2016 Men’s Big 12 Championships
- Wednesday, February 24- Saturday February 27
- Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center- University of Texas
- Prelims 10 AM/ Finals 6 PM (Central Time)
- Defending Champs: Texas (19x) (results)
- Championship Central
- Live Results
- Fan Guide
As is becoming a pattern for the Texas men, they haven’t waited for the start of official competition at the Big 12 Championships this week in Austin to start putting in fast times.
A pair of Longhorns, Joseph Schooling and John Shebat, swam NCAA qualifying-worthy times on Wednesday morning.
For Schooling, the time came in the 200 fly: an event in which he’s the defending NCAA Champion, as well as the Big 12 Record holder. Schooling swam 1:41.04, which is half-a-second short of his season-best time in the event. The swim isn’t quite as explosive as the one that his teammate Jack Conger did in a similar time trial at last year’s Big 12 Championship meet – where he swam the fastest 200 yard fly ever to break the American and U.S. Open Records (though not NCAA Record on a technicality).
The swim by the freshman Shebat, however, even without being an NCAA Automatic Qualifying Time, is the more explosive of the two. In the 100 back, he touched in 45.89, which is his lifetime best time and moves him to rank 8th in the country so far this season.
Texas’ next fastest backstrokers this year are Ryan Harty (46.77) and Jack Conger (46.86), leaving head coach Eddie Reese with a decision to make among his embarrassment of riches for the Texas medley relays on how to combine those three, plus Schooling, to occupy the Longhorns’ backstroke and butterfly legs.
Other top results from the Time Trial:
- Austin Temple – 53.91 – 100 breaststroke
- Casey Melzer – 54.47 – 100 breaststroke
- Brynne Wong – 54.93 – 100 back
- Rebecca Baxley – 54.51 – 100 fly
- Max Holter – 1:43.57 – 200 back
- Ian Lemaistre – 1:43.99 – 200 back
Nice swim Ian