2022 Big-12 Championships: Texas Opens Strong in 200 Medley Relays; Carson Foster Leads Quick 800 Free Relay

Texas' Caspar Corbeau -- Photo Courtesy: NCAA Media

2022 Big-12 Championships: Texas Opens Strong in 200 Medley Relays; Carson Foster Leads Quick 800 Free Relay

Since the Big-12 conference began athletic competition in 1996, the University of Texas has captured every single conference championship in men’s swimming, and the Longhorn women have been undefeated since in-state rival Texas A&M departed the conference in 2012. Currently, Texas lacks any serious rivals for conference supremacy, but the meet does serve as a tune-up for Texas programs with big aspirations for the upcoming NCAA Championships. Carol Capitani’s Texas women finished a very impressive third place at last year’s national meet, while Eddie Reese and the Texas men captured a 15th consecutive national title.

The meet is being held in Morgantown, West Virginia, for a second time after the conference meet was first held there in 2020. West Virginia and Texas Christian also have women’s and men’s teams in attendance, while Kansas and Iowa State are women’s only.

To kick off the first night of relays and diving, the Texas women and men each posted a time that ranks among the top handful of schools in the country in the 200 medley relay, while Drew Kibler and Carson Foster bookended a quick Texas men’s 800 free relay quartet.

2022 Big-12 Championships Links

Women’s 200 Medley Relay

The Texas women opened the competition with a quick time of 1:34.04 in the 200 medley relay. The team of Julia Cook (24.26), Anna Elendt (25.73), Olivia Bray (22.45) and Emma Sticklen (21.60) combined to crush the meet record of 1:34.82 that Texas set last year, and they recorded the country’s fifth-fastest time behind Virginia, NC State, Ohio State and Alabama. Although the Pac-12 women’s meet is still to come, Texas is likely to be among the top eight teams in the nation heading into the NCAA Championships.

The time was actually quicker than what placed second at the NCAA Championships last season, but this year’s race is expected to be much quicker, particularly after Virginia crushed the American and NCAA records in the event by more than a second at the ACC Championships last week. The Longhorns also got a taste of some quick sprint free relays to come as Grace Cooper anchored for the Texas C-team in 21.85, while Bridget Semenuk was 21.96 on the B-squad.

Kansas placed second here with Dewi Blose, Kate Steward, Autumn Looney and Keyla Brown combining for a final time of 1:39.26, and TCU’s Rylee Moore, Claire Chahbandour, Jeanne Dahmen and Olivia Rhodes took third in in 1:39.44.

Event 1  Women 200 Yard Medley Relay
====================================================================
     NCAA "A": A 1:35.40
       Big 12: * 1:34.26  12/1/2021 University of Texas
                          Cook, Elendt, Bray, Semenuk
         Meet: # 1:34.82  2/24/2021 University of Texas
                          Cook, Elendt, Bray, Cooper
 2021 Invited:   1:36.85
     NCAA "B": B 1:37.05
     American:   1:31.81  2/17/2022 Virginia
                          Walsh, Wenger, Cuomo, Douglass
      US Open:   1:31.81  2/17/2022 Virginia
                          Walsh, Wenger, Cuomo, Douglass
      NCAA D1:   1:31.81  2/17/2022 Virginia
                          Walsh, Wegner, Cuomo, Douglass
    School                                 Seed     Finals        
====================================================================
  1 Texas                               1:34.26    1:34.04* 
     1) Julia Cook SR                 2) Anna Elendt SO               
     3) Olivia Bray SO                4) Emma Sticklen SO             
             12.17        24.26 (24.26)
          35.87 (11.61)       49.99 (25.73)
        1:00.19 (10.20)     1:12.44 (22.45)
        1:22.61 (10.17)     1:34.04 (21.60)
  2 Kansas                              1:40.43    1:39.26  
     1) Dewi Blose SR                 2) Kate Steward SR              
     3) Autumn Looney JR              4) Keyla Brown JR               
             12.45        25.25 (25.25)
          37.40 (12.15)       52.45 (27.20)
        1:03.60 (11.15)     1:16.71 (24.26)
        1:27.28 (10.57)     1:39.26 (22.55)
  3 TCU                                 1:40.02    1:39.44  
     1) Rylee Moore                   2) Claire Chahbandour           
     3) Jeanne Dahmen                 4) Olivia Rhodes                
             12.61        24.97 (24.97)
          37.64 (12.67)       52.80 (27.83)
        1:03.68 (10.88)     1:16.73 (23.93)
        1:27.60 (10.87)     1:39.44 (22.71)
  4 Iowa State                          1:41.58    1:40.13  
     1) Emily Haan SR                 2) Martha Haas SR               
     3) Carley Caughron FR            4) Andie Quirke SO              
             12.50        25.06 (25.06)
          37.10 (12.04)       52.20 (27.14)
        1:03.40 (11.20)     1:16.71 (24.51)
        1:28.08 (11.37)     1:40.13 (23.42)
  5 West Virginia                       1:46.64    1:41.14  
     1) Ana Zortea SR                 2) Tatum Peyerl JR              
     3) Harna Minezawa JR             4) Jacqueline McCutchan JR      
             12.28        25.12 (25.12)
          38.26 (13.14)       54.28 (29.16)
        1:05.30 (11.02)     1:18.64 (24.36)
        1:29.26 (10.62)     1:41.14 (22.50)

Men’s 200 Medley Relay

The Texas men finished almost a second under the meet record in the 200 medley relay as the team of Anthony Grimm (20.55), Caspar Corbeau (22.96), Alvin Jiang (20.13) and Cameron Auchinachie (18.60) swam a 1:22.24. That is behind Louisville, NC State and Ohio State (a time swum on the same night at the Big Ten Championships) in the national rankings.

The higher-profile stars on the Texas roster like Carson Foster and Drew Kibler do not compete in the sprint medley, but the Longhorns have a group including two fifth-year transfer swimmers, a freshman and a rising breaststroker who could contend for individual national titles, and Texas will undoubtedly be in the mix for first place at the NCAA Championships next month.

TCU placed second with Stefan Varga, Janis Silins, Piotr Sadlowski and Jadon Wuilliez combining for a time of 1:26.21, and West Virginia’s Justin Heimes, Fausto Huerta, David Dixon and Conner McBeth took third in 1:26.47.

Event 2  Men 200 Yard Medley Relay
====================================================================
     NCAA "A": A 1:24.22
       Big 12: * 1:21.54  3/24/2017 University of Texas
                          Shabat, Lincon, Schooling, Ringgold
         Meet: # 1:23.21  2/24/2021 University of Texas
                          Staka, Corbeau, Jiang, Krueger
 2021 Invited:   1:24.86
     NCAA "B": B 1:24.83
     American:   1:21.88  3/23/2018 California
                          Carr, Hoppe, Lynch, Hoffer
      US Open:   1:21.54  3/24/2017 Texas
                          Shebat, Licon, Schooling, Ringgold
      NCAA D1:   1:21.54  3/24/2017 Texas
                          Shabat, Licon, Schooling, Ringgold
    School                                 Seed     Finals        
====================================================================
  1 Texas                               1:23.00    1:22.24# 
     1) Anthony Grimm FR              2) Caspar Corbeau JR            
     3) Alvin Jiang SR                4) Cameron Auchinachie SR       
             10.25        20.55 (20.55)
          30.83 (10.28)       43.51 (22.96)
           52.65 (9.14)     1:03.64 (20.13)
         1:12.38 (8.74)     1:22.24 (18.60)
  2 TCU                                 1:26.17    1:26.21  
     1) Stefan Varga SO               2) Janis Silins SO              
     3) Piotr Sadlowski SO            4) Jadon Wuilliez               
             11.08        22.39 (22.39)
          33.15 (10.76)       46.04 (23.65)
           55.51 (9.47)     1:06.93 (20.89)
         1:16.16 (9.23)     1:26.21 (19.28)
  3 West Virginia                       1:28.67    1:26.47  
     1) Justin Heimes SO              2) Fausto Huerta SR             
     3) David Dixon SR                4) Conner McBeth FR             
             10.95        22.05 (22.05)
          32.77 (10.72)       46.29 (24.24)
           55.99 (9.70)     1:07.21 (20.92)
         1:16.16 (8.95)     1:26.47 (19.26)

Men’s 1-Meter Diving

TCU’s David Ekdahl powered past the field in 1-meter diving to win with a score of 388.50, while Texas occupied the next three spots in the rankings, led by Andrew Harness (359.15) and Manny Borowski (353.35).

Event 4  Men 1 mtr Diving
==================================================================
       Big 12: * 469.85  3/1/2021  Jordan Windle, Texas
         Meet: # 468.85  2/1/2021  Jordan Windle, Texas
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals        
==================================================================
                          === Finals ===                          
 
  1 David Ekdahl              TCU                372.20     388.50  
  2 Andrew Harness         JR Texas              290.00     359.15  
  3 Manny Borowski         FR Texas              310.50     353.35  
  4 Brendan McCourt        SO Texas              331.10     346.55  
  5 Andrew Gawin-Parigini  SR Texas              303.20     325.55  
  6 Owen Johns             JR West Virginia      307.45     315.80  
  7 Alec Hubbard              TCU                283.35     312.95  
  8 Nick Cover             SR West Virginia      283.20     298.10

Women’s 800 Freestyle Relay

Texas cruised to another conference title in the 800 free relay by more than 17 seconds as the team of Kelly Pash (1:44.84), Kyla Leibel (1:46.06), Olivia Bray (1:44.87) and Julia Cook (1:45.97) swam a time of 7:01.74. That will not put Texas into the fastest heat of this timed finals event at the NCAA Championships, but the Longhorns should swim in the second-to-last heat.

Kansas swam a time of 7:18.94 to finish second with Ellie Wehrmann, Claudia Dougan, Claire Campbell and Kara Church. Third went to TCU’s Serena Gold, Lucia Simovicova, Marlene Hirschberg and Sally Clough in 7:19.25.

Event 5  Women 800 Yard Freestyle Relay
====================================================================
     NCAA "A": A 7:00.86
       Big 12: * 6:53.42  3/14/2018 University of Texas
                          Carrozza, Adams, Pfeifer, Millard
         Meet: # 6:58.37  2/25/2009 University of Texas
                          Bispo, Gingrich, Riefenstahl, Hersey
 2021 Invited:   7:04.91
     NCAA "B": B 7:05.88
     American:   6:45.91  3/15/2017 Stanford
                          Manuel, Neal, Eastin, Ledecky
      US Open:   6:45.91  3/15/2017 Stanford
                          Manuel, Neal, Eastin, Ledecky
      NCAA D1:   6:45.91  3/15/2017 Stanford
                          Manuel, Neal, Eastin, Ledecky
    School                                 Seed     Finals        
====================================================================
  1 Texas                               6:56.94    7:01.74B 
     1) Kelly Pash JR                 2) r:0.31 Kyla Leibel JR        
     3) r:0.19 Olivia Bray SO         4) r:0.13 Julia Cook SR         
    r:+0.71  24.11        50.60 (50.60)
      1:17.56 (1:17.56)   1:44.84 (1:44.84)
        2:08.57 (23.73)     2:34.53 (49.69)
      3:02.14 (1:17.30)   3:30.90 (1:46.06)
        3:54.93 (24.03)     4:21.48 (50.58)
      4:48.74 (1:17.84)   5:15.77 (1:44.87)
        5:39.73 (23.96)     6:07.33 (51.56)
      6:34.43 (1:18.66)   7:01.74 (1:45.97)
  2 Kansas                              7:25.69    7:18.94  
     1) Ellie Wehrmann SO             2) r:0.35 Claudia Dougan SO     
     3) r:0.53 Claire Campbell SR     4) r:0.17 Kara Church SO        
    r:+0.74  24.93        52.59 (52.59)
      1:21.01 (1:21.01)   1:49.81 (1:49.81)
        2:14.12 (24.31)     2:41.45 (51.64)
      3:09.58 (1:19.77)   3:37.75 (1:47.94)
        4:02.84 (25.09)     4:30.59 (52.84)
      4:59.50 (1:21.75)   5:29.29 (1:51.54)
        5:54.10 (24.81)     6:21.96 (52.67)
      6:50.24 (1:20.95)   7:18.94 (1:49.65)
  3 TCU                                 7:26.21    7:19.25  
     1) Serena Gould                  2) r:+0.0 Lucia Simovicova SO   
     3) r:0.14 Marlene Hirschberg SO  4) r:0.24 Sally Clough SR       
    r:+4.84  25.37        53.06 (53.06)
      1:20.72 (1:20.72)   1:48.57 (1:48.57)
        2:13.89 (25.32)     2:41.37 (52.80)
      3:09.73 (1:21.16)   3:38.40 (1:49.83)
        4:02.93 (24.53)     4:30.71 (52.31)
      4:59.76 (1:21.36)   5:28.64 (1:50.24)
        5:54.18 (25.54)     6:21.97 (53.33)
      6:49.94 (1:21.30)   7:19.25 (1:50.61)
  4 West Virginia                       7:27.41    7:20.65  
     1) Abby Reardon SO               2) r:0.13 Miranda Kirtley FR    
     3) r:0.52 Emily Knorr FR         4) r:0.45 Morgan Burton FR      
    r:+0.71  25.56        53.30 (53.30)
      1:20.64 (1:20.64)   1:48.36 (1:48.36)
        2:13.60 (25.24)     2:41.30 (52.94)
      3:10.17 (1:21.81)   3:38.58 (1:50.22)
        4:04.33 (25.75)     4:32.67 (54.09)
      5:01.43 (1:22.85)   5:29.96 (1:51.38)
        5:55.88 (25.92)     6:23.85 (53.89)
      6:52.40 (1:22.44)   7:20.65 (1:50.69)
  5 Iowa State                          7:24.91    7:24.02  
     1) Lucia Rizzo SR                2) r:0.28 Brinley Horras SO     
     3) r:0.49 Sydney Jackson SO      4) r:0.43 Ashley Bengtson SO    
    r:+0.73  25.73        53.29 (53.29)
      1:21.86 (1:21.86)   1:50.67 (1:50.67)
        2:15.55 (24.88)     2:43.29 (52.62)
      3:11.78 (1:21.11)   3:40.32 (1:49.65)
        4:06.06 (25.74)     4:34.38 (54.06)
      5:03.61 (1:23.29)   5:32.90 (1:52.58)
        5:58.52 (25.62)     6:26.47 (53.57)
      6:55.46 (1:22.56)   7:24.02 (1:51.12)

Men’s 800 Freestyle Relay

The Texas men could not quite catch the quick times posted by Florida and NC State in the 800 free relay at last week’s SEC and ACC Championships, respectively, but they did record a swift 6:08.76 to win the event and set themselves up for another NCAA-title run in the event. The team included Drew Kibler (1:32.20), Coby Carrozza (1:32.16), Luke Hobson (1:33.22) and Carson Foster (1:31.18), and their time ranks third in the nation so far, while Louisville and Georgia have also been sub-6:10.

Kibler, last year’s NCAA runnerup in the 200 free, moved into a tie for fifth nationally in the event, while Foster’s anchor leg was quicker than the 1:31.55 he swam on last year’s title-winning relay. Texas does lose Austin Katz and Jake Sannem from last year’s group, but Carrozza posted an especially solid split Wednesday while Hobson swam a 1:31.34 split back in December. The Longhorns will be hoping for the freshman to return to that level by next month. They could also use Peter Larson, who led off the B-team in 1:32.80.

TCU finished second in 6:25.08 with Geremia Freri, Noah Cumby, Dusan Babic and Luke Dimiceli, while third went to West Virginia’s Roanoke Shirk, Brendan Williams, Logan McFadden and Max Gustafson in 6:36.01.

Event 6  Men 800 Yard Freestyle Relay
====================================================================
     NCAA "A": A 6:16.80
       Big 12: * 6:05.08  3/27/2019 University of Texas
                          Kibler, Katz, Newkirk, Haas
         Meet: # 6:10.55  2/27/2008 University of Texas
                          Walters, McGinnis, Klueh, Berens
 2021 Invited:   6:20.96
     NCAA "B": B 6:21.32
     American:   6:05.08  3/27/2019 University of Texas
                          Kibler, Katz, Newkirk, Haas
      US Open:   6:05.08  3/27/2019 Texas
                          Kibler, Katz, Newkirk, Haas
      NCAA D1:   6:05.08  3/27/2019 Texas
                          Kibler, Katz, Newkirk, Haas
    School                                 Seed     Finals        
====================================================================
  1 Texas                               6:10.14    6:08.76# 
     1) Drew Kibler SR                2) r:0.31 Coby Carrozza SO      
     3) r:0.30 Luke Hobson FR         4) r:0.31 Carson Foster SO      
             21.19        44.32 (44.32)
      1:07.99 (1:07.99)   1:32.20 (1:32.20)
        1:53.32 (21.12)     2:16.53 (44.33)
      2:40.31 (1:08.11)   3:04.36 (1:32.16)
        3:25.79 (21.43)     3:49.32 (44.96)
      4:13.25 (1:08.89)   4:37.58 (1:33.22)
        4:58.38 (20.80)     5:21.34 (43.76)
      5:44.95 (1:07.37)   6:08.76 (1:31.18)
  2 TCU                                 6:29.73    6:25.08  
     1) Geremia Freri                 2) r:0.32 Noah Cumby JR         
     3) r:0.20 Dusan Babic SO         4) r:0.27 Luke Dimiceli         
             22.20        46.28 (46.28)
      1:10.85 (1:10.85)   1:35.68 (1:35.68)
        1:57.00 (21.32)     2:21.13 (45.45)
      2:46.14 (1:10.46)   3:12.00 (1:36.32)
        3:33.82 (21.82)     3:58.10 (46.10)
      4:22.91 (1:10.91)   4:48.29 (1:36.29)
        5:10.36 (22.07)     5:35.12 (46.83)
      5:59.82 (1:11.53)   6:25.08 (1:36.79)
  3 West Virginia                       6:39.89    6:36.01  
     1) Roanoke Shirk SO              2) r:0.28 Brendan Williams SO   
     3) r:0.24 Logan McFadden SO      4) r:0.30 Max Gustafson SR      
             22.72        47.08 (47.08)
      1:11.84 (1:11.84)   1:37.16 (1:37.16)
        1:59.74 (22.58)     2:24.69 (47.53)
      2:50.68 (1:13.52)   3:16.47 (1:39.31)
        3:39.47 (23.00)     4:05.12 (48.65)
      4:31.28 (1:14.81)   4:57.26 (1:40.79)
        5:19.26 (22.00)     5:43.72 (46.46)

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