MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – It was another successful day in the pool for Auburn on day two of the NCAA Men's Championships. A school record and a handful of All-America honors highlighted Thursday as the Tigers finished the day in ninth with 57 points.
Auburn distance group did not disappoint in the morning session. Junior Michael Bonson managed a hard-earned 4:12.50 in the 500 free, resetting the program record. However, Mason Mathias didn't let Bonson have it for long. One heat later, Mathias' 4:12.15 put the record in his hands. Both Tigers solidified a spot in the evening's B final.
Mathias and Bonson each gave solid efforts in the evening's consolation final. Mathias grabbed 15th with a 4:15.25 while Bonson
Jacques Rathle led the Orange and Blue in the 200 IM. His 1:43.99 was good enough for 36th. A 1:44.09 from freshman Danny Schmidt jumped the German international into 10th all-time. He'd finish right behind Rathle for 37th.
Fellow Freshman Kalle Makinen dialed up a 19.24 in his first individual NCAA race. The mark would earn Makinen 29th while Logan Tirheimer clocked in at 19.44 for 38th.
Graduate Conner Pruitt had his first shot in the diving well. A 339.55 earned Pruitt a 19th-place finish with the 3-meter on deck tomorrow.
When it came to the 200 free relay, Kalle Makinen, Logan Tirheimer, Nate Stoffle and Mihalis Deliyiannis combined for a 1:15.85, the ninth-fastest time in school history and good enough for 10th place.
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Thursday's competition includes the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3-meter diving and 400 medley relay. Prelims are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT and finals are slated for 6 p.m. CT. Complete coverage of the NCAA Championships can be found on ESPN+.
Distance group breaks records as No. 8 Auburn ends day 2 at NCAA Championships
