Hogan finishes 18th in 1,650-yard freestyle, Hyogo All-American in eighth-place finish.
ATLANTA— The last day of the 2016 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships was a historic one for the Yale men's swimming and diving team.
Senior captain Brian Hogan and sophomore Kei Hyogo raced each other in the 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday evening at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center. They came away with 18th and eighth-place finishes, respectively.
Hyogo became the Bulldogs' first All-American since 2009, and scored 11 points for Yale with his swim. The Elis were one of just 34 programs in the nation with double-digit scores at this year's Championships. Earlier this week, Hyogo finished 41st in the 500-yard freestyle and 28th in the 400-yard IM.
Tim Wise, the Robert J. H. Kiphuth Head Coach of Men's Swimming and Diving, said that going into the 1,650-yard freestyle he believed it was unlikely that Hyogo would finish in the top eight. But when several highly-seeded swimmers faltered midway through the race, Hyogo was able to make a move for a spot on the medal podium.
With 200 yards to go, Hyogo was on track to finish in 14th place. But he passed six swimmers as he finished the rest of the race in 1:45.72. His 24.96 split for the last 50 yards was the third-fastest in the field, and was just enough to beat out Florida sophomore Ben Lawless for eighth place. His final time of 14:48.03 was the second-fastest of his career.
"You don't know what's going to happen in an event like this," Wise said. "You just have to keep banging away at your own race."
By taking 18th place, Hogan matched his previous best NCAAs finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle as a sophomore. He completed the race in 14:57.52. He also finished 28th in Friday's 500-yard freestyle event. While Hogan was disappointed that he didn't score points at his last NCAAs, Wise said that he couldn't have asked for anything more from his captain.
"An hour after the race, he was still shaking," Wise said. "He put everything he had into that race, mentally and physically. And when he looks back at his career, he will be proud of what he accomplished."
After Penn senior Chris Swanson won the 1,650 in a major upset, Penn head coach Mike Schnur told Wise that formidable competition from Hogan at Ivy League meets was critical to Swanson's development as a swimmer over the last four years.
"I can't think of a better compliment than that," Wise said, adding that Hogan also helped Hyogo reach new heights as a long-distance swimmer.
"Hyogo has been getting better ever since we recruited him. Now, the responsibility of leading our distance group shifts to his shoulders."
Wise, Hogan and Hyogo return to New Haven on Sunday. Both swimmers will continue training for this summer's Olympic Trials. But before that, they will celebrate the season with the rest of the team at the annual swimming banquet in April.
— filed by Josh Mandell '16, Yale Sports Publicity
