Michael Schultz earns Honorable Mention All-America honors in 1650 free on final day of 2012 NCAA III Swimming & Diving Championships
By: Tim Glon
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Ohio Northern senior Michael Schultz earned Honorable Mention All-America honors with a 16th place finish in the 1650-yard free on the fourth and final day of the 2012 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships Saturday morning at the IUPUI Natatorium.
Schultz finished second in his heat in 16:02.49.
The top 16 in each event qualify for the finals each night, with the top eight finishers earning All-America honors and finishers 9-16 earning Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Schultz is now the first ONU male swimmer to earn All-America honors three times in his career.
"We are proud of what Mike has accomplished," ONU head coach Peggy Ewald said. "His first 500 yards were right on schedule and he was solid in his second 500. He finished strong over the final 100 yards and did exactly what he had to do. Being a 3-time All-American is quite an accomplishment."
He entered the meet seeded 17th in the event with a qualifying time of 15:56.94.
Schultz finished 24th in the 500 free in 4:35.58 on Thursday and was 31st in the 200 free in 1:42.29 on Friday.
Schultz is a four-time NCAA qualifier in the 200, 500 and 1650 free and qualified for the meet with a school-record 1:40.30 in the 200 free at the OAC Championships.
He earned All-America honors as a junior in 2010 with a fifth place finish in the 1650 free and earned Honorable Mention honors in the 500 free that year as well.
Sophomore Jordan Breitigam finished 14th and earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in the 200-yard butterfly Friday evening in 1:51.21.
Breitigam finished fourth in his heat and 10th overall in the prelims in 1:50.78 Friday morning.
"Jordan did a great job tonight," ONU head coach Peggy Ewald said. "To earn All-America honors in your first trip to the NCAAs is something to be proud of. Now we can build on this and prepare for next year.
"I'm sure he would have liked to post a career-low tonight and win the heat, but he improved each day and can be proud of what he accomplished."
He qualified for the with a 1:50.43 performance in the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships and was seeded seventh coming into the meet.
Breitigam finished 46th in the 200 I.M. on Wednesday and finished tied for 31st in the 100 fly in :50.58 on Thursday.
The No. 11-ranked Polar Bears finished with a 12-1 record and won their eighth consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Championships crown in 2011-12.