Stephanie Payne breaks a KU school record twice as Jayhawks gain ground in Day 3 of Big 12 Swimming/Diving Championships
Big 12 Championship Complete Results
Feb. 25, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas –
Kansas Junior Stephanie Payne stole the show Friday night in the second to last day of competition of the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas as the Jayhawks gained 138.5 points and now sit in fourth place with a total of 260.5 after three days of the four day event.
Payne broke the previous KU school record of 4:13.33 in the 400-yard individual medley with the 4:12.18 she swam to in preliminaries earlier in the day. That record would stand for just a matter of hours as she blew past it, setting the current fastest time in program history (4:11.94), which put her in fourth place, just a little more than a second of the pace for third.
“I feel pretty happy… and tired,” Payne said after her race. “This is one Big 12 Championship that I won’t forget.”
Another one who will remember Payne’s performance is Kansas Head Coach Clark Campbell who was there to watch his swimmer make history from the deck.
“Stephanie’s 400 IM was a definitely special,” he said. “It was a really good way to kick off the session.”
Payne was followed by fellow senior Joy Bunting who finished 7th (4:17.86) and Alison Moffit in 9th with a time of 4:19.87.
Junior Abigail Anderson led KU in the 100-yard butterfly as she finished sixth with a season best time of 53.47. Sophomore Monica Johannessen also topped her season best with her 54.31 time, which put her in 10th. Rounding out the butterfly finals, was Kath Liggett in 14th place with a time of 55.51, Malia Johnson at 16th (55.82) and Brittany Potter in 20th (55.47).
Freshman Morgan Sharp finished a strong 10th for the Jayhawks in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.09, her fastest of the season. Junior Shannon Garlie placed 14th with a time of 1:49.82 and sophomore Brooke Brull was 16th with a season fast time of 1:51.28.
Kansas’ underclassmen represented the Crimson and Blue well in the 100-yard breaststroke as freshman Alison Lusk finished 10th with a time of 1:02.89 and sophomore Brittany Rospierski finished just three slots down from her teammate in 13th at 1:03.97. Both times were season highs for the Jayhawk women.
The Jayhawks went back to back in the 100-yard backstroke with Anderson taking eight with a season best time of 53.88 and senior Iuliia Kuzhil in ninth at 53.64.
In the 400-yard individual medley relay, Kansas placed fourth behind Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas with a time of 3:40.52 (their best of the season). The Jayhawks were led by sophomore Monica Johannessen, Abigail Anderson, Lusk and Kuzhil.
“Abigail Anderson in her two events was absolutely rock solid,” Campbell said. “It’s a really tough double that she did with the 100 fly and the hundred back, plus she had the relay as well, so for being in five races today she competed at a really high level.”
The Jayhawks were represented by sophomores Christy Cash and Alyssa Golden in the one meter diving event. Cash took 17th place with a score of 224.45 and Golden was not far behind in 19th with a total score of 179.60.
“As the meet progresses, the order of events favors us,” Coach Campbell said. “We took advantage of that today, swam well and it put us in a good position for Saturday.”
Tomorrow the Jayhawks will wrap-up their trip to Austin for the Big 12 Championships as they compete in the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breast stroke, 200 butterfly, platform diving and 400 freestyle relay finals.
STANDINGS THROUGH DAY 3 OF 4
1-Texas A&M (635.0)
2-Texas (628.0)
3-Missouri (433.5)
4-Kansas (260.5)
5-Nebraska (217.0)
6-Iowa State (109.0)
400-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
1-Texas (3:30.52)
2-Texas A&M (3:31.04)
3-Missouri (3:35.59)
4-Kansas (3:40.52)
5-Nebraska (3:42.43)
6-Iowa State (3:45.17 ) **DQ
(Kuzhil, Lusk, Anderson & Johannessen)
400-YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
1-Sarah Henry FR-Texas A&M (4:05.48)
2-Cammile Adams FR-Texas A&M (4:07.64)
3-Alyssa Conner JR-Texas A&M (4:10.51)
4-Stephanie Payne JR-Kansas (4:11.94)*
7-Joy Bunting SR-Kansas (4:17.86)
9-Alison Moffit FR-Kansas (4:19.87)
*=New KU school record
100-YARD BUTTERFLY
1-Kelsey Admundsen SO-Texas (52.54)
2-Paige Miller FR-Texas A&M (52.84)
3-Kendra Chernoff SO-Texas A&M (52.97)
6-Abigail Anderson JR-Kansas (53.47)
10-Monica Johannessen SO-Kansas (54.31)
14-Kath Liggett JR-Kansas (55.51)
16-Malia Johnson FR-Kansas (55.82)
20-Brittany Potter SR-Kansas (55.47)
200-YARD FREESTYLE
1-Karlee Bispo JR-Texas (1:43.59)
2-Adrienne Woods SR-Texas (1:46.19)
2-Katie Riefenstahl JR-Texas (1:46.19)
10-Morgan Sharp FR-Kansas (1:49.09)
14-Shannon Garlie JR-Kansas (1:49.82)
16-Brooke Brull SO-Kansas (1:51.28)
33-Amanda Maez SR-Kansas (1:55.64)
100-YARD BREASTROKE
1-Laura Sogar SO-Texas (58.83)
2-Breeja Larson FR-Texas A&M (59.32)
3-Erica Dittmer FR-Texas A&M (100.97)
10-Alison Lusk FR-Kansas (1:02.89)
13-Brittany Rospierski SO-Kansas (1:03.97)
100-YARD BACKSTROKE
1-Paige Miller FR-Texas A&M (52.65)
2-Jessica Guro SO-Texas (53.17)
3-Tess Simpson SO-Texas A&M (53.22)
8-Abigail Anderson JR-Kansas (53.88)
9-Iuliia Kuzhil SR-Kansas (53.64)
37-Madison Wagner SO-Kansas (59.64)
1-METER DIVING
1-Loren Figueroa FR-Missouri (335.15)
2-Janie Potvin JR-Texas A&M (317.05)
3-Maren Taylor SO-Texas (314.60)
17-Christy Cash SO-Kansas (224.45)
19-Alyssa Golden SO-Kansas (179.60)
