68.
The Gophers did not have an entrant in the 200 IM but Minnesota's 800 freestyle relay team posted a solid fourth place finish with a time of 7:34.16. The Gopher squad consisted of Zach Wood (Alma, Mich.), Woodson, Schmidt and Engel. Club Wolverine took the gold medal with a time of 7:26.35.
The preliminaries of the 1500-meter freestyle were contested with the finals to be held Saturday evening. Former Gopher All-American Justin Mortimer led the way in 10th place with a time of 15:27.92. He will swim in the B final on Saturday. Wood ended with a 45th place finish in 16:01.34 while freshman Nico Zebley (Baltimore, Md.) posted a 56th place finish in 16:09.61. Senior Fabian Toth (Coppell, Texas) was 60th in 16:13.30.
The final day of competition will include the 200-meter backstroke featuring six-time All-American David Plummer, the 200-meter breaststroke, 400-meter medley relay and the 1500-meter freestyle finals.
Players Mentioned
