2020 PAC-12 WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, February 26 – Saturday, February 29
- Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
- Prelims 10:30 a.m./Finals 6 p.m.
- Defending Champion: Stanford (3x) (results) (diving)
- Live Video
- Women’s Fan Guide
- Estimated NCAA Invite Times
- NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
- Championship Central
- Record Book
- Psych Sheets
- Heat Sheet
- Live Results
The 2020 women’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. Stanford has pretty much locked up the title at this point, but Cal and USC could wind up in a close battle for 2nd.
USC’s Louise Hansson, after winning her 4th-straight 100 fly title last night, is the defending 200 fly champion. Teammates Marta Ciesla and Laticia Transom, the 200 free champion, headline the 100 free as Cal’s 2019 champion Abbey Weitzeil was a declared false start in prelims due to an arm injury. Stanford’s Lucie Nordmann will chase her first-ever Pac-12 title in the 200 back. Teammate Allie Raab is battling for a sweep of the breaststroke races.
After winning the race with the current Pac-12 Meet Record as a freshman with Cal, now-senior Cierra Runge of ASU looks to return to the top of the podium in the mile. However, teammate Emma Nordin is the top seed and has been on fire at this meet, breaking Runge’s school record to win the 500 free title.
WOMEN’S 1650 FREE
- Pac-12 Record: Katie Ledecky (Stanford), 2017, 15:03.31
- Meet Record: Cierra Runge (Cal), 2015, 15:40.17
- NCAA Record: Katie Ledecky (Stanford), 2017, 15:03.31
- 2019 NCAA Invited: 16:14.21
- NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 15:52.41
- 2019 Champion: Leah Stevens (Stanford), 15:51.26
- GOLD: Morgan Tankersley, Stanford, 15:50.81
- SILVER: Emma Nordin, ASU, 15:52.27
- BRONZE: Cierra Runge, ASU, 15:53.51
Stanford’s Morgan Tankersley, who took silver in the 500 free, dropped 9 seconds to win her first individual title in 15:50.81. ASU’s Emma Nordin, who won the 500 free, was over 5 seconds ahead as they flipped at the 1000. Tankersley closed the gap heading into the final 50, and outsplit Nordin by over a second in the closing split to win it.
Nordin dropped 2 seconds for silver in 15:52.27, while teammate Cierra Runge was 3rd in 15:53.51. Nordin was within tenths of Runge’s school record. Teammate Caitlyn Wilson finished 8th with her 16:23.19 from the afternoon session. Kendall Dawson‘s 16:29.89 landed her 12th for the Sun Devils.
After her breakthrough swim in the early heats, Arizona’s Kirsten Jacobsen took 4th in her lifetime best 15:59.31. Teammate Ayumi Macias finished 6th in 16:14.05 behind Cal freshman Sarah DiMeco (16:12.89). Hannah Cox was 10th for Arizona in 16:24.08.
Since the mile is swum as timed finals, you can click here to see the top 8 through the early heats.
WOMEN’S 200 BACK
- Pac-12 Record: Kathleen Baker (Cal), 2018, 1:47.30
- Meet Record: Kathleen Baker (Cal), 2018, 1:48.27
- NCAA Record: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 2019, 1:47.24
- 2019 NCAA Invited: 1:54.01
- NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:50.50
- 2019 Champion: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 1:48.53
- GOLD: Erin Voss, Stanford, 1:51.37
- SILVER: Lucie Nordmann, Stanford, 1:51.63
- BRONZE: Alexandra Crisera, Stanford, 1:52.21
Stanford had another first-time champion. Erin Voss, who was named the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, charged through the back half to win it in 1:51.37. The Cardinal swept the podium with Lucie Nordmann (1:51.63) and freshman Alexandra Crisera (1:52.21). In the first race of her double, teammate Allie Szekely was 7th in 1:54.12.
Utah’s Audrey Reimer made a big drop, taking 1.5 seconds off her best in prelims with a 1:52.51 for 4th as she came from behind to out-touch Cal’s Keaton Blovad (1:52.93). Cal’s Courtney Mykkanen dropped a lifetime best 1:53.89 to finish 6th. Freshman teammate Ayla Spitz put up a personal best 1:53.89 to win the B final. Placing 8th in the final was Arizona freshman Axana Merckx, who lowered her best in 1:54.86.
WOMEN’S 100 FREE
- Pac-12 Record: Simone Manuel (Stanford), 2017, 45.56
- Meet Record: Abbey Weitzeil (Cal), 2019, 46.35
- NCAA Record: Simone Manuel (Stanford), 2017, 45.56
- 2019 NCAA Invited: 48.56
- NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 47.18
- 2019 Champion: Abbey Weitzeil (Cal), 46.35
- GOLD: Laticia Transom, USC, 47.85
- SILVER: Marta Ciesla, USC, 48.02
- BRONZE: Amalie Fackenthal, Stanford, 48.19
Laticia Transom went 2-for-2 in her individual events here. She was just 2 hundredths shy of her best in 47.85. Teammate Marta Ciesla made it a 1-2 finish in 48.02. Tatum Wade put up a lifetime best 48.35 for 4th place, nearly running down Stanford’s Amalie Fackenthal (48.19).
Stanford had 2 in the final, with Anya Goeders touching 6th in 48.49. Cal’s Robin Neumann was 5th in 48.43. Freshman teammate Eloise Riley put up a lifetime best 48.76 for 8th behind UCLA’s Kenisha Liu (48.57).
WOMEN’S 200 BREAST
- Pac-12 Record: Rebecca Soni (USC), 2009, 2:04.75
- Meet Record: Rebecca Soni (USC), 2009, 2:04.75
- NCAA Record: Lilly King (Indiana), 2018, 2:02.60
- 2019 NCAA Invited: 2:09.77
- NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 2:06.84
- 2019 Champion: Grace Zhao (Stanford), 2:07.07
- GOLD: Brooke Forde, Stanford, 2:07.35
- SILVER: Allie Raab, Stanford, 2:07.85
- BRONZE: Zoe Bartel, Stanford, 2:08.01
The Stanford women took another podium sweep. Brooke Forde, the 400 IM champion, pulled ahead on the back half to win it in a lifetime best 2:07.35. Allie Raab, the 100 breast champion, led through the front half and held off teammate Zoe Bartel (2:08.01) for the silver. Grace Zhao, the 2019 champion, was 7th for the Cardinal in 2:10.29.
USC rounded out the top 6 with Isa Odgers (2:09.00) posting the only other sub-2:10. That was just 5 hundredths shy of her best from earlier this month. Maggie Aroesty was 5th in 2:10.10, hundredths ahead of freshman Nicole Pavlopoulou (2:10.14). Taking 8th was ASU’s Silja Kansakoski, the 100 breast silver medalist, in 2:11.27.
Washington State’s Lauren Burckel dropped a lifetime best 2:11.28 to win the B final, just out-touching Cal’s Ema Rajic (2:11.37) and fellow Ute Charity Pittard (2:11.54). The Bears won the C final with Alexa Buckley‘s 2:15.40.
WOMEN’S 200 FLY
- Pac-12 Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 2018, 1:49.51
- Meet Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 2018, 1:49.51
- NCAA Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 2018, 1:49.51
- 2019 NCAA Invited: 1:56.18
- NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:53.20
- 2019 Champion: Louise Hansson (USC), 1:50.68
- GOLD: Louise Hansson, USC, 1:51.26
- SILVER: Katie Drabot, Stanford, 1:52.11
- BRONZE: Rachel Klinker, Cal, 1:53.81
USC’s Louise Hansson, the 2019 champion, defended her title. As usual, she blazed to the lead in 52.90, taking the edge early on as she won in 1:51.26. Stanford’s Katie Drabot repeated as the silver medalist in 1:52.11. Teammate Allie Szekely, in her 2nd final of the night, was 8th in 1:58.23. Cal freshman Rachel Klinker broke 1:54 for the first time to take bronze in 1:53.81.
ASU freshman Lindsay Looney (1:55.49) was just a tenth shy of her school record, coming from behind to outswim UCLA’s Amy Okada (1:55.93) for 4th. Fellow Sun Devil freshman Jade Foelske was 6th in 1:56.53. Teammate Ruby Martin (1:58.18) was 7th.
WOMEN’S PLATFORM DIVING
- Meet Record: Haley Ishimatsu (USC), 2015, 368.75
- 2019 Champion: Mia Paulsen (Stanford), 256.30
- GOLD: Mia Paulsen, Stanford, 311.40
- SILVER: Daria Lenz, Stanford, 292.45
- BRONZE: Savannah Stocker, USC, 290.20
Stanford’s Mia Paulsen and Daria Lenz closed out their meet with a 1-2 finish for the Cardinal. Paulsen repeated as champion. USC’s Savannah Stocker was 3rd. USC scored big with 4 in the final. Naomi Gowlett was 4th, Carly Souza was 5th, and Nike Agunbiade was 7th. The Trojans pulled within just 20.5 points of Cal in the team standings.
WOMEN’S 400 FREE RELAY
- Pac-12 Record: Cal (2019) – 3:06.96
- Meet Record: Cal (2019) – 3:07.41
- NCAA Record: Cal (2019) – 3:06.96
- NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:14.61
- 2019 Champion: Cal – 3:07.41
- GOLD: USC, 3:10.76
- SILVER: Cal, 3:13.21
- BRONZE: Stanford, 3:13.22
USC (3:10.76) beat Cal (3:13.21) in the final relay, but the Bears’ 2nd place finish was enough to keep them ahead in the final team standings. The team of Louise Hansson (47.82), Marta Ciesla (47.68), Tatum Wade (47.76), and Laticia Transom (47.50) combined to take the gold. Cal’s Robin Neumann had their fastest split, anchoring in 48.17.
Stanford was just a hundredth behind Cal for bronze in 3:13.22. Lauren Pitzer (48.15) and Lauren Green (48.11) had their fastest split on the middle legs. Notably, freshman Emma Wheal split a 48.17, their 3rd fastest of the night, on the 3rd leg of the B relay.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
- Stanford, 1598
- Cal 1224.5
- USC 1212
- UCLA 995.5
- ASU 943.5
- Arizona 725
- Utah 636.5
- Washington State 296
Hopefully Abbey’s injury is not serious. She has already been through it before. I want to see her at 100% at trials and olympic games.
Cierra Runge swam 15.40 when swimming for Cal. Two colleges later she swims 15.53
Why did she move college twice?
To get slower.
I feel this is a somewhat disingenuous comment. Firstly, we don’t know her taper status. Maybe she won’t be showing all her cards until NCAAs. I’m guessing her big focus this year might be OTs. Secondly, there are a lot of reasons someone might transfer schools: coaching style, team chemistry, training philosophy, academics, family reasons, etc. Lastly, hindsight is always 20-20. I’m sure she made whatever move she felt best for her future.
How many Stanford swimmers would be invited compared to Virginia’s 17?
I count 15. Forde, Pitzer, Voss, Drabot, Bartel, Goeders, Szekely, Kukurugya, Wheal, Raab, Nordmann, Crisera, Byrnes, Fackenthal, Glavinovich
Pac-12 has a last chance tomorrow. If Grace Zhao can beat her 200 breast time by a little she might make it.
I’m assuming Tankersley would be in as well after that 15:50, no?
Yes, sorry I thought I had counted her for some reason.
15 not counting Byrnes and Zhao. Plus they have some good divers
They have 4 divers but 3 might make it: Sculti, Lenz and Paulsen. If all 3 makes it, that would be 17 5. Hope Zhao make it. She didn’t improve this year. I was wondering what happened. Her freestyle was off too. She used to have really good 50 free in high school. Byrnes is in her senior year now. It would be a shame if she couldn’t make it.
Does Cierra Runge have any school records at Wisconsin? If so, would she be the only NCAA athlete with school records at three different schools?
Yes, actually. She has their school records in the 200-1650 free.
I mean, she’s probably one of few NCAA athletes that have been on the roster of three different schools, right?
Good to see Forde bounce back after a tough January with the flu.
Predictions, anyone? Anything to spice up this final session. Thanks.