2022 Men’s Pac-12 Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2022 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 2-Saturday, March 5, 2022
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, Washington
• Defending champions: Cal (4x)
• Start times: 11:00 am prelims / 6:00 pm finals (PST)
• Event Schedule
• Diving Results
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Live Stream

After two days of racing, the Stanford men have held onto their lead at the 2022 Pac-12 Swimming Championships. They’re the only team so far to break the 300-point barrier, while ASU sits at #2 with 261.5. It’ll be important for Cal to make some big moves tonight in order to work their way to a 5th-straight conference title.

Tonight’s lineup includes the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breast, 100 backstroke, and the 400 medley relay. Follow along below for live results and analysis.

Team Scores After Day 2:

1. Stanford, 363.5
2. Arizona State, 261.5
3. University of Arizona, 233.5
4. California, 221.5
5. University of Southern California, 209
6. University of Utah, 183

Men’s 400 IM:

• A Standard: 3:39.16
• B Standard: 3:51.46
• Pac-12 Record: 3:35.29, Abrahm DeVine, Stanford, 2018
• Pac-12 Championship Record: 3:36.60 Hugo Gonzalez, Cal, 2020
• 2021 NCAA Invite Time: 3:45.67

Top 3:

1. Leon Marchand (ASU) – 3:34.45
2. Hugo Gonzalez (Cal) – 3:36.54
3. Jason Louser (Cal) – 3:38.77

Leon Marchand picked up the first Pac-12 title of the night and his 3rd of the week as he swam to victory in the men’s 400 IM. Not only was Marchand’s 3:34.45 the quickest time of the evening, but it makes him the 2nd-fastest man in the NCAA in history.

Marchand is now second only to Georgia’s Chase Kalisz who put up an NCAA record in the event back in 2017 with a 3:33.42. Marchand becomes the second man under 3:35 with this swim, replacing Carson Foster‘s 3:35.27 for #2.

Prior to this meet, Marchand was already highly-ranked with his 3:35.62, which made him the #4 man in history and the fastest in the NCAA this season. Marchand has now extended his lead and put himself into a good position as he heads into his first NCAA Championships in a few weeks.

The time is also a new Pac-12 record and Pac-12 Championships record. He took the former from Abrahm DeVine of Stanford (3:35.29, 2018) and the latter from Hugo Gonzalez (3:36.60, 2020). Gonzalez was present in tonight’s final and also undercut his old meet record with a 3:36.54 for the silver medal.

Gonzalez’s teammate Jason Louser got onto the podium as well with a 3:38.77, shaving 0.18 seconds off his prelims time. He got in ahead of Stanford’s Ron Polonsky who hit a 3:39.49 for 4th overall, while Arizona’s Brooks Fail came 5th in a 3:40.75.

Men’s 100 Butterfly:

• A Standard: 44.96
• B Standard: 47.43
• Pac-12 Record: 44.18 Austin Staab, Stanford, 2009
• Pac-12 Championship Record: 44.66 Austin Staab, Stanford, 2009
• 2021 NCAA Invite Time: 46.29

Top 3:

1. Andrei Minakov (Stanford) – 43.90
2. Alexander Colson (ASU) – 45.02
3. Cody Bybee (ASU) – 45.32

The freshman dominance continued into the second event of the night as Andrei Minakov of Stanford threw down a gold medal-winning swim of 43.90 in the 100 butterfly. That gave him the win by more than a second and makes him the fourth-fastest man in the history all-time behind Caeleb Dressel (42.80) and Joseph Schooling (43.75), and Tom Shields (43.84).

Minakov had a season-best of 44.78 before this meet, swam a 44.21 in prelims, and got under 44 for the first time during the final. He has also downed the Pac-12 and Pac-12 Championships records and has overtaken Youssef Ramadan (44.08) as the top man in the NCAA this season.

Minakov won gold in the 200 medley relay on night one and picked up a silver medal in the 50 freestyle on night 2 with a 19.08.

The ASU duo of Alexander Colson and Cody Bybee were successful in shutting Cal out of a podium finish here, coming in with a 45.02 and 45.32, respectively. Stanford’s Aaron Sequeira was next in a 45.34 and Cal’s top finisher Dare Rose hit 5th with a 45.42.

Men’s 200 Freestyle:

• A Standard: 1:32.05
• B Standard: 1:36.32
• Pac-12 Record: 1:30.14, Andrew Seliskar, Cal, 2019
• Pac-12 Championship Record: 1:31.07, Andrew Seliskar, Cal, 2019
• 2021 NCAA Invite Time: 1:34.04

1. Grant House (ASU) – 1:30.23
2. Preston Forst (Stanford) – 1:32.48
3. Trenton Julian (Cal) – 1:32.54

It was the third event of the night and the third all-time ranked swim of the night. Grant House won the men’s 200 freestyle with a 1:30.23 to improve upon the 1:30.54 that he swam on the 800 freestyle leadoff earlier this week.

That swim by House was the 8th-best all-time and with a 1:30.23 he was surpassed #7 Drew Kibler (1:30.39) and #6 Zach Apple (1:30.34) to claim the 6th-best position for himself. He is also the new Pac-12 Championships record holder, taking the mark from Andrew Seliskar of Cal (1:31.07, 2019).

Seliskar retains the Pac-12 conference record, however, with his 1:30.14 from back in 2019 at the NCAA Championships.

ASU’s Grant House had a best time of 1:31.73 heading into this meet, got down to a 1:30.54 on the relay leadoff, put up a 1:31.85 during the prelims, and finished with a 1:30.23 in the final. House is now the fastest man in the NCAA this season, passing Kieran Smith of Florida who posted a 1:30.42 during the 2022 SEC Championships.

Stanford sophomore Preston Forst was second overall with a 1:32.48, which is better than his former PB of 1:32.80 from the 2021 NCAA Championships. Right behind Forst, Trenton Julian of Cal managed a 1:32.54 for the bronze medal. Julian won bronze in this event at last year’s NCAAs for Cal in a 1:31.55.

ASU junior Julian Hill finished 4th overall with a 1:33.03 and Stanford’s Luke Maurer came in 5th with a 1:33.20.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke:

• A standard: 51.59
• B standard: 54.27
• Pac-12 record: 50.04, Kevin Cordes, Arizona, 2014
• Pac-12 championship record: 50.78, Carsten Vissering, USC, 2019
• 2021 NCAA invite time: 52.40

Top 3:

1. Reece Whitley (Cal) – 51.30
2. Chris O’Grady (USC) – 51.69
3. Trent Pellini (USC) – 51.70

Reece Whitley picked up Cal’s first gold medal of the night with a 51.30 in the 100 breaststroke to get within 0.08 seconds of his season-best in the event, a 51.22. Whitley’s top time this season, which he swam at the 2021 Minnesota Invite, is the 5th-best time in the NCAA this season.

Whitley’s best time ever is a 50.85 from when he won gold at the 2020 Pac-12 Championships. Whitley repeated the 100 breast win at Pac-12s in 2021 with a 51.38, making this his 3rd-straight title. He also got onto the podium at NCAAs in 2021 when he finished 3rd in a 51.03.

Chris O’Grady, a freshman at USC, and his 5th-year teammate Trent Pellini went 2-3 in the 100 breast after a down-to-the-wire battle for second place. Chris O’Grady managed to get to the wall in a 51.69, while Pellini came in just 0.01 seconds later with a 51.70.

O’Grady came into the meet with a PB of 52.86, which he lowered to a 51.88 in prelims and a 51.69 in the final. Pellini was a little slower than his PB of 51.28 from November 2021.

John Heaphy from ASU took 4th place with a 51.82, followed by Liam Bell of Cal (52.01), and Ben Dillard from USC (52.51).

Men’s 100 Backstroke:

• A standard: 44.94
• B standard: 47.77
• Pac-12 record: 43.49, Ryan Murphy, Cal, 2016
• Pac-12 championship record: 44.76, Ryan Murphy, Cal, 2017
• 2021 NCAA invite time: 46.37

Top 3:

1. Bjorn Seeliger (Cal) – 44.72
2. Destin Lasco (Cal) – 45.11
3. Leon MacAlister (Stanford) – 45.21

Bjorn Seeliger got Cal’s second straight win here to round out the individual events on night 3 of Pac-12s. Seeliger was the only one in the field under 45 seconds and became the 6th-fastest man in the NCAA this season.

He surpassed Texas’ Cameron Auchinachie who was a 45.01 at the Minnesota Invite and right behind Adam Chaney who posted a 44.51 at SECs. Seeliger, who didn’t have an entry time for this event, had an official PB of 48.27 in this event prior to Pac-12s and swam a 44.88 in the prelims.

Destin Lasco threw down a 45.11 to trail his best time of 44.49, while MacAlister was a 45.21, which was 0.09 seconds slower than the 45.12 he swam in the prelims.

Cal got a 4th man into the top 4 here with Daniel Carr‘s 45.27 for 4th place, while ASU’s Jack Dolan swam a 45.35 for 5th place.

Men’s 400 Medley Relay

• A standard: 3:05.47
• B standard: 3:07.65
• Pac-12 record: 3:01.28 – Cal (2016)
• Pac-12 championship record: 3:02.60 – Cal (2021)

Top 3:

1. Stanford – 3:01.45
2. ASU – 3:02.66
3. Cal – 3:02.84

The Stanford men capped off the penultimate night of the 2022 Pac-12 Championships with a 400 medley relay victory. The team went a 3:01.45 to become the 3rd-fastest time in the country this season behind Indiana (3:00.95) and Ohio State (3:01.44).

Stanford’s Leon MacAlister started things off for his team just after winning a bronze medal in the individual 100 backstroke. MacAlister put up a 44.75, which was better than the 45.21 he swam in the individual event. That made him the only sub-45 man in the relay field.

Follow MacAlister, Ron Polonsky put up a 50.60 on the breaststroke, while Andrei Minakov was a 44.16 butterfly leg and Luke Maurer closed in a 41.94. Stanford finished more than a second ahead of ASU (3:02.66).

ASU’s Jack Dolan hit a 45.71 backstroke split, John Heaphy a 51.21 on the breaststroke, Cody Bybee a 44.57 butterfly, and Leon Marchand a 41.17 on the freestyle leg.

Rounding out the podium, Cal put up a 3:02.84 courtesy of Destin Lasco (45.43), Reece Whitley (51.57), Dare Rose (44.99), and Bjorn Seeliger (40.85).

Team Scores After Day 3

1. Stanford – 579.50 points
2. Cal – 516.50 points
3. ASU – 459.50 points
4. Arizona – 331.50 points
5. USC – 313 points
6. Utah – 237 points