Big 12 Championships, Day 2 Finals: Texas Freshman Erin Gemmell, Will Modglin Claim First Conference Titles

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Erin Gemmell -- Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron

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Big 12 Championships, Day 2 Finals: Texas Freshman Erin Gemmell, Will Modglin Claim First Conference Titles

The Texas women and men are facing little competition in their quest to add to long winning streaks at their final Big 12 Championships before departing the conference. Thus, even without posting many times that rank highly in the national standings and with some top swimmers (such as Luke Hobson) sitting out the meet, Texas has won every event so far to open up huge leads in both

On the first day of individual swimming action, Longhorn veterans Coby Carrozza, Kelly Pash and Grace Cooper all scored individual wins while a pair of highly-touted freshman, Erin Gemmell and Will Modglin, won titles in their first championship meet as college athletes. Currently, those performances have the Texas women leading by 254 points while the men are up by 179.

Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 11                 
 
  1. University of Texas               571   2. Texas Christian University        317
  3. University of Houston           273.5   4. Brigham Young University          258
  5. University of Cincinnati          257   6. West Virginia University          251
  7. Iowa State University             194   7. University of Kansas              194
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 12                  
 
  1. University of Texas               548   2. Texas Christian University        369
  3. Brigham Young University          330   4. University of Cincinnati        327.5
  5. West Virginia University        317.5

Men’s 1-Meter Diving

Diving has proved the difference in numerous national titles for the Texas men under legendary coach Eddie Reese, and they are likely to again send a loaded group on the boards to the NCAA Championships. The men’s 1-meter event went to Brendan McCourt with 435.35 points, which was just seven tenths of a point ahead of teammate Nick Harris (434.65). Third went to the Longhorn’s Noah Duperre (419.65).

Event 14  Men 1 mtr Diving
=========================================================================
       Big 12: * 469.85  3/1/2021  Jordan Windle, Texas
         Meet: # 469.85  3/1/2021  Jordan Windle, Texas
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 McCourt, Brendan       SR TEX                387.25     435.35   32  
  2 Harris, Nick           SO TEX                397.85     434.65   28  
  3 Duperre, Noah          SR TEX                369.50     419.65   27  
  4 Strauss, Mickey        SR BYU                342.05     407.20   26  
  5 Borowski, Manny        JR TEX                363.55     378.40   25  
  6 Braunton, Tanner       FR TEX                343.35     375.05   24  
  7 Brooke, Pierce         FR TEX                351.35     332.75   23  
  8 Hubbard, Alec          JR TCU                320.10     331.50   22

Women’s 500 Freestyle

In a furious sprint to the finish, Texas freshman Erin Gemmell held off veteran teammate Erica Sullivan for the conference title. Gemmell led by almost a half-second with 100 yards remaining, but Sullivan, the 2021 Olympic silver medalist in the 1500-meter free, came home in 55.23 to come with in six hundredths of Gemmell at the finish. However, Gemmell held on to touch in 4:40.09, ahead of Sullivan in 4:40.15.

The times don’t rank particularly high in the national rankings, with Gemmell moving into a tie for 24th and Sullivan coming in 26th. However, with Texas likely swimming through the Big 12 meet with an eye toward the national level, we can expect both to be in the A-final conversation at the NCAA Championships next month. Sullivan placed fourth in the 500 at last year’s NCAAs.

TCU got a swimmer into the top three as Kara Church touched in 4:46.12.

Event 7  Women 500 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 4:24.06  3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky
     American: $ 4:24.06  3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky
      US Open: & 4:24.06  3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky
       Big 12: * 4:35.02  3/18/2021 Evie Pfeifer, Texas
         Meet: # 4:36.35  2/25/2021 Evie Pfeifer, Texas
     NCAA "A": A 4:37.89
     NCAA "B": B 4:47.20
 NCCA Invit23:   4:41.09
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Gemmell, Erin          FR TEX               4:47.03    4:40.09B  32  
             25.23        53.19 (27.96)
        1:21.60 (28.41)     1:50.22 (28.62)
        2:18.70 (28.48)     2:47.14 (28.44)
        3:15.69 (28.55)     3:44.47 (28.78)
        4:13.02 (28.55)     4:40.09 (27.07)
  2 Sullivan, Erica        JR TEX               4:46.06    4:40.15B  28  
             25.74        53.38 (27.64)
        1:21.67 (28.29)     1:50.09 (28.42)
        2:18.72 (28.63)     2:47.47 (28.75)
        3:16.27 (28.80)     3:44.92 (28.65)
        4:13.31 (28.39)     4:40.15 (26.84)
  3 Church, Kara           SR TCU               4:52.74    4:46.12B  27  
             26.13        54.65 (28.52)
        1:23.32 (28.67)     1:51.92 (28.60)
        2:20.71 (28.79)     2:49.51 (28.80)
        3:18.52 (29.01)     3:47.90 (29.38)
        4:17.03 (29.13)     4:46.12 (29.09)
  4 Popham, Mikayla        GS TCU               4:52.67    4:48.92   26  
             25.78        54.24 (28.46)
        1:23.46 (29.22)     1:52.68 (29.22)
        2:22.26 (29.58)     2:51.83 (29.57)
        3:21.36 (29.53)     3:50.97 (29.61)
        4:20.47 (29.50)     4:48.92 (28.45)
  5 Humphrey, Eden         SO UH                4:50.16    4:48.98   25  
             26.37        54.65 (28.28)
        1:23.22 (28.57)     1:52.43 (29.21)
        2:21.48 (29.05)     2:50.94 (29.46)
        3:20.43 (29.49)     3:50.21 (29.78)
        4:19.93 (29.72)     4:48.98 (29.05)
  6 Edwards, Jordan        JR TCU               4:51.63    4:50.63   24  
             26.39        55.03 (28.64)
        1:24.09 (29.06)     1:53.33 (29.24)
        2:22.72 (29.39)     2:52.42 (29.70)
        3:21.92 (29.50)     3:51.60 (29.68)
        4:21.48 (29.88)     4:50.63 (29.15)
  7 Inman, Sydney          FR TCU               4:51.69    4:50.76   23  
             26.94        55.69 (28.75)
        1:24.70 (29.01)     1:53.96 (29.26)
        2:23.38 (29.42)     2:52.89 (29.51)
        3:22.57 (29.68)     3:52.29 (29.72)
        4:21.97 (29.68)     4:50.76 (28.79)
  8 Geldmacher, Regan      JR BYU               4:54.05    4:57.06   22  
             26.44        55.74 (29.30)
        1:25.65 (29.91)     1:55.83 (30.18)
        2:26.18 (30.35)     2:56.60 (30.42)
        3:27.15 (30.55)     3:57.31 (30.16)
        4:27.71 (30.40)     4:57.06 (29.35)

Men’s 500 Freestyle

Fresh off a sub-1:32 leadoff leg on the Texas men’s 800 free relay Tuesday night, Coby Carrozza was dominant in the 500 free final, leading by one-and-one-quarter seconds after just 100 yards on the way to topping the field by more than seven seconds. Carrozza clocked 4:11.95 to take the win, moving himself into seventh in the national rankings. With decorated teammate Luke Hobson likely to return for the NCAA Championships, the Longhorns will have a strong duo in the event that could produce two A-finalists.

The Longhorns ended up sweeping the top-three spots in this race as Alec Enyeart grabbed second in 4:19.33 and Manning Haskal placed third in 4:22.07, just holding off TCU’s Milan Fabian (4:22.35).

Event 8  Men 500 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 4:06.32  2/19/2020 Kieran Smith
     American: $ 4:06.32  2/19/2020 Kieran Smith
      US Open: & 4:06.32  2/19/2020 Kieran Smith
       Big 12: * 4:07.37  3/23/2023 Townley Haas, Texas
         Meet: # 4:11.11  2/23/2017 Clark Smith, Texas
     NCAA "A": A 4:10.74
     NCAA "B": B 4:21.99
 NCCA Invit23:   4:14.36
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Carrozza, Coby         SR TEX               4:19.92    4:11.95B  32  
             22.74        47.57 (24.83)
        1:13.01 (25.44)     1:38.92 (25.91)
        2:04.94 (26.02)     2:30.98 (26.04)
        2:56.79 (25.81)     3:22.58 (25.79)
        3:47.37 (24.79)     4:11.95 (24.58)
  2 Enyeart, Alec          SO TEX               4:20.34    4:19.33B  28  
             23.32        48.82 (25.50)
        1:14.87 (26.05)     1:40.96 (26.09)
        2:07.21 (26.25)     2:33.38 (26.17)
        2:59.77 (26.39)     3:26.61 (26.84)
        3:53.20 (26.59)     4:19.33 (26.13)
  3 Haskal, Manning        SO TEX               4:22.39    4:22.07   27  
             23.83        49.39 (25.56)
        1:15.49 (26.10)     1:42.03 (26.54)
        2:08.73 (26.70)     2:35.67 (26.94)
        3:02.37 (26.70)     3:29.05 (26.68)
        3:55.86 (26.81)     4:22.07 (26.21)
  4 Fabian, Milan          JR TCU               4:24.83    4:22.35   26  
             24.09        49.98 (25.89)
        1:16.24 (26.26)     1:42.83 (26.59)
        2:09.34 (26.51)     2:35.92 (26.58)
        3:02.77 (26.85)     3:29.79 (27.02)
        3:56.83 (27.04)     4:22.35 (25.52)
  5 Kohalmi, Kornel        SO TCU               4:25.40    4:25.43   25  
             24.27        50.31 (26.04)
        1:16.78 (26.47)     1:43.62 (26.84)
        2:10.94 (27.32)     2:38.36 (27.42)
        3:05.57 (27.21)     3:32.86 (27.29)
        3:59.98 (27.12)     4:25.43 (25.45)
  6 Wilmes, Aaron          SO TCU               4:26.67    4:25.83   24  
             24.42        50.68 (26.26)
        1:17.20 (26.52)     1:43.91 (26.71)
        2:11.16 (27.25)     2:38.10 (26.94)
        3:05.67 (27.57)     3:32.72 (27.05)
        3:59.82 (27.10)     4:25.83 (26.01)
  7 Gonzalez, Alex         SR CINC              4:24.65    4:25.87   23  
             23.94        49.62 (25.68)
        1:16.11 (26.49)     1:42.94 (26.83)
        2:09.95 (27.01)     2:37.06 (27.11)
        3:04.24 (27.18)     3:31.29 (27.05)
        3:58.71 (27.42)     4:25.87 (27.16)
  8 McKinney, Ian          FR WVU               4:25.53    4:27.88   22  
             24.26        50.45 (26.19)
        1:16.89 (26.44)     1:43.67 (26.78)
        2:10.49 (26.82)     2:37.67 (27.18)
        3:05.18 (27.51)     3:32.97 (27.79)
        4:00.55 (27.58)     4:27.88 (27.33)

Women’s 200 IM

In her fifth year swimming for Texas, Kelly Pash could again be a three-event A-finalist on the national level while also playing a central role in the Longhorns’ relays. In the Big 12 final, Pash pulled away from teammate Emma Sticklen to move into the top-10 in the country in the race. Sticklen led by three tenths after butterfly before Pash pulled ahead by four hundredths on backstroke and then distanced herself with splits of 33.92 on breaststroke and 27.24 on freestyle.

Pash came in at 1:53.80, with Sticklen taking second at 1:55.05. Texas ended up with the top-five spots in the event, with a pair of freshman coming in next with Angie Coe (1:55.98) and Campbell Stoll (1:56.76). Both have likely done enough to earn their spots at NCAAs.

Event 9  Women 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 1:48.37  3/16/2023 Kate Douglass
     American: $ 1:50.08  3/17/2022 Alex Walsh

      US Open: & 1:48.37  3/16/2023 Kate Douglass
       Big 12: * 1:52.58  3/16/2017 Madisyn Cox, Texas
         Meet: # 1:52.82  2/23/2017 Madisyn Cox, Texas
     NCAA "A": A 1:53.66
     NCAA "B": B 1:59.56
 NCCA Invit23:   1:56.90
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals        
==================================================================
                       === Championship ===                       
 
  1 Pash, Kelly            GS TEX               1:56.20    1:53.80B 
             24.72        52.64 (27.92)
        1:26.56 (33.92)     1:53.80 (27.24)
  2 Sticklen, Emma         SR TEX               1:59.87    1:55.05B 
             24.45        52.68 (28.23)
        1:27.42 (34.74)     1:55.05 (27.63)
  3 Coe, Angie             FR TEX               1:58.90    1:55.99B 
             25.20        53.82 (28.62)
        1:27.93 (34.11)     1:55.99 (28.06)
  4 Stoll, Campbell        FR TEX               1:57.74    1:56.76B 
             25.46        54.16 (28.70)
        1:28.56 (34.40)     1:56.76 (28.20)
  5 Wilson, Alicia         GS TEX               1:58.69    1:57.98B 
             25.33        54.66 (29.33)
        1:29.53 (34.87)     1:57.98 (28.45)
  6 Gavin, Grace           SO CINC              2:01.12    1:58.82B 
             26.06        56.14 (30.08)
        1:30.73 (34.59)     1:58.82 (28.09)
  7 Rose, Julie            FR CINC              1:59.94    1:59.21B 
             26.45        57.79 (31.34)
        1:30.90 (33.11)     1:59.21 (28.31)
  8 Cheatwood, Mia         SO WVU               2:00.22    2:01.04  
             26.37        56.37 (30.00)
        1:30.89 (34.52)     2:01.04 (30.15)

Men’s 200 IM

On the opening night of Big 12s, Texas freshmen Will Modglin and Nate Germonprez both played key roles on the Texas men’s 200 medley relay, a group which swam a quicker-than-expected time of 1:22.46. Modglin swam an elite 20.49 backstroke split while Germonprez went 19.82 on butterfly. One day later, the two men clashed in a 200 IM final that went back-and-forth until Modglin pulled ahead at the end.

Germonprez was superior on the short-axis strokes while Modglin got his advantage on breaststroke and freestyle. Germonprez was a tenths ahead with 50 yards remaining before Modglin came home in 24.26 to secure the win in 1:41.01, less than three tenths clear of Germonprez in 1:41.29.

Those times rank fifth and sixth in the country, respectively, trailing only Arizona State world champion duo of Leon Marchand and Hubert Kos, Cal’s American-record holder Destin Lasco and NC State’s Arsenio Bustos. While the Texas men have been hurt by key departures in recent seasons, including Carson Foster after last year and Drew Kibler the year before, but this freshman duo should have Texas fans feeling optimistic looking forward.

BYU’s Jordan Tiffany placed third in 1:41.88, good for 12th nationally.

Event 10  Men 200 Yard IM
=========================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 1:36.34  3/23/2023 Leon Marchand
     American: $ 1:38.13  2/15/2018 Caeleb Dressel
      US Open: & 1:36.34  3/23/2023 Leon Marchand
       Big 12: * 1:39.63  3/25/2019 John Shebat, Texas
         Meet: # 1:40.42  2/23/2023 Carson Foster, Texas
     NCAA "A": A 1:41.03
     NCAA "B": B 1:46.16
 NCCA Invit23:   1:43.14
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Modglin, Will          FR TEX               1:43.97    1:41.01A  32  
             22.20        47.09 (24.89)
        1:16.75 (29.66)     1:41.01 (24.26)
  2 Germonprez, Nate       FR TEX               1:42.99    1:41.29B  28  
             21.97        47.12 (25.15)
        1:16.65 (29.53)     1:41.29 (24.64)
  3 Tiffany, Jordan        FR BYU               1:42.84    1:41.88B  27  
             21.34        46.76 (25.42)
        1:17.25 (30.49)     1:41.88 (24.63)
  4 Filipovic, Alec        SO TEX               1:44.97    1:43.44B  26  
             22.64        48.71 (26.07)
        1:18.78 (30.07)     1:43.44 (24.66)
  5 Berlitz, Danny         SR WVU               1:44.92    1:43.94B  25  
             23.04        49.29 (26.25)
        1:18.67 (29.38)     1:43.94 (25.27)
  6 Freri, Geremia         JR TCU               1:45.60    1:44.71B  24  
             22.35        49.60 (27.25)
        1:19.29 (29.69)     1:44.71 (25.42)
  7 Prolo, Brad               BYU               1:44.52    1:45.34B  23  
             22.27        48.95 (26.68)
        1:19.50 (30.55)     1:45.34 (25.84)
  8 Gubeno, Hunter         SR CINC              1:45.48    1:45.75B  22  
             22.93        48.33 (25.40)
        1:19.83 (31.50)     1:45.75 (25.92)

Women’s 50 Freestyle

The Texas women secured another 1-2-3 sweep in the splash-and-dash, with Grace Cooper getting the win in 22.01, 15-hundredths clear of her closest competition. Cooper previously split 21.40 on Texas’ winning 200 medley relay squad Tuesday evening. Ava Longi took second in 22.16, with Sienna Schellenger third in 22.36.

Event 11  Women 50 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 20.57  2/21/2024 Gretchen Walsh
     American: $ 20.57  2/21/2024 Gretchen Walsh
      US Open: & 20.57  2/21/2024 Gretchen Walsh
       Big 12: * 21.66  11/17/2023Grace Cooper, Texas
         Meet: # 21.87  2/26/2009 Hee-Jin Chang, Texas
     NCAA "A": A 21.63
     NCAA "B": B 22.67
 NCCA Invit23:   22.15
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Cooper, Grace          SR TEX                 21.96      22.01B  32  
             10.62        22.01 (11.39)
  2 Longi, Ava             SR TEX                 22.29      22.16B  28  
             10.84        22.16 (11.32)
  3 Schellenger, Sienna    SO TEX                 22.55      22.36B  27  
             10.84        22.36 (11.52)
  4 Davis, Jessica         SR CINC                22.43      22.38B  26  
             10.90        22.38 (11.48)
  5 Fulton, Alexa          FR TEX                 22.80      22.55B  25  
             11.03        22.55 (11.52)
  6 Davidson, Emma         GS TEX                 22.65      22.70   24  
             11.03        22.70 (11.67)
  7 Williams, Halli        JR BYU                 22.88      22.74   23  
             10.94        22.74 (11.80)
  8 Rhodes, Olivia         JR TCU                 22.66      22.80   22  
             10.88        22.80 (11.92)

Men’s 50 Freestyle

Texas does not have an overly-strong sprint freestyle group this season, but fifth-year swimmer Cole Crane had enough in the tank to get the better of the field at the conference meet, touching in 19.36 to win by 16-hundredths. Peter Paulus took second by touching out teammate Camden Taylor, 19.52 to 19.58.

Event 12  Men 50 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
      NCAA D1: ! 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel
     American: $ 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel
      US Open: & 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel
       Big 12: * 18.60  2/24/2022 Drew Kibler, Texas
         Meet: # 18.76  2/23/2017 Joseph Schooling, Texas
     NCAA "A": A 18.82
     NCAA "B": B 19.79
 NCCA Invit23:   19.21
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Crane, Cole            GS TEX                 19.64      19.36B  32  
              9.41         19.36 (9.95)
  2 Paulus, Peter          SR TEX                 19.85      19.52B  28  
              9.32        19.52 (10.20)
  3 Taylor, Camden         FR TEX                 19.78      19.58B  27  
              9.50        19.58 (10.08)
  4 Osa, Jon               GS CINC                19.71      19.68B  26  
              9.58        19.68 (10.10)
  5 Camacho Salgado, Dieg  JR BYU                 19.88      19.86   25  
              9.61        19.86 (10.25)
  6 Wuilliez, Jadon        JR TCU                 20.04      19.95   24  
              9.64        19.95 (10.31)
  7 Artmann, Sam           GS TEX                 19.90      20.02   23  
              9.68        20.02 (10.34)
 -- Edwards, Tanner        FR BYU                 19.92         DQ  
      Head did not break the surface by 15 meters
              9.61           DQ (10.28)

Women’s Team Diving

The Texas women claimed first in team diving with 376.20 points, well clear of the rest of the conference, but it was a tight battle for second as Kansas edged out Houston by four tenths of a point, 324.80 to 324.40.

vent 3  Women Team Diving
=========================================================================
         Meet: #    NP
    Name                 Year School               Seed     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
  1 Texas, Team Diving        TEX                    NP     376.20#  64  
  2 Kansas, Team Diving       KANS                   NP     324.80#  56  
  3 Houston, Team Diving      UH                     NP     324.40#  54  
  4 Brigham Young, Team D     BYU                    NP     286.55#  52  
  5 Iowa State, Team Divi     ISU                    NP     281.90#  50  
  6 Texas Christian, Team     TCU                    NP     281.50#  48  
  7 Cincinnati, Team Divi     CINC                   NP     255.35#  46  
  8 West Virginia, Team D     WVU                    NP     251.05#  44
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