2015 Women’s Pac 12 Championships: Cal Crushes NCAA, U.S. Open, and American Records in 800 Free Relay

PAC 12 WOMEN

• When: Wednesday, February 25th to Saturday, February 28th
• Where: Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, WA (Pacific Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: California Golden Bears
• Live Results: here
• Live Video: Will post when available
• Championship Central: here

SCHEDULE

200 Medley Relay

It looked like Stanford would have two much of a lead at the 150 mark, especially with Lia Neal on the end, but Farida Osman came roaring back over the final 50, and the Cal Bears out-touched Stanford, 1:35.25 to 1:35.30.  Both team were under the previous Pac 12 meet record.

Bootsma got Cal out to a fast start, using her patented underwaters to get out in 23.59, giving the Bears nearly a full second advantage on the field.  Stanford bounced back quickly with great breaststroke and butterfly legs from Sarah Haase (26.36) and Janet Hu (22.67) to actually build a half second lead, with Olympian Lia Neal on the end.  Osman wouldn’t be denied, though, splitting 21.19 to get her hand on the wall before Neal.

The splits:

CAL:
Rachel Bootsma – 23.59
Marina Garcia – 27.55
Noemie Thomas – 22.92
Farida Osman – 21.19

Stanford:
Ally Howe – 24.52
Sarah Haase – 26.36
Janet Hu – 22.67
Lia Neal – 21.75

Tough to beat Cal with those opening and closing splits; Bootsma’s 23.59 is one of the fastest 50 backstrokes in history, and few people can split under 21.2 freestyle.  The Bears are still lacking a reliable breaststroker, though, and if Cal wants to win this at NCAA’s, they can’t continue to spot the rest of the field nearly a full second on that leg.  Stanford was relatively solid all the way through, but they’ll need a bit more out of Howe and Neal to repeat as champions in this event.  Hu’s 22.67 deserves a mention, too; that’s one of the 3 fastest splits in history.

Both squads elected to leave arguably their biggest star off this relay. with Missy Franklin and Simone Manuel left off in favor of the other four relays.

UCLA and Arizona State (not a typo) were 3rd and 4th in 1:37.17 and 1:37.53, both under the NCAA ‘A’ standard.  Notably, Arizona and USC were 5th and 6th, well outside the ‘A’ standard.

800 Freestyle Relay

The Cal Bears followed up their come-from-behind victory in the 200 medley with a much different kind of win.  Leading from start-to-finish, the team of Cierra Runge, Liz Pelton, Caroline Piehl, and Missy Franklin crushed the NCAA, U.S. Open, and American Records by more than two seconds in the 800 free relay, finishing in a time of 6:50.18.

The splits:

Runge – 1:42.73
Pelton – 1:43.29
Piehl – 1:43.48
Franklin – 1:40.68

Previous record splits – Georgia Bulldogs, 2013 SEC’s (6:52.64):
Vreeland – 1:43.38
Romano – 1:42.43
Mattern – 1:44.32
Schmitt – 1:42.51

That Georgia squad had three Olympians and an American Record holder (Romano)… and the Bears just crushed it.  It helps when you have Franklin anchoring in 1:40, but this was a true team effort, with all three other swimmers also dipping under 1:43.5.  Runge’s split is probably the most noteworthy swim of the four; that 1:42.73 is well under her personal best, and is now the third fastest time nationally (behind only Franklin and Manuel) this season.

Side note: it’s very possible we see six Bears in the top 16 at NCAA’s in the 200 free.

Stanford was a distance second in 7:00.84, propelled by a strong 1:43.54 from Lia Neal.  Simone Manuel was just 1:44.29 on the end, but we don’t know if she just shut it down after distancing herself from the field, or if that’s an indication of how much rest she’s had coming into this weekend.

Arizona bounced back from their disappointing 200 medley relay with a 7:03.64 for third.  USC was also under the ‘A’ standard at 7:04.65 for fourth.