2025 Big 12 Championship: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2025 Big 12 Championship

• February 25 – March 1, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center — Federal Way, Wash.
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Start Times: prelims – 10 am PT/finals – 6 pm PT
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Livestream: ESPN+
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims:
  • Finals: Day 1

Day 2 Prelims Heat Sheet

Good Morning, Swim Fans, or rather, Good Afternoon for those of you fellow EastCoasters. The first preliminary session of the 2025 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships is about to get underway.

With Texas having traded away their run of Big 12 Championships for some SEC Titles, the Big 12 will seek new champions on both the men’s and women’s side, as Texas, Texas A&M, and Nebraska are all in different conferences.

ASU, new to the Big 12, got things off to a hot start last night as both their women’s and men’s teams swept the 200 Medley and 800 Free Relays, with the ASU men setting new meet records in both. This morning, both teams will look to build upon that success, as they hold the top seed in all but one swimming event.

In the 500 free, ASU’s Deniz Ertan will look to go 1-2 with training partner Alexa Reyna as the pair of Sun Devils will look to fend off in-state rival Malia Rausch of Arizona. Both Ertan and Rausch, like their respective schools have bounced around conferences, with Rausch starting her collegiate career at OSU and Ertan at Georgia Tech, where she won the 500 free in 2023, making this the third different Conference Championships she has competed in, after also swimming in last year’s Pac-12.

In the 200 IM, ASU holds a lock on the presumptive A-final, with six swimmers seeded amongst the top 8, with senior Charli Brown (1:57.50) as the top seed. Houston’s Evelyn Entrekin is the highest-seeded non-ASU swimmer, clocking in as the 5th seed (1:59.97).

On the other hand, and perhaps due to its nature, the 50 free sees a wide-open field. ASU still is seeded to put a plurality of swimmers into the A-final as they have three in the top eight, but Caroline Bentz (21.80) will have to hold off the likes of Arizona’s Lexi Duchsherer (22.19) and Utah’s Erin Palmer (22.25). Last night in the 200 Medley Relay, Bentz was 21.43, but the pair of former Pac-12 rivals were close behind, splitting 21.55 and 21.61, respectively.

ASU, coming off of an NCAA title last year, would be assumed to have a stranglehold atop the events, but it is TCU’s Geremia Freri (1:43.89) and Cincinnati’s Hunter Gubeno (1:44.65) who sit atop the 200 IM. ASU’s IM corps is in a rebuilding stage. Leon Marchand went pro, David Schlict graduated, and Owen McDonald and Hubert Kos transferred.

In the 500 and 50 freestyles, however, ASU’s dominance will be on full display, as in the 500 free, Daniel Matheson (4:15.92) and Reece Grady (4:16.80) own the only two entry times under 4:18 and are just two of the five Sun Devils seeded amongst the top eight. And while that may seem like a lot, the men’s 50 free, has a distinct possibility of having an all ASU A-final.

Ilya Kharun tops the heat sheet with a seed time of 18.51, just ahead of teammates Jonny Kulow (18.78) and Tommy Palmer (18.88). In fact, ASU’s sprint dominance is so high that they hold the top six spots, with Arizona’s Tomas Lukminas representing the first non-ASU swimmer in the men’s 50 free (7th-19.53); however, ASU’s Christian Ostendorf (9th-19.57) and Tiago Behar (11th-19.68) will be sure to try to join the A-final.

Women’s 500 Freestyle — 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)
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 4:36.89/4:47.20
• 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 4:41.19
• 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 4:54.05/4:56.32/4:58.87

Top 8: 

1. Deniz Ertan (ASU) – 4:41.58
2. Alexa Reyna (ASU) – 4:42.26
3. Malia Rausch (ARIZ) – 4:45.74
4. Victoria Schreiber (BYU) – 4:49.89
5. Jordan Edwards (TCU) – 4:50.03
6. Grace Lindberg (ASU) – 4:50.74
7. Katherine Randall (ASU) – 4:51.13
8. Elli Straume (ASU) -4:51.19

Through just two heats, Utah first year Bridget Sortor has thrown down a time, that last year would have nearly made the B-final. Swimming out of lane 5 with an entry time of 5:01.43, Sortor dropped nearly five seconds off her seed time to record a new PB of 4:56.61, finishing well ahead of Mia Walters of West Virginia, who took off an impressive 3.5 seconds to record a time of 5:00.53.

Sortor’s time lasted just one heat atop the leaderboard as three swimmers in the 3rd heat were all better than that mark. Leading the way from start to finish in the heat was another first-year, Ellie Schrank. Schrank, who swims for Cincinnati, dropped under 5:00 for the first time as she dropped over six seconds to record a time of 4:54.29, with BYU’s Regan Geldmacher over a second back with a time of 4:55.52.

Heat 4 saw a new best time of 4:51.13 from ASU junior Katherine Randall, but that mark seemed to be under threat as heat 5 saw a tight race between Mariana Cote of Houston and Colby Hurt of Texas Christian. The pair hunted down the early leader, Gabi Dyer, and with 50 left, less than .4 separated the pair. However, the two might have been focused on one another too much as WVU junior Olivia Busch dropped a hammer of a last 50, splitting 27.74 (compared to Cote’s 29.30 and Hurt’s 29.12) to take the win from lane 7 in a time of 4:52.41.

While Randall’s time survived heat 5 it did not survive the first of two circle-seeded heats, as her teammate and training partner Alexa Reyna swam a smooth and controlled 4:42.66 to take the top overall time. Reyna who was never under any pressure, winning the heat by eight seconds, held sub-29s for each 50. Finishing 2nd in the heat and sliding in between Reyna and Randall was fellow ASU swimmer Grace Lindberg, whose 4:50.74 places her 2nd overall with one heat remaining.

While a bit closer than eight seconds, heat 7 winner Deniz Ertan was never under any real pressure as she coasted her way to the top time of the morning. Out in 1:49.58, Ertan who finished 49th at NCAAs last year in a time of 4:45.23, easily eclipsed that mark this morning as she paced her way to a 4:41.58 prelims time. Finishing behind her in the heat by over four seconds was Arizona’s Rausch, who touched in 4:45.74.

Despite losing the NCAA runners-up, the addition of ASU, Arizona, and Utah have, although just one event, seemingly made the Big 12 faster (at least in prelims) as 8th place last year would have placed just 17th this morning.

Men’s 500 Freestyle — Prelims

• NCAA Record: 4:02.31 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• Big 12 Record: 4:06.93 — Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 4:11.11— Clark Smith, Texas (2017)
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 4:10.64/4:21.28
• 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 4:14.90
• 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 4:26.67/4:31.43/4;34.99

Top 8: 

1. Jack Wadsworth (ASU) – 4:17.58
2. Daniel Matheson (ASU) – 4:18.02
3. Nick Chirafisi (UTAH) – 4:18.30
4. Jones Lambert (UTAH) – 4:18.68
5. Jacob Pins (ASU) – 4:19.30
6. Tanner Nelson (BYU) – 4:19.46
7. Joel Nace (ARIZ) – 4:20.42
8. Jake Mason (ASU) – 4:21.19

Arizona’s Joel Nace attacked the third heat as you might expect a first-year to, with reckless abandon, taking it out 1:40.09, which is less than two seconds off his 200 PB. Nace started to feel his pace catch up to him as he split 48.85/51.24/52.76/53.81 to flip at the 400 in 3:26.66, but the Wildcat held off teammate Mason Nyber in the closing 100, splitting 53.76 to record a new PB of 4:20.42 (an NCAA B cut), slicing over 5 seconds off his former best. Nyber, a fifth-year, dropped nearly 2.5 seconds off his seed time to touch 2nd in 4:21.72.

The penultimate heat and the first of the circle-seeded heats saw just two swimmers surpass Nace’s time. ASU’s Jack Wadsworth, the 8th seed overall,  sliced a good three seconds off his seed time, going from 4:20.76 to 4:17.58, a new PB. The senior was out slower than Nace, taking it out in 1:40.84, but brought it home much quicker, splitting 51.88/52.83/52.03 on the last 300. Wadsworth might have been aided by Utah’s Jones Lambert, who was just 1:42.17 at the 200 but surged home in the last 100, splitting 50.86 to give Wadsworth a run for his money. Lambert’s charge was a little too late as he ran out of room to chase down Wadsworth, finishing second in the heat with a time of 4:18.68.

The last heat didn’t see any times surpass Wadsworth’s 4:17.58, but it did put up the most entertaining race of the morning so far. ASU senior Daniel Matheson, the top seed, was locked in a battle with the #3 seed, Nick Chirafisi of Utah. With just .07 separating the pair at the 200, 1:41.05 to 1:41.12, it was Matheson who held pace better to lead at the 450 turn by over a second, 3:52.53 to 3:53.72. Perhaps a veteran move and not a sign of fatigue, Matheson came home in 25.49 to hit the wall in 4:18.02, while Chirafisi, a sophomore, closed in 24.58, the fastest last 50 in the field to finish in a time of 4:18.30.

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)
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 1:53.66/1:59.35
• 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 1:57.05
• 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 2:01.12/2:03.87/2:04.66

Top 8: 

1. Paige Armstrong (ARIZ) -1:59.11
2. Charli Brown (AUS) – 1:59.12
3. Zoe Summar (ASU) – 1:59.28
4. Sonia Vaishnani (ASU) – 1:59.43
5. Mackenzie Miller (BYU) – 2:00.17
6. Ella Guilfoil (ASU) – 2:00.28
7. Evelyn Entrekin (UTAH) – 2:00.42
8. Libby Michel (CINC) – 2:00.49

Through the first five heats, the top time belonged to BYU junior Mackenzie Miller. Miller dropped over 2 seconds off her seed time to be just shy of breaking the 2:00 barrier, hitting the wall in 2:00.17. This result stands as a massive new PB, as the California native’s former best stood at 2:02.86, from her 13th place finish at last year’s Big 12 Champs.

Returning to three circle-seeded heats, ASU’s Zoe Summar dropped the first and so far only sub-2:00 time. Entered with a seed of 1:59.55, Summar closed in sub-30 split of 29.79 to just eek under the NCAA B Cut time of 1:59.35, hitting the wall in 1:59.28. Summar has a PB of 1:57.09 from last season’s NCAA, so expect the junior to be faster tonight.

Heat 6 saw Summar’s time eclipsed by the 15th seed Paige Armstrong. A junior from Arizona, Armstrong made up for a 35.89 breaststroke split by coming home in a swift 28.81 to pass Sonia Vaishnani on the last 50 to take the heat win and post the fastest overall time of 1:59.11 with one heat remaining. The result, an NCAA B cut stands as a massive PB as she entered the meet with a previous best of 2:01.54.

Under little pressure in heat 7, top seed Charli Brown of ASU cruised to the wall in 1:59.12, finishing just .01 back of Armstrong’s top time. Brown was more than a second off her seed time, but with the nearest competitor in the heat more than 1.5 seconds back at the 150 turn, Brown should have much more in the tank tonight.

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)
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 1:40.75/1:45.68
• 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 1:43.05
• 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 1:45.60/1:48.40/1:50.18

Top 8: 

1. Cole Martter (ASU) – 1:43.89
2. Hunter Gubeno (CINC) – 1:44.33
3. Durgan McKean (UTAH) – 1:45.07
4. Evan VanBrocklin (UTAH) – 1:45.29
5. Oscar Bilbao (ASU) -1:45.32
6. Michael Hochwalt (ASU) – 1:45.39
7. Lucien Vergnes (ASU) – 1:45.51
8. Owen Chiles (CINC) – 1:45.57

The first circle-seeded heat saw WVU senior Jake Young’s time of 1:47.65 from heat 3 be overtaken by six other swimmers led by ASU’s Cale Martter and Oscar Bilbao. Martter, a junior, used a strong 26.29 backstroke split to separate himself from the field, and he never looked back as he surged into the wall, recording a mark of 1:43.89, dropping over a second off his seed time. Finishing second to Martter was his teammate first year Bilbao, whose 27.47 backstroke split put him in a hole behind Martter that he could pull himself out of as he touched in 1:45.32, just slightly over his seed time of 1:45.10.

Cincinnati’s Hunter Gubeno, a US Olympic Trials Semifinalist in the 200 back, sliced .32 off his seed time as he won heat 5 in a time of 1:44.33, not only improving upon his time from last years NCAAs but also recording a new PB. Gubeno took the race out fast posting the fastest first 100, hitting the wall at the halfway turn in 47.61, the only sub 48.50, but either faltered or conserved energy on the last 100, to close in 30.93/25.79.

Both Martter and Gubeno’s time survived the last heat as the top-seeded Germia Freri struggled to get things going and ended up finishing in 1:47.72, nearly 4 seconds slower than his seed time of 1:43.89. Instead it was the 15th seeded Evan VanBrocklin of Utah who took the last heat jumping from a seed time of 1:47.21 to an NCAA B cut time of 1:45.29.

Women’s 50 Freestyle — Prelims

• NCAA Record: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• Big 12 Record: 21.66 — Grace Cooper, Texas (2023)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 21.76 — Grace Cooper, Texas (2024)
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 21.58/22.58
• 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 22.11
• 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 22.88/23.22/23.46

Top 8: 

1. Caroline Bentz (ASU) – 22.01
2. Julia Ullmann (ASU) – 22.13
3. Julia Wozniak (ARIZ) – 22.18
4. Lexi Duchsherer (ARIZ) – 22.19
5. Erin Palmr (UTAH) – 22.31
6. Jessica Davis (CINC) – 22.42
7. Riley Botton (ARIZ) – 22.46
8. Erin Milligan (ASU) – 22.57

Sorry folks, despite a little break for diving announcing, the splash and dash lived up to its name and was a little too fast for a by-heat recap. That said the 50 free tonight will be a fast event as not only does less than .6 separate the top 8, but with three swimmers from ASU and three swimmers from Arizona in the A-final, Friday’s 200 Free Relay will be must see viewing.

ASU’s Caroline Bentz defended her top seed, recording a time of 22.01 in the last heat, overtaking the mark of Lexi Duchsherer. The Arizona Wildcat, Duchsherer, was spot on her seed time of 22.19, while Bentz, who entered the meet with a 21.80, was .21 off. While the two seniors were expected to be that fast, it was a pair of Julias who stepped up this morning. Both in heat 8, Julia Wozniak of Arizona sliced .22 off her seed time, going from 22.40 to 22.18, a new PB. One lane below her, Julia Ullman of ASU sliced .50 off her former PB to record a new mark of 22.13 and give ASU both middle lanes tonight.

Men’s 50 Freestyle — Prelims

• NCAA Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Big 12 Record: 18.60 — Drew Kibler, Texas (2022)
• Big 12 Championship Record: 18.76 – Joseph Schooling, Texas (2017)
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 18.72/19.69
• 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 19.13
• 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 20.04/20.33/20.78

Top 8: 

1. Jonny Kulow (ASU) – 18.82
2. Tommy Palmer (ASU) – 18.87
3. Ilya Kharun (ASU) – 19.06
4. Patrick Sammon (ASU) – 19.41
5. Tomas Lukminas (ARIZ) – 19.42
6. Tolu Young (ASU) – 19.44
7. Tiago Behar (ASU)/Quin Seider (ASU) – 19.47

ASU fell just one short of making it an all ASU final, as they placed seven into the final. Leading the way is last year’s NCAA 8th-place finisher, Jonny Kulow. The Wyoming native who tied twice with Adam Chaney at last years Olympic Trials in 50 free posted the fastest time of the morning, hitting the wall in 18.82.  Also breaking the 19.00 barrier this morning was fellow junior Tommy Palmer who recorded a new PB by .01 of 18.87. The ASU swimmer has made great strides this season as he was 28th last season at NCAAs (19.28). Top seed Ilya Kharun was more than half a second off his seed time of 18.51 as the sophomore from Canada won the last heat in 19.06.

The championship title will likely come down to those three as its a bit of a jump to the #4 seed, Patrick Sammon (19.41). That said it’ll be tight race as only .06 separates 4th-8th.

Spoling the ASU party is Arizona’s first-year Tomas Lukminas. The Lithuanian native dropped a new PB of 19.42, cutting .11 off his old time to sit 5th into tonight’s final.

Of note, after dropping out of the 200 IM, WVU’s Danny Berlitz placed 18th this moring with a time of 19.83, not only dropping 1.34 seconds off his seed, but .06 off his PB.

While ASU’s sprint dominance and Texas’s lack of it last year, the 50 free has gotten exceptionally faster. Last year TCU’s Jadon Wuilliez qualified 8th into the A-Final with a 20.04. This year the time would have been 24th. For reference, Wuilliez will swim in the B-final tonight with his prelim time of 19.74.