OSU then-sophomore Liz Li poses for a picture at the 2016 Big Ten Championships. Credit: Courtesy of OSU
Senior Liz Li won her second consecutive Big Ten championship title in the 50-yard freestyle at the Big Ten Championships Thursday. Her winning time of 21.48 seconds established a new conference-record in the event that she previously set at the meet, and tied her own school record that she set for Ohio State last season.
Coming into this event, Li held the third fastest 50-yard freestyle time in the country. She now holds the record for the fastest time in that event, earning her third individual Big Ten title of her career.
Dating back to 2005, only five different swimmers have won a Big Ten championship in the event, all of whom have won it at least two consecutive seasons. Li has now become the fifth straight Big Ten swimmer to earn consecutive conference titles in the 50-yard freestyle.
Li’s teammates earned success throughout the day as well.
Senior Lindsey Clary claimed a fourth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:37.65, while junior Meg Bailey placed third in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:57.75. Li also competed in the 400-yard medley relay with senior Zulal Zeren, senior Taylor Vargo, and junior Macie McNichols, who claimed a fifth-place title with a time of 3:34.91.
The Buckeyes stand in fifth-place overall after Day Two, behind Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota respectively.
The competition will continue Friday with championships in the 100-yard butterfly, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, three-meter diving and the 200-yard freestyle relay. Preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. and finals will take place at 6:30 p.m.
