2019 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Championships: Day 3 Finals

BIG 12 – MEN AND WOMEN

  • Wednesday, February 27 – Saturday, March 2
  • Texas Swimming Center, Austin, TX (Central Time Zone)
  • Defending Champion: Texas men (22x) & Texas women (6x) (results)
  • Live results
  • Championship Central

The Texas men have begun to pull swimmers out of events at the 2019 Big 12 Championships, including Tate Jackson, who was a no-show in Thursday’s finals and didn’t swim any individual prelims races on Friday, either.

But they’ve left Townley Haas in for the 200 free, where he’s the fastest swimmer in history, as the 2nd seed behind freshman teammate Drew Kibler.

In the men’s 100 fly, the fastest time could come from a non-scoring swimmer: Max Holter was just .03 seconds off the top time in the 100 fly in the heats, but now has to move to the B-Final, as he’s not on the Longhorns’ scoring roster. That’s a big opportunity for West Virginia, who has 5 swimmers in the A-final.

On the women’s side of the pool, Kansas’ Jenny Nusbaum enters the 200 free as the top seed, trying to pull off the first non-Longhorn win of the meet. Her teammate, diver Vicky Xu, will shoot for the same on the 3-meter. She enters as the Big 12 record holder even in her first semester in the conference.

Women’s 100 Fly – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Triin Aljand, Texas A&M, 2008 – 51.32
  • Meet Record – Lily Moldenhauer, Texas, 2014 – 51.92
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 52.30

Remedy Rule, with her NCAA qualification already secured, defended her Big 12 title in the 10 fly with a 52.33. That almost-exactly matches the 52.41 that she swam to win last year’s title. Lauren Case took 2nd in 52.69, while Morgan Bullock earned her second bronze medal in as many days (after the 200 IM) with a 53.09. That’s her lifetime best and ranks 2nd in program history.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Remedy Rule, Texas – 52.33
  2. Lauren Case, Texas – 52.69
  3. Morgan Bullock, West Virginia – 53.09

Men’s 100 Fly – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Joseph Schooling, Texas, 2017 – 43.75
  • Meet Record –  Joseph Schooling, Texas, 2017 – 44.06
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 45.86

West Virginia’s David Dixon had the 2nd-best time in finals of the 100 fly, but will go down as the Big 12 champion, winning the men’s 100 fly in 46.73. He just out-touched Texas’ Andrew Koustik, who was 2nd in 46.79, and Jacob Huerta, who was 3rd in 46.85.

The fastest time, however, went to Texas’ Max Holter, who swam 46.15 in the B-Final as a member of Texas’ non-scoring team. He earned an NCAA qualifying time in the 200 fly in a time trial on Wednesday before the meet started.

West Virginia had 5 swimmers in the A-Final of the race, which actually pulled the Mountaineers within 25 points of Texas.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. David Dixon, West Virginia – 46.73
  2. Andrew Koustik, Texas – 46.79
  3. Jacob Huerta, Texas – 46.85

Women’s 400 IM – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Madisyn Cox, Texas, 2017 – 4:00.97
  • Meet Record – Madisyn Cox, Texas, 2017 – 4:01.15
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 4:09.52

For the 2nd-straight race, a Texas woman defended a title. This time, it was Evie Pfeifer, who won the 400 IM in 4:10.01 – a couple of tenths better than the time with which she won last year.

She led a Texas 1-2-3 in the race. 200 IM champion Nora McCullagh finished 2nd in 4:11.56, and Maxine Wolters was 3rd in 4:14.89.

TCU’s Kaeleigh Rice finished 4th in 4:19.80.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Evie Pfeifer, Texas – 4:10.01
  2. Nora McCullagh, Texas – 4:11.56
  3. Maxine Wolters, Texas – 4:14.89

Men’s 400 IM – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Will Licon, Texas, 2015 – 3:36.37
  • Meet Record –  Jonathan Roberts, Texas, 2017 – 3:38.18
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 3:43.81

In a year of great freshman distance swimmers, Texas’ Braden Vines joined the ranks with a Big 12 title and a 3:42.55 in the 400 IM. He’s now ranked 4th among freshman nationally in a year when 3 of the top 5 swimmers coming into this week are freshmen.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Braden Vines, Texas – 3:42.55
  2. JohnThomas Larson – 3:47.70
  3. Dayne Odendaal, TCU – 3:51.14

Women’s 200 Free – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Karlee Bispo, Texas, 2011 – 1:42.81
  • Meet Record – Karlee Bispo, Texas, 2011 – 1:43.43
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 1:44.98

Texas’ Joanna Evans slow-played the 200 free in prelims, but went after it in finals, winning the race in 1:44.82. She was the 2017 champion, and knocked off 2018 champion Quinn Carrozza, who took 2nd in 1:45.09.

Kansas’ Jenny Nusbaum was 3rd in 1:46.70.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Joanna Evans, Texas – 1:44.82
  2. Quinn Carrozza, Texas – 1:45.09
  3. Jenny Nusbaum, Kansas – 1:46.70

Men’s 200 Free – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Townley Haas, Texas, 2018 – 1:29.50
  • Meet Record – Ricky Berens, Texas, 2009 – 1:32.01
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 1:34.06

Townley Haas once again showed more in finals than he did in prelims of the 200 free, though Ricky Berens‘ decade-old Meet Record will live on for another year.

After this race, Texas opened their lead back to 115 points over West Virginia, thanks to a 1-2-3-4-5-6 finish, though there projects to be more see-sawing to come later in the session when West Virginia swims 7 scorers in the 100 breaststroke to just 1 for Texas.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Townley Haas, Texas – 1:32.42
  2. Drew Kibler, Texas – 1:33.02
  3. Daniel Krueger, Texas – 1:34.73

Women’s 100 Breast – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Breeja Larson, Texas A&M, 2012 – 57.51
  • Meet Record – Breeja Larson, Texas A&M, 2012 – 57.92
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 59.94

Texas’ Kennedy Lohman broke 1 minute for the first time since last year’s Big 12 Championship meet, swimming 59.99 to win the women’s 100 breaststroke final. This marks yet another defending champion winning for the Texas women, as Lohman took the victory last year as well – in 59.29.

Kansas’ Haley Downey finished 2nd in 1:00.51, which crushes her own school record of 1:01.43 set lasts season. Texas’ Holly Jansen was 3rd in 1:00.66.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Kennedy Lohman, Texas – 59.99
  2. Haley Downey, Kansas – 1:00.51
  3. Holly Jansen, Texas – 1:00.66

Men’s 100 Breast – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Matt Licon, Texas, 2017 – 50.68
  • Meet Record – Will Licon, Texas, 2017 – 51.50
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 52.62

Texas had only 1 representative in finals of the men’s 100 breaststroke, and in spite of being a freshman, Charlie Scheinfeld held off the field to win in 51.96. He beat out a pair of West Virginia seniors, Jake Armstrong (52.35) and Tristen Di Sibio (53.35), who finished 2nd-and-3rd in the race.

Armstrong was the two-time defending Big 12 champion in the event, with Texas struggling for depth in the 100 breaststroke for the last few years. The Longhorns’ last Big 12 title in this event was 2015.

With only 8 scorers in this race, and West Virginia having 4 to just 1 for Texas, the Mountaineers pulled within 75 points after the 100 breast.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Charlie Scheinfeld, Texas – 51.96
  2. Jake Armstrong, West Virginia – 52.35
  3. Tristen Di Sibio, West Virginia – 53.35

Women’s 100 Back – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Tasija Karosas, Texas, 2017 – 50.83
  • Meet Record – Tasija Karosas, Texas, 2017 – 50.96
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 52.50

Continuing the trend of the day for the Longhorns, Texas junior Claire Adams successfully defended her title in the 100 backstroke, swimming a 51.17 to nearly-match her 51.13 from last season. This race was another Longhorn 1-2-3 finish as they pushed their lead to over 300 points.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Claire Adams, Texas – 51.17
  2. Julia Cook, Texas – 51.84
  3. Grace Ariola, Texas – 52.99

Men’s 100 Back – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – John Shebat, Texas, 2017 – 44.35
  • Meet Record – Andrew Marsh, West Virginia, 2016 – 45.41
  • Estimated NCAA Invite Time – 46.08

Texas’ Ryan Harty won his 2nd career individual Big 12 title overall, and 1st in the 100 back, in a new Meet Record of 45.19. That took down the mark of 45.41 set in 2016 by West Virginia’s Andrew Marsh.

That’s a new lifetime best for Harty, one of the few such swims for Texas on either side of the pool at this meet, undercutting his midseason 45.35. His best time coming into the meet was a 46.26 that he swam in high school in 2014.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Ryan Harty, Texas – 45.19 (Meet Record)
  2. John  Shebat, Texas – 45.44
  3. Austin Katz, Texas – 46.02

Women’s 3 Meter – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Vicky Xu, Kansas, 2019 – 520.60
  • Meet Record – Maren Taylor, Texas, 2014 – 414.20

After finishing just 3rd on the 1-meter, Kansas senior Vicky Xu, who is diving in her first and last Big 12 Championship meet, won the women’s 3-meter with a score of 380.00. That blocked Texas’ Alison Gibson from another springboard title defense after she won her 2nd-straight on the 1-meter earlier in the meet.

This is the first time that the Texas women have lost a diving event since Texas A&M left the conference in the 2012-2013 season. The Aggies swept the diving events in their last season in the league.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Vicky Xu, Kansas – 380.00
  2. Alison Gibson, Texas – 377.40
  3. Meghan O’Brien, Texas – 367.70

Men’s 3-Meter – Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Drew Livingston, Texas, 2011 – 527.10
  • Meet Record – Drew Livingston, Texas, 2011 – 527.10

There were only 6 scoring divers on the men’s 3-meter: none of which were from TCU and 2 of whom came from Texas. The event basically became a Texas vs. Texas battle, with junior Grayson Campbell beating out Jordan Windle for the title by 7 points (461.60-454.65). Campbell won this event title in 2017 while Windle won it last year at Big 12s. Both also finished in the top 7 at NCAAs last season.

West Virginia did the rest of the scoring in the men’s 3 meter to keep the team score within reach.

Top 3 Finishers:

  1. Grayson Campbell, Texas – 461.60
  2. Jordan Windle, Texas – 454.65
  3. PJ Lenz, West Virginia – 330.45

Women’s 200 Free Relay – Timed Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Texas, 2018 – 1:26.84
  • Meet Record – Texas, 2017 – 1:28.04

Grace Ariola (22.38), Julia Cook (21.90), Anelise Diener (22.29), and Claire Adams (21.89) combined for a 1:28.46 in the women’s 200 free relay. That’s an NCAA “A” cut and the program’s 9th-straight win in the relay.

Kansas took 2nd in 1:31.38, and West Virginia was 3rd in 1:31.45. West Virginia’s relay included a new School Record from Julia Nilton on the leadoff leg in 22.38. That time inches her ever-closer to an NCAA Invitation, though she’s still probably on the wrong side of the bubble.

Men’s 200 Free Relay – Timed Finals

  • Big 12 Record – Texas, 2017 – 1:14.59
  • Meet Record – Texas, 2018 – 1:15.27

With still no Tate Jackson on the squad, Texas’ relay of Drew Kibler (1:19.47), John Shebat (19.15), Townley Haas (19.28), and Daniel Krueger (19.10) combined for a 1:17.00. They were 1:16.0 mid-season in this race with 3 different legs in the lineup, including Jackson, Townley Haas, and Luke Bowman.

Team Scores

The Texas women are running-away with their team title, holding a 307 points lead over Kansas after day 2. In turn, Kansas is well ahead of West Virginia. There’s still some question as to whether TCU can catch West Virginia (big scoring swings are possible with only 5 teams in the meet), but the finish order will probably end just how it sits now.

On the men’s side, while West Virginia flirted with a lead on several occasions, Texas did what they needed to do and have more than a 100 point lead heading into the final day of competition. No, the Big 12 Championships aren’t the focus for the 4-time defending NCAA Champion Longhorns; but they will definitely do what they need to do in order to win the meet.

Women’s Team Scores:

  1. Texas – 773.5
  2. Kansas – 466.5
  3. West Virginia – 350
  4. TCU – 318
  5. Iowa State – 289

Men’s Team Scores

  1. Texas – 682
  2. West Virginia – 575.5
  3. TCU – 405.5

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Swimmer
5 years ago

Does anyone know if koustiks 100 fly time will qualify him for NCAA. His 200 is dancing with the bubble.

Drama King
5 years ago

Where was Jake Sannem and Sam Stewart ?
Have Sam Pom and Katz already qualifed for NCAAs?

Random123
Reply to  Drama King
5 years ago

katz yes – 1:40.5 2 back

Swimgeek
Reply to  Drama King
5 years ago

Sam Pom is 142.3 in 2 fly from the fall. He’s bubblicious unless he throws down a time tomorrow

Superfan
5 years ago

Was Tate Jackson sick? He didn’t swim today at all, not even the relay?

PACFAN
Reply to  Superfan
5 years ago

Injury. Shoulder from what I hear, maybe from weights.

Dmswim
5 years ago

I think you mean Ricky’s Berens’ meet record, not school record. I assume Townley’s NCAA record also counts as the school record.

Random123
5 years ago

will Texas women add any swimmers to NCAAs this meet?

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Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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