FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Abrahm DeVine and Grant Shoults claimed individual titles and No. 1 Stanford moved up to second place in the Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday night at the King County Aquatic Center.
"We saw two great wins by Abe and Grant tonight," said Goldman Family Director of Men's Swimming Ted Knapp. "We will see those two and many others doing even better in three weeks at NCAA's, and I can see us picking up even more NCAA qualifiers tomorrow."
Shoults (4:13.70) won his second 500-yard freestyle title in as many tries, beating out Cal's Sean Grieshop for the win. Liam Egan (4:16.36) was third, Matthew Hirschberger (4:16.60) was fifth, Johannes Calloni (4:16.85) finished sixth and James Murphy (4:17.46) was seventh. True Sweetser (4:24.57) scored more points, finishing 16th.
BACK TO BACK. @grantshoults (4:13.70) makes it two Pac-12 500 free titles in two seasons! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/QHeNMQnN2E
— Stanford Swimming (@stanfordmswim) March 2, 2018
Abrahm DeVine (1:41.17) made it two in a row, swimming a personal best in the 200 IM for his first career individual Pac-12 title. Curtis Ogren (1:44.03) finished fourth, with Alex Liang (1:45.10) and Jack Walsh (1:45.55) finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Brennan Pastorek (1:43.98) won the B-final, swimming a personal best.
Abrahm DeVine wins the Pac-12 200 IM championship! His 1:41.17 is a new personal best and earns him his first individual Pac-12 title. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/br2D49oS2P
— Stanford Swimming (@stanfordmswim) March 2, 2018
In the 50-yard freestyle, Alberto Mestre (19.61) was Stanford's top qualifier, finishing eighth in the A-final. Andrew Liang (19.44) won the B-final with Sam Perry (19.68) placing 13th and Brad Zdroik 14th (19.71).
The Cardinal closed the evening with a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Mestre, Zdroik, Perry and Liang (1:16.69) earned the podium finish.
Stanford (361) moved up to second place, ahead of USC (254), Arizona State (184), Utah (139), and Arizona (127), and behind Cal (379).
The top-ranked Cardinal is back in action tomorrow for Day 3 of the Pac-12 Championships. Preliminary swims start at 11 a.m. PT and include the 400-yard individual medley, the 100-yard butterfly, the 200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard backstroke. The evening session at 6 p.m. PT will also include the 400-yard medley relay.
Cardinal Notes
- DeVine (1:41.17) moved up to second on Stanford's all-time list, passing Austin Staab (2011). David Nolan (1:39.38 – 2015) holds the program record.
- Hirschberger's swim in the 500 free (4:16.60) tied fellow freshman Calloni for 12th on Stanford's all-time list.
- Pastorek's time in the 200 IM (1:43.98) moved up to 10th on the all-time list.
- Alex Liang (1:44.81) moved up to 14th on the 200 IM all-time list in the morning session.