Minuth, Mahmoud, Peribonio Earn All-America Spots as NCAA Championships Continue

March 23, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS — More University of South Carolina Swimming & Diving program history was made on Thursday as Fynn Minuth, Akram Mahmoud and Tomas Peribonio earned All-America spots in the 500-yard freestyle at the 2017 NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships. Minuth broke his own school record in the event and finished fifth, while Mahmoud finished in sixth and Peribonio came home in 12th.

Minuth, Mahmoud and Peribonio combined to score 32 points on Thursday. With two days left at the national championships, the Gamecocks stand in 12th overall, with 40 team points.

RECAP

Minuth’s school record came in prelims, as he finished first with a time of 4:09.55, which broke the South Carolina record that the sophomore set last month at the SEC Championships.

The finish was Minuth’s career best at NCAAs after he only competed in the 800 freestyle relay last season. It also gave the Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany native his second All-America honor in as many nights after he was part of the 800-yard freestyle relay team that placed 13th on Wednesday.

Mahmoud placed second in the 500 free prelims, swimming a lifetime-best time of 4:09.73. He also picked up his second All-America honor of the meet.

Once in the consolation final, Peribonio made the most of his opportunity. The Suwanee, Ga., native finished fourth in the heat, with a time of 4:14.55. That was good for 12th overall, scoring four valuable points for the Gamecocks. He also netted an All-America spot for the second straight evening.

Freshman Cody Bekemeyer made his NCAA Championships debut on Thursday and swam the 500-yard freestyle. He placed 26th with a swim of 4:17.98.

Diver Jordan Gotro competed for the first time at the 2016 NCAA Championships and finished 40th in the 1-meter springboard with a score of 266.55.

QUOTABLES

HEAD DIVING McGee Moody – “Our men were great today, Akram Mahmoud, Fynn Minuth, Tomas Peribonio and Cody Bekemeyer all showed incredible courage in how they competed in their races. Our men are embracing their roles on our team and our program is getting stronger every day. We currently sit in 12th place and have two very strong days ahead. I am confident they will continue to race strong and our results will reflect that. “

HEAD DIVING COACH Todd Sherritt – “Jordan [Gotro] had a reasonable day today. His first three dives were really solid. He stayed aggressive through each hurdle and had some great tops. On his fourth dive he had a great top and went over on the bottom. I can’t really fault him for that. He was going for it. That miss knocked him out of the top 16. Overall, he did a good job for his last one-meter meet. This was a really tough field this year. We knew we had to dive lights out here to break into the top 16. Jordan has his tower event on Saturday. He has been solid there all year and was an All-American in this event last year. We’re looking forward to a great performance. “

NOTABLES

• Prior to Thursday, only four Gamecocks in history had achieved All-America honors in the 500 free: Jean Arnould in 1987 and 1988, Michael Flach in 2011, Akram Mahmoud and Tom Peribonio in 2016.
• At the end of day two, the Gamecocks have recorded four All-American performances.

• UP NEXT FOR CAROLINA

  The 2017 NCAA Men’s Championships continue on Friday. Nils Wich-Glasen makes his 2017 NCAA debut in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Peribonio and Bekemeyer swim the 400-yard IM and Minuth and Mahmoud take on the 200-yard freestyle. Swimming prelims start the day at 10 a.m. and finals commence at 6 p.m.