OSU wins 4th straight Big Ten championship
With Columbus School for Girls graduate Nyah Funderburke playing a key role, the Ohio State women's swimming and diving team captured its fourth consecutive Big Ten title.
The Buckeyes finished with 1,425 points, outdistancing Indiana (1,291.5), Michigan (1,108), Wisconsin (954), Minnesota (768.5) and Northwestern (710). The meet was held Wednesday through Saturday at Michigan's Canham Natatorium.
With her father Lawrence, who played basketball for the Buckeyes, in attendance, Funderburke won the 100yard backstroke (51.52 seconds) for her first individual conference title and swam on three winning relays.
The sophomore joined Katherine Zenick, Teresa Ivan and Amy Fulmer on the 200 freestyle relay (meet-record 1:26.7), teamed with Zenick, Ivan and Heather Bach on the 200 medley relay (pool-record 1:33.95) and joined Bach, Zenick and Fulmer on the 400 medley relay (pool-record 3:26.68).
Funderburke also finished fifth in the 50 free (21.95) and 18th in the 100 free (49.25).
“I'm so blessed to race these girls beside me,” Funderburke told the Big Ten Network after winning the 100 back. “I just wanted to focus on my underwater this race. I know that's my specialty, and I know those girls are good at it, too. I'm so glad to be a Buckeye and for the Buckeye culture and to be backed up by some amazing girls behind me.”
A 2021 graduate of CSG, Funderburke won the 100 back (54.42) and was a member of the first-place 200 medley relay (1:42.96) in the Division II state meet as a senior. She won the 100 butterfly (54.68) and 100 back (54.35) as a junior and finished first in the 50 free (23.46) as a high school sophomore.
Purdue senior Maycey Vieta, a 2019 graduate of Gahanna Lincoln, finished first in platform diving (318.3). She finished second in the event in 2022 and 2020.
“I really just tried to stay focused and not worry about the previous (dive) or the next one — really think about the one I was on and the results came after,” Vieta said in an interview with BTN.
At Gahanna, Vieta won the Division I state title in diving (455.45) as a sophomore. She finished second as a senior (474.4) and junior (466.3) and fourth (481.45) as a freshman.
The Big Ten men's meet will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Michigan. fdirenna@dispatch.com @Dispatchfrank