FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Grant Shoults captured the third Pac-12 title of his career, powering Stanford to the top of the leaderboard on the second day of competition at the Pac-12 Championships.
Shoults clocked in at 4:12.45 to win the 500-yard freestyle, claiming the event title for the third time in his career and first since repeating in 2017-18. Shoults' time was is the 12th fastest in the country this season.
Stanford wrapped up Thursday's competition as the overall leader, having accumulated 283.5 points. California is right behind at 278, followed by Arizona (257), Arizona State (211), USC (210) and Utah (187.5). The Cardinal has been able to build an early lead thanks to Wednesday's 400-yard medley relay crown and impressive diving performances last week.
In the consolation final of the 500-yard freestyle, Matthew Hirschberger placed second at 4:17.32.
The Cardinal displayed its depth in the 200-yard individual medley, with Brennan Pastorek (1:44.02) placing fifth and Alex Liang (1:44.14) taking sixth. Shane Blinkman (1:45.32) was the runner-up in the consolation final.
Stanford's 200-yard medley relay team of Benjamin Ho, Jordan Greenberg, Mason Gonzalez and William Macmillan finished fourth at 1:18.77.
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.
Friday's action resumes with finals in the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breastroke, 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard medley relay.