A championship-record swim in the 500-yard freestyle by freshman Grant Shoults helped Stanford take the lead at the Pac-12 Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday night at the King County Aquatic Center.
“Grant is a special swimmer and setting a new meet record tonight is just the start for him,” said Goldman Family Director of Men’s Swimming Ted Knapp. “I was also very pleased with Liam Egan and True Sweetser getting close to their lifetime bests, and James Murphy swimming a lifetime best in the 500 free was a great start for him.”
Shoults, who swam the fastest qualifying time in preliminaries, seized control of the A-final in the second half of the race, finishing with a program record and Pac-12 Championship record of 4:10.67. His time was the second fastest in the country this season, and the 15th fastest all-time.
True Sweetser (4:14.11) ensured a one-two finish for the Cardinal, shaving nearly four seconds off his preliminary time. Liam Egan (4:14.71) dropped over four seconds en route to a fourth-place finish, and James Murphy (4:18.13) dropped time to finish sixth. In the B-final, Jimmy Yoder (4:21.81) also shaved time off his preliminary swim to take second.
Abrahm DeVine (1:42.59) took nearly two seconds off his preliminary swim to finish third in the 200-yard individual medley. Tom Kremer (1:43.21) also improved his time in fifth place, with Maxwell Williamson (1:45.28) finishing eighth.
Sam Perry (19.30) settled for second place in the 50-yard freestyle – he was out touched for his second consecutive Pac-12 50 free title by 0.13 seconds.
The Cardinal quartet of Perry, Spencer DeShon, Andrew Liang and Tom Kremer (1:17.11) wrapped up Day 2 of the meet with a runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Entering the meet, Stanford had not swam faster than 1:18.48 in the event this season.
“Abe and Tom’s great evening swims showed they’re ready to contend with the best in the country in a few weeks,” added Knapp. “Sam Perry is our stalwart in the freestyle sprint events, and he showed that tonight. Finishing second in the 200 free relay was also a pretty special end to the day.”
Entering Day 3, Stanford leads the championship with 387 points. USC (305) sits in second place with Cal (292) third, Arizona State (228) fourth, Arizona (126) fifth and Utah (114) sixth. Points from last week’s Pac-12 Diving Championships factor into team totals.
Stanford returns to action at the Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships tomorrow with the morning preliminary session at 11 a.m. PT. Tomorrow’s events include the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard backstroke. The evening session at 6 p.m. PT will also include 400-yard medley relay. Both Friday sessions will be streamed at Pac-12.com/Live, with live statistics available at GoStanford.com.
Day 3 Notes
-Stanford owns three of the four fastest times this season in the 400 IM among Pac-12 swimmers. Curtis Ogren (3:42.04) ranks second, Abrahm DeVine (3:42.15) third and Maxwell Williamson (3:42.53) fourth.
-DeVine (3:40.06) is the current program record holder in the 400 IM, with Ogren (3:40.79) second and Williamson (3:52.53) third.
-Andrew Liang (45.93) owns the fourth-fastest time in the Pac-12 for the 100 fly. His time also ranks sixth all-time in program history.
-Tom Kremer (1:33.07) owns the second fastest 200 free time in program history, set in 2013.
-Kremer’s best time from 2016-17 (1:33.69) is good for third fastest in the conference. Grant Shoults (1:34.15) owns the fifth fastest time in the Pac-12.
-Matt Anderson (53.24) owns the sixth-fastest 100 breast time in the Pac-12 this season.
-Tom Kremer (46.76) has the fifth fastest 100 back time in the Pac-12 this season, and Ryan Dudzinski (46.89) has the seventh fastest time.
