2024 Big 12 Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2024 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Dates: Tuesday, February 27 – Saturday, March 2
• Morgantown, West Virginia
  • The Aquatic Center at Mylan Park
• Defending Champions:
  • Men: Texas (27x)
  • Women: Texas (11x)
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Live Results also available via Meet Mobile: “2024 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships”
• Live Video (ESPN+ Subscription Required)

It’s the first night of the 2024 Big 12 Championships and there are two relays on the docket. The 200 medley relay will commence the meet, followed by men’s team diving, and the session will end with the 800 freestyle relay.

Last year, Texas claimed victory in each relay to open the meet, and they are seeded 1st in all four tonight. The Texas women are currently ranked 4th nationally in the 200 medley relay, as the posted a marker of 1:34.14 at the Texas Invite in November. They clocked 1:34.21 to win the event at this meet last year, and own the meet record (1:34.04) from the 2022 Big 12 Championships. They currently sit 7th in the national rankings in the 800 free relay (6:56.37).

The Texas men are ranked 21st (200 medley relay) and 7th (800 free relay) nationally in tonight’s relays, and will be missing a key contributor from each relay. Jake Foster, the team’s primary breaststroker, has opted to not compete at these championships. He recently competed for Team USA at the Doha World Championships just over a week ago, where he secured two gold medals in relay events. Luke Hobson is also not competing at this meet, the team’s multi-distance freestyler, and he also competed at those recent World Championships.

WOMEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY — FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:31.51, Virginia – 2023 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Record: 1:33.22, Texas – 2023 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:34.04, Texas – 2022 Big 12 Championships
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:36.24

Full Results:

1. University of Texas – 1:34.47 (NCAA ‘A’ Cut)
2. Texas Christian University – 1:37.64
3. University of Cincinnati – 1:38.17
4. University of Kansas – 1:39.48
5. University of Houston – 1:40.06
6. Brigham Young University – 1:40.41
7. West Virginia University – 1:41.38
8. Iowa State University – 1:41.55

The Texas women opened the 2024 Big 12 Championships with a dominant relay victory, as the quartet of Emma Kern (24.26), Anna Elendt (26.43), Emma Sticklen (22.38), and Grace Cooper (21.40) touched the wall in a time of 1:34.47. It’s a bit off their season best of 1:34.14, which they recorded at the Texas Invite in November, but they successfully defended their title with a win by over three seconds.

Notably, senior Sticklen (22.38) was significantly faster than she was at the Midseason Invite and this meet last year. Olivia Bray, who featured on the winning relay last year and the Texas school record relay at NCAAs, did not compete in the event. Bray will likely feature on the 800 free relay at the end of this session.

Splits Comparison:

Securing runner-up status tonight was Texas Christian University, as they touched the wall in 1:37.64 to undercut their entry time by 0.45. Tania Quaglieri (24.45), Claire Chahbandour (27.53), Jeanne Dahmen (23.24), and Olivia Rhodes (22.42) comprised their silver medal relay.

Cincinnati dropped 0.59 off their entry time for a 3rd place effort, with Lily Jones (24.98), Joleigh Crye (26.41), Grace Gavin (24.01), and Kaylee Nagel (22.77) teaming up for a time of 1:38.17. The only other team to dip under the 1:40-barrier was Kansas, with Lezli Sisung (25.50), Ryan Johnston (28.52), Lydia Lafferty (23.43), and Mary Caroline Blake (22.03) appearing on their squad (1:39.48).

MEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY — FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:20.67, NC State – 2023 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Record: 1:21.36, Texas – 2022 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:22.24, Texas – 2022 Big 12 Championships
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:23.71

Full Results:

1. University of Texas – 1:22.46 (NCAA ‘A’ Cut)
2. Brigham Young University – 1:23.67 (NCAA ‘A’ Cut)
3. Texas Christian University – 1:24.93
4. West Virginia University – 1:27.16
5. University of Cincinnati – 1:27.54

The Texas relay of Will Modglin (20.49), Will Scholtz (23.17), Nate Germonprez (19.82), and Camden Taylor (18.98) took 1.76 seconds off their entry time to win the 200 medley relay. Notably all freshmen, they touched in 1:22.46, which propels them from 17th in the nation all the way up to 6th. Modglin led them off in a best time, splitting 20.49 to overtake his previous best (20.60) from the Texas Invite in November. Germonprez broke 20-seconds on the fly leg, almost a second faster than the midseason fly split (20.71), which contributed significantly to their time drop today.

While Texas lost all four of their swimmers from last year’s Big 12 winning relay, they still posted a time that was over a full second faster. Their time tonight is also faster than they were at all last season, and with all freshmen nonetheless.

Splits Comparison:

Brigham Young University had an exceptional swim to place 2nd overall, touching in an NCAA ‘A’ cut time of 1:23.67. Jordan Tiffany led them off with a 21.06 backstroke split, and he was followed by Brad Prolo (23.39), Tanner Edwards (20.10), and Luigi Riva (19.12).

Texas Christian University rounded out the top three, hitting the wall in 1:24.93. Edgar Cicanci (21.48), Jadon Wuilliez (23.34), Piotr Sadlowski (20.57), and Raphael Paiva Da (19.54) featured on their relay.

WOMEN’S 800 FREE RELAY — FINAL

• NCAA Record: 6:45.91, Stanford – 2017 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Record: 6:53.42, Texas – 2018 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 6:56.49, Texas – 2023 Big 12 Championships
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 7:00.86

Full Results:

1. University of Texas – 6:57.87 (NCAA ‘A’ Cut)
2. University of Cincinnati – 7:12.24
3. Texas Christian University – 7:15.82
4. Brigham Young University – 7:18.86
5. West Virginia University – 7:19.14
6. University of Houston – 7:19.21
7. University of Kansas – 7:20.70
8. Iowa State University – 7:20.79

The Texas women claimed their second relay win of the night, completing the day one relay sweep. Kelly Pash (1:42.76), Erin Gemmell (1:44.05), Olivia Bray (1:45.38), and Angie Coe (1:45.68) represented the Longhorns tonight, checking-in 1.5 seconds off their season best time (6:56.37) to win in 6:57.87. The lead-off split from Pash is just off her season best time (1:42.64), but undercut her time from the NC State dual meet on January 26th (1:42.88), showing strong consistency in the event this season.

Cincinnati hit the wall for a clear 2nd place finish, recording a final time of 7:12.24. Their foursome consisted of Julie Rose (1:46.93), Lindi Worrell (1:48.76), Jessica Davis (1:46.98), and Sophie Curtis (1:49.57). The opening leg from Rose was a huge best time, demolishing her previous marker of 1:48.66 from December. Cincinnati joined the Big 12 Conference this season, and they had a great debut championship appearance here on the first night, sitting 2nd in the team standings going into day two.

Rounding out the top three was Texas Christian University, with their squad touching in 7:15.82. Tania Quaglieri (1:47.27), Mikayla Popham (1:48.48), Kara Church (1:49.45), and Serena Gould (1:50.62) represented the Horned Frogs in that race.

MEN’S 800 FREE RELAY — FINAL

• NCAA Record: 6:03.42, Texas – 2023 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Record: 6:03.42, Texas – 2023 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 6:08.76, Texas – 2022 Big 12 Championships
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 6:16.02

Full Results:

1. University of Texas – 6:13.12 (NCAA ‘A’ Cut)
2. Texas Christian University – 6:21.59
3. West Virginia University – 6:26.02
4. University of Cincinnati – 6:26.31
5. Brigham Young University – 6:30.73

Texas secured the lead early in the men’s 800 free relay, and never relinquished it. Coby Carrozza led the Longhorns off in a new best time, clocking a swift 1:31.97. Manning Haskal (1:33.74), Alec Enyeart (1:35.55), and Nate Germonprez (1:31.86) finished things off for Texas, grabbing the win in 6:13.12. They won by over eight seconds, and will almost certainly add Luke Hobson (1:29.63 flat start best time) to the relay at the NCAA Championships.

Geremia Freri (1:34.04), Milan Fabian (1:35.68), Nick Rozenberg (1:36.18), and Luke Dimiceli (1:35.69) got the job done for Texas Christian, touching for 2nd in 6:21.59. They cut over 4 seconds off their entry time with that swim, with the opening split from Freri representing a new best time.

An exciting 3rd place battle unfolded between West Virginia and Cincinnati, with the hometown team getting the touch. WVU checked-in at 6:26.02 to the 6:26.31 posted by Cincinnati, with Brigham Young (6:30.73) placing 5th overall. Danny Berlitz (1:35.55) had the fastest split for West Virginia, while Hunter Gubeno (1:35.67) was the fastest for Cincinnati.

Men’s Team Diving

Full Results:

1. University of Texas – 406.45 points
2. Texas Christian University – 374.75 points
3. Brigham Young University – 330.05 points
4. West Virginia University – 323.20 points
5. University of Cincinnati – 318.90 points

The University of Texas placed 1st in men’s team diving, and represented the only team to score above 400 points. The team for Texas consisted of Tanner Braunton, Noah Duperre, and Nick Harris. They earned 406.45 points overall, with Texas Christian (374.75 points) and Brigham Young (330.05) finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Team Scores (After Day One)

Women:

1. University of Texas — 128 points
2. University of Cincinnati & Texas Christian University — 110 points
3. –
4. Brigham Young University — 100 points
5. University of Kansas & University of Houston — 98 points
6. –
7. West Virginia University — 96 points
8. Iowa State University — 88 points

Men:

1. University of Texas — 192 points
2. Texas Christian University — 166 points
3. Brigham Young University — 160 points
4. West Virginia University — 158 points
5. University of Cincinnati — 152 points