FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Stanford extended its lead in the race for the Pac-12 Championship on Friday evening, adding four more event titles to go along with 18 performances in A finals. Torri Huske, Claire Curzan, and Taylor Ruck, each won an individual Pac-12 title while that trio with the addition of Allie Raab claimed the 400 medley relay victory.
The Cardinal started off Friday's final session with three swimmers in the A final of the 400 IM. Lucy Bell was the top-finisher of the group, finishing on the podium in third place with a season-best time of 4:06.28.
Sam Tadder and Charlotte Hook finished in fifth and sixth, clocking 4:10.01 and 4:10.22 respectively. Sophie Duncan and Megan Lynch each scored points in the event as well as the former took 10th place overall and the latter scored from 21st.
The Cardinal had four swimmers among the top eight of the 100 fly, led by Torri Huske and Claire Curzan who finished first and second in the preliminary heats. Huske went on to claim the event title while also garnering a meet record time of 49.25 while Curzan was disqualified for a false start.
Emma Wheal (52.54) and Gigi Johnson (52.82) also recorded points in the A final, finishing in seventh and eighth place.
In the 200 free, more than half of the A final represented Stanford. Taylor Ruck helped lead the Cardinal to a podium sweep, as the Canadian international took the top spot with a 1:43.04.
Kayla Wilson (1:43.74) earned silver and Morgan Tankersley (1:44.04) earned bronze to complete the 1-2-3 finish. Lillie Nordmann (1:45.65) and Natalie Mannion (1:45.79) finished in sixth and seventh in the A final as well.
Allie Raab was the Cardinal's lone swimmer in the A final of the 100 breast. The senior graduate student earned fourth overall with a season-best 59.57 time.
Sam Tadder (1:01.25) competed in the B final of the 100 breast, earning 15.5 points for the Cardinal by finishing in a tie for 11th overall.
Claire Curzan bounced back from her 100 fly disqualification by winning her first Pac-12 individual title in the 100 back. She finished more than a second ahead of the next fastest swimmer, clocking a 49.46 for gold.
Lucie Nordmann (51.91) joined Curzan on the podium as the senior took third place. Alex Crisera (52.60) and Gigi Johnson (53.16) added a fifth and eighth place finish in the A final as well.
In the diving well, Lauren Burch (326.35) placed fourth in prelims to advance to finals while Emilie Moore (301.45) took first place in the consolation final. Burch went on to finish eighth overall in the final round.
The Cardinal wrapped up the evening with its third relay victory of the meet. Claire Curzan, Allie Raab, Torri Huske, and Taylor Ruck combined for a 3:25.79 and the gold medal.
Stanford returns to action in the Pac-12 Championships tomorrow, the final day of the meet. The Cardinal will compete in the 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 back, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay, and platform diving events.
