March 23, 2017
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Zach Apple swam often on Thursday morning. And when he was in the water, he went fast.
Really fast.
Apple, a sophomore from Trenton, Ohio, which is a mere 93 miles from the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, crushed his leadoff split on the 200 free relay as Auburn qualified fifth for Thursday night's finals.
Less than an hour later Apple made that leadoff split, which by the way was a 19.01, look pedestrian with a 18.93, making him just the eighth performer in school history to break the 19-second barrier in the 50 free as he tied for third in the 50 free prelims.
The 200 free relay team of Apple, Peter Holoda, Ziv Kalontarov and Kyle Darmody combined to go 1:16.45 this morning. Apple, who also anchored Wednesday's school record-setting 800 free relay, led off in a blazing 19.01, making him at the time the eighth-fastest performer in school history. Holoda, who came into the meet as the eighth-fastest performer in school history, followed with a 19.06 split before giving way to Kalontarov, who split 19.17. Darmody then anchored in 19.21.
Joe Patching, the school record holder in the 200 IM, swam the fourth-fastest 200 IM of his career (1:42.99) to place him in the consolation finals. Tommy Brewer, who did not make finals, set a career best in placing 24th in 1:44.57, which makes him the 10th-fastest performer in school history.
Patching, like Apple, was not done with just one race. The senior from Ascot, England, led off the 400 medley relay with a personal-best 45.75 100 backstroke as Auburn went 3:05.03 to qualify for the consolation finals. Michael Duderstadt (51.37) handled the breaststroke leg and Luis Martine (46.05) the fly leg before turning things back to Apple, who anchored in 41.86.
Thursday night's finals begin at 5 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on ncaa.com.
Thursday Auburn Prelim Finishes
200 Freestyle Relay
5. Auburn (Apple 19.01, Holoda 19.06, Kalontarov 19.17, Darmody 19.21) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:16.45
200 IM
15. Joe Patching 1:42.99
24. Tommy Brewer 1:44.57
41. Petter Fredriksson 1:46.61
44. Foster Ballard 1:48.66
50 Free
T3. Zach Apple 18.93
27. Peter Holoda 19.43
39. Kyle Darmody 19.74
44. Liam McCloskey 19.93
46. Santiago Grassi 20.05
400 Medley Relay
9. Auburn (Patching 45.75, Duderstadt 51.37, Martinez 46.05, Apple 41.86) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 3:05.03