FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Stanford claimed the 400-yard medley relay title on the opening night of Pac-12 Championships and enters Thursday's competition four points shy of the overall lead.
The Cardinal's team of Benjamin Ho, Hank Poppe, Alex Liang and Mason Gonzalez clocked in at 3:06.81, initially resulting in a third-place finish. However, first-place California and runner-up Arizona State were both disqualified for false starts, elevating Stanford to the victory.
Meanwhile, Stanford's team of William Macmillan, Jack LeVant, James Murphy and Grant Shoults placed fourth in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:15.79.
Thank to last week's impressive diving performances – which included Conor Casey being named Pac-12 Diver of the Meet after becoming the first Cardinal diver to win both the 1-meter and 3-meter titles in the same season since Kristian Ipsen in 2015 – Stanford checks in with 163 points. USC (167) leads the field.
Arizona (159), Utah (134), Arizona State (81) and California (68) round out the field.
Stanford is seeking its first Pac-12 crown since 2017, when the Cardinal repeated thanks to a podium sweep of the 1,650-yard freestyle and a balanced team effort. Stanford also won 31 consecutive conference championships from 1982-2012.
Thursday's competition continues with finals in the 50 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley and 200 freestyle relay.