2020 Men’s Pac-12 Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2020 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2020 men’s Pac-12 Championships concludes tonight with finals of the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving, and 400 free relay. Cal has pretty much locked up the title at this point, with Arizona State in good position to take 2nd. Arizona and Stanford have an outside shot to take that runner-up spot.

Arizona’s Brooks Fail will swim a double tonight as the top seed in the mile and the 3rd seed in the 200 fly. Cal’s Zheng Quah (200 fly) and Bryce Mefford (200 back) look to defend titles, but teammates Trenton Julian (200 fly) and Daniel Carr (200 back) are the top seeds. The 200 back will also feature ASU’s Zach Poti, who set the 100 back Meet Record here.

Cal’s Reece Whitley will race for a sweep of the breaststrokes against Stanford’s Daniel Roy. Ryan Hoffer will try to go 3-for-3 for the Bears in the 100 free, as he’s already won the 50 free and 100 fly.

MEN’S 1650 FREE

  • Pac-12 Record: Chad La Tourette (Stanford), 2012, 14:24.35
  • Meet Record: Nick Norman (Cal), 2019, 14:33.96
  • NCAA Record: Bobby Finke (Florida), 2020, 14:12.08
  • 2019 NCAA Invited: 14:54.05
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 14:37.31
  • 2019 Champion: Nick Norman (Cal), 14:33.96
  1. GOLD: Brooks Fail, Arizona, 14:44.60
  2. SILVER: Sean Grieshop, Cal, 14:51.09
  3. BRONZE: Grant Shoults, Stanford, 14:52.09

Arizona’s Brooks Fail won his first Pac-12 title, leading the field by over 6 seconds in 14:44.60. Cal’s Sean Grieshop moved ahead of Stanford’s Grant Shoults in the closing 300, taking silver in 14:51.09. Shoults, the 500 free champion, took bronze in 14:52.09, swimming his fastest time since 2017.

ASU’s Ben Olszewski was 4th in the heat with a lifetime best 14:52.84, dropping over 3 seconds. Taking 4th overall, though, was Stanford’s Matthew Hirschberger with his 14:52.37 from the early heats. Teammate James Murphy (14:55.70) had the 2nd fastest swim of the afternoon and wound up 6th overall.

USC’s Victor Johansson, the 2nd seed, wound up 16th in 15:22.47.

MEN’S 200 BACK

  • Pac-12 Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal), 2016, 1:35.73
  • Meet Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal), 2017, 1:38.07
  • NCAA Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal), 2016, 1:35.73
  • 2019 NCAA Invited: 1:41.31
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:39.16
  • 2019 Champion: Bryce Mefford (Cal), 1:39.13
  1. GOLD: Daniel Carr, Cal, 1:37.87
  2. SILVER: Zach Poti, ASU, 1:39.31
  3. BRONZE: Hugo Gonzalez, Cal, 1:39.66

Cal’s Daniel Carr took down Ryan Murphy’s Meet Record tonight in a lifetime best 1:37.87. That ties him as the 9th fastest man in history. Teammate Hugo Gonzalez swam his fastest time since 2017 and his first sub-1:40 since then, touching 3rd in 1:39.66. Bryce Mefford, the 2019 champion, was 4th for the Bears in 1:41.09. Younger brother Colby Mefford finished 6th in 1:42.00.

Arizona State’s Zach Poti, the 100 back champ, took silver in 1:39.31, just a couple of tenths off his best. Thomas Anderson was 5th for Arizona, also just tenths shy of a best in 1:41.51. The 5th fastest time of the night, however, came from the B final. Stanford’s Benjamin Ho won that heat in 1:41.50, his fastest time since 2018.

MEN’S 100 FREE

  • Pac-12 Record: Vlad Morozov (USC), 2013, 40.76
  • Meet Record: Vlad Morozov (USC), 2013, 41.38
  • NCAA Record: Caeleb Dressel (Florida), 2018, 39.90
  • 2019 NCAA Invited: 42.53
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 41.71
  • 2019 Champion: Pawel Sendyk (Cal), 41.95
  1. GOLD: Ryan Hoffer, Cal, 41.45
  2. SILVER: Carter Swift, ASU, 42.05
  3. BRONZE: Marin Ercegovic, Arizona, 42.31

Cal’s Ryan Hoffer raced to his 2nd fastest swim ever and his fastest time since 2015 to take his 3rd individual title of the meet in 41.45. He was hundredths shy of the Pac-12 Meet Record and now ranks #2 in the NCAA this season. Teammate Michael Jensen was 6th in 42.55, hundredths shy of his season best from prelims.

ASU’s Carter Swift was a hundredth behind his best from prelims to take silver in 42.05. Sun Devil freshman Jack Dolan lowered his best to a 42.32, a hundredth shy of the podium as Arizona’s Marin Ercegovic clipped his lifetime best for 3rd in 42.31. ASU’s Evan Carlson was also just hundredths from the podium with a personal best 42.37 for 5th. Cody Bybee was a tenth off his best from prelims in 42.74, out-touching Utah’s Liam O’Haimhirgin (42.84).

MEN’S 200 BREAST

  • Pac-12 Record: Kevin Cordes (Arizona), 2014, 1:48.66
  • Meet Record: Andrew Seliskar (Cal), 2019, 1:49.80
  • NCAA Record: Will Licon (Texas), 2017, 1:47.91
  • 2019 NCAA Invited: 1:54.04
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:52.61
  • 2019 Champion: Andrew Seliskar (Cal), 1:49.80
  1. GOLD: Reece Whitley, Cal, 1:49.85
  2. SILVER: Daniel Roy, Stanford, 1:53.06
  3. BRONZE: Brennan Pastorek, Stanford, 1:53.40

Cal’s Reece Whitley dropped nearly a second as he broke 1:50 for the first time. Whitley dominated this race in 1:49.85, coming up just hundredths away from the Meet Record set by Cal NCAA Champion Andrew Seliskar last season. He’s now the 7th fastest man in history in this event and ranked #1 in the NCAA by over 1.5 seconds.

Stanford got 2 on the podium with Daniel Roy (1:53.06) coming from behind to take silver over teammate Brennan Pastorek (1:53.40). Hank Poppe (1:54.19) was 5th for the Cardinal, just behind Arizona’s Sam Iida (1:54.06).

MEN’S 200 FLY

  • Pac-12 Record: Zheng Quah (Cal), 2017, 1:38.83
  • Meet Record: Zheng Quah (Cal), 2019, 1:39.86
  • NCAA Record: Jack Conger (Texas), 2017, 1:37.35
  • 2019 NCAA Invited: 1:42.35
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.76
  • 2019 Champion: Zheng Quah (Cal), 1:39.86
  1. GOLD: Zheng Quah, Cal, 1:39.15
  2. SILVER: Trenton Julian, Cal, 1:40.78
  3. BRONZE: Brooks Fail, Arizona, 1:42.93

Cal’s Zheng Quah took down his own Meet Record, defending as champion in a dominant 1:39.15. That’s his 2nd fastest swim ever in the event and his best time since 2017. Quah is now ranked #2 in the NCAA this season. Teammate Trenton Julian, the 200 free champion, was just off his best in 1:40.78 for silver.

Arizona’s Brooks Fail earned his 2nd medal of the night here. After winning the mile, he came back to take bronze in 1:42.93. Fail came from behind as he out-touched teammate Etay Gurevich (1:43.18). USC’s Alexei Sancov, the 3rd seed coming into this meet, won the B final with the 5th fastest time of the night in 1:43.32. Behind him, ASU freshman Jack Edgemond touched in 1:43.95. Edgemond’s best, however, is a 1:42.86 from day 1 time trials.

Scoring Update: Heading into the 400 free relay, Cal has locked up the title. The race for 2nd is still on. Arizona is now in 2nd, just 2.5 points ahead of Stanford and 13 points ahead of ASU, so there’s a lot riding on this final relay for those 3 teams.

MEN’S 400 FREE RELAY

  • Pac-12 Record: Cal, 2019, 2:46.41
  • Meet Record: Cal, 2011, 2:48.16
  • NCAA Record: NC State, 2018, 2:44.31
  • NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 2:51.11
  • 2019 Champion: Cal, 2:48.80
  1. GOLD: Cal, 2:46.92
  2. SILVER: ASU, 2:47.24
  3. BRONZE: Arizona, 2:51.05

Cal took down their Meet Record in the 400 free relay and they were just half a second off the overall conference record. Michael Jensen led them off in 42.85, handing off to Pawel Sendyk (41.43). Daniel Carr put up a 41.65 on the 3rd split. Ryan Hoffer then anchored them to victory in 40.99 as they won in 2:46.92.

ASU was also under the old Meet Record as they took 2nd in 2:47.24. They had the lead up front, with Carter Swift putting up a lifetime best 41.98 on the leadoff. Evan Carlson extended their lead with a 41.26 on the 2nd leg. Cody Bybee maintained that lead with a 41.99, handing off to freshman Jack Dolan for a 42.01 on the anchor leg.

Arizona (2:51.05) took bronze. Marin Ercegovic clipped his best again with a 42.29 to lead off. Their fastest rolling-start split came from Noah Reid with a 42.44 on the 3rd leg. Grant Shoults split a 42.64 for Stanford (2:52.56) as they took 4th. USC was disqualified for a false start on the 2nd exchange, leaving Utah as the only team to not DQ a relay at this meet. The Utes took 5th in 2:53.85, with Liam O’Haimhirgin leading off in 42.54.

Cal’s B relay (2:53.88) won the exhibition heat, with Hugo Gonzalez splitting a 42.43 on the 2nd leg.

FINAL TEAM SCORES

  1. Cal 856
  2. Arizona 578
  3. Stanford 573.5
  4. Arizona State 567
  5. Utah 384
  6. USC 318.5

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Ladyvoldisser
4 years ago

Texas wins by 50 points. Bank on it you Cal Cubs

Swimmingfan
4 years ago

I wish college swimming would update their site I want to see the standings as of now

TheFacts
4 years ago

Arizona women lost by over 200 points to ASU (who didn’t have any divers). Wouldn’t get too excited there.

CraigH
Reply to  TheFacts
4 years ago

Who cares? It’s just Pac 12s. Let‘a see which team places higher at NCs.

Justin Wright
Reply to  CraigH
4 years ago

I see it as a five battle war. Duel meet, Men/women pac’s/NCs. I’m throwing out the duel meet, this year. UOFA and ASU each have a dub and the men’s side looks insanely competitive. Both blew away my conference expectations. Mens NCs should be awesome to watch the rivalry continue!

Taa
Reply to  Justin Wright
4 years ago

It would be a mistake for either team to get overly excited about their conference results. They can pat themselves on the back when the season is over

Pac12 Swim
4 years ago

Arizona Diving beat ASU Diving. But ASU Swimming beat Arizona Swimming, both Men’s and Women’s swimming.

Wildcats diving points of 97 placed them 2nd before the PAC-12 Swimming Championships even began.

Justin Wright
Reply to  Pac12 Swim
4 years ago

It’s called swim and dive for a reason. And ASU’s one man diving squad did fantastic. At 47 points, Youssef Selim was the top individual scorer on the team.

The point difference between the swim teams and dive teams is not a relevant excuse.

Pac12 Swim
Reply to  Justin Wright
4 years ago

The excuse of a loss due to not being suited is irrelevant, as KRIPKENSTEIN pointed out in her comment.

Suited or not suited, Arizona swimming lost against ASU. Swimmers get suited, while divers don’t. So, diving is irrelevant in this case where the excuse in the past has been…Arizona lost to ASU because they weren’t suited.

At PAC’s, everyone was suited. ASU men’s and women’s were still ahead on swim points against Arizona at the conclusion of the meet.

Lastly, the hateful hashtag about the ASU coach is low and just uncalled for. It’s baseless and obviously, stemming out of hate. Each coach in our sport deserves respect, not only from their swimmers but also from the fans. No need… Read more »

Two
4 years ago

Seriously. Does anyone know what happened to the USC men’s team? Last year they did not perform well, and this year is worse. Bruuuh

S Soedel
Reply to  Two
4 years ago

I think you already know the answer to your question.

Taa
Reply to  Two
4 years ago

They didn’t rest Sancov and Victor. Miljenic missed. Everyone else swam okay they just aren’t top level guys. So they had a big hole in their recruiting for this their current junior and senior class. They lost Glinta and Sannem who would both be scorers. Couple nova kids Kao and Nguyen only lasted one season. Maybe the culture of the team fell apart and it didn’t appeal to recruits. Also the cost for a non scholarship swimmer is ridiculous. Salo seems to cater to foreign elites so maybe that affected recruiting also. None of this matters now someone will get to start over.

Binky
Reply to  Taa
4 years ago

He is not a good recruiter.

HSPB
4 years ago

BTFD

Justin Wright
4 years ago

How about Brooks Fail taking that gold in the mile and later bronze in the 200 fly to lead his team to a 2nd place finish? What an animal.

Kripkenstein
Reply to  Justin Wright
4 years ago

Honestly though. Talk about the grit.

Neptunian Merman
Reply to  Justin Wright
4 years ago

You should have swum the mile too (;

JimSwim22
Reply to  Justin Wright
4 years ago

I did that double my freshman year. But I got 8th in the fly…6 seconds behind 7th. Unreal to do that pair that fast.

Bearly Breathing
4 years ago

The relay made feel validated. Thank you Ryan. Kisses.

About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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