FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Sun Devil swimming's Cierra Runge set and reset another school record on day two of the 2019 Pac-12 Championships, this time racing to a third place finish in the 500 freestyle to top the previous ASU record by almost four seconds. Diver David Hoffer also stood on the podium tonight, placing third in the men's three-meter springboard. After two days of championship action in Federal Way, the Sun Devil women sit in third place with 349 points.
THE DETAILS
Cierra Runge set her second school record in two days, this time in the 500 freestyle preliminary round. Runge touched the wall at 4:36.91, shattering Kat Simonovic's 2017 record by almost four seconds. She wasn't done then, as she touched the wall at 4:35.13 in the A final to reset the school record. Runge now owns the number one, two and nine times in Sun Devil history.
Also in the prelim, Emma Nordin put up a personal-best time of 4:39.81, now good for the fourth-fastest time in ASU history behind Runge. Nordin eclipsed that time in the finals for the third-best time at 4:37.68. Both women moved onto the A-finals later this evening after placing third and seventh in the prelims, respectively.
Diver David Hoffer took his second podium finish in as many events tonight, taking third in the three meter springboard. His finish is the graduate student's highest of his career, last making the finals in the three meter in 2016 while placing eighth. Youssef Selim also put points on the board for ASU with a fourth-place finish.
STRAIGHT FROM THE COACHES
Head Swimming Coach Bob Bowman:
I think we're doing very well. We had a great day today. Our performances were great across the board. We had one of our best morning sessions we've had since I've been here. I'm very pleased with how the women have come together and are racing, and I'm looking forward to continuing that tomorrow.
Cierra is in a very good place right now. She's really enjoying it and making a lot of progress. This is a very good step along the way for her.
Emma also broke the school record twice tonight coming into today. She was fantastic tonight. She had a very significant time, and I think it's a time that will allow her to score at NCAAs. We're very excited about her.
An A-Cut is very hard to do. So few people achieve that. It speaks to where she is fitness-wise and mentally, and it's certainly something she should be doing, so it's a good thing.
Tomorrow, we're expecting to do similar to what we did today: Have a very good morning session and put as many people in the finals as we can, particularly the A Final. We had three people in the A Finals tonight, and I think a year ago we didn't have any people in the A Final on the first night. That's a huge step up for us. We want to keep doing that and we want to keep filling those heats and racking up those points.
Head Diving Coach Mark Bradshaw:
Ashley was in a very good one meter contest. You had to do some good diving even just to make it into the finals, and she did that. We implemented a more difficult dive to our list and she was doing fine, but she had a bad takeoff on her fifth dive, unfortunately. We thought we could do a lower degree of difficult dive, but she wouldn't really have a shot at a title so we really went for it. Unfortunately it didn't work out, but that happens.
The guys overall did a good job of where they placed. Brandon did a good job placing where he did because he was in contention to make the final. He and Caleb did the best they could because they haven't been practicing much, so I think those two guys did the best they could and I was happy to see that. David was fairly steady in the prelims and Youssef was good until his last dive, and both were able to make it into the final.
I'm happy David found the podium, but I know he and Youssef are substantially better than what they did tonight. We always try and perform at a high level, and we're not quite there yet. You just have to pick yourself up and move forward.
THE STANDINGS THROUGH DAY TWO
1. Stanford 583.50
2. Cal 455.50
3. Arizona State 349.00
4. USC 323.00
5. Arizona 320.00
6. UCLA 291.00
7. Utah 143.00
8. Washington State 135.00
9. Oregon State 90.00
THE STATS
Podium Finishes (1)
3. Cierra Runge: 4:35.13 (500 free)
3. David Hoffer: 373.70 (three meter)
NCAA A-Cuts (1)
Cierra Runge: 4:35.13 (500 free)
NCAA B-Cuts (4)
Fanny Teijonsalo: 22.19 (50 free)
Camryn Curry: 22.55 (50 free)
Chloe Isleta: 1:57.75 (200 IM)
Nora Deleske: 1:59.11 (200 IM)
Personal Bests (12)
Emma Nordin: 4:37.68 (500 free) || Caitlyn Wilson: 4:44.08 (500 free) || Erica Laning: 4:41.63 (500 free) || Nora Deleske: 1:59.11 (200 IM) || Lizzy Spears: 2:01.07 (200 IM) || Kaya Philapil: 2:02.40 (200 IM) || Ruby Martin: 2:02.64 (200 IM) || Lana Berry: 2:03.52 (200 IM) || Rachael Holp: 2:05.62 (200 IM) || Fanny Teijonsalo: 22.19 (50 free) || Camryn Curry: 22.55 (50 free) || Lilia Smith: 23.49 (50 free)
THE PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Sun Devils sent 12 competitors to the finals, notching two podium finishes.
Ashley McCool entered the day looking to improve on her second-place finish in the one-meter springboard at last year's Pac-12 Championships and put herself in position to do so by placing sixth in the preliminary round to move onto the finals.
The Canadian finished the 1M in eighth place overall with a score of 240.95, and was followed by the finals for the 500 free, an event in which the Sun Devils sent five to the block.
Runge reset the school record she put up in the preliminaries, racing to a 4:35.18 finish to slash her previous record by an entire second. Runge also secured ASU's first NCAA A-Cut with the time and placed third in the event, while Nordin followed soon after in fifth with a personal best of 4:37.68.
In the B Final, Dawson finished 13th overall and Laning finished 16th, while Wilson took 18th-place to round out the Sun Devils in the first final.
Isleta, Ross and Deleske took the block next in the 200 IM. Ross and Deleske started up first in the C Final, taking 19th and 22nd, respectively. Isleta followed in the B round to contribute 15 points after placing 12th overall.
The Sun Devils sent Fanny Teijonsalo to the 50 free top flight, who took the No. 8 spot.
Switching over to the diving well, both Selim and Hoffer again took the board, getting off to a quick start. Hoffer never sat below podium on the evening and put up a score of 373.70 to take third place, his second podium finish in as many events. Selim again contributed points to the cause with a fourth place finish.
The 200 free relay closed out tonight's action, as ASU's A squad of Teijonsalo-Curry-Laning-Runge took fifth in the event. The quartet missed out on setting another school record by six-hundredths (0.06) of a second, but their time of 1:29.41 tied the second-fastest time in Sun Devil history.
The squad is back in action tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. MST for the morning session consisting of the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back. The women's diving team will take the three-meter board following the completion of swimming and the men will compete in platform after that.
Fans can keep up with the preliminary action by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter, while the evening session will be aired live on the Pac-12 Network.
THE DETAILS
Cierra Runge set her second school record in two days, this time in the 500 freestyle preliminary round. Runge touched the wall at 4:36.91, shattering Kat Simonovic's 2017 record by almost four seconds. She wasn't done then, as she touched the wall at 4:35.13 in the A final to reset the school record. Runge now owns the number one, two and nine times in Sun Devil history.
Also in the prelim, Emma Nordin put up a personal-best time of 4:39.81, now good for the fourth-fastest time in ASU history behind Runge. Nordin eclipsed that time in the finals for the third-best time at 4:37.68. Both women moved onto the A-finals later this evening after placing third and seventh in the prelims, respectively.
Diver David Hoffer took his second podium finish in as many events tonight, taking third in the three meter springboard. His finish is the graduate student's highest of his career, last making the finals in the three meter in 2016 while placing eighth. Youssef Selim also put points on the board for ASU with a fourth-place finish.
STRAIGHT FROM THE COACHES
Head Swimming Coach Bob Bowman:
I think we're doing very well. We had a great day today. Our performances were great across the board. We had one of our best morning sessions we've had since I've been here. I'm very pleased with how the women have come together and are racing, and I'm looking forward to continuing that tomorrow.
Cierra is in a very good place right now. She's really enjoying it and making a lot of progress. This is a very good step along the way for her.
Emma also broke the school record twice tonight coming into today. She was fantastic tonight. She had a very significant time, and I think it's a time that will allow her to score at NCAAs. We're very excited about her.
An A-Cut is very hard to do. So few people achieve that. It speaks to where she is fitness-wise and mentally, and it's certainly something she should be doing, so it's a good thing.
Tomorrow, we're expecting to do similar to what we did today: Have a very good morning session and put as many people in the finals as we can, particularly the A Final. We had three people in the A Finals tonight, and I think a year ago we didn't have any people in the A Final on the first night. That's a huge step up for us. We want to keep doing that and we want to keep filling those heats and racking up those points.
Head Diving Coach Mark Bradshaw:
Ashley was in a very good one meter contest. You had to do some good diving even just to make it into the finals, and she did that. We implemented a more difficult dive to our list and she was doing fine, but she had a bad takeoff on her fifth dive, unfortunately. We thought we could do a lower degree of difficult dive, but she wouldn't really have a shot at a title so we really went for it. Unfortunately it didn't work out, but that happens.
The guys overall did a good job of where they placed. Brandon did a good job placing where he did because he was in contention to make the final. He and Caleb did the best they could because they haven't been practicing much, so I think those two guys did the best they could and I was happy to see that. David was fairly steady in the prelims and Youssef was good until his last dive, and both were able to make it into the final.
I'm happy David found the podium, but I know he and Youssef are substantially better than what they did tonight. We always try and perform at a high level, and we're not quite there yet. You just have to pick yourself up and move forward.
THE STANDINGS THROUGH DAY TWO
1. Stanford 583.50
2. Cal 455.50
3. Arizona State 349.00
4. USC 323.00
5. Arizona 320.00
6. UCLA 291.00
7. Utah 143.00
8. Washington State 135.00
9. Oregon State 90.00
THE STATS
Podium Finishes (1)
3. Cierra Runge: 4:35.13 (500 free)
3. David Hoffer: 373.70 (three meter)
NCAA A-Cuts (1)
Cierra Runge: 4:35.13 (500 free)
NCAA B-Cuts (4)
Fanny Teijonsalo: 22.19 (50 free)
Camryn Curry: 22.55 (50 free)
Chloe Isleta: 1:57.75 (200 IM)
Nora Deleske: 1:59.11 (200 IM)
Personal Bests (12)
Emma Nordin: 4:37.68 (500 free) || Caitlyn Wilson: 4:44.08 (500 free) || Erica Laning: 4:41.63 (500 free) || Nora Deleske: 1:59.11 (200 IM) || Lizzy Spears: 2:01.07 (200 IM) || Kaya Philapil: 2:02.40 (200 IM) || Ruby Martin: 2:02.64 (200 IM) || Lana Berry: 2:03.52 (200 IM) || Rachael Holp: 2:05.62 (200 IM) || Fanny Teijonsalo: 22.19 (50 free) || Camryn Curry: 22.55 (50 free) || Lilia Smith: 23.49 (50 free)
THE PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Sun Devils sent 12 competitors to the finals, notching two podium finishes.
Ashley McCool entered the day looking to improve on her second-place finish in the one-meter springboard at last year's Pac-12 Championships and put herself in position to do so by placing sixth in the preliminary round to move onto the finals.
The Canadian finished the 1M in eighth place overall with a score of 240.95, and was followed by the finals for the 500 free, an event in which the Sun Devils sent five to the block.
Runge reset the school record she put up in the preliminaries, racing to a 4:35.18 finish to slash her previous record by an entire second. Runge also secured ASU's first NCAA A-Cut with the time and placed third in the event, while Nordin followed soon after in fifth with a personal best of 4:37.68.
In the B Final, Dawson finished 13th overall and Laning finished 16th, while Wilson took 18th-place to round out the Sun Devils in the first final.
Isleta, Ross and Deleske took the block next in the 200 IM. Ross and Deleske started up first in the C Final, taking 19th and 22nd, respectively. Isleta followed in the B round to contribute 15 points after placing 12th overall.
The Sun Devils sent Fanny Teijonsalo to the 50 free top flight, who took the No. 8 spot.
Switching over to the diving well, both Selim and Hoffer again took the board, getting off to a quick start. Hoffer never sat below podium on the evening and put up a score of 373.70 to take third place, his second podium finish in as many events. Selim again contributed points to the cause with a fourth place finish.
The 200 free relay closed out tonight's action, as ASU's A squad of Teijonsalo-Curry-Laning-Runge took fifth in the event. The quartet missed out on setting another school record by six-hundredths (0.06) of a second, but their time of 1:29.41 tied the second-fastest time in Sun Devil history.
The squad is back in action tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. MST for the morning session consisting of the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back. The women's diving team will take the three-meter board following the completion of swimming and the men will compete in platform after that.
Fans can keep up with the preliminary action by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter, while the evening session will be aired live on the Pac-12 Network.