USC swam to victory on the final day of the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Championships, with the meet coming down to a dramatic finish in the final event of the meet. The Trojans won their first Pac-12 Championship in 1979, scoring 287 points in day four for 818.5 total points and the first-place finish. It marks the first championship in 36 years that has been won by a school other than STANFORD or CALIFORNIA.
The Cardinal finished second with 809.5 points, while the Golden Bears placed third with 673. ARIZONA finished fourth with a total of 508, ARIZONA STATE moved up to fifth with 309 and UTAH finished sixth with 283.
The night kicked off with Stanford increasing its lead from day three thanks to junior Danny Thomson, who won the 1650 free. He swam a 14:50.19 in the event, touching before second-place finisher Pawel Furtek, a freshman from USC who swam a 14:51.81. Placing third was sophomore Ty Fowler of Arizona with a time of 14:56.09.
Sophomore Golden Bear Ryan Murphy defended his Pac-12 title in the 200 back, breaking his previous meet record in the process. Murphy swam a time of 1:38.34 in the finals, which bested the 1:39.21 record he set at last year’s meet. Following in second was two-time Pac-12 200 back champion Dave Nolan of Stanford, who swam a 1:40.02 to narrowly beat out third-place finisher Jacob Pebley of California, who swam a 1:40.48.
Senior Cristian Quintero won his third individual title of the event, picking up his first Pac-12 championship in the 100 free. Quintero swam a 42.21 to place third, while fellow Trojan Santo Condorelli took home second with a 42.27. The 1-2 finish from USC, combined with a third-place finish from California’s Seth Stubblefield, narrowed Stanford’s lead over the field.
The Trojans took the lead on a huge finish from sophomore Steven Stumph in the 200 fly. Stumph, who had the top time in prelims for the top seed, was second in the first 50, but grasped the lead and held on to it through the final 150 yards. He was followed in second by California’s Josh Prenot and Arizona’s Kevin Cordes, the reigning two-time champion in the event.
USC sealed the victory in the 400 free relay with its third-straight title in the event. The quartet of Ralf Tribuntsov, Santo Condorelli, Reed Malone and Cristian Quintero led the field through the final, touching at a time of 2:49.50 for the win. Placing second was Stanford, while the third-place slot went to Arizona.
Quintero, who won three individual titles and was a member of three title-winning relays, was named the Swimmer of the Meet for his efforts.
Arizona
Arizona closed out the men’s swimming Pac-12 Championships in fourth place with a total score of 508 at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash. They followed USC (818.5), Stanford (809.5) and Cal (673). The fourth and final day brought the Wildcats a number of NCAA cuts. Arizona also closed out the tournament with two Pac-12 titles, in the 50 free and 100 breast.
The first event of the day was the 1650 free. Ty Fowler finished third with a time of 14:56.09 followed by teammate Chris Wieser in fourth with 14:58.77. Nick Hogsed took eighth in 15:07.94. All three swimmers earned NCAA “B” cuts with their fastest times this season.
In the 200 back, Thane Maudslien finished sixth with 1:43.07, earning a “B” cut. Alan Winder placed first in the C final with a time of 1:49.67. Austin Ringquist swam the race as an exhibition in 1:47.85.
Brad Tandy placed first in the B final of the 100 free in a time of 42.90. Brian Stevens finished 14th with 43.72 and Renny Richmond came in 16th with 43.97, all three earning “B” cuts. In the C final, J.P. Beach finished fifth (44.87) while Trey Cashion raced as an exhibition (44.44).
In the 200 breast, Kevin Cordes placed third in 1:53.55, earning another NCAA “A” cut in the event. In the B final, Gage Crosby took fifth with a time of 1:56.89 while Andrew Sovero took seventh with 1:58.04. Both swimmers received “B” cuts.
Justin Wright finished fifth in the 200 fly (1:43.85) while teammate Rasmus Skjaerpe took seventh (1:45.16). In the B final, Michael Meyer came in second with 1:44.98 and Nick Thorne in fifth with 1:46.10. The four swimmers all earned NCAA “B” cuts. Jason Alentado finished eighth in the B final with a time of 1:49.61. Meanwhile, Austin Van Overdam took first in the C final (1:47.39), in time for a “B” cut.
In the 400 free relay, the team of Tandy, Stevens, Richmond and Maudslien finished third with a time of 2:54.22, earning Arizona’s final “B” cut.
The results from the diving Pac-12 Championships were added to the final score. Rafael Quintero placed second in the platform with 403.50 while Dominic Ricotta finished 11th with 301.10.
California
On the final night of Pac-12 Men's Swimming Championships, Cal captured two more individual titles with sophomore Ryan Murphy winning the 200 back for the second year in a row, breaking his own Pac-12 meet record with a time of 1:38.34 (old record was 1:39.21 set last year). The second title of the evening for the Golden Bears came from sophomore Long Gutierrez in the 200 fly, posting a time of 1:43.23.
In addition to the swims by Long and Murphy, senior Adam Hindshaw was the conference runner-up behind Gutierrez in the 200 fly with a time of 1:43.61. Junior Josh Prenot placed second in the 200 breast (1:52.61), and senior Seth Stubblefield was in third in the 100 free (42.69).
Cal was not able to win its third-straight Pac-12 title, placing third behind USC (818.5) and Stanford (809.5) with a score of 673. However, the Bears claimed seven Pac-12 titles over the four days - including two championship relays. Cal victors included Murphy in the 100 and 200 back, Prenot in the 400 IM, Gutierrez in the 200 fly and Stubblefield in the 100 fly.
The Bears also won 2015 titles in the 200 free relay (Stubblefield, junior Tyler Messerschmidt, senior Fabio Gimondi, Murphy) and 200 medley relay (Murphy, senior Chuck Katis, freshman Justin Lynch, Messerschmidt).
The Bears now look towards the 2015 NCAA championships in Iowa City, Iowa, attempting to win their fourth national crown in the last five years after winning team titles in 2011, 2012 and 2014.. The NCAA competition will begin March 26 through March 28.
Southern Cal
A memorable individual night that included wins from senior Cristian Quintero and sophomore Steven Stumph became a historic team achievement as No. 11 USC, with a clinching 400y free relay victory, captured its first conference title since 1979 by a slim nine points to close the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way, Wash., on Saturday (May 7).
The Trojans won with a program-record 818.5 points, coming from behind on the final night to overtake Stanford (809.5) while defending champion California was third (673). Arizona was fourth (508), Arizona State was fifth (309) and Utah was sixth (283). The last time the meet was decided by nine or less points was 1999, when Stanford edged Cal by eight points.
USC, which had only finished as high as second place four times since its last conference title (most recently in 2001), entered the final event, the 400y free relay, with a three-point cushion. The Trojans were able to add to it as freshman Ralf Tribuntsov, sophomore Santo Condorelli, sophomore Reed Malone and Quintero won in 2:49.50, well ahead of Stanford’s second-place 2:52.63.
Quintero made big history earlier when he became the first Pac-12 swimmer ever to win the 100y, 200y and 500y free in the same meet when he led four Trojan ‘A’ finalists to win the 100y free tonight in 42.10. He was just 0.10 off his personal best and just 0.06 ahead of Condorelli’s second-place 42.27 (he was eighth last year).
Tribuntsov took fifth in the race in 42.88 after a 42.66 in prelims while Malone finished sixth in 43.03 (42.97 in prelims) The quartet now accounts for four of the top six fastest Trojans ever in the event.
Stumph obliterated teammate Morten Klarskov’s school record twice in the 200y breast en route to capturing USC’s first conference title in the race since 2001. He edged Cal’s Josh Prenot, 1:52.50 to 1:52.61 while Arizona’s Kevin Cordes, the two-time defending champion, was third (1:53.55). Stumph led Cordes by 0.17 at the 100 and led Prenot by 0.31 at the 150 and had enough to get to the wall first.
Stumph, who first crushed Klarskov’s school record (1:54.64) in prelims with a 1:53.01, led another quartet of Trojans in an ‘A’ final. Junior Ridge Altman made his Pac-12 finalist debut and finished fifth in 1:55.04 (PR). Senior Andrew Malone, in his first career 200y breast final, took seventh in 1:55.66 (0.01 slower than his morning PR) and Klarskov was eighth (1:55.84) in his third straight final in the race. Stumph, Klarskov, Altman and Malone are now first, second, third and fifth, respectively, in USC’s top 10 in the event.
Sophomore Michael Domagala placed a career-best third in the 200y fly in 1:43.74 after his prelim 1:42.75 made him the second-fastest Trojan ever in the race (and a time that would’ve won the ‘A’ final). Senior Dakota Hodgson won the ‘B’ final in 1:44.77, senior Cary Wright took fourth in the ‘B’ final (1:45.97) and junior Ted Singley was seventh (1:47.16).
Freshman Pawek Furtek, in the timed final of the 1650y free that opened the finals session, finished a close second in 14:51.81, just 1.62 seconds back of Stanford winner Danny Thompson (14:50.19). Furtek moved into second at the 1200-yard mark but still trailed Thompson by almost five seconds with 150 to go. He made up more than three seconds over the final six laps, but needed a bit more room for the comeback. His time made him the sixth fastest Trojan in the mile and his 1,000-yard split of 8:59.90 made him seventh-fastest in that distance. Singley finished sixth in 15:02.37, a PR.
In the 200y back, USC was led senior Luca Spinazzola’s 10th-place 1:42.11 (PR) while Wright was 12th (1:44.25, PR) and senior Chad Bobrosky was 15th (1:46.05).
In the platform held last week, Trojan divers scored vital points as junior Collin Pollard was third (395.60) and senior Jordan Gear was fourth (360.35). Junior Deon Reid was ninth (313.00) and freshman Dashiell Enos was 14th (269.25).
The NCAA Championships are set for March 26-28 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Stanford
The 2015 Pac-12 Conference Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships came down to the wire, and USC won the 400-yard freestyle relay finale to claim the title over Stanford and the six-team field.
Stanford held the lead heading into Saturday’s action and received a gold finish from Danny Thomson in the 1,650-yard freestyle, but the Trojans scored 287 points in the final session for its first title since 1979. It was the first Pac-12 meet in 36 years won by a school other than Stanford or Cal.
USC totaled 818.5 points and the Cardinal finished second for the third straight season with 809.5 points. The Golden Bears placed third with 673. Arizona finished fourth with 508 points, Arizona State (309) moved up to fifth and Utah (283) finished sixth.
USC’s eight-point win over Stanford was the closest in the Pac-12 showdown since the Cardinal beat Cal by the same margin in 1999.
Thomson started the final session by taking home the win in the 1,650 free with a 14:50.19, fighting off USC’s Pawel Furtek (14:51.81) for Stanford’s sixth win in the event in the last seven Pac-12 meets.
David Nolan (1:40.02) took silver in the 200-yard backstroke behind defending champion Ryan Murphy of Cal. Murphy broke his meet record in 1:38.34. Patrick Conaton (1:41.36) took fourth and Drew Cosgarea (1:42.32) was one spot behind.
Sam Perry, Stanford’s only performer in the 100-yard freestyle finals, touched eighth in 43.35 after going 42.79 in the finals. Curtis Ogren had a 1:56.53 in the 200-yard breaststroke finals for ninth. Gray Umbach (1:43.75) took fourth and Tom Kremer (1:44.10) had a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly.
USC, which nursed a three-point lead heading into the meet’s final race, sealed the victory in the 400 free relay with its third straight title in the event in 2:49.50. Stanford’s NCAA A-cut of 2:52.63 claimed the second slot.
The NCAA Zone E Diving Championships take place March 9-11 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Stanford’s swimmers will be competing in the NCAA Championships (March 26-28) in Iowa City, Iowa.
Utah
Utah swimming and diving team took sixth at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships with 283 points at the at Weyerhaeuser King Country Aquatic Center.
Taking the title was USC with 818.5 points. Stanford took second (809.5), California in third (673) and Arizona in fourth (508). ASU took fifth with 309 points.
“Well we finished the Pac-12’s here,” said Utah head coach Joe Dykstra. “We are all disappointed we dropped a spot in the team standings from last year but hats off to Arizona State and really to the entire conference. This meet was faster across the boards than it was last year. I think its a tribute to the strength of this league that you are going to have all six of these teams scoring at NCAA’s and making some noise; not just this year but for years to come. I am really proud of our four seniors that competed here this week. They all did a great job. Nick Soedel, A finalist tonight by getting fourth place in the 100 free. Graham Charlton, Alex Brown, Alex Fernandes, all for putting up great careers.”
Bence Kiraly recorded a NCAA B standard-time and Utah’s second fastest mark all-time of 15:01.05 in the 1,650 free. He took fifth in the event and broke his current school record time of 9:01.52 in the 1,000 free with a time of 8:59.25. Matthew Bolinger took 11th (15:23.55) and Brandon Shreeve in 12th (15:24.49), both NCAA B standard times. Andy Cunningham touched in 14th with a NCAA B standard time of 15:28.21 while Peter Kotson took 16th (15:37.43).
In the “B” finals for the 200 back, Kristian Kron took sixth (14th overall) with a NCAA B standard time of 1:45.95 and Andy Cunningham took eighth (16th overall) with a time of 1:50.51. Also in the “C” finals was second place (18th overall) Evan Indahl with a time of 1:50.33.
Taking fourth in the 100 free was Nick Soedel with a NCAA B standard time and Utah’s second fastest mark all-time of 42.86. In the “C” finals, Austin Phillips touched in seventh (23rd overall) with a time of 46.11.
Jack Burton touched in sixth (14th overall) in the “B” finals for the 200 breast with a NCAA B standard time of 1:57.81, which broke the current school record in the event (1:58.71) and is Utah fastest mark all-time. In the “C” finals, Brandon Young recorded a NCAA B standard time of 1:59.72 by taking second (18th overall). Quillian Oak took fourth (20th overall) with a time of 2:01.51 with Ganem Tebet following in fifth (21st overall) with a time of 2:01.74. Nolan Rogers took sixth (23rd overall) in the event with a time of 2:02.59.
In the “C finals for the 200 fly, David Fraser touched in second (18th overall) with a time of 1:48.84 with Luis Macias following in third (19th overall) with a time of 1:48.89.
In the 400 free relay, team of Alex Fernandes, Soedel, Kron and Bence Kiraly took fifth with a time of 2:56.15.
In a time trial for the 100 breast, Kyle Owens touched in 56.12, while in the 200 fly, Andy Cunningham touched in 1:49.33 and Calvin Rogers in 1:51.64.
“Fernandes and Soedel will be moving onto NCAA’s along with Bence Kiraly, who actually set a school record in the 1,000 freestyle taking out his 1,650. He’s not shaved or tapered so the back end fell off quite a bit. But we are excited that he is demonstrating that kind of speed because in three weeks, in Iowa City, when he is rested and shaved, that back end will be there. All in all, we have a lot to look forward to moving onto NCAA’s.”
The Utah diving squad will head to Colorado Springs, Colo. to compete in the NCAA Zone E Championships which are set to begin March 9-11.
