2024 Big 12 Championships: Day 4 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
• 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
• Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Finals Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Recap
• Day 4 Finals Heat Sheet

We’ve got another full evening of racing at the 2024 Big 12 Championships, with three individual races and one relay for both the men and the women, plus women’s platform diving.

The action will get started with the 200 fly, where Kelly Pash will swim in lane 4 as part of a strong Longhorn fly contingent. On the men’s side, BYU’s Brad Prolo came out of prelims as the top seed, and he’ll be swimming for the win against a field that includes six Texas men.

The women’s 100 breast will feature two of the fastest women in college swimming in top-seeded Anna Elendt and Lydia Jacoby, both Longhorns, while the men’s race looks to be between freshmen Will Scholtz (Texas) and Guilherme Camossato (TCU).

Longhorn freshman Berit Berglund will be in lane 4 for the 100 back, and she’ll be trying to hold off teammate Olivia Bray, the only other woman under 53 this morning. Texas freshman Will Modglin looks to be the clear favorite on the men’s side, and he’ll be gunning for John Shebat’s all-time Texas and Big 12 record of 44.35 after having been 44.49 earlier this season and 44.56 last night leading off the 400 medley relay.

Texas’ Jordan Skilken had the highest score in this morning’s platform diving prelims, and after the diving competition, the session will wrap up with timed finals of the 200 free relay.

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:49.16, Alex Walsh (Virginia) – 2024 ACC Championships
• Big 12 Record: 1:49.95, Emma Sticklen (Texas) – 2023 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:52.03, Olivia Bray (Texas) – 2021
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:52.86
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 1:55.92

Top 8:

1. Kelly Pash (Texas) – 1:51.66
2. Emma Sticklen (Texas) – 1:51.68
3. Angie Coe (Texas) – 1:56.20
4. Alondra Ortiz (Houston) – 1:56.93
5. Syd Nethercutt (Houston) – 1:58.93
6. Noor El Gendy (Houston) – 1:59.95
7. Abby Jackson (Houston) – 1:59.97
8. Morgan Gore (TCU) – 2:00.22

It was a tale of two different race strategies, as defending NCAA champion Emma Sticklen took it out fast, and Kelly Pash focused on the back half. They seemed to turn in unison at the last wall, but Pash stayed underwater longer and ultimately got her hands on the wall first, 1:51.66 to 1:51.68. Both women were under the meet record, which teammate Olivia Bray set at 1:52.03 in 2021.

Sticklen, Pash, and Bray are all in the top five nationally this season, with season bests between 1:50.3 and 1:51.8. Teammate Angie Coe came in 3rd tonight with a 1:56.20.

Houston continued to solidify their hold on 2nd place in the team standings with four women in the A-final: Alondra Ortiz (1:56.93), Syd Nethercutt (1:58.93), Noor El Gendy (1:59.95), and Abby Jackson (1:59.97) all touching within just over a second of each other. TCU’s Morgan Gore finished 8th with a 2:00.22.

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:37.35, Jack Conger (Texas) – 2017 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Record: 1:37.35, Jack Conger (Texas) – 2017 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:39.17, Jack Conger (Texas) – 2017
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.16
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 1:42.57

Top 8:

1. Brad Prolo (BYU) – 1:41.15
2. Cole Crane (Texas) – 1:42.02
3. Ryan Branon (Texas) – 1:43.08
4. Alec Filipovic (Texas) – 1:43.43
5. Sam Artmann (Texas) – 1:44.19
6. Tommy Eaton (Cincinnati) – 1:44.59
7. Holden Smith (Texas) – 1:46.54
8. Logan Walker (Texas) – 1:47.06

BYU’s Brad Prolo had an incredible race to get his hands on the wall first against a field full of Texas swimmer. Polo had a solid lead for the first half of the race, but it looked like Texas’ Cole Crane could challenge for the win after he went sub-26 on the third 50. But Prolo kept kicking as he came off the wall after the 150 mark, and he stormed him to win by nearly a second, with a 1:41.15. In doing so, he lowered his personal best from the 1:41.80 he swam at midseason, and moved up to #10 in the nation this season.

Crane hung on for 2nd, touching in 1:42.02 and setting a lifetime best of his own. Pending other results from today, he’s tied for 21st in the nation, and that should be enough to secure a NCAA invite. Teammate Sam Artmann, who scored at NCAAs last year in this event, may not get an invite after his 1:44.19 tonight means he hasn’t broken 1:44 yet this season.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – Finals

• NCAA Record: 55.73, Lilly King (Indiana) – 2019 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Record: 56.88, Anna Elendt (Texas) – 2023 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 57.29, Lydia Jacoby (Texas) – 2023
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 58.02
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 59.73

Top 8:

1. Lydia Jacoby (Texas) – 57.27
2. Anna Elendt (Texas) – 57.65
3. Joleigh Crye (Cincinnati) – 58.24
4. Henrietta Fangli (Houston) – 59.29
5. Mia Cheatwood (West Virginia) – 1:00.60
6. Claire Chahbandour (TCU) – 1:00.64
7. Channing Hanley (Texas) – 1:00.85
8. Mackenzie Miller (BYU) – 1:00.90

It looked to be a three-swimmer race for most of the race, as Cincinnati’s Joleigh Crye went out hard, pushing Longhorns Lydia Jacoby and Anna Elendt, two of the fastest women in the nation.

Jacoby surged ahead on the final length and got her hands on the wall first, breaking her own meet record with a 57.27. That time moves her past Elendt into the #4 slot in the nation this season. Elendt took 2nd in 57.65, just off her season-best of 57.51 from January.

Crye may not have gotten the win, but she did break her own Cincinnati record for the second time today. She came into today with a lifetime best (and school record) of 59.04. She dipped under that mark with a 58.88 in prelims, then demolished that time with a 58.24 tonight. Crye, who finished 22nd in this event at last year NCAAs, is the only woman in Cincinnati to have gone under a minute in this event.

Houston’s Henrietta Fangli took 4th in 59.29, coming close to the Cougars’ school record of 59.16 and getting well under last year’s NCAA invite time.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – Finals

• NCAA Record: 49.69, Ian Finnerty (Indiana) – 2018 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Record: 50.49, Caspar Corbeau (Texas) – 2022 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 50.96, Caspar Corbeau (Texas) – 2022
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.10
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 51.90

Top 8:

1. Will Scholtz (Texas) – 52.09
2. Brayden Taivassalo (Texas) – 52.28
3. Jadon Wuilliez (TCU) – 52.29
4. Guilherme Camossato (TCU) – 52.46
5. Emerson Edwards (BYU) – 53.88
6. Joe Schaefer (WVU) – 54.20
7. Jacob Ballard (BYU) – 54.24
8. Brogan Robinson (Cincinnati) – 54.33

Texas freshman Will Scholtz earned his first individual conference title in a lifetime best of 52.09 tonight. Scholtz went out fast with a 24.18 opening 50, but was visibly hurting a bit on the back half, spitting 14.1 on the final 25. It took a 51.90 to earn a NCAA invite last year, and his time tonight appears to rank him 29th in Division I, meaning that with several other meets still going on or to come, he may end up on the outside looking in for a NCAA invite this year.

Freshman teammate Brayden Taivassalo also hit lifetime best, clocking a 52.28 to take 2nd, just ahead of TCU’s Jadon Wuilliez (52.29) and TCU’s Guilherme Camossato (52.46).

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – Finals

• NCAA Record: 48.10, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2024 ACC Championships
• Big 12 Record: 50.51, Claire Adams (Texas) – 2020 Big 12 Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 50.51, Claire Adams (Texas) – 2020
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.88
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 52.36

Top 8:

1. Berit Berglund (Texas) – 51.72
2. Olivia Bray (Texas) – 52.00
3. Emma Kern (Texas) – 52.26
4. Tania Quaglieri (TCU) – 52.95
5. Grace Gavin (Cincinnati) – 53.46
6. Lezli Sisung (Kansas) – 53.98
7. Lily Jones (Cincinnati) – 54.21
8. Sienna Schellenger (Texas) – 54.98

The Longhorns got another win from another freshman, as Berit Berglund held off two teammates to get the win in 51.72. Most of the focus was on the middle of the pool, where Berglund and Olivia Bray were swimming side-by-side, but another Texas freshman, Emma Kern, threw down some outside smoke and was essentially even with Berglund and Bray coming off the final way.

Bray touched in 52.00, followed by Kern at 52.26. All three women have been faster this season, and all three had already punched their NCAA tickets, so look for them to be faster later this month at NCAAs.

TCU’s Tania Quaglieri was the only other woman under 53, taking 4th in 52.95, a bit off of her midseason time of 52.61.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – Finals

• NCAA Record: 43.35, Luca Urlando (Georgia) – 2022 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Record: 44.35, John Shebat (Texas) – 2017 NCAA Championships
• Big 12 Championship Record: 44.56, Will Modglin (Texas) – 2024
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.71
• 2023 NCAA Invite Time: 45.70

Top 8:

1. Will Modglin (Texas) – 44.75
2. Chris O’Connor (Texas) – 46.41
3. Edgar Cicanci (TCU) – 46.64
4. Justin Heimes (WVU) – 47.03
5. Hunter Gubeno (Cincinnati) – 47.04
6. Jon Osa (Cincinnati) – 47.31
7. Tanner Edwards (BYU) – 47.66
8. Diego Camacho Salgado (BYU) – 48.06

Texas freshman Will Modglin logged yet another sub-45 swim to claim his second individual Big 12 title. Modglin, who won the 200 IM Wednesday and led off Texas’ 400 medley relay in 44.56 last night, cruised to a 44.75 victory tonight.

Modglin was over one and a half seconds ahead of the rest of the field, as Texas teammate Chris O’Connor took 2nd in 46.41. TCU’s Edgar Cicanci took 3rd 3rd in 46.64, and in doing so, he broke his own Horned Frogs record that he set last night at 46.92 leading off TCU’s 400 medley relay.

Women’s Platform Diving – Finals

• Big 12 Record: 411.30, Samantha Bromberg (Texas) – 2015
• Big 12 Championship Record: 411.30, Samantha Bromberg (Texas) – 2015

Top 8:

1. Jordan Skilken (Texas) – 334.90
2. Sarah Carruthers (Texas) – 334.70
3. Michael McLeod (Houston) – 296.55
4. Caroline Kupka (Texas) – 284.70
5. Chase Farris (Houston) – 276.10
6. Anna Kwong (TCU) – 264.30
7. Alexia Jackson (BYU) – 259.40
8. Sara Haggerty (WVU) – 247.40

Jordan Skilken pulled out the win over teammate Sarah Carruthers to win by a scant 0.20 points, 334.90 to 334.70. That’s the first win of the week for Skilken, who finished 8th in the 1m earlier in the meet.

Women’s 200 Free Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:23.62, Virgina – 2024
• Big 12 Record: 1:26.31, Texas – 2023
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:27.96, Texas – 2018
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 1:28.43

Top 8:

1. Texas – 1:26.66
2. TCU – 1:30.13
3. Cincinnati – 1:30.58
4. Kansas – 1:31.43
5. WVU – 1:31.60
6. BYU – 1:32.04
7. Iowa State – 1:32.39
8. Houston – 1:33.11

The Longhorn women broke the meet record with four incredibly close splits. Grace Cooper led off in 21.76, just off her lifetime best of 21.66 midseason. Ava Longi split 21.57 on the second leg, and then Emma Sticklen (21.68) and Kelly Pash (21.65) brought it home to touch in 1:26.66. While the live results and heat sheets showed that as a Big 12 record, Texas was actually a bit faster at midseason, when they went 1:26.31.

Texas Christian took 2nd in 1:30.13, appearing to have set a school record in the process. Cincinnati was just behind them at 1:30.58, also appearing to have set a school record.

Men’s 200 Free Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:13.35, Florida – 2023
• Big 12 Record: 1:14.41, Texas – 2022
• Big 12 Championship Record: 1:15.76 – 2021
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 1:16.80

Top 5:

1. Texas – 1:17.02
2. BYU – 1:17.70
3. WVU – 1:18.47
4. Cincinnati – 1:18.56
5. TCU – 1:19.07

Jordan Tiffany got BYU off to an early lead with a 19.54, but a trio of Texas freshmen helped the Longhorns come away with the win.

After Peter Paulus led off in 19.87, Camden Taylor closed the gap with a 19.22 split, then Nate Germonprez (18.92) and Will Modglin (19.02) put it away to touch in 1:17.02.

By the Longhorns’ lofty standards, that’s not a great time, as it only ranks them 19th in the nation this season, out of scoring position, but Texas has a few other options, like Luke Hobson (18.65 split last year), Cole Crane (19.36 individually Wednesday), and Alec Filipovic (18.9 split easier this season), to help them eek out some more speed at NCAAs.

BYU took 2nd in 1:17.70 with a new school record time. Cincinnati also set a program record with a 1:18.56 en route to a 4th-place finish.

Team Scores Through Day 4

Women

1. Texas – 1506
2. Houston – 954.5
3. TCU – 879.5
4. Cincinnati – 688.5
5. BYU – 558.5
6. WVU – 533
7. Kansas – 461.50
8. Iowa State – 370

Men

1. Texas – 1538
2. TCU – 1041
3. BYU – 984
4. Cincinnati – 876.5
5. WVU – 793.5