Summary of the live broadcast of the first day
2023 Ohio State Invitational
- November 16-18, 2023
- Gabrielsen Natatorium, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
- Preliminary course for long course meters (50 metres), short course yards (25 yards) and finals
- Preliminaries begin at 9:30 AM ET, Finals at 5:30 PM ET
- Participating Teams: #12M/#4W Ohio State, #4M/#8W Indiana, #16M/#3W Louisville, #14M Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Ohio (diving), Cal (diving), Pitt (diving)
- Live Stream: Big Ten Network ($)
- Get to know Central
- Meet the results
Thursday’s preliminary heat sheet
The 2023 Ohio State Tournament kicks off Thursday morning and features a lot of local flavor from Indiana and Ohio, including top 25 teams from Ohio State, Indiana, Louisville and Notre Dame.
For the host Buckeyes, who have been quiet at the start of the season with several top-10 opponents having impressive performances in dual meets, this is an opportunity to make a statement that despite a lot of coaching turnover in recent years, they are still at the top of the Big Ten.
The meet is also a chance for Louisville’s women to find the depth to get over the hump to get into the top three, and for Indiana’s men to show they’re still a top-5 team even without the Olympic champion. Ahmed Hafnoui (Whose future with the program has not yet been confirmed).
Day 1 will also feature a surprise member of the U.S. World Championship team Chris Giuliano Notre Dame’s 50th free race. This is a big collegiate season for him, and this will be his first meet since that World Championship.
Women’s 400 meter freestyle – preliminary heats
- Converted NCAA “A” standard: 4:07.67
- Converted 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 4:10.52
- US Olympic Trials Standard: 4:15.49
Top 10 qualifiers:
- Anna Pebloski, Junior, Indiana – 4:12.80
- Cheng Gan, Jr., Indiana – 4:13.90
- Ella Ristic, Indiana – 4:15.76
- Maya Gehringer, Ohio State senior – 4:15.77
- Summer Cardwell, freshman, Louisville – 4:16.62
- Elise Heizer, Junior, Indiana – 4:17.19
- Megan Glass, fifth year, Notre Dame – 4:19.77
- Gwen Woodbury, Junior, Ohio State – 4:20.73
- Mia Rankin, junior, Ohio State – 4:22.13
- Mary Katherine Pruitt, junior, Notre Dame – 4:22.34
After a busy summer that saw her swim the 200-meter freestyle, which put her in great contention for the U.S. Olympic team, the Indiana junior women’s Anna Peplowski That carries over into the college season.
She swam a 4:26 in the 400 freestyle at a dual meet earlier this year, which is enough to worry about, but Indiana’s training often relies on big taper drops, and Peplowski got that right Thursday morning, swimming 4: 12.80 in the 400 free. This improves her previous best time of 4:19.65 achieved at Sectionals in 2021.
Although this 400 is not an event she will seriously pursue at the international level (the 100/200 has been her best pairing for a long time), if she can follow up that landing with a 500 free on Thursday night, that’s a big deal. For Indiana: She swam in just two events at the NCAAs last year. She scored in both (sixth in the 200 free, ninth in the 200 backstroke), but did not have an individual event on the second day on her schedule.
She led Indiana 1-2-3 in that race. They scored big at Big Tens in the 500 free last year — second only to the 200 breaststroke (100 for 74) as their best swimming event at the meet.
Megan Glass, the fifth-year Notre Dame transfer from Michigan, also swam with a best time of 4:19.77 to reach the final. This improves her previous best of 4:20.70 from May 2022.
Men’s 400 meter freestyle race – preliminary heats
- Converted NCAA “A” standard: 3:44.87
- 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 3:48.12
- US Olympic Trials Standard: 3:55.59
Top 10 qualifiers:
- Alex Axon, Ohio State senior – 3:51.89
- Ilya Sibertsev, fifth year, Louisville – 3:52.42
- Tyler Watson, fifth year, Louisville – 3:53.32
- Thomas Navikonis, SOF, Ohio State – 3:55.50
- Jackson Carlisle, Jr., Indiana – 3:56.16
- Mason Carlton, Jr., Indiana – 3:57.23
- Gustavo Saldo, Jr., Indiana – 3:57.80
- Kayden Lancaster, freshman, Louisville – 3:57.81
- Dennis Loktev, Jr., Louisville – 3:57.98
- Warren Briggs, senior, Indiana – 3:58.20
Canadian second year student Alex Axon He led the men’s 400 freestyle heats with a time of 3:51.89. That’s about seven-tenths of a second off his best, which was run at the US Pro Championship in July to end his summer season. The swim makes him the second-fastest Canadian of the new season behind only Lorne Wigington’s 3:49.
The Louisville men got off to a hot start as well, with qualifiers No. 2 and No. 3. This result shows how much the Cardinals have relied on their long-distance swimmers and fifth-years this season.
Women’s 200 meter individual race – preliminary heats
- Converted NCAA “A” standard: 2:09.60
- Converted 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 2:13.29
- US Olympic Trials Standard: 2:16.09
Top 10 qualifiers:
- Krista Marlin, Wool, Ohio State – 2:15.31
- Abby Hay, fifth year, Louisville – 2:15.56
- Kim Herkel, Jr., Louisville – 2:16.55
- Paige Hall, Junior, Ohio State – 2:16.68
- Josie Panitz, fifth year, Ohio State – 2:16.93
- Anna Fried, Indiana – 2:17.37
- Celedonio Gomez, Jr., Louisville – 2:17.89
- Makenna Liske, Freshman, Indiana – 2:18.26
- Jessica Eden, SOF, Ohio State – 2:18.83
- Kiera Somerstad, Ohio State senior – 2:19.25
After a difficult freshman season that included missing the spring semester, the sophomore at Ohio State Christa Marlene He stormed out in Year 2 in Columbus. She swam a 2:15.31 in the 200 IM in the prelims to qualify first, cutting nearly six seconds from the 2:21.19 she swam over the summer, her previous best time.
Her dual meet times did not hint at that breakthrough — in yards, she swam 2:06 against Akron and 2:05 against Virginia Tech earlier this season. This should mean she can shave a few seconds off her short course best of 1:59.28, from high school, in the finals.
In the process, it beat Louisville in the fifth year Abby Hey, who placed seventh in the event at last year’s NCAA Championships. Hay was about a second off her best time in the event, even though her best time was at the 2021 US Olympic Trials. The 2:15.56 time she swam in the prelims is faster than she ran at the US Trials/Nationals in July .
Ohio State Page Hall She finished fifth with a time of 2:16.68, far from her best time, while Josie Panitz She finished sixth with a time of 2:16.93, her new personal best (for the first time since December 2021).
Men’s 200 meter individual race – preliminary heats
- Converted NCAA “A” standard: 1:56.52
- 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 1:58.96
- US Olympic Trials Standard: 2:03.49
Top 10 qualifiers:
- Tristan Jankovich, Ohio Street, Sophomore – 1:59.05
- Luke Barr, Indiana, Jr. – 2:00.98
- Toby Barnett, Indiana, freshman – 2:02.35
- Sean Vikich, Notre Dame, senior – 2:02.70
- Jackson Millard, Louisville, freshman – 2:02.88
- Yes Jackets, Indiana, Senior – 2:03.00
- Drew Reiter, Indiana, Sophomore – 2:03.90
- Max Reich, Indiana, senior – 2:04.39
- Tommy Breed, Louisville, Jr. – 2:04.46
- William Bansberg, Ohio State, Jr. – 2:04.84
Women’s 50 meter freestyle – preliminary heats
- Converted NCAA “A” standard: 24.55
- Converted 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 25.14
- US Olympic Trials Standard: 25.69
Top 8 qualifiers:
Men’s 50 meter freestyle – preliminary heats
- Converted NCAA “A” standard: 21.63
- 2023 NCAA Invitational Converted Time: 22.08
- US Olympic Trials Standard: 22.79
Top 8 qualifiers:
