University of Minnesota Athletics
Wold Shines On Opening Day Of Speedo Series
7/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Gopher senior Alex Wold won the 200 butterfly and finished second in the 100 freestyle to lead the Minnesota men's swimming team at the USA Swimming Speedo Champions Series event at University Aquatic Center. The four-day long course USA Swimming regional event continues through Saturday. Gophers won three of the four events and had 11 finalists on Wednesday evening.
Wold cruised to a win in the 200 butterfly, taking the event in 2:00.19, just .07 seconds off the school long course record. Sean Mathews of Wildcat Aquatics was a distant second in 2:01.56. Junior Kevin Baseheart also finished fifth in 2:05.97.
Earlier in the finals session, Wold took second in the 100 freestyle in 50.72, getting touched out by teammate Steve Miller, who touched in 50.71. Juniors Curt Carlson and Michael Richards made it a 1-2-3-4 Gopher finish, touching in 50.99 and 51.33 respectively. In the consolation final, junior Chris Peterson and sophomore Matt Papenfuss finished 11th and 12th respectively and Jake Kittilstad was 16th.
The most dominating performance of the evening came from graduated senior Mike Holmes, who turned in an 8:10.49 in the 800 freestyle to win the event by just under 15 seconds. The two-time All-American never trailed in the race. Senior Nico Zebley finished second in 8:25.93.
Junior Zach Weis was Minnesota's top perfomer in the 200 breaststroke, finishing third in 2:19.34. Incoming freshman Josh Hall also placed seventh in 2:23.05 and junior Rob Schnitzler was eighth in 2:26.41.
Players Mentioned
