By way of solid performances in the afternoon preliminary rounds, five Wildcats are headed for tonight?s consolation event finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in East Meadow, N.Y.

The Kentucky 200-meter freestyle relay team of sophomore Daniel Farnham, senior Fernando Barros and juniors Tim Patrick and Clay Gasparovich clocked a 1:28.08, missing out on this evening?s championship final by only nine one hundredths of a second. As a result, the quartet is headed for tonight?s consolation final and will score the first Kentucky points of the meet. The time converts to 1:18.92 when measured in yards, which breaks the Kentucky record time of 1:18.99 set by the same group of four at a time-trial event last month in Athens, Ga.

Sophomore Steven Manley placed 12th in the 400-meter freestyle event, turning in a time of 3:46.83, which places him in this evening?s consolation final. Farnham, Patrick and Gasparovich each took part in the 50-meter freestyle, placing 23rd, 41st and 47th, respectively.

Junior Mario Rodriguez placed 12th in the one-meter diving event with a score of 294. 10, capping a remarkable progression after suffering a season-ending knee injury a season ago.

The consolation and championship event finals will begin at 7 p.m.