Pac-12 Day Three Finals: Ledecky, Howe Scorch Records As Stanford Dominates

Katie Ledecky of Stanford breaks the American record in the 400 Individual Medley at the 2017 Women's Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championship.

Feb 25, 2017 by Maclin Simpson

Pac-12 Day Three Finals: Ledecky, Howe Scorch Records As Stanford Dominates

400-YARD IM

NCAA Record: 3:56.54 (Katinka Hosszu - USC, 2012)
American Record: ~~3:57.89 (Caitlin Leverenz - California, 2012)~~ 3:57.68 (Katie Ledecky - Stanford, 2017)
Pac-12 Meet Record: ~~3:58.23 (Julia Smit - Stanford, 2010)~~ 3:57.68 (Katie Ledecky - Stanford, 2017)
NCAA 'A' Cut: 4:05.36

KATIE LEDECKY. What can this woman not do? She is truly phenomenal. At the Pac-12 Championship in Federal Way, Washington, on Friday, Ledecky broke the American record in an "off event" with a time of 3:57.68, which is just under Caitlin Leverenz's previous record from 2012 of 3:57.89. The most impressive part about this race? Ledecky came home in a blistering 52.67, including 25.76 over the last 50 yards. Ledecky's teammate and defending NCAA champion Ella Eastin finished second in 4:00.96, and Allie Szekely rounded out the podium in third with a 4:02.34. Huge points for Stanford here with a 1-2-3 sweep. The Cardinal have yet to lose an event at these championships.

1.) Katie Ledecky (Stanford): 3:57.68 (AMERICAN RECORD)
2.) Ella Eastin (Stanford): 4:00.96
3.) Allie Szekely (Stanford): 4:02.34
4.) Hannah Cox (Arizona): 4:07.96
5.) Celina Li (California): 4:09.49
6.) Leah Stevens (Stanford): 4:10.00
7.) Emma Schanz (UCLA): 4:12.10
8.) Marlies Ross (ASU): 4:12.67

100 BUTTERFLY

NCAA Record: 49.43 (Kelsi Worrell - Louisville, 2016)
American Record: 49.43 (Kelsi Worrell - Louisville, 2016)
Pac-12 Meet Record: 50.38 (Janet Hu - Stanford, 2017)
NCAA 'A' cut: 51.49

The streak is broken! USC's impressive freshman Louise Hansson and Cal's Farida Osman were both able to eclipse Janet Hu to hand Stanford its first event loss of the meet. This was a quick final, as the top four swimmers all finished in under 51 seconds. Cal's contingent of Osman, Thomas, and Murphy managed to pick up second, fourth, and fifth as they try to claw back into the team race.

1.) Louise Hansson (USC): 50.39
2.) Farida Osman (Cal): 50.40
3.) Janet Hu (Stanford): 50.59
4.) Noemie Thomas (Cal): 50.87
5.) Maddie Murphy (Cal): 51.62
6.) Lindsey Engel (Stanford): 51.79
7.) Annie Ochitwa (Arizona): 52.10
8.) Madison Wright (USC): 52.30

200 FREESTYLE

NCAA Record: 1:39.10 (Missy Franklin - California, 2015)
American Record: 1:39.10 (Missy Franklin - California, 2015)
Pac-12 Meet Record: 1:41.09 (Missy Franklin - California, 2015)
NCAA 'A' Cut: 1:43.63

Stanford with another 1-2-3 sweep! Simone Manuel claims the victory for the Cardinal with a 1:40.37, out-touching her teammate Katie Ledecky, who finished second with a 1:40.50. Ledecky closed HARD on Manuel, 25.2 to 26.4 over the last 50 but ran out of room to complete the comeback. Third place went to Lia Neal with a 1:43.62. Katie Drabot was only .03 away from making it a 1-2-3-4 sweep for Stanford.

1.) Simone Manuel(Stanford): 1:40.37
2.) Katie Ledecky(Stanford): 1:40.50
3.) Lia Neal(Stanford): 1:43.62
4.) Katie McLaughlin(Cal): 1:43.75
5.) Katie Drabot(Stanford): 1:43.77
6.) Stanzi Moseley(USC): 1:43.98
7.) Tatum Wade(USC): 1.44.83
8.) Abbey Weitzeil(Cal): 1:46.70

100 BREASTSTROKE

NCAA Record: 56.30 (Lilly King - Indiana, 2017)
American Record: 56.30 (Lilly King - Indiana, 2017)
Pac-12 Meet Record: 58.02 (Sarah Haase - Stanford, 2016)
NCAA 'A' cut: 59.04

First win for Arizona State! What a great race for Silja Kansakoski, who is only a freshman this year. She swam an even race as she split a 28.07 and brought it home in a 30.27. It was a solid swim for sophomore Riley Scott from USC as well, dropping .03 from her morning swim as she finished second with a 58.92. Her teammate Kirsten Vose was just behind finishing third place with a 59.58. Marina Garcia finished fourth as she ended up with a 59.86. Looking at the team title, although Stanford's highest placement in this race was fifth, the Cardinal still outscored Cal.

1.) Silja Kansakoski (ASU): 58.44 (NCAA 'A')
2.) Riley Scott (USC): 58.92 (NCAA 'A')
3.) Kirsten Vose (USC): 59.58
4.) Marina Garcia Urzainqui (Cal): 59.86
5.) Kim Williams (Stanford): 1:00.05
6.) Kennedy Lohman (Arizona): 1:00.23
7.) Kelsey Kafka (USC): 1:00.76
8.) Heidi Poppe (Stanford): 1:01.10

100 BACKSTROKE

NCAA Record: ~~49.97 (Natalie Coughlin - California, 2002)~~ 49.69 (Ally Howe - Stanford, 2017)
American Record: ~~49.97 (Natalie Coughlin - California, 2002)~~ 49.69 (Ally Howe - Stanford, 2017)
Pac-12 Meet Record: ~~50.64 (Rachel Bootsma - California, 2013)~~ 49.69 (Ally Howe - Stanford, 2017)
NCAA 'A' cut: 51.45

ANOTHER ONE! Step aside Natalie Coughlin. We have a new American, NCAA, and U.S. Open record swimmer in town. Ally Howe of Stanford shattered the record with a 49.69, lowering Coughlin's 49.97 from 2002. Howe split this race beautifully with a 24.12 to the feet on the first 50 and 25.52 on the second 50. Kathleen Baker, the Olympic silver medalist in the 100m version of this race, finished second in a great swim with a 50.27 and Linnea Mack of UCLA grabs the bronze in a 50.56. This was a loaded field as the top five swimmers all locked up NCAA "A" automatic qualifying standards.

1.) Ally Howe (Stanford): 49.69 (NCAA, AMERICAN RECORD)
2.) Kathleen Baker (Cal): 50.27 (NCAA 'A')
3.) Linnea Mack (UCLA): 50.56 (NCAA 'A')
4.) Janet Hu (Stanford): 50.70 (NCAA 'A')
5.) Amy Bilquist (Cal): 51.29 (NCAA 'A')
6.) Keaton Blovad (Cal): 52.41
7.) Hannah Leach (USC): 52.56
8.) Lindsey Engel (Stanford): 53.54

400 MEDLEY RELAY

NCAA Record: 3:26.14 (Stanford, 2016)
American Record: 3:25.60 (Team USA, November 2016)
Pac-12 Meet Record: 3:26.25 (Stanford, 2016)
NCAA 'A' cut: 3:33.40

Stanford finished atop the podium once more. Simone Manuel put up another heroic anchor split to propel the Cardinal to a relay win, as Stanford continues to dominate this meet. Ally Howe, Kim Williams, Janet Hu, and Manuel finished in 3:26.74. Cal's team of Kathleen Baker, Marina Garcia, Noemie Thomas, and Farida Osman led until about the 350, but Manuel's 46.22 closing split was too strong. USC's relay squad had a very strong back half to finish third in 3:27.88. We will no doubt see some more fast swimming as the Pac-12 Championship comes to a close Saturday.

1.) Stanford: 3:26.74
2.) Cal: 3.27.38
3.) USC: 3.27.88
4.) ASU: 3.32.88
5.) Arizona: 3:33.08
6.) UCLA: 3:34.02
7.) Utah: 3.40.84
8.) WSU: 3:41.33

TEAM SCORES

1.) Stanford: 1126
2.) Cal: 953
3.) USC: 762
4.) Arizona: 744
5.) UCLA: 640
6.) Arizona St: 491
7.) Utah: 309
8.) Washington St: 235
9.) Oregon St: 184