2016 Pac-12 Women’s Champs: Day Two Finals Live Recap

PAC-12 – WOMEN

• Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27
• Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: California (results)
• Live results
• Championship Central

The Pac-12 women will launch into the second day of champs, with USC bringing in the most A finalists of the field. Chelsea Chenault will try to hold on to her top seed in the 500 free, an event in which she’ll find three teammates with her in the A final.

Stanford freshman Ella Eastin blasted a new personal record in the 200 IM, her time of 1:53.33 well ahead of the field and the rest of the country right now. That time also ties her for the 8th-fastest time ever.

Cal got some first seed representation, too, with Farida Osman torching a new best time in the 50 free (21.56). The top three teams, USC, Stanford, and Cal, will distance themselves from the rest of the conference and try to get a leg up on each other in tonight’s finals.

500 FREESTYLE FINALS

1. Chelsea Chenault (USC), 4:38.13
2. Bonnie Brandon (ARIZ), 4:41.77
3. Sammy Harrison (OSU), 4:41.85

USC’s Chenault crowned herself 500 queen tonight, dropped over a second from prelims to pick up the Pac-12 title. Tonight’s win marks the Trojan junior’s first-ever conference title. Bonnie Brandon of Arizona leap-frogged over OSU’s Sammy Harrison for 2nd place, while both swimmers also dropped time from this morning’s session.

The Trojans were relentless in the A final, with freshman Elizabeth Stinson grabbing 4th (4:42.93) and senior Henriette Stenkvist touching just behind in 5th (4:42.98). They also had the 8th-best swim in the championship heat with freshman Allie Wooden‘s 4:46.02.

Stanford’s two finalists, Allison Brown and Leah Stevens, finished 6th (4:43.12) and 7th (4:45.36), respectively.

ASU’s Kat Simonovic swum up from 10th place to earn the B final win with a 4:44.04.

200 IM FINALS

1. Ella Eastin (STAN), 1:52.77
2. Kathleen Baker (CAL), 1:52.80
3. Kirsten Vose (USC), 1:55.65

Stanford frosh Ella Eastin again lowered her personal record tonight, picking up the win for the Cardinal with a time of 1:52.77. She and Cal first year Kathleen Baker were neck and neck the entire race, with Eastin leading at the back to breast turn, then Baker gaining a three-hundredths advantage after breast, then Eastin coming home just a hair faster to take the conference crown. Eastin is the 3rd best 200 IMer now at Stanford, behind only Maya Dirado (1:52.50), and Julia Smit (1:52.31).

Eastin is now the 7th fastest performer ever in this event, exactly one second behind Cal grad Caitlin Leverenz‘s 1:51.77 from 2012. Baker, for her part, is now tied for 8th all-time with her teammate Liz Pelton, who finished that race in 6th place (1:56.19).

USC freshman Kirsten Vose dropped almost two seconds from prelims to move up from 8th to 3rd (1:55.65), while Bears Celina Li (1:55.79) and Kelly Naze (1:55.98) followed closely behind.

Stanford sophomore Ally Howe was next to the wall in 1:56.28, with USC first year Riley Scott finishing up in 8th (1:56.80).

50 FREE FINALS

1. Farida Osman (CAL), 21.32
2. Lia Neal (STAN), 21.88
3. Anika Apostalon (USC), 21.94

Farida Osman has become a serious national title threat for the Cal Bears after a wicked fast 21.32 tonight to win the 50 free. Her time ties Simone Manuel for the 2nd fastest time ever behind only Lara Jackson‘s 21.27 from 2009, which is the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open record. She also set a new Cal record as well as a new Pac-12 Championship record with her performance tonight.

Stanford star Lia Neal touched out Trojan and SDSU transfer Anika Apostalon for silver with a 21.88 to Apostalon’s 21.94. The rest of the field, like this morning, was jam-packed with little separating each of the following positions.

UCLA’s Linnea Mack finished 4th (22.06), followed by a tie for 5th (22.13) between ‘Zona frosh Katrina Konopka and USC senior Katarzyna Wilk. Cal first year Amy Bilquist was a fingernail behind them at 22.14, and Janet Hu, a Stanford sophomore, rounded out the A final with a 22.27.

Golden Bear junior Kristen Vredeveld was the winner of the B final, touching out at 22.30 by a hundredth over ‘Zona’s Taylor Schick (22.31).

3-METER DIVING FINALS

1. Gracia Leydon-Mahoney (STAN), 379.55
2. Alex Clay (STAN), 362.95
3. Madison Will (USC), 344.35
4. Eloise Belanger (UCLA), 338.95
5. Mara Aiacoboae (ASU), 317.85
6. Lilly Hinrichs (STAN), 315.40
7. Annika Lenz (UCLA), 286.95
8. Kathryn Loftus (ARIZ), 254.75

After Stanford senior Alex Clay took the top spot in prelims by 14 points over her teammate Gracia Leydon-Mahoney, the sophomore Leydon-Mahoney out-dove Clay in finals to take the Pac-12 title. USC’s Madison Will, a freshman, took 3rd.

200 FREE RELAY FINALS

1. Cal, 1:26.77
2. Stanford, 1:27.92
3. Arizona, 1:28.18

The Cal relay of Osman (21.78), Vredeveld (21.70), Rachel Bootsma (21.83), and Bilquist (21.46) split 21’s across the board for a very dominant win in this relay. This marked the 2nd Pac-12 Championship record for the Bears after Osman’s record in the individual 50 free.

Stanford and Arizona followed with a close finish between the two, but the Cardinal won the battle thanks to their middle legs. Lia Neal split a 21.62 going 2nd, and Ally Howe was a quick 21.58 going third to keep Stanford ahead of the Wildcats.

Arizona had two 21’s of their own, with 2nd leg Annie Ochitwa splitting a 21.88 and Taylor Schick anchoring in 21.72. The Trojans finished up in 4th place at 1:28.57, the last team under 1:30, anchored by a strong 21.57 showing from Katarzyna Wilk.

TEAM SCORES

Stanford’s taken the lead over USC, with Cal in a close third. Things are looking very tight going into day three of this meet. The Cardinal women have picked up big points from their top-end swimmers, but aren’t as deep as Cal and USC. However this year, Stanford’s divers are keeping them afloat even over the historically-powerful USC squad.

1. Stanford – 557
2. USC – 512
3. Cal – 477.5
4. UCLA – 431
5. Arizona – 413
6. Arizona State – 212.5
7. Utah – 210
8. Washington State – 168
9. Oregon State – 155