2021 Big 12 Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2021 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships

• Swimming: Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27, 2021
• Diving: Monday, March 1 – Wednesday, March 3, 2021
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center – Austin, TX (Central Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: Texas men (24x) & Texas women (8x) (results)
• Live video
• Championship Central
• Live results

Scores after Day 2

Women:

1. University of Texas – 301
2. University of Kansas – 215
3. West Virginia University – 155
4. Iowa State University – 143 / Texas Christian University – 143
5. –

Men:

1. University of Texas – 322
2. West Virginia University – 237
3. Texas Christian University – 187

The University of Texas men and women continued to put more swimmers than anyone else in the A finals in prelims on Day 3, including 7 of 8 spots in the men’s 200 free. In addition to strong performances from the Longhorns, who in addition to scoring points here are trying to make NCAA cuts and jockeying for position on relays, we’ve seen good swims from Kansas, West Virginia, Iowa State, and TCU.

Women’s 100 Butterfly

• Big 12 Record: Triin Aljand (Texas A&M) – 51.32 (2008)
• Big 12 Meet Record: Lily Moldenhauer (Texas) – 51.92 (2014)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 50.92
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 52.34
• 2020 Champion: Emily Reese (Texas) – 53.49

Top 3:

1. Olivia Bray, Texas – 51.05
2. Emma Sticklen, Texas – 51.99
3. Emily Haimes, West Virginia – 54.13

Texas freshmen Olivia Bray and Emma Sticklen went 1-2 in the 100 fly to kick off Day 3, with Bray cracking both the Big 12 and Big 12 Meet records with 51.05. Out in 23.65 for the fastest leadoff 50 in the field, she was back in 27.40 to go within a second of her lifetime best (50.19).

Sticklen was half a second off her PB of 51.49 which she swam at the Texas Hall of Fame Invite last December.

Emily Haimes of West Virginia, who won the consolation final to place 9th last year with 55.33, was third in 54.13. She edged Texas senior Emily Reese (51.14) by a hundredth. Autumn Looney of Kansas (54.37), Grace Cooper of Texas (54.43), West Virginia’s Harna Minezawa (54.52), and Greta Olsen of Kansas (54.72) rounded out the top 8.

Men’s 100 Butterfly

• BIG 12 Record: Joseph Schooling (Texas) – 43.75 (2017)
• BIG 12 Meet Record: Joseph Schooling (Texas) – 44.06 (2017)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 45.05
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 45.97
• 2020 Champion: Alvin Jiang (Texas) – 45.11

Top 3:

1. Alvin Jiang, Texas – 44.91
2. Zac Van Zandt, Texas – 45.98
3. Drew Kibler, Texas – 46.45

Swimming in lane 7 after his 6th-place finish in prelims, defending champion Alvin Jiang of Texas won the men’s 100 fly in 44.91, a full .20 faster than his winning time a year ago. He eclipsed his lifetime best (44.93) by two-hundredths and stopped the clock a full second faster than runner-up Zac Van Zandt (45.98). Van Zandt is a freshman whose best time coming into college was 45.84.

Drew Kibler, a junior at Texas, touched out TCU’s Piotr Sadlowski, 46.45 to 46.60, for 3rd place. Sadlowski was 4th as a freshman last year (46.58). West Virginia’s David Dixon moved up a spot and dropped .3 from his 2020 finish, coming to the wall 5th with 46.65.

Michael Chwaluk (48.40) from TCU improved from 12th a year ago to 6th this year. His teammates Reed Dittlinger (49.83) and Rasmus Pedersen (50.81) rounded out the A final in 7th and 8th.

Women’s 400 Individual Medley

• Big 12 Record: Madisyn Cox (Texas) – 4:00.97 (2017)
• Big 12 Meet Record: Madisyn Cox (Texas) – 4:01.15 (2017)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 4:03.62
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 4:10.39
• 2020 Champion: Evie Pfeifer (Texas) – 4:06.47

Top 3:

1. Evie Pfeifer, Texas – 4:04.61
2. Kelly Pash, Texas – 4:04.93
3. Lucia Rizzo, Iowa State – 4:17.46

Texas senior Evie Pfeifer and sophomore Kelly Pash repeated their 1-2 finish from this race at last year’s championship, but this time it was a thriller to the end. Pash was out first in 54.38, .8 faster than her fly leadoff last year.

Pfeifer was in second place at the fly-to-back turn, with Iowa State junior Lucia Rizzo and Kansas junior Paige Riekhof in 3rd and 4th. Pash maintained her lead over the backstroke but Pfeifer narrowed her deficit to 1.55 seconds.

Pfeifer came to within .4 of Pash after the breaststroke leg, outsplitting her 1:10.3 to 1:11.5. The pair battled stroke for stroke over the final 100 yards, with Pfeifer getting the touch, 4:04.61 to 4:04.93. It was Pfeifer’s best time by .7 and Pash’s by 1.23.

That is Pfeifer’s second conference title in as many days; she won the 500 free last night. Pash won the 200 IM last night.

Rizzo was all alone in 3rd, finishing more than 3 seconds ahead of TCU’s Megan Morris, 4:17.46 to 4:20.60. Riekhof came in 5th with 4:22.48. She was followed by TCU’s Kaeleigh Rice (4:24.75), Iowa State’s Emily Heymans (4:25.28), and West Virginia’s Lauren Musbach (4:28.23).

Morris took another .26 off the TCU school record, the 4:17.72 that she had gone in prelims.

Men’s 400 Individual Medley

• BIG 12 Record: Carson Foster (Texas) – 3:35.27 (2020)
• BIG 12 Meet Record: Jonathan Robert (Texas) – 3:40.26 (2017)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 3:39.16
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 3:44.36
• 2020 Champion: Jake Foster (Texas) – 3:43.92

Top 3:

1. Carson Foster, Texas – 3:40.22
2. Jake Foster, Texas – 3:40.35
3. David Johnston, Texas – 3:43.91

Texas freshman Carson Foster edged his older brother, sophomore Jake Foster, to win his second title of the meet. After the 200 IM last night, Carson took home gold in the 400 IM with 3:40.22. While about 5 seconds off his lifetime best (3:35.27) from the Texas First Chance Invite in October 2020, it was a meet record. Jake went 3:40.35 for second place, shaving another .32 off his best.

Carson dominated the first half of the race, splitting 49.39-54.46 on the fly and back. His 1:03.2-53.0 was no match for Jake’s 1:01.4-51.7, though, and he nearly watched his lead evaporate as his brother came crashing through to the finish, pulling up just .13 short of the upset.

David Johnston placed 3rd with 3:43.91, going .01 faster than Jake’s winning time from 2020.

Andrew Koustik of Texas (3:48.21), Charles Millette from TCU (3:53.80), Phillip Kay of West Virginia (3:54.70) and his teammate Jonathan Bennett (3:57.87), and Kevin Chao from TCU (4:01.07) rounded out the A final.

Women’s 200 Freestyle

• Big 12 Record: Karlee Bipso (Texas) – 1:42.78 (2011)
• Big 12 Meet Record: Karlee Bipso (Texas) – 1:43.43 (2011)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 1:42.98
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 1:45.23
• 2020 Champion: Bridget Semenuk (Texas) – 1:45.66

Top 3:

1. Kyla Leibel, Texas – 1:46.52
2. Miranda Heckman, Texas – 1:47.21
3. Ella Tierney, Texas – 1:47.86

2020 runner-up Kyla Leibel ran away with the women’s 200 free title with a 1:46.52. Although she was .93 off her best time of the season from the Texas Hall of Fame Invite, she was faster than she’d been a year ago and .69 ahead of teammate Miranda Heckman (1:47.21). Heckman was 4th in this event a year ago (1:47.67).

Ella Tierney, who was not part of the Texas scoring squad, won the C final (1:50.68) at last year’s meet. This time she claimed the third step of the podium with 1:47.86.

The rest of the A final this year was comprised of West Virginia’s Jordan Buechler (1:48.19) and Luisa Winkler (1:49.01), last year’s conference champion Bridget Semenuk of Texas (1:49.26), and Kansas’s Lauryn Parrish (1:50.02) and Claire Campbell (1:50.35).

Men’s 200 Freestyle

• BIG 12 Record: Townley Haas (Texas) – 1:29.50 (2018)
• BIG 12 Meet Record: Ricky Berens (Texas) – 1:32.01 (2009)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 1:32.05
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 1:34.07
• 2020 Champion: Drew Kibler (Texas) – 1:33.66

Top 3:

1. Jake Sannem, Texas – 1:33.63
2. JohnThomas Larson, Texas – 1:33.91
3. Daniel Krueger, Texas – 1:33.98

The top three scoring finishers in the A final came within .35 of each other, all under the 1:34.0 that it took to be invited to 2020 NCAA Division I Championships. Texas seniors Jake Sannem (1:33.63), JohnThomas Larson (1:33.91), and Daniel Krueger (1:33.98) swam nearly in tandem from start to finish. Krueger turned first at the first 50 with about half a second up on the other two, going 21.48. He was still ahead at the 100, flipping in 45.53. Sannem (45.74) and Larson (45.81) had begun to close the gap, though, and they took over the lead at the 150 with 1:09.73 and 1:09.79, respectively. Krueger had the fastest final 50, by .01 over Sannem, with 23.89, but he couldn’t quite catch runner-up Larson and had to settle for third place with 1:33.98.

Peter Larson, JohnThomas’ younger brother, clocked a massive 1:32.89 in the B final to put up the fastest overall time of the meet. He is not part of the scoring squad for Texas at this conference championship, though, so while his time counts, his points do not. This was his fastest 200 free by .66. He had never cracked the 1:33 barrier before.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke

• Big 12 Record: Breeja Larson (Texas A&M) – 57.51 (2012)
• Big 12 Meet Record: Breeja Larson (Texas A&M) – 57.92 (2012)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 58.60
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 59.98
• 2020 Champion: Kate Steward (Kansas) – 1:00.34

Top 3:

1. Anna Elendt, Texas – 58.45
2. Kate Steward, Kansas – 1:01.24
3. Lehr Thorson, Iowa State – 1:01.53

Texas freshman Anna Elendt, who is still getting used to yards after moving to Austin from Germany, won the 100 breast by more than a body length (58.45), although she was just off her season-best time of 58.06. Last year’s 1st- and 2nd-place finishers, Kate Steward of Kansas and Lehr Thorson of Iowa State, came in 2nd and 3rd this year with 1:01.24 and 1:01.53.

Dannie Dilsaver of Kansas edged Martha Haas of Iowa State for 4th place, 1:02.12 to 1:02.15. They were followed by Iowa State’s Alaina Breitbach (1:03.10) and Paige Hanley (1:03.82) and TCU’s Chloe Miller (1:04.20).

Men’s 100 Breaststroke

• BIG 12 Record: Will Licon (Texas) – 50.68 (2017)
• BIG 12 Meet Record: Will Licon (Texas) – 51.15 (2017)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 51.67
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 52.46
• 2020 Champion: Caspar Corbeau (Texas) – 52.55

Top 3:

1. Caspar Corbeau, Texas – 51.62
2. Janis Silins, TCU – 52.56
3. Charlie Scheinfeld, Texas – 53.06

Texas sophomore Caspar Corbeau remained unbeaten in the men’s 100 breast at the conference meet, successfully defending his 2020 title with a 51.62 for the 2021 win. That’s nearly .9 better than his winning time from last year and only .16 off his lifetime best of 51.45 from the Minnesota Invite in 2019.

TCU sophomore Janis Silins lowered his own school record by .27 and finished second to Corbeau for the second year in a row. He stopped the clock at 52.56, beating Texas senior Charlie Scheinfeld by half a second.

West Virginia junior Fausto Huerta, 3rd in this event a year ago, finished 4th this time with 53.76. Teammates Joe Schaefer (55.27) and Ben Brooks (56.93) placed 6th and 7th.

TCU’s Hugh McPherson moved up a spot from 2020 and finished 5th this year with 54.33. His teammate Andrew Rattray dropped 1.9 seconds to come in 8th with 57.06.

Women’s 100 Backstroke

• Big 12 Record: Claire Adams (Texas) – 50.51 (2020)
• Big 12 Meet Record: Claire Adams (Texas) – 50.51 (2020)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 50.93
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 52.73
• 2020 Champion: Claire Adams (Texas) – 51.10

Top 3:

1. Julia Cook, Texas – 51.24
2. Manon Manning, Kansas – 52.79
3. Dewi Blose, Kansas – 53.73

Texas junior Julia Cook improved her time by .52 and moved up a spot from her runner-up finish last year with a 51.24 win in the women’s 100 back. She achieved her best time of the season, 51.14, at the Texas Hall of Fame Invite in December 2020.

Kansas took the next two steps of the podium with Manon Manning (52.79) and Dewi Blose (53.73). Manning was a tad faster than the 52.84 she went in 2020 to placed 4th. Blose, who matched her third-place finish from a year ago, was 1.3 seconds off last year’s time (52.44).

Ashleen O’Brien of TCU (54.97), Mackenzie Bravence from Kansas (55.10), TCU’s Katelyn Kenchel (55.16), Sophia Goushchina of Iowa State (55.25), and her teammate Emily Haan (55.29) made up the rest of the A final.

Other than O’Brien, who transferred in from UC Davis, and Haan, the rest of the top-8 were first-timers in the A final. Kenchel and Goushchina were B-finalists last year, while Bravence swam in the C final.

Men’s 100 Backstroke

• BIG 12 Record: John Shebat (Texas) – 44.35 (2017)
• BIG 12 Meet Record: Alvin Jiang (Texas) – 44.95 (2020)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 44.95
• 2020 NCAA Invited – 46.22
• 2020 Champion: Alvin Jiang (Texas) – 44.95

Top 3:

1. Alvin Jiang, Texas – 45.09
2. Chris Staka, Texas – 45.12
3. Austin Katz, Texas – 46.39

It was an all-senior Longhorn podium in the men’s 100 back. Defending champion Jiang pulled off his second back-to-back win of the night, going 45.09 to claim the 100 back title an hour after winning the 100 fly. Jiang’s time was .03 faster than runner-up Chris Staka (45.12) and 1.3 seconds faster than third-place Austin Katz (56.39). Staka went .08 faster than his medley relay leadoff last night (45.20).

TCU grabbed 4th, 5th, and 8th with Stefan Varga (48.27), Kade Knoch (48.92), and Rasmus Pederson (50.64). West Virginia’s Justin Heimes (48.93) and Ryen Van Wyk (49.97) were 6th and 7th.

Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay

• BIG 12 Record: Ariola, Diener, Cook, Adams (Texas) – 1:26.84 (2018)
• BIG 12 Meet Record: R Millard, C Adams, R Rule, A Diener (Texas) – 1:28.04 (2017)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 1:28.43
• 2020 Champion: Texas – 1:28.92

Top 3:

1. Texas – 1:27.96
2. West Virginia – 1:31.05
3. Kansas – 1:32.16

Texas cleared the NCAA Auto cut and took down the meet record of 1:28.04 that had stood since 2017 with 1:27.96 from Bridget Semenuk (22.44 leadoff), Kelly Pash (21.86), Grace Cooper (21.84), and Julia Cook (21.82). That’s .96 faster than their conference-champion 200 free relay from last year that featured Claire Adams in the third slot and Kyla Leibel on the end. Last year, only Cook broke 22 seconds; this year, all three that followed the leadoff went 21s.

West Virginia came in second with a time that was about .7 faster than they’d been last year. Harna Minezawa (23.26), Jordan Buechler (22.59), Jacqueline McCutchan (22.97), and Emily Haimes (22.23) combined for 1:31.05 and a new program record.

Kansas touched third in 1:32.16 with swims from Manon Manning (23.02), Autumn Looney (23.17), Dewi Blose (23.10), and Lauryn Parrish (22.87).

Iowa State (1:33.23) and TCU (1:33.24) rounded out the final.

Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay

• BIG 12 Record: Ringgold, Jackson, Conger, Schooling (Texas) – 1:14.59 (2017)
• BIG 12 Meet Record: M Willenbring, M Rooney, D Kibler, D Krueger (Texas) – 1:16.48 (2020)
• 2020 NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 1:17.17
• 2020 Champion: Texas – 1:16.48

Top 3:

1. Texas – 1:15.76
2. West Virginia – 1:19.73
3. TCU – 1:19.94

The Texas men took another .72 off the meet record that they had set in 2020 (1:16.48) with a winning time of 1:15.76. Contributing to the relay were Daniel Krueger (19.26), Alvin Jiang (18.78), Luke Bowman (19.14), and Drew Kibler (18.58). Kibler’s anchor was exactly .40 faster than his split last year. It is looking more and more likely that he will swim on the Longhorns’ 200 free relay at NCAAs, even though he’s almost certainly swimming the 500 free with his 4:08 from October.

West Virginia edged TCU, 1:19.73 to 1:19.94, for second place.

The Mountaineers’ quartet was made up of Roberts Zemturis (20.26), Max Gustafson (19.79), David Dixon (20.12), and Ryen Van Wyk (19.56).

TCU fielded Noah Cumby (20.12), Hugh McPherson (19.89), Stefan Varga (20.14), and Piotr Sadlowski (19.79).

Team Scores After Day 3:

Women:

1. University of Texas – 585
2. University of Kansas – 426
3. Iowa State University – 311
4. West Virginia University – 286
5. Texas Christian University – 284

Men:

1. University of Texas – 640
2. West Virginia University – 425
3. Texas Christian University – 417