FEDERAL WAY, Wash - Another solid day in the pool for No. 5 Stanford as it collects seven podium finishes on night three of the Pac-12 Championships as the Cardinal moves into second place in the team standings with 849.5 points. Stanford sits behind only California with a 114.5-point deficit heading into tomorrow's final night of competition.
Kicking off the evening's finals races, it was the freshman Caroline Bricker who once again found her way to the top step of the podium as she touched first in the 400 IM with a 4:02.32 to give her the meet sweep in the individual medley events. Teammates Lucy Bell and Samantha Tadder finished seventh and eighth in the "A" final, respectively, while Sophie Duncan finished third in the "B" final for an 11th overall finish in the event.
Stanford followed that performance up with two podium finishers in back-to-back races to secure pivotal team points and overtake USC in the standings. In the 100 fly, Gigi Johnson touched second just behind Cal's Mia Kragh with a 51.17 while Lillie Nordmann rounded out the podium with a 51.58. Charlotte Hook finished sixth in the event with a time of 51.89.
Then, Kayla Wilson notched a 1:43.24 time to grab silver in the 200 free "A" final, followed by Aurora Roghair with a third-place time of 1:43.48 to grab her second individual conference medal of the weekend. Amy Tang made it three Cardinal to finish in the top-five with a 1:43.95 mark to finish in fifth.
Natalie Mannion closed out the individual medalists on the night for Stanford with a third-place finish in the 100 back after clocking a 52.38, just ahead of Gigi Johnson's fourth-place effort of 52.86. Janelle Rudolph finished 11th in the event with a 54.22 time in the "B" final. Lucy Thomas was Stanford's lone "A" final qualifier in the 100 breast, finishing sixth at a time of 59.60.
Stanford finished third in the 400 medley relay in the last race of the night, as the group of Mannion, Thomas, Johnson, and Nordmann posted a time of 3:31.64. On the diving boards, Lauren Burch finished seventh in the 3-meter diving final with a score of a 280.50, while Emilie Moore finished fourth in the consolation dives with a 284.50.
Action concludes tomorrow at the Pac-12 Championships, as the Cardinal will compete in the 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 back, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay, and platform diving events.
