Michael Schultz finishes 20th in 1650 free on Day 3 of NCAA
Division III Championships

Mar. 22, 2008

By Steven Wright

OXFORD — Ohio Northern freshman Michael Schultz finished in 20th place of 22 swimmers in the 1650 free on Day 3 of the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday evening at the University of Miami's Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center.

"This meet has been a good experience for me, as it was much different than I thought it would be," said Schultz. "There were so many fast swimmers who improved their times, and now I can learn from this for next season."

Schultz posted a time of 16:05.29, his second fastest time in the event this season.

His 20th-place finish was just four spots shy of garnering Honorable Mention All-America honors.

"Now what we'll do is keep building on this expereince," said head coach Peggy Ewald. "Michael performed well and has opened the door for himself and the rest of his teammates to qualify for nationals next season."

In the 200 free on Friday afternoon, Schultz broke his own school record, swimming in a time of 1:43.49.

The time was good enough to finish in 32nd place of 41 swimmers.

On Thursday, Schultz finished in 4:43.16 in the 500-yard freestyle, which was good for 31st place in the event.

Schultz was named the OAC Men's Swimmmer of the Year in February, leading the Polar Bears to their third consecutive OAC Championships title.

He won six events, including the 1650 free, the 500 free and the 100 fly, and was part of ONU's winning 400 free, 800 free and 400 medley relay teams.

Schultz shattered a 24-year old OAC record, broke his own ONU record and bettered the NCAA "B" cut in the 1650-yard free, winning the event in 16:00.82. He topped the previous mark of 16:23.06 set in 1984 by Andy Regrut of Kenyon.

He also broke the Ocasek Natatorium record in the 1000 free with a 9:39.25 clocking at the 1,000-yard mark of his 1650 swim. The previous mark of 9:39.33 was set in 2001 by Tom Rushton of Kenyon.