Texas All-America sophomore Will Licon registered the nation’s top time in the 400-yard individual medley, and UT’s 200 medley relay posted a top national time to highlight day two for the Horns Friday at the Texas Invitational.
Texas opened the meet’s second night with strong showings in the 200-yard medley relay, as the Longhorns claimed the top two spots. UT’s “A” relay with senior Kip Darmody, junior John Murray, sophomore Jack Conger and freshman Brett Ringgold took the win in 1:23.88, good for the fastest time in the country this season and the No. 2 time in school history. UT’s “B” relay with freshmen Joseph Schooling and Austin Temple, senior Tripp Cooper and junior Matt Ellis took second in 1:26.09.
Licon produced the nation’s fastest time in the 400 individual medley on his way to victory in 3:42.48, just off of the NCAA “A” qualifying cut of 3:42.40. The El Paso native held off a late charge from Arizona’s Michael Meyer, who settled for second in 3:42.90. Junior John Martens notched a personal best with his third-place mark of 3:45.31.
Senior Clay Youngquist logged the top finish among current college swimmers in the 200 freestyle “A’ final with his second-place time of 1:34.05. His 1:34.02 from the morning preliminary round marked the third-fastest time in the country this season. Sophomore Clark Smith clocked a personal best of 1:34.07 in prelims and took fifth in the final at 1:34.26.
Licon made an impressive return in the 100 breast after winning the grueling 400 IM. Licon placed third in the 100 breast at 52.90, which matched his time in the preliminary round. Texas sent a quartet of Longhorns to the 100 backstroke “A” final, and Darmody led the UT contingent with his second-place time of 46.20, the third-fastest time in the country this season. Conger took fourth in 46.68 while Ringgold placed sixth in 47.48. Schooling added an eighth-place mark of 48.37.
NCAA automatic-qualifying cuts in the 200-yard medley relay and the 100 breaststroke highlighted day two for the Longhorns Friday evening at the Texas Invitational at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Texas opened the meet’s second night with a dominant performance in the 200-yard medley relay, as the Longhorns claimed the top two spots. UT’s “A” relay featuring seniors Sarah Denninghoff and Gretchen Jaques, sophomore Brynne Wong and freshman Rebecca Millard took the win in 1 minute, 37.68 seconds, good for the second-fastest time in the country this season.
The Horns’ “B” relay featuring sophomores Tasija Karosas and Jordan Surhoff, freshman Mimi Schneider and senior Kelsey LeNeave placed second in 1:38.73.
Senior Kaitlin Pawlowicz produced a pair of solid swims in the 400 individual medley and took a close second in the “A” final at 4:10.82. Olympian Haley Anderson of Trojan Aquatics took the win in 4:10.44.
LeNeave led the Horns in the 200 freestyle “A” final with her 1:46.76 for sixth place. Millard followed in seventh at 1:48.11 while senior Shelby Webber placed eighth in 1:49.21.
Jaques joined former NCAA champion Laura Sogar to become the second Longhorn ever to clear 59 seconds in the 100 breaststroke. Jaques clocked 58.94 in the preliminary round and won the event in the finals at 58.78, good for the No. 2 time in college swimming and a NCAA automatic-qualifying cut.
Denninghoff returned after leading off the 200 medley relay to win the 100 backstroke in 52.06, good for the fourth-fastest time in the country and ninth-fastest time in school history. Karosas took fifth place in 53.28. Texas wrapped the evening by taking second in the 800 freestyle relay at 7:11.41.
The third and final day of the Texas Invitational gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m. Central. The finals are set for 6 p.m. Central and will air live on Longhorn Network.
Arizona
The Arizona Wildcats continued their success at day 2 of the Texas Invitational. The Wildcats improved to take first in three events, second in two and third in two events. Arizona added one automatic NCAA qualification to its one from day 1 and 17 potential qualifications to 15. Out of the 12 events, the Wildcats automatically or potentially qualified for NCAA Championships in 9 of them.
The team of Bonnie Brandon, Emma Schoettmer, Katja Hajdinjak and Taylor Schick started off the day with a fourth place finish in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:39.58. Following that, the men’s team of Michael Meyer, Kevin Cordes, Renny Richmond and Bradley Tandy finished fourth in the 200 medley relay as well in 1:26.30, potentially qualifying them for a NCAA Championship. Thane Maudslien, Andrew Sovero, Brian Stevens and JP Beach were right behind them in fifth place.
Tjasa Oder placed third in the 400 IM with a time of 4:13.84 and potentially qualified for the NCAA Chamipionship along with Shannyn Hultin (4:19.19). Brandon took first in the 200 free with 1:44.11 and Schick followed in fourth place in 1:46.37, both with a potential qualification.
For the men, three swimmers also potentially qualified in the 400 IM. Meyer placed second with 3:42.90. Austin Van Overdam finished in 3:48.01 and Nick Thorne in 3:50.89, all of them significantly improving their prelim times. In the men’s 200 free, Maudslien also potentially qualified for the championship with a time of 1:36.22.
Adding to Arizona’s potential qualifications, Sara Borendame placed second in the 100 breast in 59.97, significantly improving her prelim time, and Schoettmer in 1:00.54.
In the 100 breast, Cordes took first with a time of 52.04 and automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championship. Sovero followed in fourth place in 53.44, potentially qualifying for the championship, in addition to Tandy (53.77) and Gage Crosby (54.67).
In the women’s 100 breast, Brandon earned a potential qualification for her time of 53.76. Schick and Cameron McHugh both potentially qualified with a time of 54.69.
To close out the day for the women, the team of Schick, Brandon, Elizabeth Pepper and McHugh placed first in the 800 free relay in 7:08.80. They were the only team to potentially qualify for the NCAA Championship. For the men, the team of Meyer, Tandy, Maudslien, and Stevens finished third in the 800 free relay in 6:28.19.
USC
Freshman Hannah Weiss posted USC’s fastest 100y back since 2011 and helped Troy to a win in the 200y medley relay to highlight the Trojans on the second night of the UT Invitational at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Friday (Dec. 5) in Austin.
Weiss took second in the 100y back in 52.23, 0.17 out of first and 0.26 from an NCAA ‘A’ cut. It was USC’s fastest 100y back since Presley Bard set the school record (51.62) at the 2011 NCAA Championships.
Earlier in the night, Weiss led off USC’s 200y medley relay and joined senior Andrea Kropp and juniors Kendyl Stewart and Kasia Wilk as the quartet dropped an NCAA ‘A’ cut of 1:37.11 and won by 0.57.
The men’s 200y medley relay took third as senior Luca Spinazzola, junior Morten Klarskov, sophomore Dylan Carter and freshman Ralf Tribuntsov went 1:26.12, 0.04 off an ‘A’ cut.
Sophomore Maggie D’Innocenzo took fourth in the 400y IM in 4:15.15, a season best and ‘B’ cut. Senior Cary Wright was USC’s top finisher in the men’s 400y IM. After going 3:53.03 (B) in the prelims, he went 3:53.54 for 14th overall.
Junior Joanna Stenkvist tied for first in the ‘B’ final of the 200y free in 1:48.00, 0.01 off a ‘B’ cut. Carter was the second seed out of prelims of the 200y free with a season-best 1:34.05, but he did not swim in the final.
Kropp was third in the 100y breast in 1:00.01, a PR and a strong NCAA ‘B’ cut, after going 1:00.06 in prelims. Junior Jasmine Tosky posted a ‘B’ cut of 1:02.16 in the B final. Klarskov also posted a ‘B’ cut in the C final on the men’s side in 54.63.
Troy sent two swimmers to the men’s 100y back final as Tribuntsov took third (46.44) with Carter taking fifth (46.90).
USC’s women’s 800y free relay was third in 7:14.81 with Tosky, Stewart, Wilk and Stenkvist. Tosky’s lead-off 1:47.18 a season-best.
The men’s 800y free relay of Carter, sophomore Reed Malone, senior Chad Bobrosky and sophomore Michael Domagala took fourth with a 6:29.13.
Utah
Highlights from day two at the Texas Invitational include a second place finish from the men’s 800 feee relay team.
Nick Soedel, Bence Kiraly, Austin Phillips and Kristian Kron teamed together to take second in the 800 free relay with a time of 6:25.82 which is a NCAA-B qualifying time.
There were several other NCAA-B qualifying times for the day. Kron took 14th in the 400 IM with a time of 3:53.25. In the 200 free, Bence Kiraly took sixth in 1:35.21 with Austin Phillips taking 18th with a time of 1:37.47. Stina Colleou touched in sixth in the 100 breast with a time of 1:01.40. Tying for 20th in the 100 breast with University of Texas’ Matt Korman was Quillian Oak in 56.57.
Taking fifth in the 800 free relay was team of Dorien Butter, Giuliana Gigliotti, Maddie Meisel, Maryssa McArthur with a time of 7:19.30. Also in the relay was 16th place team of Selin Ozturk, Kat Wickham, Hailey Pabst, Maddie Velez with a time of 7:29.73.
Gigliotti touched in 11th in the 200 free with a time of 1:48.03 with Meisel in 14th (1:48.82) and Butter in 31st (1:50.80).
Teaming up for seventh in the 200 medley relay was Shayla Archer, Jenna Marsh, Petra Soininen and Giuliana Gigliotti with a time of 1:41.03.
In the 400 IM, Amanda Barrett came in 15th with a time of 4:26.59 followed by Brianna Francis in 16th (4:26.98) and Isabella Kearns taking 18th (4:24.42). Ashlyn Karosas took 24th in the event (4:33.83) with Kylie Boyce in 24th (4:33.88) and Paolina Carnevale in 29th (4:31.61).
Jenna Marsh took 15th in the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.00 with Brianna Francis in 24th (1:04.02) and Melissa Paakh in 26th (1:03.53). Also taking 15th was Megan Kawaguchi in the 100 back with a time of 55.24 with Archer in 23rd (55.75), Jenna Griffith in 29th (56.68) and Erika Nist taking 32nd in the event (57.04).
For the men, team of Kron, Oak, Alex Fernandes and Soedel teamed together to take seventh in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:28.84. Also in the relay was 16th place team of Ben Scott, Brandon Young, David Fraser and Sean Bloore with a time of 1:31.20.
In the 400 IM, Brandon Deckard touched in 16th with a time of 3:57.06 with Nolan Rogers in 27th (3:55.33) and Evan Indahl in 29th (3:57.37).
Team of Fraser, Andy Cunningham, Brandon Shreeve and Calvin Rogers teamed together to take 12th in the 800 free relay with a time of 6:44.02.
In the 100 back, Scott touched in at 23rd with a time of 50.21.
Wisconsin
Posting a total of 13 top-ten program history performances, the Badgers took it upon themselves to make their mark in the Wisconsin swimming and diving record book during the second day of competition at the Texas Invitational on Friday.
After two full days of competition, both the men’s and women’s teams sit in fourth place.
“We’re in a really good spot right now and swimming very fast for this point in the season,” UW swimming and diving head coach Whitney Hite said. “It’s not that surprising since we’ve done the work, and it sets us up for success down the road.”
The best swim of the night came when Matt Hutchins, Cannon Clifton, Nick Caldwell and Brett Pinfold teamed up to win the 800-yard freestyle relay in six minutes, 23.12 seconds, an NCAA 'B' cut and the third-fastest time in program history.
“The highlight of the night was definitely the men’s 800 relay,” Hite said. “It’s the second fastest time in the nation, so it sent a statement to the rest of the country that we’re going to be playing.”
Representing the women were Aja Van Hout, Ivy Martin, Jenny Holtzen and Dana Grindall, who placed seventh with a time of 7:20.66.
Madeline Hazle, Anna Meinholz, Grindall and Van Hout teamed up to place sixth in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:40.90.
For the men, Pinfold, Nick Schafer, Drew teDuits and Clifton combined to pick up a sixth-place finish and the group’s fastest time in the event this season with a time of 1:28.74 -- nearly two seconds faster than their most previous race.
All four of the Badgers that entered in the 400-yard individual medley made it back to finals, and leading the pack was sophomore Hazle’s 'B' cut time of 4:17.74 to earn a fifth-place finish and a personal best. Junior Holtzen finished in 10th place with a time of 4:19.91.
On the men’s side, Josh Anderson finished in 15th place (3:55.93) and earned a 'B' cut in the earlier preliminaries with a time of 3:53.02, the eighth-fastest swim in program history. Freshman Max Dolan touched 24th in 3:57.91.
Senior captain Van Hout posted her fastest time of the season in the 200-yard freestyle, touching in 1:48.00 to earn ninth place. Fellow captain Ivy Martin placed 16th (1:49.86), while Grindall touched in 22nd (1:50.13) and Holtzen earned 24th place (1:52.38).
Between Pinfold, Caldwell and Clifton, the trio posted some of the fastest times in program history and all picked up 'B' cuts in an impressive show of depth. Leading the group was senior captain Caldwell, whose time of 1:35.52 earned ninth place and was the fourth-fastest time in program history. Sophomore Pinfold picked up a new personal best in preliminaries with a time of 1:37.48, the sixth-fastest in Badger history. Not far behind was sophomore Clifton, whose time of 1:35.99 earned 10th place and broke his previous personal best to go down as the seventh-fastest time in program history. Not to be overshadowed, however, was Hutchins, who placed 17th with a time of 1:36.96 to earn a 'B' cut.
The women’s breaststroke duo of Maria Carlson and Anna Meinholz built on an impressive performance earlier in the day at preliminaries to capture 'B' cuts. Carlson, the sophomore out of Livermore, California, touched fifth in 1:01.31 to set a new personal best and record the third-fastest time in program history. Oconomowoc native Meinholz placed eighth with a time of 1:01.65, the sixth-fastest swim ever by a Badger.
For the men, Schafer’s time of 53.65 in preliminaries earned a 'B' cut and will go down as the second-fastest time in Badger history. At finals, Schafer posted a 53.66 and earned seventh place. After today’s performances, Schafer now holds the top-three fastest times in the 100-yard breaststroke in program history, setting the team record in 52.88 at last year’s Big Ten championships.
Annie Tamblyn once again led the women’s team in the 100-yard backstroke, while teDuits paced the men. Ann Arbor, Michigan, native Tamblyn earned 27th place with a time of 55.84. teDuits, out of Fitchburg, picked up the third-fastest time in team history in preliminaries with a time of 47.56. In finals, teDuits posted a 47.69 to earn seventh place and the fifth-fastest time ever by a Badger. Austin Byrd finished in 17th place with a time of 48.07, the ninth-fastest time in program history. In 19th place was Ryan O’Donnell, whose time of 48.76 earned a 'B' cut. Freshman Todd McCarthy placed 27th (50.22).
Notre Dame
Day two at the Texas Invitational brought more NCAA B cuts for the University of Notre Dame women’s swimming squad, as four Irish standouts clocked cuts in the 100-yard backstroke.
Senior Courtney Whyte, junior Catherine Galletti and sophomores Catherine Mulquin and Katie Miller all clocked NCAA B cuts in the morning session before Galletti, Miller and Mulquin did the same in the finals. Mulquin had the best showing with a seventh-place finish (53.93), with Galletti (14th – 55.01), Whyte (16th – 55.95) and Miller (19th – 54.94) following closely behind.
In the 400 IM, senior Bridget Casey claimed a spot in the A finals in the prelims and finished the evening session in eighth place with a time of 4:21.45. In the C final, senior Melissa Scott took fourth (20th overall) in 4:27.52 and junior Anna Grainger claimed 23rd overall in 4:30.39.
A trio of Irish student-athletes had solid performances in the 100 breast, as Danielle Margheret finished 16th (1:03.21), freshman Sherri McIntee took 19th overall in 1:03.53 and Genevieve Bradford claimed 23rd place in 1:03.67.
The Irish kicked off the night with a ninth-place showing in the 200 medley relay, as Mulquin, Margheret, Whyte and Galletti touched the pad in 1:41.34.
Notre Dame closed out the second day with a 13th place finish in the 800 free relay, as Suzanne Bessire, Molly Barry, Genevieve Bradford and Elizabeth House completed the course in 7:26.53.
The morning session proved fruitful for the Irish, as they notched four NCAA B cuts and secured spots in two ‘A’ finals. Securing B cuts were Galletti, Mulquin, Whyte and Miller in the 100 back, while Casey (400 IM) and Mulquin (100 back) secured their spots in the best finals heat.
BYU
Jake Taylor followed up his stellar performance in the preliminaries with the fastest men’s 100-yard backstroke time in the NCAA this season, besting the time he set earlier in the day Friday.
Taylor won the 100 back with a blazing time of 45.95. The junior captain now owns the two fastest men’s 100 back times in the country this season, his 46.06 he swam Friday afternoon was the fastest until his finals performance.
Senior captain Hayden Palmer picked up a fourth-place finish in the men’s 400-yard individual medley touching the wall in 3:48.18.
Taylor, along with Rainer Ng, Michael King and McKay King finished eighth in the men’s 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:28.98.
BYU junior captain Jake Taylor recorded the fastest 100-yard backstroke time in the country Friday during the preliminaries at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas.
Taylor touched the wall in 46.06, just ahead of Ralf Tribuntsov (46.40) from USC and Jack Conger (47.00) from Texas. David Nolan from Stanford previously held the fastest time at 46.22.
