Longhorns Claim Team Titles at Texas Invitational

Photo Credit: Griffin Scott

AUSTIN – The University of Texas men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams wrapped up the team titles at their own Texas Invitational on Saturday night as another quick night of racing came to a close.

Arizona’s Bonnie Brandon kicked off the final night of racing with a win and an A cut in the women’s 1650 free, stopping the clock in 15:48.35. Teammate Tjasa Oder also cleared the A cut of 15:56.18 with a 15:53.33, while Texas’ Kaitlin Pawlowicz came in third at 15:57.37.

In the men’s mile, Utah’s Bence Kiraly got to the wall first in 14:51.17, a full six seconds ahead of Texas’ Sam Lewis (14:57.81). Wisconsin’s Matthew Hutchins nearly broke 15:00 as well, finishing third in 15:00.71.

Texas’ Sarah Denninghoff topped the championship final of the 200 back, just missing the automatic qualifying time by .09 with a 1:52.61. Bonnie Brandon of Arizona picked up another top three finish with a 1:52.98, while Southern California’s Kendyl Stewart touched third in 1:54.20.

A trio of swimmers got under the NCAA A cut in the men’s 200 back, led by Wisconsin’s Drew Teduits in 1:39.72, the first sub-1:40 swim of the season. Texas’ Jack Conger gave him quite a run, making up time on the final 100 to pull within .12 at 1:39.84. Jake Taylor of BYU came in third in another A cut time of 1:40.51.

Arizona post-grad swimmer Margo Geer topped the women’s 100 free final in 47.46, thanks to a 24.71 back-half split that was more than half a second faster than anyone else in the field. Wisconsin’s Ivy Martin swam a 48.38 to take second ahead of Arizona’s Taylor Schick (48.81).

Lonestar Aquatic Club’s Dax Hill edged Texas’ John Murray for the men’s sprint free title, 42.61 to 42.64. Murray just missed the A cut in the event, which stands at 42.51. Brett Ringgold, also from Texas, claimed third place honors in 43.03.

Texas’ Gretchen Jaques swept the breaststroke events this weekend, winning the 200 breast tonight in 2:08.60 to go along with her title in the 100 yesterday. Southern California’s Andrea Kropp also broke 2:10, finishing second in 2:09.82. Sara Borendame of Arizona rounded out the top three in 2:10.08.

In the men’s 200 breast, Texas’ Will Licon upset American record-holder and NCAA champ Kevin Cordes of Arizona, 1:52.18 to 1:52.65. Both times cleared the automatic qualifying time of 1:53.68 by a solid margin. Wisconsin’s Nick Schafer posted a 1:54.92 to take third.

Kelsey Leneave of Texas smoked the women’s 200 fly with a 1:55.76, just under a second in front of USC’s Jasmine Tosky (1:56.82) and UC Santa Barbara’s Andrea Ward (1:57.18).

Texas teammates Joseph Schooling and Clark Smith battled for the men’s 200 fly title, with Schooling just coming out on top, 1:41.00 to 1:41.42. Both swimmers were way under the A cut of 1:42.85, and established the top two times in the nation this season. Wisconsin’s Nicholas Caldwell came in third in 1:44.75.

Texas’ foursome of Gretchen Jaques, Kelsey Leneave, Rebecca Millard and Sarah Denninghoff wrapped up the meet with a win in the 400 free relay, as they stopped the clock in 3:15.54 to clear the A cut of 3:16.41. Wisconsin’s Ivy Martin, Aja Van Hout, Chase Kinney and Dana Grindall swam a 3:17.04 to finish second, while Arizona’s Bonnie Brandon, Taylor Schick, Paige Kremer and Cameron McHugh came in third with a 3:17.66.

Clay Youngquist, John Murray, Jack Conger and Matt Ellis gave the Longhorn men a win in the final event of the meet as they touched in 2:52.30, under the A cut of 2:53.11. Arizona’s Bradley Tandy, Brian Stevens, Thane Maudslien and Michael Meyer touched second in 2:54.45, followed by USC’s Ralf Tribuntsov, Luca Spinazzola, Dylan Carter and Chad Bobrosky (2:54.67).

Texas claimed the women’s title with 785 points, while Southern California (548) and Arizona (520) finished second and third. The Texas men recorded 877 points to top Arizona (650) and Wisconsin (350) for the men’s team title.

Results: Texas Invitational

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