In what has been a tumultuous postseason for Utah’s swim team, the group was finally able to revel in some success as a trio of Utes swam and dived well in the NCAA championships in Indianapolis.
One month after head coach Greg Winslow was suspended amid sexual abuse allegations, swimmers Nick Soedel, Kristian Kron and diver Josiah Purss competed in the final meet of the season.
Soedel finished 12th in the 100 free, Kron took 27th in the 200 back and Purss finished 24th on the platform dive. The Utes placed 33rd in the meet with 11 points.
“I think we swam very well,” said assistant coach Jonas Persson. “This was obviously the toughest meet in college, but it was also one of the faster meets in the world.”
Soedel clocked a 43.04 time in the 100 free finals, but his best performance came in the preliminary round where he swam a personal-best 42.83.
“Swimming a personal best, which [Soedel] did in the [100] freestyle … that is a pretty big achievement,” Persson said.
Kron also showed a strong outing in the 200 backstroke. Kron finished 27th with a 1:42.55 time.
“[Kron] swam, and he was a little bit over his personal best in every event, but he still made good times and good swims,” Persson said. “He’s only a freshman, so he’s still learning how to perform in these tough meets.”
But Kron wasn’t the only freshman to earn himself a trip to Indianapolis this past weekend, as Josiah Purss was also given the opportunity to compete in the platform competition. Purss, who earlier this year broke the school record on the platform, also became the first Ute swimmer to ever compete in the NCAA championships in the event.
With a 294.50 score, Purss finished 24th to conclude weekend meets for the Utah swim team.
Michigan won the overall NCAA men’s championship, making it the 12th in program history and the first since the 1995 season for the Wolverines.
With 19 members being underclassmen of the 25 on the men’s swim team, next year looks to have a lot of talent coming back to compete for the 2013-2014 season.
“We are going to be really good next year,” Persson said. “We only graduate two swimmers this year. I really think we are going to be top 25 next year.”