Stanford Takes Over Day Two Pac-10 Lead

ADRIAN AND ALJAND WIN PAC-10 SWIM TITLES IN DAY TWO OF CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
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 and American record time of 18.82, while Aljand captured the 200 IM in a conference record time of 1:43.59. After seven events, the No. 6-ranked Golden Bears sit in second place behind top-ranked Stanford, 328.5-260. Defending 2008 national champion Arizona is in third place (216), followed by USC (123), Arizona State (120.5) and Washington (116).

Adrian’s time in the 50 free topped his own school of 18.94 set in December, and also broke the Pac-10 meet record of 19.11 set by Cal Olympian Anthony Ervin in 2002. Bear sophomore Graeme Moore finished fifth in the 50 free with a time of 19.40, senior Bennett Clark was ninth (19.64) and sophomore Josh Daniels placed 16th (20.08).

In the 200 IM, Cal finished 1-2 with Aljand’s record-breaking time of 1:43.59 and freshman Nolan Koon placing second with a mark of 1:44.10. Both Aljand’s and Koon’s time broke the old Bear record of 1:44.30 set by Joe Bruckart in 2003. Freshman Martin Liivamagi also had a strong swim in the 200 IM, placing fourth with a time of 1:44.57, while senior Ian Lentz was sixth (1:45.45) and junior Sean Mahoney placed 12th (1:46.37).

The Cal 200 free relay team of Adrian, Moore, Daniels and Clark finished second to Stanford (1:15.54) with a season-best and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:16.36. Both the Cardinal and the Bears’ 200 free relay time had topped the former Pac-10 meet record of 1:16.77 set by Cal in 2005.

Thursday’s other event was the 500 free with Bear senior John Foster placing 10th with a season-best time of 4:20.41, and freshman Isaac Howell finishing 11th with a season-best mark of 4:20.76.

“Martti (Aljand) did a great job in the 200 IM. The last 100 yards he was really sharp. And, Nolan Koon just gets better and better every time he swims.” said Cal coach David Durden. “For those two guys to break the school record with the history of great IM swimmers Cal has had is really impressive. Nathan (Adrian) took care of business in the 50 free and looked very good in the second 25 yards. We knew this would be a tough day for us. We have some guys who have yet to touch the water, so we are looking to turn them loose tomorrow.”

Friday’s events will include the 400 IM, the 100 fly, the 200 free, the 100 breast, the 100 back and the 400 medley relay. On Wednesday, the Cal team of senior backstroker David Russell, sophomore breaststroker Damir Dugonjic, sophomore butterflyer Moore and senior freestyler Clark won the
2009 Pac-10 title in the 200 medley relay with a school record time of 1:23.98.

USC Men's Swimming Breaks School Record in 200y Free Relay At Pac-10 Championships
Junior Zoltan Povazsay finished sixth in the final of the 500y free, sprinters Jake Grosser and Jeff Daniels etched their names among USC’s fastest ever in the 50y free and helped USC shatter the school record in the 200y free relay on the second day of the 2009 Pac-10 Championships on Thursday (March 5) at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach, Calif.

Povazsay, who qualified for the final with the sixth-fastest time in prelims, is now the ninth-fastest Trojan ever in the race after going 4:17.71. He went 4:18.09 in prelims.

In the 50y free, Grosser, a sophomore, became USC’s fifth-fastest ever with a 19.79, good for 13th overall. Daniels’ 19.84 ties him as the sixth-fastest Trojan ever. He was 14th. Both Grosser’s and Daniel’s times were NCAA ‘B’ cuts.

Coupling them with the fastest two Trojans ever in the event, Richard Gosper (graduated 2008) and Sean Sussex (graduated 2007), USC third-year head coach Dave Salo, in less than three seasons, has coached four of USC’s fastest seven ever in the race.

Other Trojan finishers in the 50 free included sophomore Buddy Turner in 19th (20.13, season best) and sophomore Luke Tanner (20.42). His prelim 20.38 was a season-best.

Daniels, joined Povazsay, Grosser and Turner to break the school record in the 200 free relay with a 1:18.11 in the final event of the evening, lowering the mark set at the 2007 NCAA Championships by 0.71 seconds. The time was good for fourth today,

Senior Vanni Mangoni improved upon his team-best time in the 200 IM, taking 10th in 1:45.85, an NCAA ‘B’ cut. It also improves upon his best time as a Trojan by a half second. Junior James Martin took 18th and clocked a season best and NCAA ‘B’ cut 1:47.41 while sophomore Dillon Connolly was 19th (1:48.57). Senior Kevin Bartell was 25th (1:49.25) while senior Kazu Miyahara was 31st (1:50.65).

Freshman Julian Bonse swam in the consolation final of the 500 free, taking 16th in 4:26.81. He went a season-best 4:26.66 in prelims. Freshman Patrick White placed 12th overall in prelims in a season best and NCAA ‘B’ cut 4:23.14, but didn’t take a second swim. Other 500 free finishers included sophomore Kevin Little in 19th with a season-best 4:27.78, freshman Colin Heinrich in 22nd with a season-best 4:32.08 and Evan Marcus in 24th (4:34.82). His prelim 4:33.67 was a season-best. Josh Joiner swam the race prelims and posted a season-best 4:30.33.

USC is in fourth overall after two days. The scores include the 1-meter springboard results from last week’s Men’s Pac-10 Diving Championships, in which freshman Harrison Jones was second, sophomore Steven Starks was eighth and sophomore Greg Miller was ninth.

Waked Clocks in Second-Fast 200 Free Time in ASU History
The Arizona State men’s swimming team concluded day two of the Pac-10 Men’s Swimming Championships. The team stands in sixth with 171.5 points, but the team has recorded several personal bests over the past three days.
 
“I have been very happy with how we are swimming,” said 11th year head coach Mike Chasson. “We have been swimming really well this weekend and have had numerous personal best times.”
 
Vinicius Waked swam his way to ASU’s second-fastest 200 free time. The Brazilian clocked in the morning sessions second-fastest time to secure ASU’s first spot in a championship final. In the final, Waked placed fourth overall with a 1:34.71, an NCAA consideration time and ASU’s second-fastest all-time.
 
“Vinny did fantastic in the 200 free,” said Chasson. “With his time, he seems to be a lock for the NCAA Championships so we are very pleased about that.”
 
Sean Boyle also clocked in an NCAA consideration time in the 200 free by finishing in 1:36.62. Adrian Kirkpatrick and Xavier Mohammed both earned personal best times with 1:37.23 and 1:37.90. Kirkpatrick’s time placed him at second in the bonus final.
 
In the 100 breast, Tony Cisneros clocked in a personal best 54.67. His time puts him at sixth on ASU’s all-time list and is an NCAA consideration time. Alex Hier touched the wall at 49.02 in the preliminaries of the 100 fly to earn a season-best for him. In the 400 IM, Luke Herlehy earned a season-best time of 4:01.28. The Sun Devils were disqualified in the 400 medley relay.
 
“It was a disappointment being disqualified in the relay,” said Chasson. “We feel we still have a good shot at making NCAAs in the 400 and 800 free relay. We will see how we do tomorrow.”