PAC-12 – WOMEN
- Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27
- Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: California (results)
- Live results
- Live Video (if available)
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide
As we head into the final night of competition, the battle for a team victory is extremely close. USC (951) came out on top by just 5 points over Stanford (946) last night. Cal is currently in 3rd place with 890.5 points. Arizona (740) and UCLA (657) are 4th and 5th, respectively.
We’ll get things started with the mile before we head into the 200 stroke events along with the 100 freestyle. The women’s platform diving finals will be held tonight, with the 400 free relays to close the meet after that.
WOMEN’S 1650 FREESTYLE
- Elizabeth Stinson, USC- 15:59.13
- Sammy Harrison, Oregon State- 16:06.13
- Allie Wooden, USC- 16:08.42
USC freshmen Elizabeth Stinson and Allie Wooden stepped up big time for the Trojans in the 1650. Stinson was the lone woman under 16 minutes, swimming a 15:59.13 to win the event. Behind Stinson, Wooden and Oregon State’s Sammy Harrison battled for 2nd. Harrison (16:06.13) wound up with silver, but Wooden managed to get the Trojans another podium finish with a 16:08.42 for 3rd.
Stanford’s Leah Stevens grabbed a 4th place finish tonight, touching the wall in 16:16.37 to get some points on the board for the Cardinal. UCLA’s Sandra Soe was the next fastest in 16:23.23. Arizona took 6th and 7th place with Emma McCarthy (16:28.17) and Claire Lockridge (16:30.57). Closing out the top 8 was Washington State’s Kendra Griffin in 16:30.76.
WOMEN’S 200 BACK
- Amy Bilquist, Cal- 1:49.90
- Kathleen Baker, Cal- 1:50.74
- Janet Hu, Stanford- 1:51.46
After setting a meet record in the 100 back yesterday, Cal’s Amy Bilquist came up with a huge victory tonight in the 200 back over a stacked field of talent. Bilquist was under 1:50 for the first time to win it at 1:49.90. Her teammate Kathleen Baker was 2nd behind her at 1:50.74.
Stanford’s Janet Hu and Ally Howe were neck and neck, racing for the final podium spot. Hu was out a little bit quicker at the 100 and was able to take the bronze by the slimmest margin. She clocked a 1:51.46 to Howe’s 1:51.47.
Cal’s Liz Pelton slid into the top 5 behind them at 1:52.68, just out touching USC’s Kendyl Stewart (1:52.70).
WOMEN’S 100 FREE
- Lia Neal, Stanford- 46.97
- Farida Osman, Cal- 47.20
- Anika Apostalon, USC- 47.77
Stanford’s Lia Neal tore through the water to take the women’s 100 free final tonight. The race between Neal and Cal’s Farida Osman was highly anticipated, and they didn’t disappoint. Neal scorched her way to a 46.97 to win the event. Osman posted a blazing 47.20 for 2nd.
The next 2 finishers were also under 48. USC’s Anika Apostalon, a transfer from SDSU, took the final spot on the podium with a 47.77. Her teammate Katarzyna Wilk followed for 4th in 47.93.
UCLA’s Linnea Mack (48.17) swam to 5th, just ahead of Cal’s Rachel Bootsma (48.44). Arizona’s Katrina Konopka (49.13) and Paige Kremer (49.20) closed out the final.
WOMEN’S 200 BREAST:
- Sarah Haase, Stanford- 2:07.69
- Riley Scott, USC- 2:08.84
- Emma Schoettmer, Arizona- 2:08.98
Sarah Haase put Stanford on top of the podium again, sweeping the breaststroke events at these Pac-12 Championships with a 2:07.69 to win the 200 breast. USC’s Riley Scott and Arizona’s Emma Schoettmer, who were 2nd and 3rd in the 200 breast, picked up 2nd and 3rd respectively tonight again. Scott got to the wall in 2:08.84, a nail ahead of Schoettmer’s 2:08.98.
There were 3 more women under 2:10 tonight. Utah’s Stina Colleou got to the wall 4th in 2:09.55. Behind her, Cal’s Marina Garcia and UCLA’s Emma Schanz were separated by a tenth. Garcia hit the wall 5th in 2:09.79 to Schanz’s 2:09.89.
WOMEN’S 200 FLY:
- Ella Eastin, Stanford- 1:52.01
- Noemie Thomas, Cal- 1:53.85
- Kelly Naze, Cal- 1:53.98
Stanford’s Ella Eastin successfully completed a sweep of all 3 of her individual events. Eastin was slightly off her prelims time, but was still well ahead of the field. She claimed her 3rd Pac-12 title in a commanding 1:52.01. Cal’s Noemie Thomas and Kelly Naze were locked in a race for 2nd, with Thomas touching the wall to take silver in 1:53.85 to Naze’s 1:53.98.
USC had 3 in the final. Their top finisher was Chelsea Chenault, who touched 4th in 1:55.16. Her teammates Madison Wright (1:56.60) and Lucy Worrall (1:56.93) were 6th and 7th. Stanford’s Lindsey Engel separated them in 5th with a 1:55.58. Cal’s Celina Li was 8th in 1:57.99.
WOMEN’S PLATFORM DIVING:
- Graycia Leydon-Mahoney, Stanford
- Eloise Belanger, UCLA
- Mara Aiacoboae, ASU
Stanford’s Graycia Leydon-Mahoney captured the women’s platform diving title, racking up a total of 341.40 points. UCLA’s Eloise Belanger was 2nd with 312.65 points. Closing out the top 3 was ASU’s Mara Aiacoboae, who dove for 298 points.
WOMEN’S 4×100 FREE RELAY:
- Stanford- 3:11.44
- USC- 3:11.87
- Cal- 3:11.95
Stanford won the final relay to close out the 2016 Pac-12 Championships in a heated race with USC and Cal. The Team of Janet Hu (47.94), Ally Howe (48.62), Ella Eastin (47.97), and Lia Neal (46.91) combined for a 3:11.44 to win the event.
USC wound up taking 2nd in 3:11.87 with a pair of 47s from Kirsten Vose (47.93) and Anika Apostalon (47.31). Cal was just behind for 3rd in 3:11.95 with a 48.02 flat start from Amy Bilquist and a 47.27 anchor from Farida Osman as their bookends.
Arizona swam to 4th place in 3:14.02 with a pair of 48.11s from Katrina Kanopka and Taylor Schick. UCLA rounded out the top 5 in 3:17.81 with sub-50 splits from Linnea Mack (48.29) and Madison White (49.39).
Team Scores:
USC was successful in capturing their first Pac-12 Championship as a team this weekend. The Trojans finished 1st after a hard fought battle with the Stanford women, who were 2nd overall. The Cal Golden Bears wound up in 3rd.
Arizona took 4th overall with a total of 1125 points. UCLA closed out the top 5 with 995 points.
- USC- 1481
- Stanford- 1344
- Cal- 1308
- Arizona- 1125
- UCLA- 995
- Utah- 538.5
- Washington State- 477
- Arizona State- 472.5
- Oregon State- 291
Bobo gigi there wasn’t a 1500 at meet…there was a 1650…
Weirdo, you’re right. I thought she had swum fast times in November or December before her injury.
So now it’s all about the long course season for her.
Congrats to Salo and USC! Good to see another team trump Cal and Stanford for a change.
I forgot to mention that Ella Eastin has broken three 17/18 NAG records this week.
1.52.77 in the 200 IM
3.59.30 in the 400 IM
1.51.96 in the 200 fly
A Hosszu-like line-up of events….
Cool to see Katie McLaughlin in action too.
Even if she only swam both free relays with average times, that’s a good sign of life.
49.06 and 1.46.75 lead-off legs.
Any chance to see her swim fly events at NCAAs? Coaches are probably very cautious with her. Especially in that olympic year.
I don’t think McLaughlin has qualified for NCAA’s
Day 4 recap
That USC girl on the right of the picture between 5 seconds and 15 seconds looks absolutely crazy. 🙄
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9CNdgMcni4
Fast meet overall. Once again, hopefully most of these girls will be able to replicate that kind of performances in 3 1/2 weeks when it counts the most. If not, it would look very foolish. But we’ll talk about that later. 🙂
1500 free. One of the slowest events of this week. Still good points for USC.
200 back. Very happy for Miss Bilquist. This time and unlike the 100 back earlier in the week, she kept the best of her for the final AND I LIKE THAT MUCH BETTER! 🙂 1.52.25 in prelims/1.49.90 in final. She quickly learns from her mistakes. Great last 25 and overall a very well-paced race. Good job by Cal coaches. I repeat since summer… Read more »
Corrections. 46.97, not 46.91, for Lia Neal in the 100 free is her 2nd fastest time in career. Her PB is 46.84, not 46.79.
To answer your question about why some swimmers try to swim fast in both prelims and finals– it’s great practice for NC2As, Olympic Trials, and international competitions including the Olympics, where it’s often necessary to swim that fast in prelims just to make finals, and/or for some, also to get a better lane, which may give a slight edge in those more competitive races. Also an occasional reason, and not necessarily the case here, it might be that if a swimmer is heavily favored, and going for a record, if they’re feeling really good in the water and confident, in the morning, why not go for it then when they’re relatively fresh?
There was only a 1650 not a 1500…thought you might want to check your meet facts…
Yes, Vredeveld is having the best meet of her college career so far! Hope she keeps it up at ncaas and helps for some more points for cal.
Great meet! Pac 12 is always one of the most competitive conferences. Looks to be a huge rivalry between Cal-Stanford-USC for next few years. They will be the three teams competing for National title this year. Georgia was lackluster at SECs and the Aggies and Tennessee aren’t as deep.