Three Mountaineers Travel to NCAA Men’s Championships
March 20, 2018 04:09 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Junior Jake Armstrong, redshirt junior Tristen Di Sibio and freshman David Dixon of the West Virginia University men's swimming and diving team travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, from March 21-24.
Live Results | Psych Sheet | Meet Schedule
Armstrong and Di Sibio qualified for the 100 breaststroke and also will compete in the 200 breaststroke at the four-day meet. Dixon qualified for the 200 butterfly and also is set to swim in the 200 and 400 individual medleys. The three Mountaineers are the first men to qualify for the national meet since Andrew Marsh in 2016.
"We're looking forward to this week with David, Jake and Tristen," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "They've done a great job training and preparing for this meet. I know they are excited to race and see what they can do at NCAAs."
The University of Minnesota plays host to the NCAA Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, marking the seventh time the school has hosted the meet and first since 2011.
Competition at the NCAA meet, which features 235 swimmers from 46 schools, begins with the 800 freestyle relay on Wednesday, March 21. The final three days of competition feature preliminary sessions at 11 a.m. ET, and finals at 7 p.m. ET.
Dixon will open the meet for the Mountaineers by participating in Thursday's 200 individual medley. The Richmond, Virginia, native will compete in the 400 IM on Friday before taking part in the 200 butterfly on Saturday. For Armstrong and Di Sibio, the two begin their meet with the 100 breaststroke on Friday, with the 200 breaststroke set for Saturday.
ESPN3 will provide live video coverage during Friday and Saturday's finals sessions, beginning at 7 p.m. ET. All other sessions, including Thursday's finals, will be streamed on GopherSports.com.
Live stats are available at swmeets.com. Fans also can find additional information on the NCAA Championships at the event's championship headquarters.
Armstrong successfully defended his 100 breaststroke title at the Big 12 Championship, in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 23. The Dover, Ohio, native earned a school-record time of 52.11 in the event's preliminaries before touching the wall in 52.59 in the finals to become WVU's fourth multiple-time Big 12 individual champion.
The junior enters the NCAA meet ranked No. 9 nationally in the event. He'll also participate in the 200 breaststroke, where he earned a top time of 1:57.81 in a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship.
Di Sibio registered a time of 52.75 in the 100 breaststroke finals en route to a silver-medal performance. The mark is good for the No. 28 position going into the event at NCAAs.
The Lantana, Texas, native also won the Big 12 title in the 200 breaststroke on Feb. 24, earning a time of 1:56.00. The win marked the first time WVU returned home with multiple event winners at the conference meet since 2014.
Dixon, the school-record holder in the 200 butterfly, recorded a second-place showing of 1:42.50 at the Big 12 Championship on Feb. 24. The performance came after the freshman previously broke the school record in the event during the preliminary session earlier in the day. He'll enter the national meet seeded No. 27 in the event.
Dixon also tallied the program's third-fastest 200 individual medley time (1:46.11) at the conference meet, as well as WVU's fourth-fastest 400 individual medley mark (3:51.04).
The Mountaineer trio follow WVU's two women's national qualifiers, sophomore Morgan Bullock and junior Emma Harris, who competed at last week's NCAA Women's Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Bullock earned honorable mention All-America honors after finishing 15th overall in the 200 butterfly.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Live Results | Psych Sheet | Meet Schedule
Armstrong and Di Sibio qualified for the 100 breaststroke and also will compete in the 200 breaststroke at the four-day meet. Dixon qualified for the 200 butterfly and also is set to swim in the 200 and 400 individual medleys. The three Mountaineers are the first men to qualify for the national meet since Andrew Marsh in 2016.
"We're looking forward to this week with David, Jake and Tristen," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "They've done a great job training and preparing for this meet. I know they are excited to race and see what they can do at NCAAs."
The University of Minnesota plays host to the NCAA Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, marking the seventh time the school has hosted the meet and first since 2011.
Competition at the NCAA meet, which features 235 swimmers from 46 schools, begins with the 800 freestyle relay on Wednesday, March 21. The final three days of competition feature preliminary sessions at 11 a.m. ET, and finals at 7 p.m. ET.
Dixon will open the meet for the Mountaineers by participating in Thursday's 200 individual medley. The Richmond, Virginia, native will compete in the 400 IM on Friday before taking part in the 200 butterfly on Saturday. For Armstrong and Di Sibio, the two begin their meet with the 100 breaststroke on Friday, with the 200 breaststroke set for Saturday.
ESPN3 will provide live video coverage during Friday and Saturday's finals sessions, beginning at 7 p.m. ET. All other sessions, including Thursday's finals, will be streamed on GopherSports.com.
Live stats are available at swmeets.com. Fans also can find additional information on the NCAA Championships at the event's championship headquarters.
Armstrong successfully defended his 100 breaststroke title at the Big 12 Championship, in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 23. The Dover, Ohio, native earned a school-record time of 52.11 in the event's preliminaries before touching the wall in 52.59 in the finals to become WVU's fourth multiple-time Big 12 individual champion.
The junior enters the NCAA meet ranked No. 9 nationally in the event. He'll also participate in the 200 breaststroke, where he earned a top time of 1:57.81 in a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship.
Di Sibio registered a time of 52.75 in the 100 breaststroke finals en route to a silver-medal performance. The mark is good for the No. 28 position going into the event at NCAAs.
The Lantana, Texas, native also won the Big 12 title in the 200 breaststroke on Feb. 24, earning a time of 1:56.00. The win marked the first time WVU returned home with multiple event winners at the conference meet since 2014.
Dixon, the school-record holder in the 200 butterfly, recorded a second-place showing of 1:42.50 at the Big 12 Championship on Feb. 24. The performance came after the freshman previously broke the school record in the event during the preliminary session earlier in the day. He'll enter the national meet seeded No. 27 in the event.
Dixon also tallied the program's third-fastest 200 individual medley time (1:46.11) at the conference meet, as well as WVU's fourth-fastest 400 individual medley mark (3:51.04).
The Mountaineer trio follow WVU's two women's national qualifiers, sophomore Morgan Bullock and junior Emma Harris, who competed at last week's NCAA Women's Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Bullock earned honorable mention All-America honors after finishing 15th overall in the 200 butterfly.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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