2022 Pac-12 Men’s Championships: Cal Aims For Revenge after Stanford Upset

Bryce Mefford. Photo Courtesy: Connor Trimble

The 2022 Pac-12 Men’s Championships kick off on Wednesday from Federal Way, Washington.

No. 3 Cal is the front-runner in the meet, however the Golden Bears were just upset by No. 6 Stanford in their rivalry dual meet, which adds an extra layer of intrigue to this year’s Pac-12 Championships.

Meanwhile, No. 7 Arizona State, No. 11 USC and No. 20 Arizona will have a plethora of fast swimmers ready for a fast meet.

Cal has won the past four Pac-12 titles, while Stanford won in 2016 and 2017 and USC won in 2015. That title by the Trojans in 2015 was the only time the title hasn’t gone to Cal or Stanford since 1979.

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The Golden Bears are led by an incredible senior class (including fifth-years) that includes Daniel Carr, Hugo Gonzalez, Sean Grieshop, Trenton Julian, Bryce Mefford and Reece Whitley.

That group, along with talented youngsters like Colby Mefford, Destin Lasco, Mathew Jensen, Gabriel Jett and Bjorn Seeliger make the Golden Bears the favorite heading into the Pac-12 Championships.

Stanford is led by Grant Shoults, Jonathan Affeld, Leon MacAllister, Luke Mauerer and Andrei Minakov, who were all instrumental in the Cardinal victory over the Golden Bears.

Arizona State will score some big points as well. The Sun Devils are led by Grant House, Leon Marchand, Cody Bybee and John Heaphy and will relish playing the role of the underdog in this meet.

USC will be led by Vaggelis Makrygiannis, Artem Selin, Trent Pellini, Harry Homans and Daniel Matheson, and also will count on its depth to keep the Trojans close.

Arizona and Utah will also look to crash the party in some of these races.

As the teams focus on a Pac-12 Championship, many of the top swimmers, as always, are focused on the NCAA Championships. This leads to some surprises along the way at conference meets, and the Pac-12 is loaded with talent ready to use a strong race a momentum heading into NCAAs.

But it looks like another year where the Pac-12 title goes through Cal and Stanford.

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