INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Senior Philipp Sikatzki of the Cleveland State University men's swimming team opened his participation in the 2017 NCAA Championships by posting a career-best time in the 50 freestyle Thursday morning inside the IU Natatorium.

Sikatzki finished second in his heat in 19.85 seconds, a time more than one percent better than his prior career best. Sikatzki dropped .34 seconds off of his seed time, the third-biggest overall time drop of the more than 50 athletes in the event.

Sikatzki finished 42nd in the preliminaries, improving 12 places from where he was seeded in the event. It marked the first time that Sikatzki swam the 50 free in a conference or NCAA Championship since 2015.

Sikatzki will continue action at the NCAA's Friday by competing in his signature event, the 100 butterfly.