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

The penultimate day of the 2024 Big 12 Championships will kick off with preliminary action in the 200 fly, 100 breast and 100 back, and some conference records could be on the chopping block come tonight’s finals.

There will only be three swimmers defending their individual titles on Friday, with Emma Sticklen going for two in a row in the women’s 200 fly, Lydia Jacoby aiming to go back-to-back in the women’s 100 breast, and Sam Artmann vying to repeat in the men’s 200 fly.

The women’s 200 fly will be a marquee event despite the absence of Olivia Bray, who will race the 100 back instead.

Reigning national champion Sticklen will take on on Texas teammate Kelly Pash, who was 3rd at the 2023 NCAAs and ranked 2nd in the nation last season.

On the men’s side, the race to watch might have to be the 100 back, where Texas freshman Will Modglin comes in with a season-best time of 44.49, just shy of the Big 12 Record set by John Shebat in 2017 (44.35).

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• 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
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:55.92

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Emma Sticklen (Texas), 1:54.27
2. Kelly Pash (Texas), 1:55.81
3. Angie Coe (Texas), 1:59.25
4. Alondra Ortiz (Houston), 1:59.43
5. Syd Nethercutt (Houston), 1:59.60
6. Noor El Gendy (Houston), 1:59.80
7. Abby Jackson (Houston), 2:00.43
8. Morgan Gore (TCU), 2:00.65

Texas took the top three spots and Houston had a monster showing with four ‘A’ finalists coming out of the heats of the women’s 200 fly, with reigning NCAA champion and defending Big 12 winner Emma Sticklen leading the field.

Sticklen went out like a rocket, turning in 53.68 at the 100 before splitting 30s on the way home for a final time of 1:54.27. The senior came into the meet ranked 2nd in the nation with her time of 1:50.31 from the Texas Invitational.

Fifth-year Kelly Pash clocked 1:55.81 for the #2 seed, splitting 55.48/1:00.33 to win the penultimate heat by four seconds.

Texas freshman Angie Coe, who has been 1:55.96 this season, did just enough to touch first in Heat 3 (1:59.25), while Houston had four women come within a second of each other, 1:59.43 to 2:00.43, to take spots #4-7: Alondra Ortiz, Syd Nethercutt, Noor El Gendy and Abby Jackson. None of them hit lifetime bests but Nethercutt, El Gendy and Jackson were close.

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• 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
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:42.57

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Brad Prolo (BYU), 1:43.23
2. Cole Crane (Texas), 1:43.60
3. Ryan Branon (Texas), 1:43.87
4. Sam Artmann (Texas), 1:44.16
5. Alec Filipovic (Texas), 1:45.05
6. Tommy Eaton (Cincinnati), 1:45.37
7. Holden Smith (Texas), 1:45.46
8. Logan Walker (Texas), 1:45.77

Brad Prolo paced the field in the heats of the men’s 200 fly in a time of 1:43.23, using the lone sub-27 closing split in the field to edge out the times posted by Texas’ Cole Crane (1:43.60) and Ryan Branon (1:43.87) in the previous heat.

Prolo leads the conference with a bullet this season with a time of 1:41.80, done at the Mizzou Invitational. No one else has been sub-1:43, with Crane 2nd-fastest at 1:43.14.

Defending champion Sam Artmann edged out his season-best time from the first circle-seeded heat to claim the 4th seed in 1:44.16. Artmann set a PB of 1:41.86 at the 2023 NCAAs and will likely need to be close to that in the final to challenge Prolo for the title.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• 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
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 59.73

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Anna Elendt (Texas), 58.57
2. Lydia Jacoby (Texas), 58.61
3. Joleigh Crye (Cincinnati), 58.88
4. Mia Cheatwood (WVU), 1:00.08
5. Mackenzie Miller (BYU), 1:00.30
6. Henrietta Fangli (Houston), 1:00.31
7. Channing Hanley (Texas), 1:00.58
8. Claire Chahbandour (TCU), 1:01.02

Two of the top breaststrokers in the nation set up a rematch of their battle last season, as Anna Elendt and Lydia Jacoby put up near-identical prelim times to qualify 1-2 into tonight’s final of the women’s 100 breast.

Elendt, who was the runner-up last year, touched in 58.57 from the fourth and final heat, inching past the 58.61 marker Jacoby put on the board in Heat 3.

Both swimmers were faster than they were in the 2023 prelims (58.80 for Elendt, 59.37 for Jacoby), where Jacoby went on to win the final in 57.29 over Elendt (57.59).

Throwing her name into the mix this morning was Cincinnati sophomore Joleigh Crye, who broke 59 for the first time in 58.88 to qualify 3rd. Crye set her previous PB of 59.04 at the Ohio State Invitational in November, and last season, won the AAC title in 59.07 as a freshman to qualify for NCAAs (where she was 22nd in 59.49).

WVU sophomore Mia Cheatwood was next up at 1:00.08, lowering her personal best of 1:00.46 set in November.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• 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
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 51.90

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Will Scholtz (Texas), 52.46
2. Guilherme Camossato (TCU), 52.55
3. Brayden Taivassalo (Texas), 52.81
4. Emerson Edwards (BYU), 53.48
5. Jadon Wuilliez (TCU), 54.06
6. Joe Schaefer (WVU), 54.17
7. Jacob Ballard (BYU), 54.26
8. Brogan Robinson (Cincinnati), 54.86

Despite just 20 swimmers racing the men’s 100 breast, freshmen Will Scholtz, Guilherme Camossato and Brayden Taivassalo didn’t hold back in the prelims, all breaking 53 seconds.

Scholtz chipped .01 off his personal best in 52.46 to lead the field, while his Texas teammate Taivassalo was .01 shy of his fastest ever in 52.81 to advance in 3rd.

Camossato, a Brazilian who swims for TCU, cracked 53 for the first time, bringing his PB down from 53.51 to 52.55 to qualify in the 2nd spot after going head-to-head with Scholtz in Heat 3.

BYU’s Emerson Edwards also hit a personal best to take 4th, lowering his 53.62 from last season in 53.48.

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

• 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
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 52.36

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Berit Berglund (Texas), 52.12
2. Olivia Bray (Texas), 52.41
3. Tania Quaglieri (TCU), 53.17
4. Lezli Sisung (Kansas), 53.22
5. Sienna Schellenger (Texas), 53.58
6. Lily Jones (Cincinnati), 53.75
7. Emma Kern (Texas), 53.76
8. Grace Gavin (Cincinnati), 54.06

Texas’ Berit Berglund and Olivia Bray towered over the field in the women’s 100 back prelims as the only two swimmers under 53 seconds, with the freshman Berglund leading the way in 52.12.

Berglund came into the meet leading the conference with her time of 50.77 from the Texas Invitational, a new PB.

Bray clocked 52.41 to qualify 2nd, having been as fast as 51.75 this season.

The other swimmer who has been sub-52 this season, Longhorn freshman Emma Kern, was back in 7th in 53.76, cutting it a little close as she was only 35 one-hundredths faster than 9th (54.11).

TCU fifth-year Tania Quaglieri had a solid showing in 53.17 to advance in 3rd, within six-tenths of her season-best of 52.61. Kansas’ Lezli Sisung dropped three-tenths from her PB to qualify 4th.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

• 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
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 45.70

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Will Modglin (Texas), 45.19
2. Chris O’Connor (Texas), 46.29
3. Edgar Cicanci (TCU), 46.88
4. Hunter Gubeno (Cincinnati), 47.03
5. Justin Heimes (WVU), 47.07
6. Jon Osa (Cincinnati), 47.20
7. Tanner Edwards (BYU), 47.26
8. Diego Camacho Salgado (BYU), 48.20

Will Modglin flexed his back half speed in the heats of the men’s 100 back, splitting 22.35/22.84 en route to the top time of the morning by over a second in 45.19.

Modglin, who blitzed a PB of 44.49 in November, neared that with a 44.56 showing last night on the Texas medley relay, which broke the Big 12 Championship Record of 44.95 previously held by Alvin Jiang.

Not only will Moglin have a shot at re-lowering that mark in the final, but the conference record of 44.35 held by John Shebat is also well within reach.

Texas senior Chris O’Connor qualified 2nd in 46.29, while TCU’s Edgar Cicanci was the only other swimmer in the field sub-47 in 46.88.

O’Connor set a personal best of 45.74 at the Texas Invitational in November, while Cicanci’s swim marks a new PB, taking down the 47.16 mark he set at last year’s Big 12s where he took 3rd.