FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Cierra Runge broke two school records with a single swim and the ASU-A relay squad broke an 11-year school record in the 400 free relay as No. 18 Sun Devil women's swimming and diving finished up the final day of the 2019 Pac-12 Championships. With their fourth place finish, the women secured their Territorial Cup Series point after finishing above fifth place Arizona.
THE DETAILS
The Sun Devil women closed out their Pac-12 Championships with two more podium finishes, this time by Cierra Runge's second place finish in the 1650 free and SIlja Kansakoski's third place finish in the 200 breast.
Runge, the Pac-12 Championship record holder in the mile, finished less than a second behind first place. Her time of 15:51.72 set two records in a single swim: It broke the Sun Devil record in the mile as well as the 1000 free, as her split of 9:35.26 in her first 1000 topped Emma Nordin's time earlier this season.
Nordin also turned heads in the mile, touching the wall at 16:00.44 for the second-fastest time in ASU history behind Runge's time tonight. The mark is also a personal best by nine seconds for the sophomore who has excelled this week.
STRAIGHT FROM COACH BOWMAN
This has been by far the most enjoyable conference meet I've had since I've been at ASU. This group of women is a true team, and every bit of it was a pleasure. They supported each other, they worked had, they came together and represented their school with class. It was everything we'd hoped it would be in a conference experience and I'm very pleased.
Securing the Territorial Cup series point tonight was a huge deal because obviously everybody at ASU knows that it's one of our basic responsibilities. To be able to do it two years in a row feels great and we want to keep doing it. Although we lost to them in the dual meet our goal is to do well at Pac-12s and NCAAs because that's where the cup point is won.
Cierra had a fantastic mile tonight. She had to swim it by herself in heat one and to break those two school records and get back into her range of where she was her best, that's always a good thing. Her race was very close, but also crazy because she and first place didn't race in the same heat.
That was a much better swim tonight for Silja in the 200 breast. We're making progress in the 200 and there are still some things we can improve on, but I was very impressed with her tonight.
For NCAAs, I'm looking for something very simple: improvement. Their times have to be better there than they were here. If we can do that, we're in good shape.
I just want to thank my staff. They've done such a good job this year because we had some adversity along the way, but we were able to overcome that and set ourselves up to get better and better with every recruiting class that comes in. I'm very appreciative of their efforts and looking forward to what we're going to do next.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Stanford 1,775
2. California 1,352
3. USC 1,183
4. Arizona State 932.5
5. Arizona 837
6. UCLA 835
7. Utah 531.5
8. Washington State 284.5
9. Oregon State 172
THE STATS
Arizona State Records (3)
Cierra Runge 15:51.72 (1650FR)
Cierra Runge: 9:35.26 (1000FR)
Camryn Curry-Fanny Teijonsalo-Emma Nordin-Cierra Runge: 3:14.57 (400 free relay)
Podium Finishes (2)
2. Cierra Runge: 15:51.72 (1650FR)
3. Silja Kansakoski: 2:08.01 (200BR)
Personal Bests (5)
Joely Merriman: 2:00.28 (200BK) || Camryn Curry: 49.03 (100FR) || Emma Nordin: 16:00.44 (1650FR) || Caitlyn Wilson: 16:27.86 (1650FR) || Lana Berry: 2:13.16 (200BR)
Zone Qualifying Scores (1)
Ashley McCool: 233.45 (PL)
NCAA A-Cut (2)
Cierra Runge 15:51.72 (1650FR)
ASU-A: 3:14.57 (400 free relay)
NCAA B-Cut (10)
Camryn Curry: 49.03 (100FR)
Fanny Teijonsalo: 49.07 (100FR)
Cierra Runge: 15:51.72 (1650FR)
Emma Nordin: 16:00.44 (1650FR)
Kendall Dawson: 16:18.46 (1650FR)
Caitlyn Wilson: 16:27.86 (1650FR)
Lana Berry: 2:13.16 (200BR)
Silja Kansakoski: 2:08.01 (200BR)
Nora Deleske: 2:11.96 (200BR)
Marlies Ross: 2:12.47 (200BR)
THE PLAY-BY-PLAY
Cierra Runge kicked off the evening session with a record-breaking bang in the 1650 free. Emma Nordin again impressed, putting up another would-be school record tonight behind Runge's record-breaking mark. The pair finished second and fourth in the event, respectively.
Lizzy Spears followed in the 200 fly, touching the wall at 1:58.30 for 22nd place, putting up points for the Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils added two B-Cuts in the 100 free through Camryn Curry and Fanny Teijonsalo's evening swims. Curry raced to a personal best of 49.03 in the B-Final while Teijonsalo touched the wall at 49.07 to round out ASU in the 100 free finals.
SIlja Kansakoski took the block for ASU in the 200 breast championship finals just one night after reclaiming her Pac-12 title in the 100 breast last night. Kansakoski placed third in a tight heat to improve her B-Cut time by three seconds. Nora Deleske (13th), Marlies Ross (14th) and Lana Berry (19th) also contributed points to the Sun Devils.
Freshman Ruby Martin represented the Maroon and Gold in the B Final of the 200 fly, putting up a 1:58.14 for 13th place.
Diving took the stage next, as Ashley McCool qualified for her third-straight championship heat in three events this week. McCool missed placing podium by just nine points, taking a score of 233.45 for fourth place. The Canadian's mark was also six points shy of a career-high.
ASU took the block in the final event of the evening in the 400 free relay, breaking an 11-year standing school record in the event. Camryn Curry-Fanny Teijonsalo-Emma Nordin-Cierra Runge raced to a 3:14.57 time, breaking the previous record by over one second. The time also secured a NCAA A-Cut as well.
Up next for the Sun Devils is the 2019 Men's Swimming Pac-12 Championships next weekend. Fans can keep up with the action of the conference championship by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter.
THE DETAILS
The Sun Devil women closed out their Pac-12 Championships with two more podium finishes, this time by Cierra Runge's second place finish in the 1650 free and SIlja Kansakoski's third place finish in the 200 breast.
Runge, the Pac-12 Championship record holder in the mile, finished less than a second behind first place. Her time of 15:51.72 set two records in a single swim: It broke the Sun Devil record in the mile as well as the 1000 free, as her split of 9:35.26 in her first 1000 topped Emma Nordin's time earlier this season.
Nordin also turned heads in the mile, touching the wall at 16:00.44 for the second-fastest time in ASU history behind Runge's time tonight. The mark is also a personal best by nine seconds for the sophomore who has excelled this week.
STRAIGHT FROM COACH BOWMAN
This has been by far the most enjoyable conference meet I've had since I've been at ASU. This group of women is a true team, and every bit of it was a pleasure. They supported each other, they worked had, they came together and represented their school with class. It was everything we'd hoped it would be in a conference experience and I'm very pleased.
Securing the Territorial Cup series point tonight was a huge deal because obviously everybody at ASU knows that it's one of our basic responsibilities. To be able to do it two years in a row feels great and we want to keep doing it. Although we lost to them in the dual meet our goal is to do well at Pac-12s and NCAAs because that's where the cup point is won.
Cierra had a fantastic mile tonight. She had to swim it by herself in heat one and to break those two school records and get back into her range of where she was her best, that's always a good thing. Her race was very close, but also crazy because she and first place didn't race in the same heat.
That was a much better swim tonight for Silja in the 200 breast. We're making progress in the 200 and there are still some things we can improve on, but I was very impressed with her tonight.
For NCAAs, I'm looking for something very simple: improvement. Their times have to be better there than they were here. If we can do that, we're in good shape.
I just want to thank my staff. They've done such a good job this year because we had some adversity along the way, but we were able to overcome that and set ourselves up to get better and better with every recruiting class that comes in. I'm very appreciative of their efforts and looking forward to what we're going to do next.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Stanford 1,775
2. California 1,352
3. USC 1,183
4. Arizona State 932.5
5. Arizona 837
6. UCLA 835
7. Utah 531.5
8. Washington State 284.5
9. Oregon State 172
THE STATS
Arizona State Records (3)
Cierra Runge 15:51.72 (1650FR)
Cierra Runge: 9:35.26 (1000FR)
Camryn Curry-Fanny Teijonsalo-Emma Nordin-Cierra Runge: 3:14.57 (400 free relay)
Podium Finishes (2)
2. Cierra Runge: 15:51.72 (1650FR)
3. Silja Kansakoski: 2:08.01 (200BR)
Personal Bests (5)
Joely Merriman: 2:00.28 (200BK) || Camryn Curry: 49.03 (100FR) || Emma Nordin: 16:00.44 (1650FR) || Caitlyn Wilson: 16:27.86 (1650FR) || Lana Berry: 2:13.16 (200BR)
Zone Qualifying Scores (1)
Ashley McCool: 233.45 (PL)
NCAA A-Cut (2)
Cierra Runge 15:51.72 (1650FR)
ASU-A: 3:14.57 (400 free relay)
NCAA B-Cut (10)
Camryn Curry: 49.03 (100FR)
Fanny Teijonsalo: 49.07 (100FR)
Cierra Runge: 15:51.72 (1650FR)
Emma Nordin: 16:00.44 (1650FR)
Kendall Dawson: 16:18.46 (1650FR)
Caitlyn Wilson: 16:27.86 (1650FR)
Lana Berry: 2:13.16 (200BR)
Silja Kansakoski: 2:08.01 (200BR)
Nora Deleske: 2:11.96 (200BR)
Marlies Ross: 2:12.47 (200BR)
THE PLAY-BY-PLAY
Cierra Runge kicked off the evening session with a record-breaking bang in the 1650 free. Emma Nordin again impressed, putting up another would-be school record tonight behind Runge's record-breaking mark. The pair finished second and fourth in the event, respectively.
Lizzy Spears followed in the 200 fly, touching the wall at 1:58.30 for 22nd place, putting up points for the Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils added two B-Cuts in the 100 free through Camryn Curry and Fanny Teijonsalo's evening swims. Curry raced to a personal best of 49.03 in the B-Final while Teijonsalo touched the wall at 49.07 to round out ASU in the 100 free finals.
SIlja Kansakoski took the block for ASU in the 200 breast championship finals just one night after reclaiming her Pac-12 title in the 100 breast last night. Kansakoski placed third in a tight heat to improve her B-Cut time by three seconds. Nora Deleske (13th), Marlies Ross (14th) and Lana Berry (19th) also contributed points to the Sun Devils.
Freshman Ruby Martin represented the Maroon and Gold in the B Final of the 200 fly, putting up a 1:58.14 for 13th place.
Diving took the stage next, as Ashley McCool qualified for her third-straight championship heat in three events this week. McCool missed placing podium by just nine points, taking a score of 233.45 for fourth place. The Canadian's mark was also six points shy of a career-high.
ASU took the block in the final event of the evening in the 400 free relay, breaking an 11-year standing school record in the event. Camryn Curry-Fanny Teijonsalo-Emma Nordin-Cierra Runge raced to a 3:14.57 time, breaking the previous record by over one second. The time also secured a NCAA A-Cut as well.
Up next for the Sun Devils is the 2019 Men's Swimming Pac-12 Championships next weekend. Fans can keep up with the action of the conference championship by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter.