Jayhawks swim fast on day two of the 2019 Big 12 Championship
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
Feb. 27-March 2
Austin, Texas
Jamail Texas Swimming Center
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AUSTIN, Texas – The Kansas swimming and diving team had a total of 18 swimmers and divers advance to the final events Thursday evening inside the Jamail Swimming Center in Austin, Texas, after their swift-moving preliminary performances.
An exciting second day of competition bumped the Jayhawks into second-place after the team tallied a total of 241.50 points, a number that Kansas has yet to see after just a day and a half of competing.
Utilizing the opportunity for points, the 500-yard freestyle came in hot when the team carried six athletes into the final events, nearly all dropping time from the preliminary swims earlier Thursday morning.
Junior Jenny Nusbaum swam a NCAA ‘B’ time of 4:45.56 in the ‘A’ final. Following her was sophomore Crissie Blomquist with a time of 4:52.70. The ‘B’ and ‘C’ races in the event raised the energy as freshman Claire Campbell won the ‘B’ final with a new personal-best of 4:49.58 and freshman Katie Callahan earned second in the ‘C’ final with a time of 4:52.03, a major time drop from her preliminary time she swam in the morning of 4:56.86.
After the 45-point gained by the 500-yard freestylers the 200-yard individual medley kept the pace going with three on the podium, two of which swam their career-bests, and two ‘C’ finalists junior Katy Schlies (2:03.87) and senior Cassaundra Pino (2:08.14).
The 50-yard freestyle sprinters kept pace when senior Haley Bishop won the ‘B’ final with a time of 23.25. Following was senior teammate Taylor Sieperda with a personal-best swim of 23.27 in third. Sophomore Manon Manning was just strokes away when she touched the wall to get fifth in the ‘B’ final with a time of 23.47.
The divers also had a rewarding day as it was their first day in Big 12 competition waters. Senior Vicky Xu and junior Peri Charapich represented the Jayhawks in finals with a third-place finish of 322.35 from Xu and Peri in eighth with 269.05. Both diving past the Zones qualifying score of 265.00.
The Big 12 Championship continues Friday morning, March 1 at 10 a.m. with the preliminary rounds, and continues with finals competition at 6 p.m.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Junior Jenny Nusbaum touched the wall at 4:45.56 in the 500-yard freestyle ‘A’ final, landing her a fifth-place spot and NCAA ‘B’ time.
- Sophomore Crissie Blomquist found herself on the podium after a seventh-place ‘A’ final 500-yard freestyle event with a time of 4:52.70.
- Junior Elizabeth Amato-Hanner swam a 2:01.19 in the 200-yard individual medley ‘A’ final to put her in fifth.
- Freshman Paige Riekhof touched the wall at 2:03.21 to put herself at a personal-best and eight-place in the 200-yard individual medley ‘A’ final.
- Freshman Kate Steward swam a personal-best time of 2:00.83 with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley ‘A’ final.
- Junior Carly Straight touched the wall at 23.16 in the 50-yard freestyle ‘A’ final to put her in seventh.
- Senior Vicky Xu dove her way into third on the one-meter final event with a score of 322.35.
- Junior Peri Charapich dove a 269.05, placing her into the Zones diving competition and personal-best score.
QUOTES
Head coach Clark Campbell
How coach is feeling after day two:
“Going into Friday, this is the best day and a half we have ever had. We have never gone into Friday with more than 200 points. So really the individual races went extraordinarily well today and finished with a really good relay. And, our two divers really lit it up on one-meter. So, today was actually better than expected and it was kind of nice having good surprises.”
Particular race that stood out to coach:
“I really felt all of our 500-yard freestyles really kicked-off the session well tonight. We started with Katie Callahan and she had a big time drop, then Claire had a really big time drop and then it just led into Jenny and Crissie. And so, I thought our 500-yard freestylers did a great job of getting it going. And we kept going with the individual medlests and the sprinters were faster and then Peri qualified for zones. So it just kept rolling. But I think the tone was set when we started with the 500-yard freestyle.”
Never going into Friday with so many points:
“We have to remember to keep doing what we are doing. We have been talking about not worrying about times or places or points or anything like that and just focusing on competing and being the best versions of ourselves. And I think that is going to carry the day. So if we just keep doing that we are going to continue to do really good things.”
FloSwimming will continue to live stream all of the preliminary and final events on demand. Swimming and diving fans can also follow the results live through the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship Central website.
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