2023 Pac-12 Men’s Championships, Night 3: Leon Marchand Trims 400 IM NCAA Record; ASU Storming Toward Team Title

MARCHAND Leon FRA celebrating Gold Medal ER 400m Individual Medley Men Final Swimming FINA 19th World Championships Budapest 2022 Budapest, Duna Arena 18/06/22 Photo Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Photo Courtesy: Photo Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

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2023 Pac-12 Men’s Championships, Night 3: Leon Marchand Trims 400 IM NCAA Record

Leon Marchand is in a vein of form where records are in jeopardy every time he gets up on the blocks. It’s a rare patch of excellence for a rarely talented swimmer, and Arizona State intends to make the most of it.

Friday night, the sophomore lowered his NCAA and U.S. Open records in the 400 IM to 3:31.57, trimming a .27 seconds off the time he set in a dual meet with Cal in January. He added a mind-blowing split of 49.73 in the 100 breast in the 400 medley relay to help Arizona State win that event and send the Sun Devils into the final day of the meet with a 102.5-point lead in the team standings.

The action from the penultimate night of the Pac-12 champs at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.

2023 Pac-12 Men’s Championships

2023 Pac-12 Men’s Championships Team Scores

 Combined Team Scores - Through Event 15                      
 
  1. Arizona State University        637.5   2. California, University of, Ber    534
  3. Stanford University             441.5   4. University of Arizona             245
  5. Utah, University of             239.5   6. Southern California, Universit  233.5

400 individual medley

If he can set an NCAA record in a dual meet, Leon Marchand can do just about anything.

So it was again Friday, the Frenchman going 3:31.57 to obliterate the field by nearly six seconds. It became entirely academic that he was the second fastest seed in prelims.

The swimmers nearest him was last year’s NCAA champion and the previous record holder, Hugo Gonzalez of Cal, who went 3:37.65 to get silver. Hubert Kos made it two medalists for Arizona State in bronze. Cal’s Jason Louser, who went 3:37.60 in the morning for the top seed, dropped to fourth in 3:39.27.

Event 10  Men 400 Yard IM
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 3:32.88  3/25/2022 Hugo Gonzalez, Atlanta
       PAC-12: M 3:32.88  2022      Hugo Gonzalez, CAL
 PAC-12 Champ: P 3:34.45  2022      Leon Marchand, ASU
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Marchand, Leon         SO ASU               3:39.05    3:31.57N  20  
                 22.30        48.20 (25.90)
        1:15.55 (27.35)     1:42.39 (26.84)
        2:11.37 (28.98)     2:41.47 (30.10)
        3:07.23 (25.76)     3:31.57 (24.34)
  2 Gonzalez de Oliveira,  GS California        3:43.22    3:37.65   17  
                 23.24        50.25 (27.01)
        1:18.23 (27.98)     1:45.88 (27.65)
        2:16.11 (30.23)     2:47.24 (31.13)
        3:12.95 (25.71)     3:37.65 (24.70)
  3 Kos, Hubert            FR ASU               3:40.47    3:37.68   16  
                 22.97        50.29 (27.32)
        1:17.33 (27.04)     1:43.77 (26.44)
        2:14.64 (30.87)     2:46.25 (31.61)
        3:12.50 (26.25)     3:37.68 (25.18)
  4 Louser, Jason          SR California        3:37.60    3:39.27   15  
                 23.30        50.06 (26.76)
        1:18.53 (28.47)     1:46.61 (28.08)
        2:16.14 (29.53)     2:46.16 (30.02)
        3:13.00 (26.84)     3:39.27 (26.27)
  5 Schlicht, David        SR ASU               3:42.70    3:40.71   14  
                 23.73        50.80 (27.07)
        1:19.43 (28.63)     1:47.50 (28.07)
        2:18.11 (30.61)     2:48.93 (30.82)
        3:15.62 (26.69)     3:40.71 (25.09)
  6 Polonsky, Ron          SO Stanford          3:43.47    3:40.97   13  
                 23.68        51.71 (28.03)
        1:19.75 (28.04)     1:47.92 (28.17)
        2:18.54 (30.62)     2:49.41 (30.87)
        3:15.72 (26.31)     3:40.97 (25.25)
  7 Matheson, Daniel       SO ASU               3:42.25    3:41.60   12  
                 24.04        51.18 (27.14)
        1:20.22 (29.04)     1:48.77 (28.55)
        2:20.03 (31.26)     2:51.53 (31.50)
        3:16.95 (25.42)     3:41.60 (24.65)
  8 Henveaux, Lucas        GS California        3:42.93    3:42.67   11  
                 23.53        50.60 (27.07)
        1:19.97 (29.37)     1:48.15 (28.18)
        2:20.14 (31.99)     2:52.31 (32.17)
        3:18.11 (25.80)     3:42.67 (24.56)

100 butterfly

Andrei Minakov held his placement from the morning to win gold again in the 100 fly, though in what would be a theme for the non-Marchand set, it was in a time slower than last year.

Stanford’s Russian junior went 44.34 in the morning at 44.51 at night to nudge teammate Aaron Sequeira to gold by a half-second. He had gone 43.90 last year at Pac-12s and 43.71 in winning the NCAA title. The points surged Stanford into second place, but it’s likely to be only a temporary jump ahead of California.

The big mover in the evening session was Max McCusker of Arizona State, who went from seventh in prelims to a tie for third in 45.13 with Rafael Gu. Teammate Alexander Colson was fifth in 45.38.

 Event 11  Men 100 Yard Butterfly
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 42.80  3/23/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
       PAC-12: M 43.71  2022      Andrel  Minakov, STAN
 PAC-12 Champ: P 43.90  2022      Andrei Minakov, STAN
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Minakov, Andrei        JR Stanford            44.34      44.51   20  
                  9.53        20.75 (11.22)
          32.25 (11.50)       44.51 (12.26)
  2 Sequeira, Aaron        SO Stanford            45.18      45.09   17  
                  9.67        20.98 (11.31)
          32.74 (11.76)       45.09 (12.35)
  3 McCusker, Max          SR ASU                 45.62      45.13   15.5
                  9.35        20.72 (11.37)
          32.47 (11.75)       45.13 (12.66)
  3 Gu, Rafael             FR Stanford            45.10      45.13   15.5
                  9.60        21.19 (11.59)
          33.04 (11.85)       45.13 (12.09)
  5 Colson, Alexander      SR ASU                 45.63      45.38   14  
                  9.77        21.21 (11.44)
          33.22 (12.01)       45.38 (12.16)
  6 Rose, Dare             JR California          45.34      45.51   13  
                  9.57        21.02 (11.45)
          32.97 (11.95)       45.51 (12.54)
  7 Bybee, Cody            SR ASU                 45.51      45.59   12  
                  9.55        21.11 (11.56)
          33.08 (11.97)       45.59 (12.51)
  8 Affeld, Jonny          JR Stanford            45.58      46.01   11  
                  9.77        21.26 (11.49)
          33.31 (12.05)       46.01 (12.70)

200 freestyle

Grant House made it back-to-back 200 free titles, albeit a hair slower than last year. His time of 1:30.67 was still miles ahead of the field, his winning margin at 1.15 seconds over teammate Patrick Sammon.

More gratifying to House, perhaps, was the 1-2-3 finish that Sun Devils launched. Third was Julian Hill in 1:32.27, almost a second up on Cal’s Robin Hanson, with the Arizona State detachment leaving the field behind in the way the Sun Devils hope to in the team standings. These points have them up by 189 points, though a loaded Cal breaststroke will reel that in to some degree.

In a nice coup for Arizona State, Andrew Gray and Cal’s Patrick Callan tied for eighth. Gray won the swim off and finished sixth in finals; Callan slid to 13th.

Event 12  Men 200 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:29.15  3/27/2019 Dean Farris, Harvard
       PAC-12: M 1:30.14  2019      Andrew Seliskar, CAL
 PAC-12 Champ: P 1:30.23  2022      Grant House, ASU
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 House, Grant           SR ASU               1:32.50    1:30.67   20  
                 20.94        44.01 (23.07)
        1:07.26 (23.25)     1:30.67 (23.41)
  2 Sammon, Patrick        SO ASU               1:32.71    1:31.82   17  
                 21.39        44.62 (23.23)
        1:08.12 (23.50)     1:31.82 (23.70)
  3 Hill, Julian           SR ASU               1:33.17    1:32.27   16  
                 21.62        44.93 (23.31)
        1:08.57 (23.64)     1:32.27 (23.70)
  4 Hanson, Robin          SO California        1:33.01    1:33.21   15  
                 21.41        44.83 (23.42)
        1:08.73 (23.90)     1:33.21 (24.48)
  5 Daleiden Ciuferri, Ra  FR Arizona           1:33.26    1:33.24   14  
                 21.59        45.14 (23.55)
        1:08.90 (23.76)     1:33.24 (24.34)
  6 Gray, Andrew           SR ASU               1:33.79    1:33.34   13  
                 22.05        45.75 (23.70)
        1:09.59 (23.84)     1:33.34 (23.75)
  7 Dupont, Andres         FR Stanford          1:33.39    1:33.36   12  
                 21.70        45.28 (23.58)
        1:09.31 (24.03)     1:33.36 (24.05)
  8 Jett, Gabriel          SO California        1:33.28    1:35.31   11  
                 22.09        45.84 (23.75)
        1:09.90 (24.06)     1:35.31 (25.41)

100 breaststroke

Arizona State can breathe a sigh of relief that Cal only went 1-2-3 in the 100 breast. In prelims, it had been the Golden Bears sweeping the top five spots.

Reece Whitley ended up on top, the grad student going 51.12 to nab gold. Teammate Matthew Jensen followed three tenths of a second back, and Liam Bell grabbed bronze in 51.58. Cal’s points narrow the deficit to ASU to 109 points.

Utah broke the blockade, though, with Jaek Horner fourth in 51.78. Zhier Fan of Stanford was fifth.

 Event 13  Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 49.69  3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
       PAC-12: M 50.04  2014      Kevin Cordes, ARIZ
 PAC-12 Champ: P 50.78  2019      Carsten Vissering, USC
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Whitley, Reece         GS California          51.34      51.12   20  
                 10.82        23.98 (13.16)
          37.31 (13.33)       51.12 (13.81)
  2 Jensen, Matthew        JR California          51.60      51.42   17  
                 10.99        24.26 (13.27)
          37.64 (13.38)       51.42 (13.78)
  3 Bell, Liam             SR California          52.02      51.58   16  
                 10.95        24.55 (13.60)
          37.80 (13.25)       51.58 (13.78)
  4 Horner, Jaek           SR Utah                52.54      51.78   15  
                 10.89        24.11 (13.22)
          37.65 (13.54)       51.78 (14.13)
  5 Fan, Zhier             FR Stanford            52.50      51.97   14  
                 10.98        24.46 (13.48)
          37.77 (13.31)       51.97 (14.20)
  6 Rodarte, Luke          GS California          52.10      52.15   13  
                 11.17        24.57 (13.40)
          38.16 (13.59)       52.15 (13.99)
  7 Soderlund, Jacob       SO California          51.90      52.24   12  
                 11.26        24.76 (13.50)
          38.35 (13.59)       52.24 (13.89)
  8 O'Grady, Chris         SO Southern Cali       52.44      52.27   11  
                 11.01        24.34 (13.33)
          38.11 (13.77)       52.27 (14.16)

100 backstroke

Destin Lasco worked the final 50 with aplomb, clocking in at 44.57 seconds to win gold in the 100 back. He had been the third seed in prelims but took control in short order in the final. It’s the third-fastest time in the country this season.

Lasco was third at the midpoint. Arizona State’s Jack Dolan (out in 21.39) couldn’t hold the morning pace that made him the top seed and ended up fourth in 45.06. Lasco worked the final two legs to get to the wall .43 up on a tie, between ASU’s Owen McDonald and Utah’s Andrei Ungur, in 45.00 each. Cal’s Bjorn Seeliger was fifth, and Aaron Sequeira pulled an impressive double by finishing sixth.

 Event 14  Men 100 Yard Backstroke
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 43.35  3/25/2022 Luca Urlando, Georgia
       PAC-12: M 43.49  2016      Ryan Murphy, CAL
 PAC-12 Champ: P 44.14  2020      Zachary Poti, ASU
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Lasco, Destin          JR California          45.13      44.57   20  
                 10.55        21.67 (11.12)
          33.20 (11.53)       44.57 (11.37)
  2 Ungur, Andrei          SR Utah                45.19      45.00   16.5
                 10.56        21.61 (11.05)
          33.36 (11.75)       45.00 (11.64)
  2 McDonald, Owen         FR ASU                 45.09      45.00   16.5
                 10.80        21.90 (11.10)
          33.46 (11.56)       45.00 (11.54)
  4 Dolan, Jack            SR ASU                 44.78      45.06   15  
                 10.33        21.39 (11.06)
          33.08 (11.69)       45.06 (11.98)
  5 Seeliger, Bjorn        JR California          45.79      45.33   14  
                 10.18        21.34 (11.16)
          33.27 (11.93)       45.33 (12.06)
  6 Sequeira, Aaron        SO Stanford            45.44      45.45   13  
                 11.00        22.13 (11.13)
          33.74 (11.61)       45.45 (11.71)
  7 MacAlister, Leon       SR Stanford            45.63      45.85   12  
                 10.81        22.20 (11.39)
          34.11 (11.91)       45.85 (11.74)
  8 Alexy, Jack            SO California          46.24      46.14   11  
                 10.58        22.08 (11.50)
          34.08 (12.00)       46.14 (12.06)

400 medley relay

Leon Marchand delivered another special performance in the medley relay with a split of 49.73 seconds. No one else was under 51 seconds in the 100 breast, and that was the difference between ASU and Cal.

The Sun Devils won the medley relay in 3:01.39, Marchand teaming with Jack Dolan, Max McCusker and Grant House. It’s the third-fastest time in the country this season.

Cal made a charge in second, getting silver in 3:02.46. Destin Lasco had the Golden Bears out first in 44.73, and Bjorn Seeliger brought it home in 40.80. Stanford was third in 3:02.71, thanks in part to Andrei Minakov going 44.16 in fly. USC and Arizona had their relays disqualified.

 Event 15  Men 400 Yard Medley Relay
==================================================================================
         NCAA: N 2:59.22  3/23/2017 Texas
                          J. Shebat, W. Licon, J. Schooling, J.Conger
       PAC-12: M 3:00.36  2022      Univ of California, Berkeley, CAL
                          Lasco, Whitley, Julian, Seelinger
 PAC-12 Champ: P 3:00.73  2021      Univ of California, Berkeley
                          Lasco, Whitley, Hoffer, Seelinger
    School                                 Seed     Finals Points 
==================================================================================
  1 ASU  'A'                            3:02.85    3:01.39   40  
     1) Dolan, Jack SR                2) Marchand, Leon SO            
     3) McCusker, Max SR              4) House, Grant SR              
                 21.79        45.05 (45.05)
        1:08.12 (23.07)     1:34.78 (49.73)
        1:55.43 (20.65)     2:20.12 (45.34)
        2:39.52 (19.40)     3:01.39 (41.27)
  2 California  'A'                     3:01.81    3:02.46   34  
     1) Lasco, Destin JR              2) Whitley, Reece GS            
     3) Rose, Dare JR                 4) Seeliger, Bjorn JR           
                 21.73        44.73 (44.73)
        1:08.70 (23.97)     1:35.84 (51.11)
        1:56.74 (20.90)     2:21.66 (45.82)
        2:40.63 (18.97)     3:02.46 (40.80)
  3 Stanford  'A'                       3:05.13    3:02.71   32  
     1) MacAlister, Leon SR           2) Polonsky, Ron SO             
     3) Minakov, Andrei JR            4) Maurer, Luke JR              
                 22.13        45.68 (45.68)
        1:09.37 (23.69)     1:36.80 (51.12)
        1:57.11 (20.31)     2:20.96 (44.16)
        2:40.82 (19.86)     3:02.71 (41.75)
  4 Utah  'A'                           3:07.50    3:06.51   30  
     1) Ungur, Andrei SR              2) Horner, Jaek SR              
     3) Kovacic, Marko JR             4) O'Haimhirgin, Finn SR        
                 21.88        45.16 (45.16)
        1:08.84 (23.68)     1:36.66 (51.50)
        1:58.01 (21.35)     2:23.63 (46.97)
        2:43.92 (20.29)     3:06.51 (42.88)
 -- Southern Cali  'A'                  3:07.37         DQ  
     1) O'Leary, Griffin FR           2) O'Grady, Chris SO            
     3) Homans, Harry SR              4) Saunders, Max SR             
                 22.62        47.02 (47.02)
        1:10.37 (23.35)     1:38.36 (51.34)
        1:59.56 (21.20)     2:24.12 (45.76)
        2:43.98 (19.86)          DQ (42.45)
 -- Arizona  'A'                        3:08.11         DQ  
     1) Donovan, Jack SO              2) Purdy, Ryan JR               
     3) Perham, Ryan SR               4) Ercegovic, Marin GS          
                 22.47        47.05 (47.05)
        1:11.01 (23.96)     1:39.06 (52.01)
        1:59.56 (20.50)     2:24.29 (45.23)
        2:43.84 (19.55)          DQ (41.86)
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Frank Wilson
Frank Wilson
1 year ago

I am impressed with the depth that ASU is showing in this meet, with a number of freshmen in the finals and swimming NCAA invite times.

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