2017 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, March 1-Saturday March 4
- Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: Stanford (results)
- Psych sheets
- Live results
- Pac-12 Record Book
- Championship Central
In Bob Bowman‘s 2nd year as head coach, the ASU men finished 4th at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships. That may not seem significant place-wise, but their performances shed a bright light on the future of the program. The Sun Devils scored the highest amount of points at the conference meet in the history of the program, racking up a final score of 531 to move ahead of in-state rival Arizona.
From ASU’s Press Release:
“ASU finished fourth in the meet (531) while Stanford (784), Cal (767), and USC (657) went 1-2-3. The Sun Devils finished ahead of Arizona (360) and Utah (257), and with a finish ahead of the Wildcats, picked up a Territorial Cup point for the 2016-17 season. ASU finishes ahead of U of A for the first time since 2003.
The fourth place finish is Arizona State’s highest for the men since 2008 when they also finished fourth while their 531 points was the highest number of points accumulated in a Pac-10/12 championship as a team.”
Arizona State only earned 2 medals in 2016: A bronze from the 400 free relay and a bronze from Christian Lorenz in the 200 breast. In 2017, they quadrupled that with 8 total medals. The team brought home 3 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze medals. Their 400 free relay victory was just their 4th relay title in program history. While the 400 free relay was the only relay they medaled in last season, they landed on the podium in 3 relays this time around.
One of the biggest stars for the Sun Devils over the weekend was freshman Cameron Craig, who brought home 2 gold medals after his performances in the 100 free (41.95) and 200 free (1:31.71), earning Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet honors. His 200 free time was a new Pac-12 Meet Record, and he’s now the 9th fastest performer ever in the event.
Fellow freshman Ben Olszewski was also a top 8 finisher, placing 4th in the 1650 free and 7th in the 500 free. Senior Richard Bohus led the way for the upperclassmen putting up 2 NCAA ‘A’ cut times. Bohus picked up silver in the 100 back (45.23) and bronze in the 200 back (1:39.52).
Throughout the meet, the Sun Devils rewrote the school record book over 15 times. They’ll now prepare for the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana from March 23-25.
I didn’t read all the comments, but nowhere did I see any mention of the guys who kept the team alive when it was about to be cut. Many thanks to my hubby and other ASU alums/supporters who initially made this all happen.
Lisa, here is an analysis on the #BowmanEffect for ASU Women’s Swimming team.
2017 PAC-12 Women Championship – Team Rankings
1. Stanford University 1587.5
2. University of California, Berk 1392
3. University of Southern Calif 1250.5
4. Arizona, University of 1075.5
5. University of California – LA 1002
6. Arizona State University 709.5
7. Utah, University of 484
8. Washington State University 334
9. Oregon State University 237
2016 PAC-12 Women Championship – Team Rankings
1. University of Southern Calif 1481
2. Stanford University 1344
3. University of California, Berk 1308
4. Arizona, University of 1125
5. University of California – LA 995
… Read more »
If Bob could produce another World Record Holder like Phelps in the freestyle, now that would be Historic.
Last American man to hold the world record in the 400 free was Brian Goodell in 1978.
I wonder how many,coaches have produced at least 2 world record holders. Reese has with Piersol and Hansen, and Crocker.
HMMMM this could be fun. Are we defining World Record holder as just individuals, I assume? It can be tricky, because the coach a swimmer nominally trains with isn’t always the same as the coach a swimmer really trains with, and the records of who is coaching which swimmers are so hard to track.
McKeever makes the list with Vollmer and Coughlin.
I think Alberto Castignetti makes the list – Pellegrini and Girogio Lambreti
I think Marsh makes this list? Cielo, Coventry, Mel Stewart, though, see above, “who was really training them when they broke the record.”
The list would have grown significantly as a result of 2008 and 2009, just because SO many records were set.
Are you talking current coaches only? Because just think about George Haines, Sherm Chavoor, etc. from the 60’s and 70’s.
No disrespect to Bob, and by all means, we, as a swimming community, should recognize what has been accomplished at ASU.
Perhaps it is the fact that articles are being written about Bob / ASU so often. There are just as many equal / (in some cases) better results by other coaches / teams. Florida State comes to mind. Also NC State Women. So many mid-major coaching turnarounds. There are great coaches at all levels that should also be recognized.
MP is the great one because of a combination of pure talent, drive, work ethic, and coaching. It’s quite possible he would not have accomplished all he did, if he wasn’t attached to a good coach. The same can be said of ASU. They really shined during the conference championship, and all roads points to a even better future for the team with Bowman as captain. Yes recruiting is important, but without the right coaching staff, even the most talented decline and ultimately go to waste. Anyone who tries to reduce bowman’ accomplishments as the ASU head coach either doesn’t understand swimming or is not a fan of bowman.
Bob Bowman, Misty Hyman, Ryan Mallam, Dan Kesler and Derek Schmitt combine to make one of the most outstanding swim coaching staffs I believe you will find on a collegiate pool deck. Their collective experience and diverse areas of expertise are incredible — definitely a coaching matrix that was deliberately put together with an end-game in mind. The energy on the team is electric and the training methods are working. Swimmers are posting multiple, significant personal best times. Bob views himself as a part of the student-athlete’s whole education, and you can see that in the way that he works with them and you will hear that play out in the way he speaks not only to the athletes but… Read more »
Don’t forget they get help from Michael Phelps, too!
The Cameron Craig effect.
College swimming is 99% recruiting?
99% recruiting.
15 school record-breaking swims and a freshman winning the conference’s Swimmer of the Meet honors is a pretty good sign that the program is moving in a positive direction. This is a very competitive conference. Other schools had some pretty awesome performances, as well. Nice to see ASU competing more successfully. Be great to see Arizona rebound in the near future. Recruiting is the key to getting talented athletes. Good coaching is the key to improving those same athletes. Bowman is doing a good job and ASU had a good conference meet. Hats off to Stanford for defending their team title. Love to see the day when four or five schools go to the meet thinking they have a chance… Read more »
Seliskar was robbed
It was never Seliskar in the first place, so Craig never robbed Seliskar of anything.
Craig had 3 Championship Titles from this meet as a freshman…and unlike Seliskar, Cameron Craig BROKE a PAC-12 Championship record!
Time to heal now Uberfan! The meet is over two days ago.
How? It seemed clear Craig would get the title. It’s just like the Ledecky vs Manuel argument. It seems they reward record breakers as well as champions.
Perhaps, it is much tougher to break a record than finishing 1st in an event, and so there’s more weight on swimmers who break records.
Record Holder > Championship Title