2020 Big 12 Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2020 BIG 12 SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, February 26th to Saturday, February 29th | Prelims 10:00 am | Finals 6:00 pm
• Where: Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: University of Texas Men (40x), University of Texas Women (8x) – results
• Live Streaming Links: Thursday finals / Friday finals / Saturday finals
• Championship Central: Here
• Detailed Timeline: Here
• Psych Sheets: Here
• Live Results: Here

Both Texas Longhorn teams head into day 3 with near-100 point leads over West Virginia in the team scores. This morning, the preliminaries of the 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back will be contested. Texas comes in with 9 of the 10 top seeds this session, Kansas’ Kate Steward is the lone non-Longhorn top seed in the 100 breast (1:00.80).

Emily Reese and Maxime Rooney headline the 100 fly events for Texas. Then into the 400 IM, Texas junior Evie Pfeifer and rookie Kelly Pash take the women’s headline positions while newcomer Jake Foster has clear sights on the Big 12 title on the men’s side.

Into the 200 free, another Texas freshman, Miranda Heckman, headlines the women’s race while Pan Ams medalist Drew Kibler leads the men’s race with his sub-1:31 seed. Into the men’s 100 breast, Texas will have sub-52 underclassmen Caspar Corbeau and Charlie Scheinfeld power the Longhorns.

Flipping over to the 100 back, Texas’ Claire Adams and Julia Cook come in as the top two seeds while Kansas’ Manon Manning is in bronze position. Then, USA national champion Austin Katz will begin his backstroke campaign with his 44.93 top seed.

Swimmers with an asterisk (*) appear to be exhibition entrants who can’t compete in the A final. We’ll include them below, but will also note who should make the A final in their place.

Women’s 100 Fly – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 52.34
• NCAA “A”: 50.92
• NCAA “B”: 53.76

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Elizabeth Amato-Hanner (KANS)- 53.89
2. Emilly Reese (TEX)- 53.94
3. Greta Olsen (KANS)- 54.04
4. Autumn Looney (KANS)- 54.05
5. Morgan Bullock (WVU)- 54.41
6. Lauren Case (TEX)- 54.70
7. Kaitlyn Witt (KANS)- 55.25
8. Anna Munster (TCU)- 55.42

Kansas’ Elizabeth Amato-Hanner dropped 0.67 seconds from her midseason time (54.56) to lead the 100 fly tonight, clocking in a 53.89. Psych top seed Emily Reese slid in for second with the second sub-54 swim of the event at 53.94.

Texas’ Lauren Case swam in for 6th at 54.70, which is a few tenths off her meet seed of 53.90. Amato-Hanner will be joined by 3 other Kansas teammates while West Virginia and TCU earned an A-final swim as well.

Men’s 100 Fly – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 45.90
• NCAA “A”: 45.05
• NCAA “B”: 47.43

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Maxime Rooney (TEX)- 45.43
2. Sam Pomajevich (TEX)- 46.22
3. Alvin Jiang (TEX)- 46.41
4. *Jacob Huerta (TEX)- 46.58
5. Chris Staka (TEX)- 46.80
6. David Dixon (WVU)- 47.43
7. *Cole Crane (TEX)- 47.63
8. Piotr Sadlowski (TCU)- 47.65
9. Trayton Saladin (WVU)- 47.76
10. Angelo Russo (WVU)- 47.90

Texas senior Maxime Rooney cruised to the top of the 100 fly with a 45.43, just a half second over his midseason time of 44.83. Last at the 2019 SECs (when Rooney was with Florida), he swam a pair of 45-lows after hitting 46.61 during the 2018 mid-season.

Longhorn teammates Sam Pomajevich (46.22), Alvin Jiang (46.41), and Chris Staka (46.80) will join Rooney in the scoring A-final this evening. For Jiang, his pre-meet seed time was also sub-45 with Rooney, going 44.93 during the mid-season.

Women’s 400 IM – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 4:10.00
• NCAA “A”: 4:03.62
• NCAA “B”: 4:17.30

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Kelly Pash (TEX)- 4:10.95
2. Evie Pfeifer (TEX)- 4:11.02
3. Ashley Pollok (TEX)- 4:19.39
4. Dannie Dilsaver (KANS)- 4:21.16
5. Alex Pampalone (WVU)- 4:22.92
6. Kaeleigh Rice (TCU)- 4:24.15
7. Hannah Morris (TCU)- 4:24.35
8. Paige Riekhof (KANS)- 4:25.29

Coming right at her mid-season time was Texas rookie Kelly Pash, clocking in a 4:10.95. Psych top seed Evie Pfeifer gained 3 seconds from mid-season to clock in a 4:11.02, good enough to make the middle lanes next to Pash. Ashley Pollok will join Pash and Pfeifer, setting up a Texas 1-2-3 finish.

Kansas and TCU scored 2 swimmers each in the A-final while West Virginia scored just one A-final swim.

Men’s 400 IM – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 3:43.42
• NCAA “A”: 3:39.16
• NCAA “B”: 3:51.46

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Jake Foster (TEX)- 3:44.57
2. Andrew Koustik (TEX)- 3:52.21
3. Braden Vines (TEX)- 3:52.84
4. Philip Kay (WVU)- 3:55.70
5. Josh Harlan (WVU)- 3:56.99
6. Dusan Babic (TCU)- 3:57.57
7. Kevin Chao (TCU)- 3:58.11
8. Charles Millette (TCU)- 3:59.14

Dominating the top of the men’s 400 IM was US national teamer Jake Foster, clocking in the only sub-3:50 swim of 3:44.57. At mid-season, Foster was at 3:40.71. He will be joined by teammates Andrew Koustik (3:52.21) and Braden Vines (3:52.84).

West Virginia takes the next two seeds while the remaining top 8 swimmers are TCU.

Women’s 200 Free – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 1:45.12
• NCAA “A”: 1:42.98
• NCAA “B”: 1:47.12

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Bridget Semenuk (TEX)- 1:46.82
2. Kyla Leibel (TEX)- 1:46.93
3. Miranda Heckman (TEX)- 1:47.18
4. Jenny Nusbaum (KANS)- 1:47.67
5. Logan Shiller (TEX)- 1:49.03
6. Mary Smutny (TEX)- 1:49.54
7. Claire Campbell (KANS)- 1:49.67
8. Lauren Parrish (KANS)- 1:49.85

Three Texas freshman stole the top 3 spots into tonight’s finals, led by Bridget Semenuk (1:46.82). Kyla Leibel had a big morning swim, dropping 1.15s from her 1:48.08 seed to 1:46.93. On Wednesday, Leibel split a 1:46.26 during the 800 free B-relay. The Longhorns will swim 5 total women in the A-final.

Kansas occupies the remaining three spots, led by Jenny Nusbaum (1:47.67).

Men’s 200 Free – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 1:34.21
• NCAA “A”: 1:32.05
• NCAA “B”: 1:36.32

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Drew Kibler (TEX)- 1:34.88
2. JohnThomas Larson (TEX)- 1:34.91
3. Daniel Krueger (TEX)- 1:35.03
4. *Peter Larson (TEX)- 1:35.04
5. *Sam Kline (TEX)- 1:35.72
6. Parker Neri (TEX)- 1:36.76
7. Rasmus Pedersen (TCU)- 1:36.96
8. Matthew Willenbring (TEX)- 1:37.31
9. *Luke Bowman (TEX)- 1:37.36
10. Joao Andrade (TCU)- 1:38.57
11. Max Gustafson (WVU)- 1:39.57

Drew Kibler leads the men’s 200 free with a 1:34.88, gaining 4.05 seconds from his mid-season mark of 1:30.83. Kibler anchored the winning Longhorn 800 free relay with a 1:34.18 while Rooney had the fastest split of the squad at 1:33.19.

Kibler will be joined by four Longhorn teammates in the top heat as well. TCU scored 2 swims while West Virginia will have one A-final swim.

Women’s 100 Breast – Prelims

•  2019 Invite Time: 59.93
• NCAA “A”: 58.60
• NCAA “B”: 1:01.84

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Kate Steward (KANS)- 1:00.82
2. Kennedy Lohman (TEX)- 1:01.10
3. Lehr Thorson (ISU)- 1:01.18
4. Haley Downey (KANS)- 1:01.43
5. Holly Jansen (TEX)- 1:01.62
6. Sheridan Schreiber (TCU)- 1:02.03
7. Martha Haas (ISU)- 1:02.11
8. Kaitlyn Witt (KANS)- 1:03.12

Kansas’ Kate Steward leads the 100 breast with a 1:00.82, with Texas’ Kennedy Lohman right on her tail at 1:01.10. Iowa State’s Lehr Thorson slid in for third seed at 1:01.18.

Kansas will also have 2 additional A-finalists along with representation from Iowa State, Texas, and TCU.

Men’s 100 Breast – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 52.52
• NCAA “A”: 51.67
• NCAA “B”: 54.27

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Caspar Corbeau (TEX)- 52.64
2. Vitauts Silins (TCU)- 53.28
3. Charlie Scheinfeld (TEX)- 54.02
4. Hugh McPherson (TCU)- 54.18
5. Fausto Huerta (WVU)- 54.53
6. *Matthew Marsh (WVU)- 55.16
7. Jack Portmann (WVU)- 55.97
8. Ben Brooks (WVU)- 56.44
9. *Conrad Molinaro (WVU)- 56.98
10. *Dominic Cyr (TCU)- 59.45

Texas underclassmen Corbeau and Scheinfeld go 1-3 in prelims, with TCU’s Vitauts Silins (53.28) sneaking in for second. Corbeau just a second off his sub-52 midseason time while Scheinfield was nearly 4 seconds slower than midseason.

Silins will be joined by McPherson (54.18) in the final while the rest of the final will be all West Virginia.

Women’s 100 Back – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 52.46
• NCAA “A”: 50.93
• NCAA “B”: 53.94

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Claire Adams (TEX)- 50.68
2. Julia Cook (TEX)- 51.27
3. Manon Manning (KANS)- 52.89
4. Dewi Blose (KANS)- 53.02
5. Elizabeth Amato-Hanner (KANS)- 53.07
6. Emily Haan (ISU)- 55.10
7. Liz Richardson (ISU)- 55.28
8. *Amanda Key (TCU)- 55.43
9. Jordan Wheeler (TEX)- 55.45

After breaking the Big 12 record at 50.51 on Thursday, Claire Adams just gained 0.17s to go sub-51 again with her 50.68 seed. Teammate Julia Cook was also under 52 seconds, clocking in a 51.27. Third seed Manon Manning swam a 52.89, leading a trio of Kansas swimmers.

Texas will also see another Longhorn in the top heat along with two Iowa State swimmers.

Men’s 100 Back – Prelims

• 2019 Invite Time: 46.06
• NCAA “A”: 44.95
• NCAA “B”: 47.77

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Austin Katz (TEX)- 46.22
2. *Jason Park (TEX)- 46.40
3. *Preston Varozza (TEX)- 46.58
4. *Josh Artmann (TEX)- 46.70
5. Alvin Jiang (TEX)- 46.73
6. *Ethan Harder (TEX)- 47.02
7. Hunter Armstrong (WVU)- 47.17
8. Angelo Russo (WVU)- 47.72
9. *Austin Hartke (WVU)- 48.28
10. Radu Duican (TCU)- 48.43
11. Trayton Saladin (WVU)- 48.48
12. Kade Knoch (TCU)- 49.18
13. Ryen Van Wyk (WVU)- 49.68

Texas had the top 6 times in the 100 back, but only Austin Katz (46.22) and Alvin Jiang (46.73) will be in the final. Jiang previously placed 3rd in the 100 fly prelims.

According to Josh Davis of Big 12, Katz is currently fighting off food poisoning, hence his absence yesterday in the 400 medley relay. His swim this morning was 1.29s off his midseason time of 44.93.

The remaining top 8 A-finalists will represent West Virginia and TCU.