2024 Big 12 Championships: Day 2 Prelims 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
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Results also available via Meet Mobile: “2024 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships”
• Live Video (ESPN+ Subscription Required)
• Day 1 Finals Recap

The first full day of action at the 2024 Big 12 Championships in Morgantown gets underway with preliminary action in the 500 free, 200 IM and 50 free for both men and women.

WOMEN’S 500 FREE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky (Stanford) – 2017
• Big 12 Record: 4:35.02, Evie Pfeifer (Texas) – 2021
• Big 12 Championship Record: 4:36.35, Evie Pfeifer (Texas) – 2021
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:37.89
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 4:41.09

‘A’ Final Qualifiers

1. Erica Sullivan (Texas), 4:46.06
2. Erin Gemmell (Texas), 4:47.03
3. Eden Humphrey (Houston), 4:50.16
4. Jordan Edwards (TCU), 4:51.63
5. Sydney Inman (TCU), 4:51.69
6. Mikayla Popham (TCU), 4:52.67
7. Kara Church (TCU), 4:52.74
8. Regan Geldmacher (BYU), 4:54.05

Defending champion Erica Sullivan cruised to the top time of the morning in the women’s 500 free, clocking 4:46.06 to lead #2 qualifier Erin Gemmell by nearly a second.

Sullivan is the only swimmer in the conference sub-4:40 this season, having clocked 4:39.17 earlier this month against SMU.

Gemmell, Sullivan’s freshman teammate at Texas, paced the final heat comfortably with a time of 4:47.03 as they were the only two swimmers under 4:50.

Gemmell set a personal best of 4:40.40 in Texas’ dual with NC State in January, putting her well under last year’s NCAA Invite time (4:41.09).

Houston’s Eden Humphrey, last year’s American Athletic Conference champion, qualified 3rd overall in 4:50.16, owning a season-best of 4:47.99 and a PB of 4:44.84 from the 2023 AACs.

Perhaps the most noteworthy swim in terms of improvement came from TCU freshman Sydney Inman, who crushed her personal best time of 4:57.05 in 4:51.69 to qualify 5th into the final.

Texas’ Abby Pfeifer also had a relatively big add, touching in 4:54.25 to place 11th after going 4:47.11 earlier this season.

MEN’S 500 FREE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 4:06.32, Kieran Smith (Florida) – 2020
• Big 12 Record: 4:07.37, Luke Hobson (Texas) – 2023
• Big 12 Championship Record: 4:11.11, Clark Smith (Texas) – 2017
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:10.74
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 4:14.36

‘A’ Final Qualifiers

1. Coby Carrozza (Texas), 4:19.92
2. Alec Enyeart (Texas), 4:20.34
3. Manning Haskal (Texas), 4:22.39
4. Alex Gonzalez (Cincinnati), 4:24.65
5. Milan Fabian (TCU), 4:24.83
6. Kornel Kohalmi (TCU), 4:25.40
7. Ian McKinney (WVU), 4:25.53
8. Aaron Williams (TCU), 4:26.67

The top three seeds maintained their positions heading into the final of the men’s 500 free, with Texas senior Coby Carrozza leading the way and sophomore teammates Alec Enyeart and Manning Haskal close behind.

Carrozza, who was the runner-up last season behind teammate David Johnston (who is redshirting this season), eased his way to the lone sub-4:20 swim of the morning in 4:19.92, holding 26-mid splits throughout the race. Carrozza set a PB of 4:12.05 at the 2023 NCAAs and owns a season-best of 4:16.92.

Enyeart, 5th last year, had similar splits en route to a time of 4:20.34, just shy of his season-best (4:20.07) set at the midseason Texas Invitational.

Haskal hit a best time of 4:21.07 at the Texas Invite and wasn’t far off that this morning, clocking 4:22.39 for the #3 seed.

Cincinnati senior Alex Gonzalez qualified 4th in 4:24.65, within striking distance of his PB (4:23.23) set earlier this season. Gonzalez is having a career season given that he was 6th at the AAC Championships last year.

WOMEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:48.37, Kate Douglass (Virginia) – 2023
• Big 12 Record: 1:52.58, Madisyn Cox (Texas) – 2017
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:52.82, Madisyn Cox (Texas) – 2017
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:53.66
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 1:56.90

‘A’ Final Qualifiers

1. Kelly Pash (Texas), 1:56.20
2. Campbell Stoll (Texas), 1:57.74
3. Alicia Wilson (Texas), 1:58.69
4. Angie Coe (Texas), 1:58.90
5. Emma Sticklen (Texas), 1:59.87
6. Julie Rose (Cincinnati), 1:59.94
7. Mia Cheatwood (WVU), 2:00.22
8. Grace Gavin (Cincinnati), 2:01.22

It was a Texas takeover in the women’s 200 IM as the Longhorns secured the top five seeds with four-time defending champion Kelly Pash leading the field.

Pash set herself up to take a run at a fifth straight victory tonight by claiming Lane 4 with a prelim time of 1:56.20, a half-second slower than she went in the 2023 prelims before dropping a time of 1:53.94 in the final.

This season, Pash set a new personal best of 1:53.18 at the Texas Invitational.

The 2nd seed went to freshman Campbell Stoll, who logged a time of 1:57.74 which is a half-second shy of her season-best (1:57.24) set at the Texas Invite. Stoll owns a PB of 1:55.93 from the 2023 NCSA Spring Championships.

Graduate senior Alicia Wilson, the former Cal Bear, qualified 3rd in 1:58.69, while freshman Angie Coe and senior Emma Sticklen rounded out the top five.

Sticklen ranks 2nd in the conference this season with her time of 1:54.94 (owning a best time of 1:54.09), while Coe swam a PB of 1:55.91 at the same meet. Wilson has been as fast as 1:53.58, though that came in January 2021.

The top non-Texas swimmer this morning was Cincinnati freshman Julie Rose, who broke 2:00 for the first time in 1:59.94, using a blistering 27.92 freestyle split which was the fastest in the field. Her previous PB stood at 2:00.77 from November’s Ohio State Invite.

MEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:36.34, Leon Marchand (Arizona State) – 2023
• Big 12 Record: 1:39.63, John Shebat (Texas) – 2019
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:40.42, Carson Foster (Texas) – 2023
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:41.03
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 1:43.14

‘A’ Final Qualifiers

1. Jordan Tiffany (BYU), 1:42.84
2. Nate Germonprez (Texas), 1:42.99
3. Will Modglin (Texas), 1:43.97
4. Brad Prolo (BYU), 1:44.52
5. Danny Berlitz (WVU), 1:44.92
6. Alec Filipovic (Texas), 1:44.97
7. Hunter Gubeno (Cincinnati), 1:45.48
8. Geremia Freri (TCU), 1:45.60

BYU junior Jordan Tiffany fired off a lifetime best of 1:42.84 to pace the men’s 200 IM prelims over Texas’ Nate Germonprez, with Tiffany cracking 1:43 for the first time and nearing the program record.

Tiffany’s time knocks off his previous PB of 1:43.42 (altitude-adjusted) from a dual meet with Utah earlier this month, and puts him within two one-hundredths of the BYU School Record of 1:42.82 set by Jake Taylor in 2016.

A pair of Longhorn freshmen, Germonprez and Will Modglin, advanced 2nd and 3rd overall, with Germonprez putting up a time of 1:42.99 to near his lifetime best of 1:42.82 set in December 2022. Germonprez had the fastest breaststroke split in the field at 29.42.

Modglin, who leads the Big 12 rankings this season at 1:41.84, touched in 1:43.97, essentially matching Tiffany’s front-half splits before falling off on the freestyle.

BYU had a second ‘A’ finalist in Brad Prolo, who crushed his lifetime best by more than a second in 1:44.52. Prolo’s previous PB stood at 1:46.11 from the 2023 MPSF Championships where he was 3rd.

WOMEN’S 50 FREE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 20.57, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
• Big 12 Record: 21.66, Grace Cooper (Texas) – 2023
• Big 12 Championship Record: 21.87, Chang Hee-Chin (Texas) – 2009
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 21.63
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 22.15

‘A’ Final Qualifiers

1. Grace Cooper (Texas), 21.96
2. Ava Longi (Texas), 22.29
3. Jessica Davis (Cincinnati), 22.43
4. Sienna Schellenger (Texas), 22.55
5. Emma Davidson (Texas), 22.65
6. Olivia Rhodes (TCU), 22.66
7. Alexa Fulton (Texas), 22.80
8. Halli Williams (BYU), 22.88

After breaking the conference record earlier this season, Texas senior Grace Cooper began her pursuit of a fourth straight Big 12 title in the women’s 50 free on a good note on Wednesday, clocking 21.96 as the only swimmer under 22 seconds.

Cooper’s prelim time is actually faster than she went en route to winning any of her three previous conference titles—we have to go back to 2009, when Chang Hee-Jin set the Championship Record of 21.87, to find the last time someone won the women’s 50 free final at Big 12s sub-22.

Cooper set a PB of 21.66 which broke the Big 12 Record of 21.73, and she’ll have a great chance at Chang’s meet record tonight. In last night’s 200 medley relay, she anchored Texas to victory in 21.40.

Fellow Texas senior Ava Longi, who was the runner-up to Cooper last season, clocked 22.29 to snag the 2nd seed, coming off setting a PB of 22.01 earlier this month at the Sterkel Classic.

Cincinnati’s Jessica Davis crushed her lifetime best by more than three-tenths in 22.43 to advance in 3rd, well under her previous mark of 22.75. Davis was left off the Bearcats 200 medley relay last night, where freestyler Kaylee Nagel split 22.77.

Davis did, however, provide a key 1:46.98 split on the Cincinnati 800 free relay.

The highest-seeded swimmer to miss the ‘A’ final was Texas freshman Emma Kern, who went 22.55 at the Texas Invite but was 23.16 this morning for 14th overall.

MEN’S 50 FREE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 17.63, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• Big 12 Record: 18.60, Drew Kibler (Texas) – 2022
• Big 12 Championship Record: 18.76, Drew Kibler (Texas) – 2022
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 18.82
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 19.21

‘A’ Final Qualifiers

1. Cole Crane (Texas), 19.64
2. Jon Osa (Cincinnati), 19.71
3. Camden Taylor (Texas), 19.78
4. Peter Paulus (Texas), 19.85
5. Diego Camacho Salgado (BYU), 19.88
6. Sam Artmann (Texas), 19.90
7. Tanner Edwards (BYU), 19.92
8. Jadon Wuilliez (TCU), 20.04

With five-time champion Daniel Krueger having graduated, the men’s 50 free title is wide open at Big 12s and that remains the case after the prelims as the top seven qualifiers for the final were within 28 one-hundredths of one another.

Leading the charge was Texas fifth-year Cole Crane, who was only seeded 23rd but fired off a time of 19.64 for a new personal best. Crane had been 20.59 this season (though he did split 19.49 in a relay at the same meet), but held a PB of 19.76 from the 2022 Minnesota Invite.

Last season at Big 12s, he was 16th in the 50 free prelims (20.55) and scratched the final.

Cincinnati’s Jon Osa, a fifth-year senior who was 6th in the 50 free at the 2023 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships while racing for Division II Missouri-St. Louis, put up a time of 19.71 to qualify 2nd overall, getting under his PB of 19.87 set earlier this season.

Texas freshman Camden Taylor clocked 19.78 to mark his second best time in the event this month, having first gone 19.86 at the Sterkel Classic. Last night, Taylor anchored the Texas medley relay in 18.98 to solidify the victory.

Texas senior Peter Paulus produced a season-best of 19.85 to advance in 4th, while BYU’s Diego Camacho Salgado cracked 20 for the first time in 19.88 for 5th. Camacho Salgado notably is coming off racing at the 2024 Worlds for Mexico, where he took on the 50 and 200 back.

The top seed and fastest swimmer in the conference this season, BYU’s Luigi Riva, shockingly missed the ‘A’ final in 10th, touching in 20.12 after going 19.53 against Utah earlier this month.

Riva’s swim is even more surprising given the form he showed last night on the medley relay, having anchored the Cougars in 19.12.

MEN’S 1-METER DIVING – PRELIMS

• Big 12 Record: 469.85, Jordan Windle (Texas) – 2021
• Big 12 Championship Record: 469.85, Jordan Windle (Texas) – 2021

1. Nick Harris (Texas), 397.85
2. Brendan McCourt (Texas), 387.25
3. Noah Duperre (Texas), 369.50
4. Manuel Borowski (Texas), 363.55
5. Pierce Brooke (Texas), 351.35
6. Tanner Braunton (Texas), 343.35
7. Mickey Strauss (BYU), 342.05
8. Alec Hubbard (TCU), 320.10

The Texas men dominated the 1-meter diving prelims, securing the top six spots into tonight’s championship final.

Leading the charge was Nick Harris with a score of 397.85, followed by teammates Brendan McCourt and Noah Duperre.

Harris won the 3-meter title last year, while Duperre won the platform title. The reigning champion on 1-meter, TCU’s David Ekdahl, is not in the field.