Steven Stumph Finds Redemption In Day Four Prelims At Pac 12 Championships

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

FEDERAL WAY – The final prelims session at the men’s Pac 12 championships featured more setups for what should be a thrilling night of finals. Southern California put up some impressive swims this morning, gaining the top seed in three of the four events and bringing back more swimmers for finals than any school. The Trojans will pose a serious threat to Stanford, which currently leads the team standings.

Number of A and B finalists by school in day four prelims:
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200 backstroke
Ryan Murphy, Jacob Pebley and David Nolan, all NCAA finalists in this event, will race for the title tonight. Nolan, the newly-minted American record holder in the 200 IM, posted a 1:40.57 ahead of Stanford teammate Patrick Conaton’s 1:40.87. That’s Conaton’s second time under 1:41 this week, as he posted a 1:40.48 in a time trial Wednesday to drop four seconds off his lifetime best and get an automatic invite to the NCAA championships as a freshman.

California’s Jacob Pebley also got under 1:41 this morning with a 1:4093 for the third seed. Murphy, the reigning NCAA champion and NCAA record holder with a 1:37.35, cruised to the fourth seed with a 1:41.07.

Drew Cosgarea of Stanford (1:41.69) and Jesse Ryckman of California (1:42.12) also got into the championships final to give both schools three in the top eight. Arizona’s Thane Maudslien (1:42.18) and Arizona State’s Barkley Perry (1:42.50) were seventh and eighth.

Number of A and B finalists by school for the 200 back are listed below:
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100 freestyle
Cristian Quintero is aiming for a third individual event victory here, leading qualifiers in the 100 free with a 42.61. Quintero is a rare breed, able to perform exceptionally well in sprint and distance freestyle. He was a top-three finisher in the 100, 200 and 500 frees at the NCAAs last March, and is in position to do some major damage in three weeks. By comparison, Quintero’s prelim time puts him in a tie for ninth in the collegiate rankings, but he should put up something a bit faster tonight.

Three swimmers tied for the second seed with matching times of 42.66. Santo Condorelli, Nick Soedel and Ralf Tribuntsov will look to break that stalemate in finals.

But that wasn’t the only tie among the top eight finishers. Seth Stubblefield, the 100 fly winner, and Sam Perry tied for fifth as each posted a 42.79. And there is going to be a swim-off to determine if Thomas Stephens or Tyler Messerschmidt will swim in the final after both qualified eighth with a 43.16.

Reed Malone, who was seeded 44th coming into the meet with a 46.29, achieved another lifetime best this week with a 42.97 to qualify seventh. He skipped right over 43 seconds to beat his personal best of 44.67 from 2012.

Number of A and B finalists by school for the 100 free are listed below. The tie for eighth between Stanford’s Stephens and California’s Messerschmidt is not included pending the result of the swim-off:

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200 breaststroke
Steven Stumph had a subpar freshman year at Southern California, failing to qualify for the NCAA championships less than a year removed from breaking the 100 breast national high school record. Stumph’s fortunes changed dramatically this morning with a 1:53.01 in the 200 breast heats to not only qualify first for finals, but gain automatic selection to the NCAA championships. It’s a major personal best by more than two seconds, and ranks seventh in the collegiate rankings.

Josh Prenot of California, last night’s 400 IM winner, qualified second with a 1:54.25 ahead of the 1:54.65 by USC’s Morten Klarskov. Everyone will be keeping tabs on Arizona’s Kevin Cordes, the American record holder seeking a third consecutive conference win. Cordes is seeded fourth with a 1:55.49. It was a tight bunch in the rest of the top eight, with the remaining four also posting 1:55s. USC’s Andrew Malone was fifth with a 1:55.65, Arizona State’s Thibault Capitaine was sixth with a 1:55.69, USC’s Ridge Altman qualified seventh with a 1:55.84 and California’s Chuck Katis is eighth with a 1:55.89.

A swim-off for the 16th spot in the consolation final is on tap between Utah’s Jack Burton and California’s Connor Hoppe, both of whom posted a 1:58.88 in prelims.

Stanford’s points lead is likely to be threatened in the 200 breast with only two swimmers in the consolation final.

Number of A and B finalists by school for the 200 breast are listed below. The tie for 16th between Utah’s Burton and California’s Hoppe is not included pending the result of the swim-off:

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200 butterfly
Another USC sophomore took the top seed in this morning’s prelims, as Michael Domagala posted a lifetime best 1:42.75to lead qualifiers and sneak under the NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:42.85. Before today, his best had been a 1:45.05 from December 2013. Domagala had found success as a high school swimmer in middle-distance freestyle, winning at junior nationals in the 200 free.

Stanford junior Gray Umbach also posted a lifetime best to qualify second with a 1:43.31, while Long Gutierrez of California looks for his first Pac 12 title after finishing second in the 200 free with a third-seeded 1:43.50. Also under 1:44 in prelims were Stanford’s Tom Kremer (fourth: 1:43.75) and California’s Adam Hinshaw (fifth: 1:43.92).

A trio of freshmen rounded out the top eight. Arizona’s Justin Wright was sixth with a 1:44.19, while his teammate Rasmus Skjaerpe placed seventh with a 1:44.77. Arizona State’s Patrick Park rounded out the championship final field with a 1:44.77.

Number of A and B finalists by school for the 200 fly are listed below:
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2015 Men’s Pac 12 Championships: Day Four Prelims – Results

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