2023 Men’s Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2023 MEN’S PAC-12 SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 1- Saturday, March 5, 2023
• Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center – Federal Way, WA
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Defending Champions: Cal (5x)
• Championship Central
• Event Schedule
• Diving Results
• Live Stream
• Live Results
• Fan Guide
• Psych Sheets
• Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap| Day 2 Finals Recap

The third day of the 2023 Men’s Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships is here. This morning, we’ll see preliminary heats of the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back. Tonight, timed finals of the 400 medley relay will also take place. Before we get into today’s session, let’s take a look at where the team scores stand through the first two days of the meet.

TEAM SCORES THRU DAY 2

1. ASU – 357.5
2. Cal – 251
3. Stanford – 238
4. USC – 202.5
5. Arizona – 197
6. Utah – 174

After his meet record in the 200 IM last night, all eyes should be on Leon Marchand in the 400 IM today. Although we likely won’t see anything too crazy this morning, it will be exciting nonetheless. Additionally, the 400 IM will play host to a phenomenal rematch between Marchand and Hugo Gonzalez, who have a bit of a rivalry going.

Marchand won the 400 IM at Pac-12s last year, but Gonzalez then got the better of him at NCAAs, breaking the NCAA Record. Earlier this year, Marchand broke the NCAA Record himself, and comes into this meet as the top seed by a gigantic margin. With Marchand having raised the bar in the event with his NCAA Record in January, it would have seemed like he was clearly in the driver’s seat here today, however, after Gonzalez blew away his personal best in the 200 IM last night, that may not be the case. One thing is for sure: the 400 IM is going to be an awesome race tonight.

The 100 fly should also be a great race. Arizona State’s Max McCusker comes in as the top seed with a 45.01. Stanford’s Andrei Minakov is seeded second at 45.07. With how well ASU is swimming so far, it’s tempting to call McCusker the favorite, but Minakov won the race in 43.90 last year, which is much faster than anyone else in this field has been before.

Arizona State’s Grant House set the meet record in the 200 free last year with a 1:30.23. He enters today as the top seed in the event with his season best of 1:31.51. Keep an eye on Cal’s Gabriel Jett, though. Jett won the 500 free in a massive personal best last night, so we’ll be looking for him to carry that momentum into the 200 today.

The 100 back should also be a thrilling race, but we’ll probably have to wait until tonight for it. Cal’s Bjorn Seeliger won the event last year, leading teammate Destin Lasco into the finish. Today, Lasco is the top seed coming in, while Seeliger is second. Arizona State’s Jack Dolan is swimming very well so far at these championships and comes in as the third seed. After winning the 50 free over Seeliger last night, we’ll see if Dolan can pull off another upset today.

400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 3:31.84, Leon Marchand (2023)
• PAC-12 Record: 3:31.84, Leon Marchand (2023)
• PAC-12 Championship Record: 3:34.45, Leon Marchand (2022)
• 2022 Champion: Leon Marchand (Arizona State) – 3:34.45
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:39.16

TOP EIGHT QUALIFIERS:

1. Jason Louser (California) – 3:37.60
2. Leon Marchand (Arizona State) – 3:39.05
3. Hubert Kos (Arizona State) – 3:40.47
4. Daniel Matheson (Arizona State) – 3:42.25
5. David Schlicht (Arizona State) – 3:42.70
6. Lucas Henveaux (California) – 3:42.93
7. Hugo Gonzalez (California) – 3:43.22
8. Ron Polonsky (Stanford) – 3:43.47

Cal senior Jason Louser had a huge performance this morning in the 400 IM, leading the field with a 3:37.60. The swim marks a lifetime best for Louser, whose previous best was a 3:38.23 from last year’s NCAA Championships.

The Golden Bears had a strong showing here, seeing Lucas Henveaux also qualify for the ‘A’ final with a sixth-place finish this morning in 3:42.93. Henveaux joined the roster this semester, and this morning’s 400 IM marked his first time racing the event in yards.

Cal also saw defending NCAA champion and former NCAA record holder Hugo Gonzalez advance to the ‘A’ final, swimming a 3:43.22. Gonzalez’s time marks a season best, though he’s been 3:32.88 in the event before, which he swam to win NCAAs in a then-NCAA record last year. That being siad, we can confidently predict Gonzalez will be significantly faster tonight, since he went 1:41.53 in prelims of the 200 IM yesterday then popped off a 1:38.72 in finals.

Arizona State once again put four swimmers into the ‘A’ final, meaning they’ve now earned four ‘A’ finalists in all four individual events that have been competed to this point in the meet. The Sun Devils were led by NCAA Record holder Leon Marchand, who swam a very relaxed 3:39.05. Marchand set the NCAA Record at the end of January with a 3:31.84, so we can safely say we’ll see a much faster swim out of him tonight.

ASU freshman Hubert Kos clocked a new personal best of 3:40.47 for third. Sun Devil sophomore Daniel Matheson posted a new lifetime best as well, touching fourth with a 3:42.25. Matheson’s previous best was a 3:44.71, which he swam at last year’s Pac-12 Championships as a freshman.

David Schlicht rounded out the ASU ‘A’ finalists, finishing fifth this morning in a season best of 3:42.70.

100 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 42.80, Caeleb Dressel (2018)
• PAC-12 Record: 43.71, Andrei Minakov (2022)
• PAC-12 Championship Record: 43.90, Andrei Minakov (2022)
• 2022 Champion: Andrei Minakov (Stanford) – 43.90
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.82

TOP EIGHT QUALIFIERS:

1. Andrei Minakov (Stanford) – 44.34
2. Rafael Gu (Stanford) – 45.10
3. Aaron Sequeira (Stanford) – 45.18
4. Dare Rose (California) – 45.34
5. Cody Bybee (Arizona State) – 45.51
6. Jonny Affeld (Stanford) – 45.58
7. Max McCusker (Arizona State) – 45.62
8. Alexander Colson (Arizona State) – 45.63

Defending Pac-12 champion Andrei Minakov led prelims of the 100 fly this morning by a huge margin, speeding to a 44.34. He was the only swimmer in the field under 45 seconds this morning, leading what is definitively Stanford’s best event through this point in the meet.

The Cardinal really showed up here, posting the top three times of the morning. Rafael Gu, a freshman, came in second with a new lifetime best of  45.10, while sophomore Aaron Sequeira touched third in 45.18, also a lifetime best.

Stanford also saw junior Jonny Affeld make the ‘A’ final for tonight, swimming a 45.58 for sixth this morning,

Cal’s Dare Rose was a tick off his season best of 45.30, but touched fourth this morning in 45.34.

Minakov won the event in 43.90 last year and holds the Pac-12 record at 43.71, so we’ll be looking for him to dip under 44 seconds tonight.

200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:29.15, Dean Farris (2019)
• PAC-12 Record: 1:30.14, Andrew Seliskar (2019)
• PAC-12 Championship Record: 1:30.23, Grant House (2022)
• 2022 Champion: Grant House (Arizona State) – 1:30.23
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:31.98

TOP EIGHT QUALIFIERS:

1. Grant House (Arizona State) – 1:32.50
2. Patrick Sammon (Arizona State) – 1:32.71
3. Robin Hanson (California) – 1:33.01
4. Julian Hill (Arizona State) – 1:33.17
5. Ralph Daleiden (Arizona) – 1:33.26
6. Gabriel Jett (California) – 1:33.28
7. Andres Dupont (Stanford) – 1:33.39
8. Patrick Callan (California) – 1:33.79 (Tie)
9. Andrew Gray (Arizona State) – 1:33.79 (Tie)

First and foremost, we have a swim-off! Cal’s Patrick Calland and Arizona State’s Andrew Gray tied for eighth this morning, both swimming 1:33.79. There will be a swim-off to decide which swimmer will advance to the ‘A’ final tonight and which will be competing in the ‘B’. Though this singular race won’t make a gigantic difference in the team standings, this is the sort of race Cal needs to win if they want to make a real run at closing the gap with ASU and winning their sixth-straight Pac-12 title.

That being said, Arizona State clocked the top two time of the morning. Grant House, the defending champion and meet record holder in the event, swam a 1:32.50 this morning, setting the pace for the field. Teammate Patrick Sammon, a sophomore, posted a 1:32.71 for second, coming in as the only other swimmer under 1:33 this morning.

Julian Hill also made it back for the Sun Devils, swimming a 1:33.17 for fourth.

500 free champion Gabriel Jett (Cal) made it through, finishing sixth this morning with a 1:33.28. Jett dropped four seconds from prelims to finals in the 500 yesterday, so we’ll be looking for him to make a move tonight.

Arizona picked up their first ‘A’ finalist of the day, seeing freshman Ralph Daleiden touch fifth with a 1:33.26.

100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 49.69, Ian Finnerty (2018)
• PAC-12 Record: 50.04, Kevin Cordes (2014)
• PAC-12 Championship Record: 50.78, Carsten Vissering (2019)
• 2022 Champion: Reece Whitley (California) – 51.30
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.40

TOP EIGHT QUALIFIERS:

1. Reece Whitley (California) – 51.34
2. Matthew Jensen (California) – 51.60
3. Jacob Soderlund (California) – 51.90
4. Liam Bell (California) – 52.02
5. Luke Rodarte (California) – 52.10
6. Chris O’Grady (Southern California) – 52.44
7. Zhier Fan (Stanford) – 52.50
8. Jaek Horner (Utah) – 52.54

Well, that was exactly what Cal needed to get back into the fight with Arizona State. The Golden Bears posted a 1-2-3-4-5 finish, led by defending champion Reece Whitley, who swam a 51.34 this morning. Whitley won in 51.30 last year, so the fifth-year is looking heading into tonight’s final.

Cal junior Matthew Jensen clocked a huge new personal best of 51.60 to come in second this morning. Jensen blew away his previous best of 52.57, which he swam at the Minnesota Invite in early December.

Cal sophomore Jacob Soderlund also blasted a new lifetime best of 51.90 to make the ‘A’ final tonight. His previous best 100 breast was a 53.14, which Soderlund swam at last year’ Pac-12 Championships in a time trial. With the swim this morning, the 20-year-old skipped right over 52, and went straight to 51-point.

Liam Bell, a Cal senior, swim a 52.02 for fourth this morning. Keep an eye on him tonight, as Bell has a personal best of 50.50 in the event, which he swam at NCAAs last year.

Grad student Luke Rodarte rounded out the Cal ‘A’ finalists, swimming a 52.10 for fifth. That swim also marks a personal best for Rodarte, whose previous mark was a 52.71, which he swam at DIII NCAAs last year, when he was competing for Cal Lutheran.

Utah picked up their first ‘A’ finalist in a swimming event of the meet, seeing Jaek Horner come in eighth this morning with a 52.54.

100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 43.35, Luca Urlando (2022)
• PAC-12 Record: 43.39, Ryan Murphy (2016)
• PAC-12 Championship Record: 44.14, Zachary Poti (2020)
• 2022 Champion: Bjorn Seeliger (California) – 44.72
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.79

TOP EIGHT QUALIFIERS:

1. Jack Dolan (Arizona State) – 44.78
2. Owen McDonald (Arizona State) – 45.09
3. Destin Lasco (California) – 45.13
4. Andrei Ungur (Utah) – 45.19
5. Aaron Sequeira (Stanford) – 45.44
6. Leon MacAlister (Stanford) – 45.63
7. Bjorn Seeliger (California) – 45.79
8. Jack Alexy (California) – 46.24

Jack Dolan continues to swim extremely well here in Federal Way. The ASU senior ripped a new lifetime best of 44.78 to lead prelims of the 100 back this morning, dipping under 45 seconds for the first time in his career. Dolan won the 50 free last night over Cal’s Bjorn Seeliger, who will also be in the ‘A’ final of the 100 back tonight after taking seventh this morning in 45.79. Seeliger is notably the defending champion in the event, having won in 44.72 last year.

Sun Devil freshman Owen McDonald had a fantastic swim this morning, touching second overall with a 45.09. The performance marks McDonald’s first time under 46 seconds in the event.

Cal had another strong showing here, seeing Destin Lasco post the third-fastest time of the morning, and sophomore Jack Alexy come in eighth, giving the Golden Bears three ‘A’ finalists for tonight.

Utah has caught fire a bit, now having earned ‘A’ finalists in back-to-back events. The Utes saw Andrei Ungur come in fourth this morning with a 45.19, setting him up well for tonight.

Stanford also put a pair of swimmers into the top eight. Aaron Sequeira, who already qualified for the ‘A’ final of the 100 fly this morning, came in fifth with a 45.44, marking a huge new best time. Leon MacAlister also made it through, finishing sixth in 45.63.