Cal’s Whittle, Stanford’s Yoder Secure NCAA Bids in Pac-12 Time Trials

2017 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

A handful of swimmers set themselves up for a potential NCAA bid during time trials on day 1 of the 2017 Men’s Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington. The Cardinal’s Jimmy Yoder blazed to a 1:41.31 in a 200 fly time trial, dropping over 2.5 seconds from his season best to move from 35th in the nation to 7th. It was also over a half second under the NCAA ‘A’ cut (1:41.86) making him a lock for NCAAs. Freshman teammate Will Macmillan posted a personal best 1:43.71, moving him close to the bubble with a 34th place ranking.

Another swimmer securing his spot at NCAAs was Cal’s Matt Whittle, who dropped almost 2 seconds from his best time with his 1:53.82 in the 200 breast. That’s well under the 1:55.31 it took to get invited last season and ties him for 12th in the nation with only the rest of Pac-12s, ACCs, and a couple of last chance meets to go.

Stanford’s Matt Anderson also put up a likely qualifying time, swimming a 1:54.10 in that event. That knocked a second off his season best time, moving him up from 28th in the nation to 18th. Cal’s Nick Silverthorn is right at the bubble now, posting a 1:55.10 in time trials to move up to 29th in the nation, but he’ll have a shot at improving his ranking later in the meet.

USC’s Jonathan Knox swam a personal best 1:41.61 in the 200 back to move from 57th in the nation to 19th, so he should be safe for a bid. Cal freshman Andy Song rocked a 1:42.47 to lower his best time by over 3 seconds. He’s now ranked 32nd in the nation, so he’ll have to improve on that a little bit later in the meet to qualify for NCAAs.

The Stanford men took a shot at the 200 free relay, coming up just short of the NCAA ‘A’ cut (1:17.77) with their 1:18.04. Sam Perry led them off in 19.52, followed by Andrew Liang (19.37), Cole Cogswell (19.76), and Spencer DeShon (19.39).

Other Notable Swims:

  • Cal freshman Ethan Young threw down a 46.92 in the 100 back, which is 4 tenths shy of the 46.51 it took to qualify for NCAAs last season.
  • Fellow Cal freshman Karl Arvidsson dropped a full second in the 100 breast, turning in a 53.99.
  • USC freshman Walker Bell was just over a half second of what it took to qualify last year in the 100 fly, clocking in at 47.10.
  • Cal’s Dillon Williams dropped a few tenths from his best with a 43.38 in the 100 free.

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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