Big 12 Championships, Day 1: Kelly Pash, Coby Carrozza Impressive as Texas Wins All Four Relays

Kelly Pash -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Big 12 Championships, Day 1: Kelly Pash, Coby Carrozza Impressive as Texas Wins All Four Relays

For the final time, the University of Texas swimming and diving teams are competing at the Big 12 Championships, with the Longhorns set to depart for the SEC this summer. The Texas men have won the Big 12 every year since the conference’s inception while the women have not lost since Texas A&M departed the conference in 2012. The meet looks a bit different than in the past, with Brigham Young University, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Houston (women only) now part of the conference, but Texas remains heavily favored in both meets.

Indeed, the Longhorns went unbeaten in four relays on night one, even without eclipsing their season-best times in three out of the four races. Both veterans and newcomers shined for Texas, with graduate student Kelly Pash and senior Coby Carrozza swimming swift leadoff legs on their respective 800 freestyle relays while freshmen Nate Germonprez, Will Modglin and Erin Gemmell all played key roles.

Women’s 200 Medley Relay

The Longhorns came in more than three seconds clear of the field in the 200 medley relay. A veteran-laden squad competed, with seniors Anna Elendt, Emma Sticklen and Grace Cooper all reprising the roles they filled on a squad that placed third at last season’s NCAA Championships. Cooper was actually quicker than her 2023 national meet split with a 21.40 anchor leg while Sticklen was nearly as quick at 22.38. Elendt, on the other hand, struggled with a 26.43 leg.

Taking over a new role for Texas was freshman Emma Kern, who went 24.26 on the backstroke leg, where she took the place of Olivia Bray, who is likely shifted into action on the other three Texas relays.

The Texas Christian team of Tania Quaglieri, Claire Chahbandour, Jeanne Dahmen and Olivia Rhodes placed second in 1:37.64, and third went to Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati in 1:38.17, with Lily Jones, Joleigh Crye, Grace Gavin and Kaylee Nagel on the squad.

Event 1  Women 200 Yard Medley Relay
==================================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 1:31.73  2/14/2023 Virginia
                          G Walsh, A Walsh, A Cuomo, K Douglass
     American: $ 1:31.73  2/14/2023 Virginia
                          G Walsh, A Walsh, A Cuomo, K Douglass
      US Open: & 1:31.73  2/14/2023 Virginia
                          G Walsh, A Walsh, A Cuomo, K Douglass
       Big 12: * 1:33.22  3/15/2023 University of Texas
                          Bray, Elendt, Sticklen, Cooper
         Meet: # 1:34.04  2/23/2022 University of Texas
                          J Cook, A Elendt, O Bray, E Sticklen
     NCAA "A": A 1:36.24
     NCAA "B": B 1:37.00
 NCCA Invit23:   1:36.96
    School                                 Seed     Finals Points 
==================================================================================
  1 TEX                                 1:34.14    1:34.47A  64  
     1) Kern, Emma FR                 2) r:0.24 *Elendt, Anna SR      
     3) r:0.23 Sticklen, Emma SR      4) r:0.22 Cooper, Grace SR      
             12.06        24.26 (24.26)
          36.30 (12.04)       50.69 (26.43)
        1:00.81 (10.12)     1:13.07 (22.38)
        1:23.17 (10.10)     1:34.47 (21.40)
  2 TCU                                 1:38.09    1:37.64   56  
     1) Quaglieri, Tania GS           2) r:0.28 Chahbandour, Claire JR
     3) r:0.14 Dahmen, Jeanne JR      4) r:0.46 Rhodes, Olivia JR     
             12.29        24.45 (24.45)
          37.13 (12.68)       51.98 (27.53)
        1:02.54 (10.56)     1:15.22 (23.24)
        1:26.08 (10.86)     1:37.64 (22.42)
  3 CINC                                1:38.76    1:38.17   54  
     1) Jones, Lily SO                2) r:0.21 Crye, Joleigh SO      
     3) r:0.32 Gavin, Grace SO        4) r:0.31 Nagel, Kaylee JR      
             12.52        24.98 (24.98)
          36.96 (11.98)       51.39 (26.41)
        1:02.34 (10.95)     1:15.40 (24.01)
        1:26.14 (10.74)     1:38.17 (22.77)
  4 KANS                                1:40.70    1:39.48   52  
     1) Sisung, Lezli JR              2) r:0.36 Johnston, Ryan FR     
     3) r:0.14 Lafferty, Lydia SO     4) r:0.19 Blake, Caroline SO    
             12.75        25.50 (25.50)
          38.51 (13.01)       54.02 (28.52)
        1:04.69 (10.67)     1:17.45 (23.43)
        1:27.77 (10.32)     1:39.48 (22.03)
  5 UH                                  1:41.01    1:40.06   50  
     1) Jimenez, Elizabeth FR         2) r:0.31 Fangli, Henrietta JR  
     3) r:0.48 Alvarez, Abbie JR      4) r:0.47 Jurica, Mary Carine JR
             12.76        25.49 (25.49)
          37.77 (12.28)       52.62 (27.13)
        1:03.89 (11.27)     1:17.34 (24.72)
        1:28.20 (10.86)     1:40.06 (22.72)
  6 BYU                                 1:40.19    1:40.41   48  
     1) Marusakova, Emma SO           2) r:0.16 Miller, Mackenzie SO  
     3) r:0.19 Ibanez, Tahis JR       4) r:0.30 Williams, Halli JR    
             12.73        25.60 (25.60)
          38.34 (12.74)       53.24 (27.64)
        1:04.60 (11.36)     1:18.09 (24.85)
        1:28.69 (10.60)     1:40.41 (22.32)
  7 WVU                                 1:41.37    1:41.38   46  
     1) Kidney, Victoria FR           2) r:0.45 Cheatwood, Mia SO     
     3) r:0.20 Culp, Lilly SR         4) r:0.26 Szwabinska, Ada SO    
             12.78        26.05 (26.05)
          39.05 (13.00)       54.24 (28.19)
        1:05.23 (10.99)     1:18.58 (24.34)
        1:29.54 (10.96)     1:41.38 (22.80)
  8 ISU                                 1:41.15    1:41.55   44  
     1) *Kuhn, Emma FR                2) r:0.32 Hanley, Paige SR      
     3) r:0.32 Caughron, Carley JR    4) r:0.41 *Quirke, Andie SR     
             12.82        25.87 (25.87)
          39.00 (13.13)       54.57 (28.70)
        1:05.52 (10.95)     1:18.49 (23.92)
        1:29.61 (11.12)     1:41.55 (23.06)

Men’s 200 Medley Relay

Of the four Texas swimmers who comprised the team’s 200 medley relay last season, not a single one remains on the roster, with Carson Foster and Caspar Corbeau having turned professional while Will Chan and Danny Krueger finished swimming after their final years at Texas. So the Longhorns introduced an all-freshman team for this year’s Big 12 meet, and the results were promising.

Will Modglin, who was faster in high school than any backstroker on the Texas roster last year, led off in 20.49, which is faster than all but three men swam at last year’s NCAAs. Will Scholtz followed with a 23.17 breaststroke split before Nate Germonprez went 19.82 and Camden Taylor came home in 18.98. The final time was 1:22.46, the sixth-best time in the country thus far (pending the results of the Big Ten and Pac-12 conference meets).

BYU’s Jordan Tiffany, Brad Prolo, Tanner Edwards and Luigi Riva placed second in 1:23.67, four hundredths under the “A” cut required to book a spot at NCAAs, and TCU’s Edgar Cicanci, Jadon Wuilliez, Piotr Sadlowski and Raphael Paiva Da Lima took third in 1:24.93.

Event 2  Men 200 Yard Medley Relay
==================================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 1:20.67  3/22/2023 North Carolina State
                          Chaney, Hillis, Friese, Davis
     American: $ 1:21.66  2/20/2024 Florida
                          Chaney, Smith, Buff, McDuff
      US Open: & 1:20.67  3/22/2023 North Carolina State
                          Chaney, Hillis, Friese, Davis
       Big 12: * 1:21.36  3/23/2022 University of Texas
                          Grimm, Corbeau, Jiang, Auchnachie
         Meet: # 1:22.24  2/23/2022 University of Texas
                          A Grimm, C Corbeau, A Jiang, C Auchinachie
     NCAA "A": A 1:23.71
     NCAA "B": B 1:24.32
 NCCA Invit23:   1:24.22
    School                                 Seed     Finals Points 
==================================================================================
  1 TEX                                 1:24.22    1:22.46A  64  
     1) Modglin, Will FR              2) r:0.35 Scholtz, Will FR      
     3) r:0.19 Germonprez, Nate FR    4) r:0.23 Taylor, Camden FR     
             10.18        20.49 (20.49)
          31.03 (10.54)       43.66 (23.17)
           52.43 (8.77)     1:03.48 (19.82)
         1:12.35 (8.87)     1:22.46 (18.98)
  2 BYU                                 1:24.49    1:23.67A  56  
     1) Tiffany, Jordan FR            2) r:0.04 Prolo, Brad           
     3) r:0.26 Edwards, Tanner FR     4) r:0.10 Riva, Luigi JR        
             10.54        21.06 (21.06)
          31.74 (10.68)       44.45 (23.39)
           53.55 (9.10)     1:04.55 (20.10)
         1:13.46 (8.91)     1:23.67 (19.12)
  3 TCU                                 1:25.80    1:24.93   54  
     1) Cicanci, Edgar SO             2) r:0.14 Wuilliez, Jadon JR    
     3) r:0.22 Sadlowski, Piotr GS    4) r:0.20 Paiva Da, Raphael GS  
             10.72        21.48 (21.48)
          31.80 (10.32)       44.82 (23.34)
           54.43 (9.61)     1:05.39 (20.57)
         1:14.52 (9.13)     1:24.93 (19.54)
  4 WVU                                 1:27.05    1:27.16   52  
     1) Heimes, Justin SR             2) r:0.40 Schaefer, Joe SR      
     3) r:0.35 Osborn, Braden JR      4) r:0.35 McBeth, Conner JR     
             10.98        22.09 (22.09)
          32.87 (10.78)       46.14 (24.05)
           56.04 (9.90)     1:07.83 (21.69)
         1:16.90 (9.07)     1:27.16 (19.33)
  5 CINC                                1:28.55    1:27.54   50  
     1) Muramatsu, Brennan FR         2) r:0.27 Lucero, Reed FR       
     3) r:0.26 Hawthorne, Drew SR     4) r:0.35 Fuhrmann, Jet SO      
             11.15        22.64 (22.64)
          33.89 (11.25)       47.20 (24.56)
           56.24 (9.04)     1:07.69 (20.49)
         1:17.16 (9.47)     1:27.54 (19.85)

Men’s Team Diving

The inaugural team diving event at the Big 12 meet went to Texas, with the Longhorn men scoring 406.45 points to easily beat second-place TCU (374.75) and third-place BYU (330.05).

Event 4  Men Team Diving
=========================================================================
       Big 12: *    NP
         Meet: #    NP
    Name                 Year School               Seed     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
  1 Texas, Team Diving        TEX                    NP     406.45#  64  
  2 Texas Christian, Team     TCU                    NP     374.75#  56  
  3 Brigham Young, Team D     BYU                    NP     330.05#  54  
  4 West Virginia, Team D     WVU                    NP     323.20#  52  
  5 Cincinnati, Team Divi     CINC                   NP     318.90#  50

Women’s 800 Freestyle Relay

Kelly Pash, now in her fifth year competing for Texas, gave her team a four-second lead on the opening leg, punching the wall in 1:42.76 to come up just short of her season-best time of 1:42.64 that ranks 12th nationally. Pash was followed by Erin Gemmell, Olivia Bray and Angie Coe as the Longhorns cruised to victory in the 800 free relay at 6:57.87.

That time was off their season-best mark of 6:56.37 from midseason, and now it is waiting time for Texas to see if this group earns a spot in the final heat at the NCAA Championships. A group that included Pash and Bray took third at NCAAs last year, but the team is currently sitting in the No. 7 spot in the country pending the event being held Wednesday evening at the Pac-12 Championships. Stanford and USC already sit ahead of Texas, but if two more teams jump ahead (for instance, Cal and Arizona State), Texas would be confined to the second-to-last heat at the national meet.

The race for second place went to Cincinnati’s Julie Rose, Lindi Worrell, Jessica Davis and Sophie Curtis in 7:12.24, with TCU’s Tania Quaglieri, Mikayla Popham, Kara Church and Serena Gould third in 7:15.82.

Event 5  Women 800 Yard Freestyle Relay
==================================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 6:45.91  3/15/2017 Stanford
                          Manuel, Neal, Eastin, Ledecky
     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
       Big 12: * 6:53.42  3/14/2018 University of Texas
                          Carrozza, Adams, Pfeifer, Millard
         Meet: # 6:56.49  2/22/2023 University of Texas
                          K Pash, K Leibel, O Bray, E Sullivan
     NCAA "A": A 7:00.86
     NCAA "B": B 7:05.88
 NCCA Invit23:   7:05.59
    School                                 Seed     Finals Points 
==================================================================================
  1 TEX                                 6:56.37    6:57.87A  64  
     1) Pash, Kelly GS                2) r:0.25 Gemmell, Erin FR      
     3) r:0.27 Bray, Olivia SR        4) r:0.42 Coe, Angie FR         
             23.90        49.88 (49.88)
      1:16.25 (1:16.25)   1:42.76 (1:42.76)
                            2:32.50 (49.74)
      2:59.80 (1:17.04)   3:26.81 (1:44.05)
        3:50.07 (23.26)     4:16.35 (49.54)
      4:44.05 (1:17.24)   5:12.19 (1:45.38)
        5:36.42 (24.23)     6:03.44 (51.25)
      6:30.92 (1:18.73)   6:57.87 (1:45.68)
  2 CINC                                7:23.21    7:12.24   56  
     1) Rose, Julie FR                2) r:0.36 Worrell, Lindi FR     
     3) r:0.43 Davis, Jessica SR      4) r:0.26 Curtis, Sophie SO     
             25.17        51.69 (51.69)
      1:18.99 (1:18.99)   1:46.93 (1:46.93)
        2:11.29 (24.36)     2:38.69 (51.76)
      3:07.19 (1:20.26)   3:35.69 (1:48.76)
        4:00.15 (24.46)     4:26.96 (51.27)
      4:54.41 (1:18.72)   5:22.67 (1:46.98)
                            6:14.46 (51.79)
      6:42.68 (1:20.01)   7:12.24 (1:49.57)
  3 TCU                                 7:15.35    7:15.82   54  
     1) Quaglieri, Tania GS           2) r:0.18 Popham, Mikayla GS    
     3) r:0.29 Church, Kara SR        4) r:0.33 Gould, Serena SR      
             24.09        50.66 (50.66)
      1:18.28 (1:18.28)   1:47.27 (1:47.27)
        2:11.16 (23.89)     2:38.42 (51.15)
      3:06.96 (1:19.69)   3:35.75 (1:48.48)
        4:00.20 (24.45)     4:27.85 (52.10)
      4:56.32 (1:20.57)   5:25.20 (1:49.45)
        5:49.55 (24.35)     6:16.96 (51.76)
      6:45.93 (1:20.73)   7:15.82 (1:50.62)
  4 BYU                                 7:18.61    7:18.86   52  
     1) Cooley, Tatum FR              2) r:0.25 Schreiber, Victoria SO
     3) r:0.30 Geldmacher, Regan JR   4) r:0.32 Martinson, Kara FR    
             25.02        52.74 (52.74)
      1:21.46 (1:21.46)   1:50.18 (1:50.18)
        2:15.27 (25.09)     2:43.12 (52.94)
      3:11.57 (1:21.39)   3:40.02 (1:49.84)
                            4:32.05 (52.03)
      5:00.21 (1:20.19)   5:28.58 (1:48.56)
        5:53.28 (24.70)     6:21.00 (52.42)
      6:49.90 (1:21.32)   7:18.86 (1:50.28)
  5 WVU                                 7:28.70    7:19.14   50  
     1) Martin De La Torre, Gabriela  2) r:0.25 Kirtley, Miranda JR   
     3) r:0.27 Busch, Olivia SO       4) r:0.33 Smutny, Maddie FR     
             25.58        53.21 (53.21)
      1:21.31 (1:21.31)   1:49.15 (1:49.15)
        2:15.09 (25.94)     2:43.21 (54.06)
      3:11.57 (1:22.42)   3:39.37 (1:50.22)
        4:05.08 (25.71)     4:33.37 (54.00)
      5:02.21 (1:22.84)   5:30.89 (1:51.52)
        5:56.42 (25.53)     6:24.14 (53.25)
      6:51.67 (1:20.78)   7:19.14 (1:48.25)
  6 UH                                  7:26.89    7:19.21   48  
     1) Goupil, Liya SO               2) r:0.62 Jurica, Mary Carine JR
     3) r:0.53 Humphrey, Eden SO      4) r:0.32 Unruh, Megan FR       
             25.33        52.79 (52.79)
      1:20.97 (1:20.97)   1:49.61 (1:49.61)
      3:11.02 (1:21.41)   3:38.93 (1:49.32)
        4:04.73 (25.80)     4:32.41 (53.48)
      5:00.77 (1:21.84)   5:29.15 (1:50.22)
        5:54.66 (25.51)     6:22.46 (53.31)
      6:50.34 (1:21.19)   7:19.21 (1:50.06)
  7 KANS                                7:29.74    7:20.70   46  
     1) Farrell, Hailey SO            2) r:0.30 Kotzamanis, Eleni JR  
     3) r:0.46 Wehrmann, Ellie SR     4) r:0.44 Dougan, Claudia SR    
             25.89        53.71 (53.71)
      1:21.69 (1:21.69)   1:50.08 (1:50.08)
      3:11.15 (1:21.07)   3:39.51 (1:49.43)
        4:04.85 (25.34)     4:32.97 (53.46)
      5:01.43 (1:21.92)   5:30.56 (1:51.05)
        5:55.94 (25.38)     6:24.15 (53.59)
      6:52.63 (1:22.07)   7:20.70 (1:50.14)
  8 ISU                                 7:27.40    7:20.79   44  
     1) DeWitt, Fallon JR             2) r:0.39 Horras, Brinley SR    
     3) r:0.40 Guist, Corinne SO      4) r:0.45 Bengtson, Ashley SR   
             25.64        53.04 (53.04)
      1:21.33 (1:21.33)   1:50.01 (1:50.01)
        2:15.43 (25.42)     2:43.19 (53.18)
      3:11.20 (1:21.19)   3:38.86 (1:48.85)
        4:04.57 (25.71)     4:32.73 (53.87)
      5:01.41 (1:22.55)   5:30.03 (1:51.17)
        5:55.88 (25.85)     6:23.83 (53.80)
      6:52.41 (1:22.38)   7:20.79 (1:50.76)

Men’s 800 Freestyle Relay

The Longhorn men returned just one swimmer from last year’s national-title-winning 800 free relay, Coby Carrozza, as a freshman and two sophomores handled the other legs. Carrozza went 1:31.97 on the leadoff leg, moving himself into a tie for ninth in the country, and teammates Manning Haskal, Alec Enyeart and Nate Germonprez took care of business to win in 6:13.12. Shortly after impressing on the fly leg of the 200 medley relay, Germonprez split 1:31.86 coming home.

The Texas men have been as fast as 6:11.66 this season, and they likely can go much quicker with Luke Hobson set to rejoin the squad at the NCAA Championships, but they will likely have to post a time from outside the top heat, with a collection of Big Ten and Pac-12 schools, including Arizona State and Cal, likely to jump Texas in the standings before entries for the NCAA Championships are due.

TCU placed second in this event with Geremia Freri, Milan Fabian, Nick Rozenberg and Luke Dimiceli clocking 6:21.59. West Virginia’s Danny Berlitz, Roanoke Shirk, Max Nielsen and Christian Simpson placed third in 6:@6.02.

Event 6  Men 800 Yard Freestyle Relay
====================================================================
    School                                 Seed     Finals        
====================================================================
  1 TEX                                 6:11.66    6:13.12  
     1) Carrozza, Coby SR             2) Haskal, Manning SO           
     3) Enyeart, Alec SO              4) Germonprez, Nate FR          
                 21.23        44.07 (44.07)
      1:07.66 (1:07.66)   1:31.97 (1:31.97)
        1:53.24 (21.27)     2:16.62 (44.65)
      2:40.97 (1:09.00)   3:05.71 (1:33.74)
        3:26.83 (21.12)     3:50.61 (44.90)
      4:15.74 (1:10.03)   4:41.26 (1:35.55)
        5:01.93 (20.67)     5:25.10 (43.84)
      5:48.82 (1:07.56)   6:13.12 (1:31.86)
  2 TCU                                 6:25.83    6:21.59  
     1) Freri, Geremia JR             2) Fabian, Milan JR             
     3) Rozenberg, Nick FR            4) Dimiceli, Luke JR            
                 21.62        44.88 (44.88)
      1:09.13 (1:09.13)   1:34.04 (1:34.04)
        1:55.68 (21.64)     2:19.97 (45.93)
      2:45.04 (1:11.00)   3:09.72 (1:35.68)
        3:31.06 (21.34)     3:54.76 (45.04)
      4:20.07 (1:10.35)   4:45.90 (1:36.18)
        5:07.32 (21.42)     5:31.85 (45.95)
      5:56.69 (1:10.79)   6:21.59 (1:35.69)
  3 WVU                                 6:34.19    6:26.02  
     1) Berlitz, Danny SR             2) Shirk, Roanoke SR            
     3) Nielsen, Max SO               4) Simpson, Christian SO        
                 22.63        46.80 (46.80)
      1:11.15 (1:11.15)   1:35.55 (1:35.55)
        1:57.80 (22.25)     2:22.52 (46.97)
      2:47.52 (1:11.97)   3:12.75 (1:37.20)
        3:35.52 (22.77)     4:00.09 (47.34)
      4:24.39 (1:11.64)   4:49.28 (1:36.53)
        5:11.49 (22.21)     5:36.10 (46.82)
      6:00.81 (1:11.53)   6:26.02 (1:36.74)
  4 CINC                                6:32.52    6:26.31  
     1) Gubeno, Hunter SR             2) Gonzalez, Alex SR            
     3) Osa, Jon GS                   4) Williams, Ricky SR           
                 22.10        46.20 (46.20)
      1:10.80 (1:10.80)   1:35.67 (1:35.67)
        1:57.93 (22.26)     2:22.30 (46.63)
      2:47.54 (1:11.87)   3:12.93 (1:37.26)
        3:34.59 (21.66)     3:59.18 (46.25)
      4:24.38 (1:11.45)   4:49.76 (1:36.83)
        5:11.93 (22.17)     5:36.46 (46.70)
      6:01.49 (1:11.73)   6:26.31 (1:36.55)
  5 BYU                                 6:29.25    6:30.73  
     1) Reed, Joshua FR               2) Barragan, Abe JR             
     3) Plumb, Payton SR              4) Camacho Salgado, Diego JR    
                 21.92        46.21 (46.21)
      1:11.94 (1:11.94)   1:38.72 (1:38.72)
        2:00.77 (22.05)     2:25.33 (46.61)
      2:51.02 (1:12.30)   3:16.69 (1:37.97)
        3:38.10 (21.41)     4:02.81 (46.12)
      4:28.02 (1:11.33)   4:52.86 (1:36.17)
        5:14.72 (21.86)     5:39.23 (46.37)
      6:04.71 (1:11.85)   6:30.73 (1:37.87)

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