Merani Earns Top-10 Program Time, Hick Places Top-25 on First Day of 2024 NCAA Championships

INDIANAPOLIS, In. – Kentucky men’s swimming’s Carson Hick, Levi Sandidge and Ryan Merani completed their first day of the 2024 NCAA Championship at the IU Natatorium on Thursday.  

All three UK representatives competed in an event on Thursday morning. Hick made his NCAA debut by placing 25th in the 500 yard freestyle after swimming a 4:15.43 pace. In the same event, Sandidge shaved over one second off his seed time and placed 48th with a time of 4:20.38. 

In the final event of the day for Kentucky, Merani swam a new personal best in the 200 Individual Medley. His 1:44.62 swim earned him 40th place, improving 15 spots from last year’s event. His pace also set a new top-10 time in program history, as he now holds the fourth-fastest time in the event. 

Sophomores Sandidge and Merani will compete in the 400-yard IM tomorrow, with the preliminary session set to commence at 10 a.m. E.T. and finals at 6 p.m. All sessions will be broadcasted live on ESPN+, and live results will be available via the Meet Mobile app. 

For the latest on UK Swim & Dive, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSwimDive, and on Facebook at Kentucky Swimming and Diving.