2023 Big Ten Men’s Championships, Night 2: Gal Groumi Defends 200 IM Title with 1:41

Photo Courtesy: Michigan Athletics

2023 Big Ten Men’s Championships, Night 2: Gal Groumi Defends 200 IM Title with 1:41

Two years at Michigan, two 200 individual medley Big Ten titles for Gal Groumi.

The Israeli won his second straight IM on the second night session of the meet in his home pool, clocking an NCAA A cut of 1:41.20. He led four Michigan A finalists as the Wolverines hoped to make a move in the team standings, but those hopes ran aground with a DQ in the 400 medley relay to end the night, leaving Michigan third in the team standings.

The evening recap:

2023 Big Ten Men’s Championships Links

2023 Big Ten Men’s Championships Team Scores

(End of night 2)

Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 7                       
 
  1. Ohio State University             487   2. Indiana University                478
  3. University of Michigan            403   4. Wisconsin, University of, Madi    341
  5. University of Minnesota           280   6. Purdue University                 240
  7. Northwestern University           210   8. Pennsylvania State University     204

500 freestyle

Jake Newmark defended his title in the 500 free with a time of 4:12.98. It’s slightly slower than 4:12.43 he used last year and an NCAA B cut. He was the second qualifier from prelims but jumped out quicker in finals and never looked back.

Bar Soloveychik of Minnesota, who was the top seed, won silver in 4:14.45. Ohio State’s Charlie Clark was nine tenths back for bronze.

The more exciting final may have been the B final. Wisconsin’s Yigit Aslan used a 24.08 final 50 (the fastest of the day) to go 4:17.33 and edge Michigan’s Logan Zucker by .02. That’s fourth and fifth, respectively.

 Event 3  Men 500 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
     B1G Meet: # 4:09.29  2/22/2018 Felix O Auboeck, Michigan
         Pool: ! 4:12.52  2014      Conner Jaeger, Michigan
                 4:11.40  A NCAA Qualifying
                 4:22.35  B NCAA Provisional
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Newmark, Jake Q  JR Wisconsin-WI      4:16.59    4:12.96 B       32  
                 23.31        48.86 (25.55)
        1:14.50 (25.64)     1:40.32 (25.82)
        2:06.08 (25.76)     2:31.89 (25.81)
        2:57.51 (25.62)     3:23.08 (25.57)
        3:48.11 (25.03)     4:12.96 (24.85)
  2 Soloveychik, Ba  SO Minnesota-MN      4:16.46    4:14.45 B       28  
                 23.50        48.99 (25.49)
        1:14.63 (25.64)     1:40.61 (25.98)
        2:06.54 (25.93)     2:32.29 (25.75)
        2:58.01 (25.72)     3:23.93 (25.92)
        3:49.88 (25.95)     4:14.45 (24.57)
  3 Clark, Charlie   JR Ohio St-OH        4:17.11    4:15.35 B       27  
                 23.76        49.42 (25.66)
        1:15.23 (25.81)     1:41.13 (25.90)
        2:06.97 (25.84)     2:32.76 (25.79)
        2:58.46 (25.70)     3:24.11 (25.65)
        3:49.97 (25.86)     4:15.35 (25.38)
  4 Moraes, Eduardo  SO Michigan-MI       4:17.38    4:17.75 B       26  
                 24.14        50.12 (25.98)
        1:16.26 (26.14)     1:42.25 (25.99)
        2:08.15 (25.90)     2:34.09 (25.94)
        3:00.23 (26.14)     3:26.21 (25.98)
        3:52.16 (25.95)     4:17.75 (25.59)
  5 Calvillo, Mikey  PG IU-IN             4:18.99    4:18.45 B       25  
                 23.64        49.41 (25.77)
        1:15.46 (26.05)     1:41.54 (26.08)
        2:07.70 (26.16)     2:33.93 (26.23)
        3:00.12 (26.19)     3:26.57 (26.45)
        3:52.85 (26.28)     4:18.45 (25.60)
  6 Briggs, Warren   JR IU-IN             4:19.27    4:18.62 B       24  
                 24.19        50.32 (26.13)
        1:16.40 (26.08)     1:42.72 (26.32)
        2:08.98 (26.26)     2:34.92 (25.94)
        3:01.10 (26.18)     3:27.29 (26.19)
        3:53.30 (26.01)     4:18.62 (25.32)
  7 Edmund, Mason    FR Ohio St-OH        4:19.35    4:18.63 B       23  
                 23.92        49.63 (25.71)
        1:15.61 (25.98)     1:41.91 (26.30)
        2:08.03 (26.12)     2:34.51 (26.48)
        3:00.95 (26.44)     3:27.32 (26.37)
        3:53.77 (26.45)     4:18.63 (24.86)
  8 Campbell, Sam    FR Ohio St-OH        4:19.79    4:22.21 B       22  
                 23.82        49.75 (25.93)
        1:16.07 (26.32)     1:42.67 (26.60)
        2:09.36 (26.69)     2:35.81 (26.45)
        3:02.41 (26.60)     3:29.05 (26.64)
        3:55.94 (26.89)     4:22.21 (26.27)

200 individual medley

Gal Groumi is making progress on the Big Ten record. Last year, he won the event in 1:41.54. This year, it’s 1:41.20, .06 shy of the pool record he trains under daily (Kyle Whitaker from 2014) and .15 shy of Vini Lanza’s meet mark. Groumi was out second after 50 yards in 21.78 – Ohio State’s Alex Quach, last year’s runner-up, went out in 21.62 before falling to seventh. Groumi took control in backstroke and pulled away from there.

Purdue’s Nick Sherman earned the silver medal in 1:42.62. Groumi’s fellow Wolverine by way of Israel Eitan Ben-Shitrit took third in 1:43.31. Michigan went 1-3-6-8 in the event. Those points have Michigan in the lead through five events.

 Event 4  Men 200 Yard IM
=========================================================================
     B1G Meet: # 1:41.05  2/28/2019 Vinicius M Lanza, Indiana
         Pool: ! 1:41.14  2014      Kyle Whitaker, Michigan
                 1:41.22  A NCAA Qualifying
                 1:46.52  B NCAA Provisional
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Cohen Groumi, G  SO Michigan-MI       1:44.08    1:41.20 A       32  
                 21.78        46.83 (25.05)
        1:16.62 (29.79)     1:41.20 (24.58)
  2 Sherman, Nick S  SR PUR               1:43.24    1:42.62 B       28  
                 22.47        48.61 (26.14)
        1:18.01 (29.40)     1:42.62 (24.61)
  3 Ben-Shitrit, Ei  FR Michigan-MI       1:44.14    1:43.31 B       27  
                 22.49        48.11 (25.62)
        1:18.36 (30.25)     1:43.31 (24.95)
  4 Neverman, Kaise  JR Minnesota-MN      1:44.67    1:43.97 B       26  
                 22.52        48.58 (26.06)
        1:18.56 (29.98)     1:43.97 (25.41)
  5 Barr, Luke D     SO IU-IN             1:43.14    1:44.06 B       25  
                 22.09        47.68 (25.59)
        1:18.00 (30.32)     1:44.06 (26.06)
  6 Daigle, Jared B  SR Michigan-MI       1:44.17    1:44.28 B       24  
                 22.54        48.14 (25.60)
        1:18.21 (30.07)     1:44.28 (26.07)
  7 Quach, Alex      SO Ohio St-OH        1:44.80    1:44.43 B       23  
                 21.62        47.41 (25.79)
        1:18.95 (31.54)     1:44.43 (25.48)
  8 Froass, Ansel J  JR Michigan-MI       1:44.91    1:44.48 B       22  
                 23.13        49.40 (26.27)
        1:19.12 (29.72)     1:44.48 (25.36)

50 freestyle

A year ago, Van Mathias finished no higher than eighth at Big Tens, two of his individual swims covering 200 yards. He had never broken 20 seconds in the 50. Reinvented as a sprinter in his post-grad year, Mathias has his first Big Ten individual title to go with four relays crowns, winning the 50 free in 19.00.

It downs the Michigan pool record, set in 2014 by Derek Toomey of Minnesota. He just edged Michigan’s Bence Sazbados, who went 19.05. Mathias had been the top qualifier from the morning prelims.

Ohio State’s Ruslan Gaziev grabbed bronze in 19.20, ahead of Indiana’s Gavin Wright.

 Event 5  Men 50 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
     B1G Meet: # 18.69  2/22/2018 Bowen Becker, Minnesota
         Pool: ! 19.05  2014      Derek Toomey, Minnesota
                 18.88  A NCAA Qualifying
                 19.82  B NCAA Provisional
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Mathias, Van L   PG IU-IN               19.16      19.00!B       32  
                  9.17         19.00 (9.83)
  2 Szabados, Bence  JR Michigan-MI         19.19      19.05!B       28  
                  9.17         19.05 (9.88)
  3 Gaziev, Ruslan   JR Ohio St-OH          19.24      19.20 B       27  
                  9.32         19.20 (9.88)
  4 Wight, Gavin R   JR IU-IN               19.54      19.26 B       26  
                  9.16        19.26 (10.10)
  5 Peel, Cam R      SR Michigan-MI         19.24      19.28 B       25  
                  9.07        19.28 (10.21)
  6 Baganha, Victor  SO Penn State-MA       19.39      19.33 B       24  
                  9.43         19.33 (9.90)
  7 Wiegand, Ben A   SO Wisconsin-WI        19.57      19.59 B       23  
                  9.29        19.59 (10.30)
  8 Ward, James P    SR Ohio St-OH          19.56      19.66 B       22  
                  9.56        19.66 (10.10)

1-Meter Diving

The diving battle could well prove decisive this week. That’s what Indiana is hoping, though the first boost is for Ohio State, which leaps into the lead.

On the board, Carson Tyler got the win with a sore of 431.05, just .10 ahead of Oho State’s Lyle Yost.

Indiana placed three in the top six, though the Hoosier had swept the podium last year. Andrew Capobianco, the reigning champ, earned bronze with a score of 406.95. Last year’s silver medalist Quinn Henninger slid to sixth. Tyler won bronze a year ago.

Ohio State was the big winner, with Yost grabbing silver. Clay Chaplin finished fifth, and Jack Matthews was eighth as the Buckeyes jump into first place in the team standings with 433 points. Indiana is second with 414 and Michigan is third with 403.

Event 6  Men 1 mtr Diving
=========================================================================
     B1G Meet: # 493.60  2/22/2018 Michael Hixon, Indiana
                 300.00  A NCAA Qualifying
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Tyler, Carson    SO IU-IN              414.05     431.05 A       32  
  2 Yost, Lyle       SR Ohio St-OH         409.40     430.95 A       28  
  3 Capobianco, And  PG IU-IN              417.10     406.95 A       27  
  4 Gammage, Camero  SO Michigan-MI        363.45     406.30 A       26  
  5 Chaplin, Clay    SO Ohio St-OH         372.60     376.40 A       25  
  6 Henninger, Quin  SO IU-IN              343.15     374.75 A       24  
  7 Rzepka, Jordan   SO PUR                340.65     364.10 A       23  
  8 Matthews, Jack   SO Ohio St-OH         345.15     350.75 A       22

400 medley relay

Already the repeat champions in the 800 free relay, Indiana repeated as the 400 medley relay, with the same foursome that won last year. The foursome of Brendan Burns, Josh Matheny, Tomer Frankel and Rafael Miroslaw went 3:01.53, besting the field by nearly five seconds. It’s slower by a half-second than the time the same squad used last year, which is the meet record. It also routed the pool record, set in 2014 by a Michigan relay, by 4.5 seconds.

Second was Wisconsin, the only other NCAA B cut in a very slow relay. They went 3:06.25. Michigan, the third seed entering the meet, saw their team title hopes take a hit with a DQ. It allowed Ohio State’s un-loaded relay to finish third.

Event 7  Men 400 Yard Medley Relay
==================================================================================
     B1G Meet: # 3:00.95  2/24/2022 Indiana, Indiana
                          B Burns, J Matheny, T Frankel, R Miroslaw
         Pool: ! 3:06.08  2014      Michigan
                          Chen, Funk, Wojchiechowski, B. Ortiz
                 3:04.96  A NCAA Qualifying
                 3:06.84  B NCAA Provisional
    School                           Seed     Finals       Points 
==================================================================================
  1 IU-IN  'A'                    3:03.98    3:01.53!A       64  
     1) Burns, Brendan A SR           2) Matheny, Josh M SO           
     3) Frankel, Tomer JR             4) Miroslaw, Rafael SO          
                 21.58        44.78 (44.78)
        1:08.19 (23.41)     1:35.55 (50.77)
        1:55.77 (20.22)     2:19.97 (44.42)
        2:39.55 (19.58)     3:01.53 (41.56)
  2 Wisconsin-WI  'A'             3:08.49    3:06.25 B       56  
     1) Jekel, Wes B SR               2) Myhre, Will D SR             
     3) Bensch, Constantin M SR       4) Newmark, Jake Q JR           
                 22.20        46.33 (46.33)
        1:10.12 (23.79)     1:38.05 (51.72)
        1:59.00 (20.95)     2:24.08 (46.03)
        2:43.89 (19.81)     3:06.25 (42.17)
  3 Ohio St-OH  'A'               3:06.25    3:06.90         54  
     1) Watkins, Thomas SR            2) Krusinski, Pete T JR         
     3) Quach, Alex SO                4) Baltes, Daniel W SO          
                 22.15        46.01 (46.01)
        1:09.97 (23.96)     1:38.71 (52.70)
        1:59.57 (20.86)     2:24.16 (45.45)
        2:44.20 (20.04)     3:06.90 (42.74)
  4 Minnesota-MN  'A'             3:08.88    3:07.01         52  
     1) Sachtjen, Dez J SR            2) McHugh, Max J SR             
     3) Neverman, Kaiser E JR         4) Morris, Chris G SO           
                 22.56        47.11 (47.11)
        1:10.44 (23.33)     1:37.72 (50.61)
        1:58.63 (20.91)     2:23.86 (46.14)
        2:44.42 (20.56)     3:07.01 (43.15)
  5 Penn State-MA  'A'            3:09.34    3:07.75         50  
     1) Byrne, Lachlan SR             2) Lazzerini, Mariano FR        
     3) Baganha, Victor SO            4) Hurley, Tommy J JR           
                 22.75        46.83 (46.83)
        1:11.45 (24.62)     1:39.06 (52.23)
        1:59.46 (20.40)     2:23.93 (44.87)
        2:44.76 (20.83)     3:07.75 (43.82)
  6 PUR  'A'                      3:08.92    3:08.36         48  
     1) Muhammad, Idris I SO          2) Sherman, Nick S SR           
     3) Samuels, Brady C SO           4) Hart, Keelan R SR            
                 22.41        46.98 (46.98)
        1:10.82 (23.84)     1:38.87 (51.89)
        1:59.75 (20.88)     2:24.54 (45.67)
        2:45.34 (20.80)     3:08.36 (43.82)
  7 Northwestern-IL  'A'          3:10.38    3:08.84         46  
     1) Lu, Tyler Y SO                2) Houseman, Kevin H SR         
     3) Miller, Ben J SR              4) Churilla, Ethan A SR         
                 22.96        47.56 (47.56)
        1:10.92 (23.36)     1:39.04 (51.48)
        2:01.07 (22.03)     2:25.81 (46.77)
        2:45.86 (20.05)     3:08.84 (43.03)
 -- Michigan-MI  'A'              3:08.39         DQ        
      Early take-off swimmer #2
     1) Davis, Wyatt M JR             2) Fitzpatrick, Brendan SO      
     3) Cohen Groumi, Gal SO          4) Szabados, Bence JR           
                 21.44        45.25 (45.25)
        1:08.59 (23.34)     1:36.84 (51.59)
        1:57.28 (20.44)     2:21.20 (44.36)
        2:40.60 (19.40)          DQ (41.52)

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