Marlene Kahler, Chris O’Grady Lead USC Trojans to Sweep of Arizona Wildcats

USC's Justina Kozan -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Marlene Kahler, Chris O’Grady Lead USC Trojans to Sweep of Arizona Wildcats

After a Friday afternoon dual meet against Arizona State, the University of Southern California teams faced the other major program from the Grand Canyon State, the Arizona Wildcats. The Trojans were victorious against both Tucson-based programs, with the women winning 165 to 128 and the men earning a 168-132 victory over Arizona.

For USC’s women, Marlene Kahler was a standout as she won the 1000 freestyle (10:02.03), 200 free (1:49.74) and 500 free (4:54.57), while freshman Justina Kozan won the 200 butterfly (1:58.87) and 200 IM (2:00.90) and Elise Garcia won the 50 free (22.94) and 100 free (49.52). The Trojan men were led by triple-event winner Chris O’Grady, who took the 100 breaststroke (53.94), 200 breast (1:57.61) and 200 IM (1:48.50). Vaggelis Makrygiannis won the 100 backstroke (48.23) and 200 back (1:47.95), while the Arizona men were led by Haakon Naughton, the winner of the 200 fly and 100 fly.

Full results are available here, and read the full press release from USC below:

USC swimming’s Marlene Kahler and Chris O’Grady each posted three individual wins to lead the Trojans to a victory over Arizona on Sat., Nov. 5 at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

The men (1-1) won 168-132, while the Women of Troy won the dual 165-128 and improve to 3-0.

The Trojan quartet of Hanna Henderson, Kaitlyn Dobler, Anicka Delgado and Elise Garcia kicked off the session with a win, claiming the 200 medley relay in 1:38.54. The same quartet closed out the session with another win, this time claiming the 200 free relay in 1:30.45.

Austrian Olympian Kahler picked up where she left off yesterday, claiming the 1000 freestyle for USC with a time of 10:02.03. Less than 13 minutes later, Kahler returned to claim the 200 freestyle in 1:49.74. She’d also claim the 500 free in 4:54.57 to mark her third win of the day.

In the men’s 200 freestyle, Trojan senior Max Saunders led a 1-2 USC finish as Saunders posted a 1:37.44, just .57 ahead of teammate Paul Retterer (1:38.03).

O’Grady (53.94) also claimed three events for the Trojans, capturing the 100 breast (53.94), 200 breast (1:57.61) and 200 IM (1:48.50). Ben Dillard was second in all three events, touching shortly behind O’Grady in the 100 breast (54.52), 200 breast (1:59.58) and 200 IM (1:48.56).

Greek Olympian Vaggelis Makrygiannis also claimed a pair of individual events as he won the 100 (48.23) and 200 backstroke in 1:47.95.

Justina Kozan (1:58.87) posted a win in the 200 butterfly to claim the event for the Woman of Troy. She’d also take the 200 IM in 2:00.90, winning the event by more than three seconds.

Garcia took both the 50 (22.94) and 100 free (49.52), while Delgado was second in both (50 free – 23.03, 100 free – 49.54).

On the men’s side, Trojan splash-and-dash specialist Artem Selin won the 50 free (19.65) and touched second in the 100 free (44.50).

Other event winners for the Trojans today included Dobler (100 breast – 1:00.35, 200 back – 2:10.76), Henderson (100 back – 54.98, 200 back – 1:59.71) and Retterer (500 free – 4:29.85).

In the diving well, Shangfei Wang won on 1-meter (354.23), while George Korovin took the 3-meter event with 379.20. On the women’s side, Carolina Sculti (361.65), Allison Ward (272.10) and Nike Agunbiade (270.30) finished 2-4-5, respectively on 3-meter. The Woman of Troy were 2-3-4 on 1-meter with Sculti (303.15), Agunbiade (285.30) and Ward (259.05).

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use