Wilby, Zhang Earn All-America Honors on Final Night of 2021 NCAA Championship
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The University of Kentucky men’s swimming and diving team concluded its season at the 2021 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship on Saturday night, finishing 30th in the nation with 14 points. Meanwhile, two divers and one swimmer earned All-America Honorable Mention honors and one school record was reset throughout the meet.
Saving his best swim for last, Mason Wilby claimed the first All-America honor of his career on the final night of his first big dance. The junior qualified to compete in three events at the meet – 200 IM, 200 freestyle, 200 butterfly – but it was the 200 butterfly where he made his mark. Wilby finished in 13th place in the event, touching the wall in 1:42.63. Before that, he earned a personal record and reset his own school record in 1:42.26 in the 43-person preliminaries field.
Danny Zhang also earned an All-America Honorable Mention on Saturday. The junior finished in 16th place on platform with 329.50 points to earn the second All-America honor in his career. Before that, he finished in 11th place with 355.50 points in the 39-person preliminaries field.
Competing in the first NCAA Championship of his career, Zane Rosely earned 25th place in the 1650 freestyle on a personal record 15:03.34. The time is more than two seconds faster than his previous best, 15.06.07, which he earned at the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championship. The freshman’s personal record ranks as the fourth-fastest performance on the program’s all-time, top-10 list.
How It Works
In swimming and diving, the top eight from the preliminary round move on to the “A” final and the next eight move on to the “B” final. Those that finish 1st-8th and are touted as First Team All-America, while those that finish 9th-16th are named Honorable Mention All-America.
All-America Honorable Mention Count (3)
Chase Lane, 1-meter springboard (9th)
Danny Zhang, platform (16th)
Mason Wilby, 200 butterfly (13th)
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