The ASU swim and dive team capped off its 2012-13 season with the men’s NCAA championships ending on Saturday.
Following the women’s 23rd place finish a week earlier, the men traveled to Indianapolis, Ind., to see if they could bring back a strong finish of their own.
ASU only sent four participants: two swimmers and two divers. Although they were small in number, the Sun Devils came away with some solid performances.
On the first day of competition, senior diver Harrison Jones finished fifth in the 1-meter springboard dive with a score of 393.65. The fifth place finish earns Jones an All-America honor and is his second best career finish at the NCAA championships, as he finished fourth in 2009 as a freshman.
Coming back strong from thumb surgery that he had in the beginning of the season, Junior Riley McCormick scored 369.70 in the same event to finish in ninth place.
Jones again had a top-five finish Friday, this time being in the three-meter dive. Jones earned another All-American honor with his fifth-place finish on day two. McCormick had his second straight top-ten finish as well, coming in at ninth place on the 3-meter springboard dive.
Junior Alex Coci broke his own school record he set in the Pac-12 championships in the 100-yard butterfly, swimming a 46.78. He was less than a second away from qualifying for the B-finals.
Continuing his breakout freshman year, Thibaut Capitaine touched in at 53.89 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke, good for 26th place.
Coci swam in the 200-yard butterfly on Saturday and was just seconds away from qualifying for the finals, with his 18th overall finish touching in at 1:44.36.
Finishing his All-American season on Saturday, Jones competed in the platform dive and came away with a 10th-place finish. Jones and McCormick combined for the most team diving points in the championships with 53 over the weekend.
The Sun Devils finished 18th overall Saturday. Considering its previous performances in years past, it is evident that this ASU men’s team is on the rise.
Reach the reporter at ross.dunham@asu.edu
