Stanford Out to Pac 10 Lead, Adrian Tops American Record

No. 1 Stanford showed off their depth and took a commanding lead at the Pac-10 Championships on Thursday night from the Belmont Plaza Pool. The Cardinal lead with 328.5 points, while No. 6 California sits in second with 260. No. 2 Arizona rounds out the top-three places with 216.

Cal sophomores Nathan Adrian and Martti Aljand both were phenomenal during the second day of the 2009 Pac-10 Swimming Championships at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach. Adrian won the 50 free in a Pac-10 record time of 18.82, while Aljand captured the 200 IM in a conference record time of 1:43.59. After seven events, the Golden Bears sit in second place behind Stanford, 328.5-260.

Stanford's top swim of the evening came in the 200 free relay where they set a Pac-10 record with a time of 1:15.64. The team of Alex Coville, Austin Staab, David Dunford and Jason Dunford edged Cal for the meet title and were less than a second off the NCAA record set by Auburn in 2007.

The time was also a Stanford record, eclipsing the 2007 team of Ben Wildman-Tobriner, Jason Dunford, Coville and Matt Crowe who swam 1:15.97.

The Wildcats began the night with the 500 freestyle event. Olympian Jean Basson defended his Pac-10 title with an impressive NCAA automatic time of 4:12.99, overwhelming a crowd of Stanford swimmers in the process.

“Coming into tonight’s final, I knew I didn’t swim my best during the prelims,” said Basson. “I really wanted to come out and show everyone what I am capable of. This being my main event, I’m glad I was able to defend my Pac-10 title from last year and give my team the victory.”

Basson’s time in the 500 freestyle was good for a new Pac-10 meet record. Competing in the Consolation Final, Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or won with a time of 4:20.19
 
The fastest sprint of the day actually came from Coville who swam a time of 19.16 in the prelims, which is the third-fastest all-time for Stanford. Nathan Adrian of Cal won the event with a Pac-10 record of 18.82.

Swimming in the consolation final, Andrew Trepp finished 11th with a time of 19.75.

In the 500 free, Stanford showed they have depth in the endurance events as well as the sprints. Again, the Cardinal placed five in the top eight to score big team points. Freshman Chad La Tourette finished third with a time of 4:16.29 to lead the Cardinal. Immediately following were David Mosko (4:16.95) in fourth and Trevor Scheid (4:17.65) in fifth. Finally, Bobby Bollier (4:18.11) in seventh and Phillip Morrison (4:18.27) in eighth rounded out a strong Stanford showing.

Mosko swam the fastest time of the day for Stanford with a time of 4:14.67 in the prelims, which is the second-fastest all-time at Stanford. Jean Basson of Arizona won the event with a meet record time of 4:12.99.

In the consolation final, Rob Andrews added to Stanford's point total with a 13th place finish in a time of 4:23.72.

The final swimming event of the evening was the 200 IM, where Nate Cass paced the Cardinal with his third place finish. Cass finished with a time of 1:44.19 to trail Aljand Martti of Cal who won with a time of 1:43.59. Also competing in the championship final was Curtis Lovelace who finished eighth with a time of 1:46.38.

In the consolation final three more Stanford swimmers scored points. Paul Kornfeld finished tied for 12th with a time of 1:46.37, while Josh Charnin-Aker was 14th with a time of 1:46.39 and John Criste was 16th with a time of 1:47.06.

Also added to the scoring on Thursday was the 1-meter diving competition, which took place last week. This event was won by Dwight Dumais, contributing to the Stanford lead.

“I thought our guys swam great tonight,” said Arizona head coach Frank Busch. “We’ve really been battling and giving a great effort. Jean (Basson) just wouldn’t be denied and he defended his Pac-10 title. Overall I’m very pleased.”

The Cardinal will be back in the pool on Friday for day three of the Pac-10 Championships. Stanford will look to extend their lead as they pursue a 28th consecutive conference title, a Pac-10 record in any sport.