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Saturday, February 24
Princeton, N.J.
11:00 AM/6:00 PM
Princeton University
vs
Ivy Championships Day 4
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Buerger Caps Ivy Career With Thrilling 200 Fly Title; Young Dives Into Record Book; Tigers Take 2nd
February 24, 2018 | Men's Swimming and Diving
LINKS: Complete Results l Day 3 Recap l Day 2 Recap l Day 1 Recap
Senior Zach Buerger turned for home trailing his teammate Cole Buese by the slimmest of margins in the final individual race of his Ivy League career. For this Tiger captain, one who has experienced the highs and lows of the last three Princeton years, that certainly wasn't something that would get him down.
Instead, it set up one of the most exciting finishes of the 2018 Ivy League Championships.
With the fastest final split in the field (27.42), Buerger was able to edge Buese to claim the 200 fly Ivy League title during Saturday's final session of the 2018 Ivy Championships in 1:43.56. It was the first individual Ivy League title for Buerger, who added second-team All-Ivy honors Thursday evening as the runner-up in the 200 IM, and a fitting end to an amazing career.
While that race ignited an Orange-and-Black-packed DeNunzio Pool, it wasn't enough to alter the team competition. Harvard retained the Ivy League title with 1630.5 points, while Princeton finished a strong second with 1285.5 points. Yale fought off Columbia for third place with 1138 points, while the Lions scored 1107.5 points.
Buerger may have highlighted a strong senior class that will graduate this year, but there were several freshmen that made big impressions Saturday night. None made a bigger mark than diver Colten Young, who was brilliant in his debut in the Ivy League 3-meter final. He scored 392.50 points, the seventh-most in the history of the event at Ivies, and the second-most ever by a freshman at the Ivy League Championships.
Freshmen Levy Nathan and Arthur Markley both opened the night with Top-10 finishes in the mile. Nathan went 15:11.49 to take seventh, and it improved on his seventh-best time in program history, while Markley finished ninth in 15:16.74, which now stands as the eighth-fastest in school history. In an event that had several upperclassmen holding top spots, that duo is one to watch over the next three years.
Senior Tyler Sullivan took 12th in the 200 back in 1:47.31, and two of his classmates followed in one of the most exciting events of the meet, the 100 free. Tri-captain Ben Schafer, coming off his All-Ivy effort in the 100 fly Friday night, took sixth in the A final in 44.02, while Alexander Lewis followed with an eighth-place finish in 44.04.
Freshman Corey Lau placed 14th in the 200 breast in 2:02.14, and that set the table for the 200 fly thriller. The night ended with the 400 free relay, and the Princeton quartet of Lewis, Murphy McQuet, Buerger and Schafer finished the night with a third-place effort in 2:53.29.
Senior Zach Buerger turned for home trailing his teammate Cole Buese by the slimmest of margins in the final individual race of his Ivy League career. For this Tiger captain, one who has experienced the highs and lows of the last three Princeton years, that certainly wasn't something that would get him down.
Instead, it set up one of the most exciting finishes of the 2018 Ivy League Championships.
With the fastest final split in the field (27.42), Buerger was able to edge Buese to claim the 200 fly Ivy League title during Saturday's final session of the 2018 Ivy Championships in 1:43.56. It was the first individual Ivy League title for Buerger, who added second-team All-Ivy honors Thursday evening as the runner-up in the 200 IM, and a fitting end to an amazing career.
Buerger's time is the third-fastest in Princeton history, while Buese's runner-up time of 1:43.73 now stands as the fourth-fastest in Tiger history. Those two were among three Princetonians who had top-four finishes in the event; senior Corey Okubo finished fourth in the final individual event of his stellar career in 1:44.66.What a Thriller!!! Zach Buerger catches Cole Buese over the final 25 to win his first Ivy League individual title!!! pic.twitter.com/80S9rhloDy
— Princeton Swim/Dive (@PUCSDT) February 25, 2018
While that race ignited an Orange-and-Black-packed DeNunzio Pool, it wasn't enough to alter the team competition. Harvard retained the Ivy League title with 1630.5 points, while Princeton finished a strong second with 1285.5 points. Yale fought off Columbia for third place with 1138 points, while the Lions scored 1107.5 points.
Buerger may have highlighted a strong senior class that will graduate this year, but there were several freshmen that made big impressions Saturday night. None made a bigger mark than diver Colten Young, who was brilliant in his debut in the Ivy League 3-meter final. He scored 392.50 points, the seventh-most in the history of the event at Ivies, and the second-most ever by a freshman at the Ivy League Championships.
Unfortunately, the freshman with the most was Columbia's Jonathan Suckow, and he also achieved that honor Saturday night as well. Suckow completed a sweep of the Ivy diving events with 447.80 points, while Princeton sophomore Charlie Minns finished fifth with 340.90 points.It wasn't just a night for the seniors. Freshman Colten Young was brilliant in the 3-meter final, placing 2nd with 392.50 pts. That total ended up being 7th-most in Ivy Championship history, and was enough to claim 2nd-team All-Ivy honors. pic.twitter.com/fFSTY8ot3G
— Princeton Swim/Dive (@PUCSDT) February 25, 2018
Freshmen Levy Nathan and Arthur Markley both opened the night with Top-10 finishes in the mile. Nathan went 15:11.49 to take seventh, and it improved on his seventh-best time in program history, while Markley finished ninth in 15:16.74, which now stands as the eighth-fastest in school history. In an event that had several upperclassmen holding top spots, that duo is one to watch over the next three years.
Senior Tyler Sullivan took 12th in the 200 back in 1:47.31, and two of his classmates followed in one of the most exciting events of the meet, the 100 free. Tri-captain Ben Schafer, coming off his All-Ivy effort in the 100 fly Friday night, took sixth in the A final in 44.02, while Alexander Lewis followed with an eighth-place finish in 44.04.
Freshman Corey Lau placed 14th in the 200 breast in 2:02.14, and that set the table for the 200 fly thriller. The night ended with the 400 free relay, and the Princeton quartet of Lewis, Murphy McQuet, Buerger and Schafer finished the night with a third-place effort in 2:53.29.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Swimming and Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
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