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Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography 2020
McHugh Headed to 2021 NCAA Championships
3/10/2021 1:58:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MINNEAPOLIS - Junior breaststroke phenom Max McHugh will be headed to Greensboro, N.C. later this month to compete at the 2021 NCAA Championships, as announced by the NCAA Wednesday afternoon. The 2021 NCAA Championships are set to be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center from March 24-27.
McHugh will enter the nation's top meet as a top-two seed in both of the individual breaststroke events after notching a pair of exceptional NCAA 'A' standard times in each throughout the year, including the nation's top time of 50.19 seconds in the 100 breast. His seed time of 1:50.93 in the 200 breast has him second overall in his second and final event.
The Sturgeon Bay, Wis. native's time in the shorter of the two events stands as more than just the nation's fastest, however. Having recorded the monumental swim during the prelim round of the 100 breast at last week's Big Ten Conference Championships, the time, which ranks as the fifth fastest in history, now stands as the Big Ten Championships meet record, the Minnesota team record and the McCorkle Aquatic Center pool record, making it one of the best races of any Minnesota swimmer in history.
McHugh would later go on to win the event for the second consecutive year in a time of 50.59, his fourth time this season swimming under the NCAA 'A' cut standard and his 2020 season-best of 50.67 (which also stood as the nation's top time).
The latter of the junior's impressive seeds came as the result of his third career Big Ten Championship title. After qualifying for the night's 'A' final with the second fastest seed of the preliminary round at 1:52.84, McHugh dropped an unbelievable 1.91 seconds in the night's finals session to claim his first Big Ten title and third consecutive bid to NCAAs in the event.
Adding to McHugh's excellence throughout the 2021 season is his 50 breast split time from the Big Ten Championships, when the junior touched the wall in a historically fast 22.40 seconds, the fastest relay split of any swimmer in history. Of McHugh's other personal best times, his 100 breast time (51.09) and 200 breast time (1:49.41) sit as the fifth and 11th fastest in NCAA history, respectively.
Although the men's swimming qualifiers have officially been announced, the men's diving bids are still available with the 2021 NCAA Zone Diving Championships beginning Thursday morning. Minnesota divers Jake Butler and Duncan Lester will be representing the Maroon and Gold on the men's side at this year's Zone Diving Championships, which will be taking place from March 11-13 at the University of Kentucky. Both will hope to join McHugh at the NCAA Championships later this month.
McHugh will enter the nation's top meet as a top-two seed in both of the individual breaststroke events after notching a pair of exceptional NCAA 'A' standard times in each throughout the year, including the nation's top time of 50.19 seconds in the 100 breast. His seed time of 1:50.93 in the 200 breast has him second overall in his second and final event.
The Sturgeon Bay, Wis. native's time in the shorter of the two events stands as more than just the nation's fastest, however. Having recorded the monumental swim during the prelim round of the 100 breast at last week's Big Ten Conference Championships, the time, which ranks as the fifth fastest in history, now stands as the Big Ten Championships meet record, the Minnesota team record and the McCorkle Aquatic Center pool record, making it one of the best races of any Minnesota swimmer in history.
McHugh would later go on to win the event for the second consecutive year in a time of 50.59, his fourth time this season swimming under the NCAA 'A' cut standard and his 2020 season-best of 50.67 (which also stood as the nation's top time).
The latter of the junior's impressive seeds came as the result of his third career Big Ten Championship title. After qualifying for the night's 'A' final with the second fastest seed of the preliminary round at 1:52.84, McHugh dropped an unbelievable 1.91 seconds in the night's finals session to claim his first Big Ten title and third consecutive bid to NCAAs in the event.
Adding to McHugh's excellence throughout the 2021 season is his 50 breast split time from the Big Ten Championships, when the junior touched the wall in a historically fast 22.40 seconds, the fastest relay split of any swimmer in history. Of McHugh's other personal best times, his 100 breast time (51.09) and 200 breast time (1:49.41) sit as the fifth and 11th fastest in NCAA history, respectively.
Although the men's swimming qualifiers have officially been announced, the men's diving bids are still available with the 2021 NCAA Zone Diving Championships beginning Thursday morning. Minnesota divers Jake Butler and Duncan Lester will be representing the Maroon and Gold on the men's side at this year's Zone Diving Championships, which will be taking place from March 11-13 at the University of Kentucky. Both will hope to join McHugh at the NCAA Championships later this month.
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