The LSU swimming team opted for quality over quantity at this year’s NCAA Men’s Championships.
While only two swimmers competed in the championships held in Minneapolis, Minn. at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, they earned the Tigers 26th place, their highest finish since 2005.
Senior Hannes Heyl broke the school record in the 100-yard butterfly preliminaries on Friday. Heyl had the third-fastest preliminary time, which qualified him for the ‘A’ final.
Shortly after swimming his 100-yard butterfly, Heyl finished 28th in the 100-yard backstroke.
Heyl, an eight-time Honorable Mention All-American, finished 7th in the finals of the event to earn his first career first-team All-America honor.
“[Assistant Coach] Lance Asti has done a great job with him this season, and this morning was really the perfect environment for him to excel as he was able to relax without any relay swims,” LSU swimming coach David Geyer said in a press release. “That fits his personality really well, and he really went after it.”
Sophomore Craig Hamilton finished 35th in the 500-yard freestyle Friday. He swam the race to prepare for the mile freestyle on Saturday.
Hamilton broke the school record in the mile freestyle, with a time of 15:02.32. The strong time earned him 15th place and his first career Honorable Mention All-America honor.
Hamilton swam in the mile at last year’s NCAA Championships and finished 30th.
“Craig had an incredible performance today,” Geyer said. “Craig swam his own race in his heat, and everything worked out great. He certainly learned from his experience here as a freshman for his swims this year.”
Heyl finished his LSU career with a personal best in the 100-yard freestyle. His time of 43.39 seconds earned him 23rd place in the event.
Prior to the meet, Geyer said he expected the swimmers to finish in the top 15 of their events and earn All-America status.
“Our goals were set high this year,” Geyer said. “But we are proud of Hannes and Craig for not only making it to the meet but scoring points for the program.”
California captured its first men’s national title in 31 years, which completes their sweep of the 2011 men’s and women’s NCAA Championships.
 
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Contact Albert Burford at [email protected]