STANFORD maintained its lead over the rest of the field after three full days of the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Championships, with a total of 564.5. USC climbed into second on 531.5 points, while CALIFORNIA is third with 488. ARIZONA is at fourth, while UTAH stands at fifth and ARIZONA STATE comes in at sixth heading into the final day of action.
Junior Josh Prenot of California won his third-consecutive Pac-12 title in the 400 IM, breaking his previous meet record with a new time of 3:38.83 in the first-place finish. It marks the second-best time in the nation so far this year. Two newcomers rounded out the podium as Stanford freshman Curtis Ogren and California freshman Connor Green, both members of the U.S. National Junior Team, placed second and third, respectively.
The closest finish of the night came in the 100 fly, as senior Seth Stubblefield won the 100 fly by a margin of .01 seconds. Stubblefield touched at 45.84 seconds, a hair ahead of USC’s Santo Condorelli who swam a 45.85, for the title and another 20 points for the Golden Bears. USC freshman Ralf Tribuntsov placed third, touching at 45.96.
USC’s Cristian Quintero picked up his second title of the meet and his third-consecutive 200 free title, setting a new meet record in the process. The senior, who was seeded fifth in the event, broke his previous meet record with a new record of 1:32.40 for the victory. Finishing at second with a time of 1:34.01 was sophomore Long Gutierrez, while Stanford’s Drew Cosgarea took third at 1:34.35.
Senior Kevin Cordes of Arizona continued his dominance in the breaststroke, winning his third-straight title in the 100 breast just ahead of top-seeded Chuck Katis, a senior from California. Cordes swam a 52.18 for the victory, with Katis following at 52.25. USC’s Andrew Malone, another senior, rounded out the podium, touching at 52.71 for third place.
Friday’s individual events finished with another repeat victory as sophomore Ryan Murphy of California won the 100 back for the second-straight year. Murphy swam a 44.98 in the event for the first-place finish. Freshman Ralf Tribuntsov, who set a meet record during the preliminaries in the 100 back with a national season-best 44.95 earlier this morning, finished second in the finals at 45.27. Senior Dave Nolan of Stanford finished third at 45.37 after being seeded seventh in the prelims.
Another incredible finish rounded out the evening as USC came from behind at the last second to win the 400 free relay. Senior Cristian Quintero swam the final leg of the relay, following Tribuntsov, Andrew Malone and Condorelli, as the Trojans rallied in the final 50 yards for a dramatic comeback victory, touching at 3:04.80. California finished second at 3:05.38, while Stanford came in third at 3:07.35.
The day three standings factored in last week's 3-meter diving finals, which saw Stanford finish 1-2. Kristian Ipsen picked up another title after finishing first with a score of 520.40 for a new Pac-12 meet record, followed by fellow Cardinal Bradley Christiansen at 457.15. Arizona's Rafael Quintero came in third at 447.05.
The 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Championships finish tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 7, at Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash., with prelims at 11 a.m. PT and finals beginning at 6 p.m. PT. The 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 1650 free and 400 free relay will take place on Saturday.
Arizona
Arizona men’s swimming remains fourth with a total of 325 at the end of day three at Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington. Stanford stayed in first with 564.5 followed by USC (531.5) and Cal (488). As day three concluded, the Wildcats won another Pac-12 title in the 100 breast and received additional NCAA cuts.
In the 400 IM, Michael Meyer finished fourth with a time of 3:43.59, earning an NCAA “B” cut. Nick Thorne placed seventh in 3:46.64, also receiving a “B” cut. In the B final, Austin Van Overdam placed sixth (3:52.60), in time for a “B” cut, followed by teammate Jason Alentado (3:55.00). In the C final, Ty Fowler finished second with 3:55.98 followed by Nick Hogsed in 3:58.40.
Brian Stevens took second in the B final of the 100 fly with a time of 47.15 followed by teammate Renny Richmond with 47.20. Rasmus Skjaerpe placed seventh in 47.69, leading all the swimmers to earn a “B” cut. In the C final, Alan Winder took second with 47.61, also earning a “B” cut. Justin Wright followed in third place with a time of 48.31.
In the B final of the 200 free, Thane Maudslien took fourth in 1:36.23, touching in time for a NCAA “B” cut. Chris Wieser finished second in the C final (1:39.05) followed by J.P. Beach (1:40.66). In the 100 back, Winder placed fourth in the B final with 48.85.
In the 100 breast, Kevin Cordes earned yet another Pac-12 title, making it three straight. He touched in 52.18, earning a NCAA “A” cut. In the B final, Gage Crosby finished first with a time of 53.34 while Tandy took second in 53.35. Andrew Sovero came in fourth with 53.60. All three swimmers earned “B” cuts.
The team of Meyer, Cordes, Stevens and Tandy finished fourth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:09.20, adding another “A” cut.
The men’s diving results from last week’s championships were added to Arizona’s total. In the 3-meter, Rafael Quintero placed third with a score of 447.05. Dominic Ricotta finished 13th with 290.40 followed by teammate Carter Craft with 290.10.
California
Following the third day of Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Championships, the Golden Bears produced three individual conference titles – the 400 IM, 100 fly and the 100 back. Junior Josh Pernot posted a time of 1:38.83 and has now been crowned 400 IM Pac-12 champion three years in a row. Sophomore Ryan Murphy touched first in the 100 back for the second year running with a time of 44.98. Additionally, senior Seth Stubblefield claimed the championship in the 100 fly posting a time of 45.85.
Senior Chuck Katis was runner up in the 200 breast (52.25) and sophomore Long Gutierrez was runner up in the 200 free (1:34.01). The Bear’s 400 medley relay of Murphy, Katis, Stubblefield and junior Tyler Messerschmidt came up just short of anther conference relay title with a time of 3:05.38, just behind 3:04.80.
Heading into the final day of competition the Golden Bears sit behind Stanford (564.5) and USC (531.5) with a score of 488. Tomorrow’s events consist of the 1650 free, 200 back (Murphy is the defending Pac-12 champ), 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 400 free relay.
USC
Senior Cristian Quintero became the first Pac-12 swimmer to win both the 200y and 500y freestyle three straight years when he won the shorter distance Friday (March 7) and then anchored USC’s first 400y medley relay win since 1977, leading a surging No. 11 USC men’s swimming and diving team on a big third night of the 2015 Pac-12 Championships.
The Trojans, looking for their first team title since 1979, moved into second place with 531.5 points. Stanford leads (564.5) and is followed by USC, Cal (488), Arizona (325), Utah (199) and Arizona State (199).
Quintero, who edged sophomore teammate Reed Malone in the 500y free on Thursday by 0.05, won the 200y free tonight in 1:32.40, 0.12 off his school record and 1.61 ahead of Cal’s Long Gutierrez. Malone, sixth last year in the race, earned the top seed with a PR 1:34.01 in prelims while Quintero went 1:34.98. In the final, Malone was fourth in 1:34.44. Senior Chad Bobrosky earned his second trip to the 200y free final with a 1:35.04 in prelims and finished seventh in the final in 1:36.33.
The 200y free conference win is the Trojans’ Pac-12-record sixth straight and USC has won the race 10 times since 1997.
Closing the night, USC’s 400y medley relay of freshman Ralf Tribuntsov, senior Andrew Malone, sophomore Santo Condorelli and Quintero won in 3:04.80, lowering the USC record by 0.18. The Trojans trailed by 0.34 as Quintero entered the pool, but the Venezuelan tracked down Cal’s Tyler Messerschmidt for the win.
Standing since 2006, USC’s 100y fly record went down twice on Friday, the second time when Condorelli finished second by a hair in the ‘A’ final in 45.84, out-touched by 0.01 by Cal’s Seth Stubblefield.
Tribuntsov first broke USC’s record in the event in prelims with a 45.92, shattering Sam Masson’s 2006 time of 46.09. Tribuntsov took third in the final in 45.96 while sophomore Michael Domagala was fifth (46.40). He went 46.34 in prelims. Sophomore Dylan Carter made it four swimmers in the ‘A’ final as he took eighth in 46.80.
Tribuntsov crushed teammate Luca Spinazzola’s record in the 100y back with a top prelim swim of 44.95 that broke the Pac-12 meet record and was just 0.35 off Ryan Lochte’s NCAA record (44.60). Spinazzola was the second seed at 45.40.
In his second final of the night, Tribuntsov finished second in 45.27, 0.29 back of Cal’s Ryan Murphy. Spinazzola was fourth in 45.50.
Andrew Malone became the second-fastest Trojan ever in the 100y breast with a PR 52.58 in prelims and then placed third in the ‘A’ final in 52.71, just 0.53 behind Arizona American record holder Kevin Cordes’ 52.18. Sophomore Steven Stumph earned his way into the USC top 10 with a 53.12 to take fifth in the final after going 53.27 in the prelims while junior Morten Klarskov repeated as a 100y breast final and took sixth in 53.19. He went 53.38 in prelims.
In the 400y IM, senior Cary Wright was USC’s top finisher, taking second in the ‘B’ final (10th overall) in 3:47.95. Senior Dakota Hodgson was 13th (3:51.34).
Freshman Ian Silverman, who set two Paralympic American records last night, set another with a 200y free of 1:38.68 in an exhibition swim before the final relay.
USC scored well in diving from last week’s 3-meter springboard when the Trojans sent four into the ‘A’ final, led by Collin Pollard’s fifth-place (396.15). He was followed by freshman Dashiell Enos in sixth (368.60), junior Deon Reid in seventh (359.40) and senior Jordan Gear in eighth (337.80).
Stanford
Freshman Curtis Ogren set a Stanford record in the 400-yard individual medley and the Cardinal held on to its first-place billing Friday at the Pac-12 Conference Swimming Championships.
Ogren set the school record in the 400 IM by going 3:41.23 in the prelims, and took second with an NCAA A-cut 3:41.32 during the evening session. Max Williamson (3:46.63) took sixth after a prelim performance of 3:45.89 and Danny Thomson (3:48.05) was eighth overall. Justin Buck clocked in at 3:47.35 for ninth.
The previous record of 3:42.76 held by Markus Rogan stood since 2002.
Through 14 events at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, the Cardinal men’s swimming and diving team is first with 564.5 points. USC holds the second spot with 531.5 points and Cal (488) is third among the six-team field.
“We did it tonight with great depth,” said Goldman Family Director of Men’s Swimming Ted Knapp. “There were no wins, but Curtis Ogren had a great swim with his school record in the 400 IM. The magic was in the 400 medley relay -- three unshaved guys, two swimming off-strokes. We’re looking forward to big drops at the NCAA Championships.”
The meet concludes Saturday with the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly, 1,650-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay. Live results will be available at GoStanford.com.
Andrew Liang knotted himself as the program’s ninth-best all-time performer in the 100-yard butterfly and secured a trip to the NCAA Championships. His prelim swim of 46.20 tied that of Jayme Cramer in 2005, and Liang went 46.50 in the finals for sixth. Connor Black was seventh with a 46.70.
Tom Kremer, who went 1:34.32 in the prelims of the 200-yard freestyle, took fifth in the finals. Stanford’s top performer in the event was Drew Cosgarea and his 1:34.35 for third overall. Thomas Stephens checked in with a 1:34.80 for sixth.
Christian Brown (53.93) was 15th in the 100-yard breaststroke and one spot ahead of Daniel Le (55.04) in the finals. Brown also went a career-best 53.88 in the prelims.
David Nolan became Stanford’s fourth-fastest performer in the 100-yard breaststroke with an NCAA A-cut 45.37 in the finals for third, despite heading into the finals as the seventh-seed. Ryan Arata’s 47.01 was good for sixth and Patrick Conaton rounded out the finals in 47.61.
Stanford closed the evening with an NCAA A-cut 3:07.35 in the 400-yard medley relay. Kremer, Nolan, Gray Umbach and Stephens comprised the bronze-worthy unit.
Utah
Heading into the final day of competition, the Utah men’s swimming team is tied with ASU in fifth place with 199 points at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships at the Weyerhaesuer King Aquatic Center.
ASU is currently tied with Utah for fifth place. Stanford holds the lead with 564.5 with USC in second (531.5) and California in third (488). Arizona is in fourth (325).
In the “B” finals for the 400 IM, Kristian Kron recorded a NCAA B standard-time and Utah’s third fastest mark all-time of 3:49.34. He took third (11th overall) with Evan Indahl following in fourth (12th overall) with a time of 3:50.74, also an NCAA B standard time. Nolan Rogers took fifth (16th overall) with a time of 3:57.06. Ganem Tebet took first (17th overall) in the “C” finals with a NCAA B standard-time of 3:53.67. Matthew Bolinger touched in sixth (22nd overall) with a time of 3:59.48.
Alex Fernandes touched in fifth (13th overall) in the “B” finals for the 100 fly with a NCAA B standard-time of 47.54. In the “C” finals, David Fraser tied for fourth (20th overall) with ASU’s Sean Kao. They touched in at 49.09. Luis Macias took sixth (23rd overall) with a time of 50.20.
Placing in the top ten in the 200 free was Nick Soedel with a NCAA B standard-time of 1:36.66. He took eighth in the event. Bence Kiraly took seventh (15th overall) in the “B” finals with a time of 1:37.59. In the “C” finals, Austin Phillips touched in first (17th overall) with a time of 1:38.29 with Brandon Shreeve in fifth (21st overall) with a time of 1:41.92 and Peter Kotson in seventh (23rd overall) touching in 1:45.50.
Jack Burton touched in first (17th overall) in the “C” final for the 100 breast with a NCAA B standard time of 54.39 with Keanu Interone following with a NCAA B standard time of 54.40. He took second (18th overall) in the event. Also in the event was fourth place (20th overall) Brandon Young recording a NCAA B standard time of 55.21 and Quillian Oak took sixth (22nd overall) with a time of 57.12.
In the “B” finals for the 100 back, Brandon Deckard touched in sixth (14th overall) with a time of 50.26.
