Jakub Jiracek (Nymburk, Czech Republic) and Bryson Chiu (Carmel, Ind.) each posted All-American performances in the 200 individual medley, but a disappointing effort in the 200 medley relay kept the Seattle University men’s swim team in a tie for ninth place after the first day of the 2008 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
In the finals of the 200 IM, Jiracek finished second with a school-record time of 1:49.11, while Chiu swam a personal best of 1:51.52 to finish in fourth place. While it was Chiu’s first All-American performance of his career, Jiracek failed to win his 11th individual national title, which would have been a new Division II record.
After setting a new school record in the preliminaries with a time of 1:31.88, the sixth-fastest of the morning, the 200 medley relay team of Chiu, Doug Djang (Seattle, Wash.), Chris Coley (Austin, Texas), and Bryant Bevers (Federal Way, Wash.) was disqualified during the evening finals. The disqualification eliminated the chance to pick up at least 22 points for the team, which would have placed Seattle University in fifth place after the first day instead of its present standing.
In the only other action involving a Seattle University swimmer on day one of the national meet, Djang finished 36th in the preliminaries of the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.34 seconds.
Seattle University has a chance to bounce back Thursday on day two of the NCAA Championships, with competitors in all five male swimming events. Coley is seeded third in the 100 butterfly, while the 400 medley relay quartet of Chiu, Jiracek, Coley, and Gordon Smith (Kennewick, Wash.) is the top seed after posting the best time during the season. Jiracek and Chiu will compete in the 400 individual medley, Smith is entered in the 200 freestyle, and Seattle University will also field a squad in the 200 freestyle relay.