ATLANTA – The Auburn men came out of the gates fast on the first day of the NCAA Championships on Wednesday, securing points in the 200 medley relay and swimming the third-fastest time in program history.
The Tigers finished 14th overall, earning Honorable Mention All-America honors, and their time of 1:23.25 was the fastest at Auburn since 2009 and ranks third in history.
Freshman Nate Stoffle led off with a 50 backstroke split of 21.04, a new personal best. Reid Mikuta and Matthew Yish followed with the breaststroke and butterfly legs, Mikuta swimming a 23.06 in his split and Yish going 20.12 in his split. Sophomore Logan Tirheimer served as the anchor and went 19.03 in the 50 freestyle split to close the race.
Auburn also competed in the 800 freestyle relay Wednesday night, finishing fourth in its heat and 19th overall with a time of 6:18.32.
Sophomores Mikkel Gadgaard and Michael Bonson both went under 1:34.50 in their 200 free splits to lead off for the Tigers, and then it was freshman Jacques Rathle swimming the third leg before senior Christian Sztolcman finished with a 1:34.39 on the final leg.
With six points, the Auburn men have already matched their point total from the 2019 NCAA Championships – the last NCAA meet where the men scored.
Auburn will be back for a full day Thursday with prelims and finals. Bonson (500 free), Mikuta (200 IM), Rathle (200 IM) and Stoffle (50 free) are all slated to swim, and diver Conner Pruitt will be on the boards, competing in the 1-meter event. The Tigers will close out the night session with the 200 freestyle relay.
Auburn men start fast with relays at NCAA Championships
