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2025 Big 12 Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

by Mark Wild 0

February 27th, 2025 Big 12, College, News, Previews & Recaps

2025 Big 12 Championship

Day 3 Prelims Heat Sheet

Day 3 of the Big 12 Championships dawns with ASU holding commanding leads on both the men’s and women’s sides, and based on the morning’s psych sheets, it’s only going to get bigger.

This morning, we see the 100 Fly, 400 IM, and 200 Free prelims, and ASU holds the top seed in all of them. On the women’s side, Julia Ullmann, who won bronze last night in the 50 free, will look to retain her top seed in the 100 fly. Seeded with a 51.65, the ASU first year is in a class of her own as the next closest seed in Joleigh Crye of Cincinnati, who is over a second back at 52.98. The 400 IM is a similar story but with two swimmers clear of the field. Last night’s winner and bronze medalist in the 200 IM, Charli Brown and Sonia Vaishnani, are the top two seeds, entering with times of 4:07.58 and 4:09.06, respectively. After the pair of teammates, the next fastest swimmer is their teammate Ella Guilfoil, who is seeded over five seconds back.

On the men’s side, Ilya Kharun easily outpaces the field in the 100 fly as his 43.85 seed time already is under the championship record. Looking to challenge the ASU sophomore is Arizona’s Haakon Naughton, but he will have to have the swim of a lifetime as he is seeded nearly 1.5 seconds back at 45.27.

Similar to the 100 fly, ASU’s Michael Hochwalt, runner-up in the 200 IM, leads the 400 IM field by a wide margin. The first year is seeded with a time of 3:41.98, which but him nearly four seconds clear of the #2 seed Brandon Miller of Utah.

The men’s 200 free may be the race of the morning as top seed Patrick Sammon (1:31.85) may be under some pressure as Arizona has two swimmers who would love to take the top seed from their in-state rivals. Ralph Daleiden Ciuferri and Tomas Lukminas are booth entered within half a second of Sammon, 1:32.17 and 1:32.22 and could challenge for lane 4 tonight.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – PRELIMS

  • NCAA Record: 47.35 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
  • Big 12 Record: 49.70 – Emma Sticklen, Texas (2024)
  • Big 12 Championship Record: 50.07 – Olivia Bray, Texas (2023)
  • 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 50.52/53.34
  • 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 51.88
  • 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 54.49/54.91/55.73

Top 8

  1. Julia Ullmann (ASU) – 51.41
  2. Joleigh Crye (CINC) – 52.65
  3. Noor El-Gendy (UH) – 53.05
  4. Adelaide Meuter (UH) – 53.29
  5. Jeanne Dahmen (TCU) – 53.43
  6. Kate Mardis (CINC) – 53.74
  7. Lydia Lafferty  (KANS) – 53.75
  8. Maryam Sheikhalizadehkhangh (ARIZ) – 53.86

Last night’s runner-up in the 50 free, Lexi Duchsherer of Arizona, DNSed in the first heat of the 100 fly, as Ryan Johnston of Kansas posted the fastest (and first) time, hitting the wall in 55.97, slicing an impressive 1.66 off her seed time of 57.63.

Johnston’s time didn’t last long as it was broken in heat 2 by BYU’s Emma Marusakova. The junior, 17th last year with a 54.39, dropped close to three seconds from her seed to set a new PB and break the 54.00 barrier for the first time, hitting a mark of 53.95. Her time survived just one heat as heat 4 saw Julia Urbanowski of Arizona slice .04 off the mark.

The first of the circle-seeded heats, heat 5, saw a shuffling of the leaderboard as Houston’s Adelaide Meuter and Jeanne Dahmen of TCU vaulted their way into the top two spots. Dahmen was out fast, hitting the 50 wall in 24.45, but Meuter, who was over half a second back at 25.11, surged on the backhalf to take the heat win in a time of 53.29, with Dahmen not far back at 53.43.

The following two heats saw Meuter and Dahmen drop out of the top spots, but not by enough to push them out of the A-final. Heat 6’s Joleigh Crye of Cincinnati and Noor El Gendy of Houston duked it out for the win as the pair went 52.65 and 53.05, respectively, each dropping from their seed time, with Gendy achieving the NCAA B -cut. Heat 7 did not have the depth of the previous heat, but it certainly had the speed as top-seed Julia Ullmann of ASU dropped .24 from her seed to record a mark of 51.41. Out in 24.02, the 100 time stands as a new PB for first year from Switzerland.

MEN’S 100 FLY – PRELIMS

  • NCAA Record: 42.80 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
  • Big 12 Record: 43.75 – Joseph Schooling, Texas (2017)
  • Big 12 Championship Record: 44.06 – Joseph Schooling, Texas (2017)
  • 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 44.51/46.80
  • 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 45.37
  • 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 46.94/48.50/49.61

Top 8

  1. Ilya Kharun (ASU) – 44.71
  2. Haakon Naughton (ARIZ) – 45.47
  3. Tommy Palmer (ASU) – 45.55
  4. Filip Senc-Samardzic (ASU) – 45.94
  5. Evan VanBrocklin (UTAH)/Jordan Tiffany (BYU) – 45.99
  7. Hunter Ingram (CINC) – 46.03
  8. Luigi Riva (BYU) – 46.25

With just five heats, it didn’t take long for Joe Swain’s 47.79 from heat 1 to be taken down. In heat 3, the first of the circle-seeded heats, Filip Senc-Semardizc of ASU swam a controlled race, taking it out in 21.24 and coming back in 24.70 to record a mark of 45.94. Arizona’s Hunter Ingram wasn’t too far behind, hitting the wall in 46.03. Ingram tried his best to run down Senc-Semardizc, but his 24.54 last 50 wasn’t enough to make up the deficit.

Heat 4 saw Haakon Naughton of Arizona surge on the back half to take the heat win and surpass the top time. Out in 21.29, Naughton’s last 50 of 24.18 earned him a likely spot in the A-final as he hit the wall in 45.47, just .2 off his seed time. Also breaking the 46-second barrier was BYU’s Jordan Tiffany, who split 21.33 and 24.66 to stop the clock in 45.99.

Heat 5 was all Ilya Kharun. The double Olympic bronze medalist easily overtook the top spot as he hit the wall in 44.71. Splitting 9.24/11.30/11.91/12.26, Kharun was well off his seed time of 43.85, but likely was conserving energy for tonight where he will chasing the conference record of 43.75.

WOMEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

  • NCAA Record: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
  • Big 12 Record: 4:00.97 – Madisyn Cox, Texas (2017)
  • Big 12 Championship Record: 4:01.15 – Madisyn Cox, Texas (2017)
  • 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 4:03.62/4:16.78
  • 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 4:10.74
  • 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 4:22.09/4:24.47/4:26.69

Top 8

  1. Sonia Vaishnani (ASU) – 4:13.56
  2. Libby Michel (CINC) – 4:14.37
  3. Charli Brown (ASU) – 4:14.95
  4. Addie Richards (BYU) – 4:16.04
  5. Lucy Warnick (BYU) – 4:16.27
  6. Hana Edwards (ASU) – 4:16.77
  7. Ella Guilfoil (ASU) – 4:17.79
  8. Landry Hadder (UH) – 4:18.01

Heat 4’s Addie Richards of BYU used a strong breaststroke to give herself a strong lead at the 300 turn. Splitting 34.95/35.27 on the breaststroke, Richards had nearly a six-second lead on Kansas’s Hailey Farrell, who was 37.42/37.55 over the same leg. Farrell closed the gap a little, but the damage was done as Richards cruised into the wall with a time of 4:16.04, dropping over 8 seconds from her seed and achieving an NCAA B cut. Farrell closed the gap by over a second, posting the 2nd fastest time of the morning so far at 4:21.10.

ASU’s Sonia Vaishnani, the #2 seed overall opened up a body length lead at the 100 turn, splitting 56.20, but was put under some pressure by her teammate and the #14 Hana Edwards as she closed what was over a second of a gap at the 100 to just .29 at the 200 turn, with Vaishnani splitting 2:01.28 to Edwards’ 2:01.57. The higher seeded of the two, Vaishnani, reasserted her authority on the field, opening up a nearly three-second gap after breaststroke, 3:13.49 to 3:16.43, and never looked back as she cruised to the wall, stopping the clock in 4:13.66. Cincinnati’s Libby Michel turned on the afterburners in the freestyle, the only swimmer to split sub 30 on both 50s (29.53/28.40) to pass Edwards and close what was a near 3 second gap at the 300 to under one as she hit the wall 4:14.37 with Edwards fading back to 3rd with a 4:16.77.

Much like her teammate, top seed Charli Brown asserted her authority as the top seed early taking the first 100 out in 56.59m over a second ahead of lane 1’s Mallory Miller of Iowa State (57.87), Brown steadily increased the lead over the backstroke, but it was teammate and lane neighbor Ella Guilfoil who brought the pressure on backstroke, overtaking Miller. With Brown looking secure for the heat win, Miller fought back on the breaststroke and had retaken the 2nd spot after the breaststroke. The last leg saw Lucy Warnick of BYU drop a hammer of a last 100, copying Michel’s feat of having two sub-30 free splits going (29.97/28.82) which was enough to nab 2nd  (4:16.27) in the heat behind Brown’s 4:14.95, Miller’s heroics on the breast may not have paid the dividends she was hoping for as she slid from 2nd t0 5th hitting the wall in 4:18.06, albeit a nearly three second drop from seed and good for 9th overall.

MEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

  • NCAA Record: 3:28.82 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
  • Big 12 Record: 3:33.79 – Carson Foster, Texas (2022)
  • Big 12 Championship Record: 3:35.49 – Carson Foster, Texas (2023)
  • 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 3:38.37/3:49.53
  • 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 3:42.93
  • 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 3:54.08/3:59.80/4:10.64

Top 8

  1. Kyle Bumgardner (CINC) – 3:45.21
  2. Tanner Nelson (BYU) – 3:45.52
  3. Daniel Matheson (ASU) – 3:46.15
  4. Cale Martter (ASU) – 3:46.62
  5. Filip Suchanski (TCU) – 3:47.42
  6. Michael Hochwalt (ASU) – 3:47.96
  7. Reece Grady (ASU) – 3:48.35
  8. Strahinja Maslo (UTAH) – 3:48.54

With only four heats total, it didn’t take long to get into the circle-seeded heats. With a target time of 3:50.81 from Cincinnati’s Adam McGurdy from heat 2, the first of the circle-seeded heats entered the water. Perhaps taking advantage of the small and sleepy field, first-year Filip Suchanski of TCU out of lane 8 exploded off the blocks, taking the race out in 49.79, the only sub 51.oo split in the field. He kept up his blistering pace and had ballooned the lead to over five seconds at the 200 turn, as he hit the wall in 1:44.72.

ASU’s Daniel Matheson employed a great first 50 of breaststroke to close the gap to less than two seconds as he outsplit the TCU first year 31.12 to 35.20. At the breast to free turn, Matheson had now secured a 1.03 second lead on Suchanski and never looked back as he claimed the heat win in 3:46.15. Suchanski fended off the challenges from the rest of the field and hit the wall in 3:47.42, cutting over five seconds off his seed time of 3:53.04.

Heat 4 saw a similar story play out as lane 2’s Jake Mason attacked the race from the get-go, opening up in 49.60 and having the lead at the 200 mark, hitting the wall in 1:47.96. Mason never had quite the lead that Suchanski had, as he was shadowed closely by BYU’s Tanner Nelson (1:49.12) and teammate and top seed Michael Hochwalt (1:49.18).

The breaststroke proved to be Mason’s undoing as he slid from 1st to 4th, with Cincinnati’s Kyle Bumgardner splitting an impressive 1:02.70 to move into the lead. The #8 seed never looked back and took the heat win and top time overall with a result of 3:45.21.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE – PRELIMS

  • NCAA Record: 1:39.10 – Missy Franklin, Cal (2015)
  • Big 12 Record: 1:42.38 –Kelly Pash, Texas (2022)
  • Big 12 Championship Record: 1:42.70 –Kelly Pash, Texas (2021)
  • 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 1:42.60/1:46.85
  • 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 1:44.80
  • 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 1:49.09/1:50.45/1:50.78

Top 8

  1. Erin Milligan (ASU) – 1:45.93
  2. Kaynan Neal (ARIZ) – 1:46.71
  3. Grace Lindberg (ASU) – 1:47.33
  4. Liya Goupil (UH) – 1:47.34
  5. Malia Rausch (ARIZ) – 1:47.65
  6. Elli Straume (ASU) – 1:47.84
  7. Alexa Reyna (ASU) – 1:47.96
  8. Jessica Davis (CINC) -1:48.04

Up through the circle seed heats, the top time of the session belonged to Riley Botton, a junior from Arizona, who dropped over 2 seconds from her seed time to break the 1:50 barrier and post a time of 1:48.38. Her time didn’t last long atop the leaderboard as teammate Kayman Neal blasted a 1:46.71 to win the first of the circle-seeded heats. Neal, who also sliced more than two seconds off her seed time and achieved an NCAA B-cut time, was out fast, 51.27, and held on coming home in 55.44 to record a new PB.

Neal’s time survived the next heat as her teammate and the #2 overall seed Malia Rausch was beaten out by Houston junior Liya Goupil 1:47.65 to 1:47.34. Top seed Erin Milligan of ASU took out the last heat in 51.92, slower than Neal, but used a strong back half to pull herself to the top of the leaderboard. Splitting 27.22 and 26.79 (54.01) Milligan dropped nearly a second off her entry time to record a time of 1:45.93, just over a second outside of the 2024 Invite time of 1:44.80

MEN’S 200 FREE – PRELIMS

  • NCAA Record: 1:28.81 – Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
  • Big 12 Record: 1:28.81 – Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
  • Big 12 Championship Record: 1:31.97 – Will Modglin, Texas (2024)
  • 2025 NCAA ‘A’/’B’ Cut: 1:31.21/1:35.35
  • 2024 NCAA Invite Time: 1:32.93
  • 2024 Times to Advance to Finals: 1:36.98/1:38.99/1:42.77

Top 8

  1. Patrick Sammon (ASU) – 1:32.55
  2. Jonny Kulow (ASU) – 1:32.95
  3. Tiago Behar (ASU) – 1:33.69
  4. Ralph Daleiden Ciuferri (ARIZ) – 1:34.09
  5. Quin Seider (ASU) – 1:34.20
  6. Tomas Lukminas (ARIZ) – 1:34.77
  7. Lars Kuljus (ARIZ) – 1:34.80
  8. Danny Berlitz (WVU) – 1:35.22

TCU senior Luke Dimiceli set the early standard to beat, recording a time of 1:35.49 out of heat 3. Dropping close to three seconds from his seed, Dimicelli’s time stands a new PB, bettering his 1:36.14 from last year’s CSCAA Championships.

Dimiceli’s time didn’t last long as heat 4 and heat 5 saw new times to beat. In the first of the circle-seeded heats, ASU first-year Quin Seider swam a swift 1:34.20, easily outpacing the #3 seed Tomas Lukminas of Arizona, who added 2.55 to his seed time but still managed to touch 2nd in the heat in a time of 1:34.77.

Seider’s result was quickly erased from the top of the board as his teammate’ Tiago Behar survived the late charge of Ralph Daleiden Ciuferri to take the heat win in 1:33.69. Behar was out in 44.88 to Daleiden Ciuferri’s 46.03,  but the Arizona Wildcat’s 48.06 backhalf wasn’t enough to close the gap, and Behar 48.81 was good enough for the win.

Heat 6 saw another change of the guard as teammates Patrick Sammon and Jonny Kulow went out neck and neck in 44.59 and 44.75. Sammon, a senior and more experienced of the two, came home a little faster, 47.96 to 48.20 and took the top spot with a 1:32.55. Kulow, who won the 50 last night, also broke the 1:33 barrier as he stopped the clock in 1:32.95,

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