Andrew Seliskar Scratches 400 IM on Day 3 at Pac-12s

2019 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 6 – Saturday, March 9 (Diving Feb. 27-March 2)
• Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: Cal (1x) (results)
• Live results
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Day 2 Finals recap
• Day 3 Prelims head sheet

While we knew that Cal senior Andrew Seliskar had a lot of events to scratch at this week’s Pac-12 Championships (he was entered in 10, but can only swim 3), the biggest eye was on the 400 IM on day 3.

And Seliskar isn’t entered. Which also means that he hasn’t swum the 400 IM this season, and the only way that he’ll be able to swim the race at NCAAs is via a last-minute time trial on Sunday (the final day to put up swims for NCAAs).

Seliskar was 3rd in the 400 IM at NCAAs last year, 2nd in 2017 as a sophomore, and 5th in 2016 as a freshman.

While the 400 IM seems like a natural event for Seliskar, who is possibly more versatile through the 200 yard events than any swimmer we’ve ever seen, this summer he really broke through in the 200 free. In November, SwimSwam’s Robert Gibbs asked the question of whether Seliskar was giving up the 400 IM to focus on the 200 free, at least at the NCAA level, as the 2 events line up just a few minutes apart at the NCAA Championships. The answer so far seems to be a ‘yes.’

With the scratch, Seliskar passes up the chance to go a perfect 4-for-4 at Pac-12 Championships in the event in his career.

Seliskar will swim the 200 free on Friday, as the top seed. That means that he’s also scratched the 100 fly as the 2nd seed and the 100 breast as the 8th seed.

Other Noteworthy Scratches:

• Cal’s Trenton Julian scratched the 400 IM, after skipping the 200 IM on Thursday, and will instead swim the 200 free on Friday.
• Bryce Mefford of Cal scratched the 200 free as the 8th seed to focus on the 100 back where he’s the 3rd seed.
• Cody Bybee and Liam Bresette from Arizona State are again absent from the 200 free as the 13th and 11th seeds, just as they were in the 500 free. Neither has raced yet at this meet.