The Texas Longhorns swimming and diving teams swept the Big 12 Championship titles after posting outstanding performances by both men’s and women’s squads. The Longhorn men produced their 23rd Big 12 title while the women inked their 17th.
The Longhorns registered five Big 12 championship records over the course of four days, including two on the final day. Ryan Harty’s first place performance in the 200-yard backstroke (1:38.61) bested the previous championship record from a year ago. Senior Joanna Evans also set a championship record in the 1650-yard free with a time of 15:57.28. Evans broke the seven-year record and recorded the ninth fastest time in the NCAA this season.
Kansas’ freshman Kate Steward recorded a time of 2:11.98 in the 200-yard breast to bring home KU’s second gold medal of the meet and second swim medal in school history. Daniel Krueger, also a freshman, took home his second individual gold medal after winning the 100-yard free with a time of 42.33.
The evening closed with a UT sweep in the men’s and women’s 400-medley relay. The men recorded a time of 2:52.08 and the women registered a 3:13.58.
The Texas men’s team finished the four day event with 1028 points, followed by West Virginia (849.5) and TCU (646.5). On the women’s side, the Longhorns led with 1073.5 points. Kansas took second (849.5), West Virginia (533) earned third place followed by TCU (474) and Iowa State (443).
Next up will be the NCAA Championships. The men’s event will take place March 20-23 and the women’s will be March 27-30, both hosted by Texas in Austin.
Men Team Rankings
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1. Texas
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1028
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2. West Virginia
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849.5
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3. TCU
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646.5
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Women Team Rankings
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1. Texas
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1073.5
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2. Kansas
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754.5
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3. West Virginia
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533
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4. TCU
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474
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5. Iowa State
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443
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“Of the Meet” Awards
Men’s Swimmer of the Meet: Townley Haas, Texas
Women’s Swimmer of the Meet: Joanna Evans, Texas
Men’s Diver of the Meet: Grayson Campbell, Texas
Women’s Diver of the Meet: Alison Gibson, Texas
Men’s Newcomer of the Meet: Braden Vines, Texas
Women’s Newcomer of the Meet: Grace Ariola, Texas
Men’s Swimming Coach of the Meet: Eddie Reese, Texas
Women’s Swimming Coach of the Meet: Clark Campbell, Kansas
Men’s Diving Coach of the Meet: Matt Scoggin, Texas
Women’s Diving Coach of the Meet: Matt Scoggin, Texas