Cal Goes 4 for 4 on Night Two of Pac-12

PAC 12 WOMEN

• When: Wednesday, February 25th to Saturday, February 28th
• Where: Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: California Golden Bears
• Live Results: here
• Live Video: Will post when available
• Championship Central: here

500 Free

Cierra Runge finished far ahead of the rest of the field in a new NCAA record breaking time time of 4:31.90. This betters the 4;32.53 that was swum by Georgia’s Brittany MacLean at NCAAs last year, and demolishes Haley Anderson’s Pac-12 record of 4:34.48.  Runge got after it right away with her 51.63 opening 100, and she never looked back. USC’s Chelsea Chenault finished second with her 4:37.55.

Read more about Runge’s NCAA Record-breaking swim here.

Mackenzie Stein from Stanford claimed the top spot in the B final with her 4:43.65. Her 56.75 in the last 100 was enough to secure the win over Arizona’s Tjasa Oder (4:44.75) and take an even six seconds off her entry time.

In the C final University of Arizona’s Jenna Bauer dropped more than five seconds from her prelim time to win the 500 (4:49.22). Bauer touched right ahead of her senior teammate Elizabeth Pepper, who finished in 4:49.76.

200 IM

Missy Franklin held onto the top spot to finish in a time of 1:53.47.  Elizabeth Pelton (1:53.80) was ahead going into freestyle, but Franklin was able to pull ahead with her 26.90 closing 50. Celina Li (1:55.52) completed the 1-3 sweep for Cal.

Cal will have the freedom to make lineup changes between now and NCAA’s, and after the first day at Pac-12’s, they look as much like contenders for the national team title as they have in the last two years – with dominance in each of the first two events on Thursday that will play well nationally as well.

Cal’s Caroline Piehl won the B final (1:57.74), finishing ahead of Stanford’s Ally Howe (1:57.91). After missing the A final, Piehl was able to come up with a strong swim during finals and improved her prelims time by 1.62 seconds. The C final was won by Arizona’s Alexandra Martelle (2:01.50).

50 Free

Cal’s Farida Osman (21.65) upset favorite Simone Manuel (21.81) to claim victory in the 50 free. This completed Cal’s 3-3 night for individual events. Osman’s time ties what Ivy Martin swam last week. The two are now tied for second fastest time swum so far this year. After Osman’s electric relay split last night, it was obvious that she was going to put up a solid swim tonight. Linnea Mack (UCLA) and Janet Hu (Stanford) tied for third with their 22.13.

Taylor Schick from Arizona finished .04 ahead of USC’s Evan Swenson to win the B final in 22.50. Stanford’s Jaynie Pulte touched first in the C final with her 22.96.

200 Free Relay

Cal’s relay team of Kaylin Bing (22.35), Missy Franklin (21.46), Rachel Bootsma (21.91), and Farida Osman (21.46) won the 200 free relay in a time of 1:27.18. Stanford finished second (1:28.02) and ASU touched in third (1:30.16).

3- Meter (Women) and 1-Meter (Men)

Alexandra Clay (Stanford) won the 3-meter diving event with a score of 363.95. Clay was able to edge out Samantha Pickens from Arizona (352.95) and ASU’s Hailey Casper (343.35). The men Pac-12 divers also competed in 1-Meter earlier this afternoon. Kristian Ipsen from Stanford finished first (459.25), Arizona’s Rafael Quintero finished second (444.60), and Utah’s Jacob Crayne finished third (383.75).

Team Scores

1. California-550

2. Stanford- 512.5

3. USC- 377

4. Arizona- 370

5. UCLA- 266.5

6. Arizona State- 207

7. Washington State- 160

8. Oregon State- 156