2021 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
The freshmen had an immediate impact on Sunday night, with the start of the Pac-12 men’s championship, with Cal Bears coming out with two wins in the 800 freestyle and 400 medley relays.
In the 800 free relay, we saw first year swimmers Destin Lasco of Cal and Luke Maurer Stanford leaders lead their respective schools by tying for the fastest opening leg, achieving personal best times of 1: 33.28. This marks the second time the two have tied in just over a week, as Lasco and Maurer set the best time of 1: 33.99 in a recent duel.
A second cardinal freshman, Preston forst, then dropped the second fastest division on the swimming field in second (1: 31.68), opening up a big advantage for Stanford. Cal would eventually beat them to victory, but Maurer and Forst looked exceptional and should be important factors in the next three days.
So, in the 400 medley relay, Cal Freshman Bjorn Seeliger produced a sizzling 41.21 freestyle anchor, bringing the Bears to a new competition record. Seeliger swimming is one of the 100 best free relay matches we’ve seen this season, with Texas’ Daniel Krueger reaching a 41.18 for the fastest.
In addition to the exploits of Maurer and Forst in the free 800, three of Stanford’s four legs in the 400 medley were the first years.
Leon MacAlister came out at 47.41, Ethan Hu it was very impressive at 45.11 on fly, and Jonny Affeld anchored on 42.08. A native of Australia, MacAlister swam below his best of 47.46 earlier this month, while Hu has a best flat fly 100 of 45.47 and Affeld was almost a full second in his flat 100 free time (43 , 05).
The cardinal ended up in third place with 3: 06.14, faster than the team’s victory time last season.
In two events, Cal, Stanford and Arizona looked good, but it is clear that first-year swimmers will have a considerable impact on the competition.
RELAY SPLITS
In addition to the work of the freshmen, Alexei Sancov reached the best time before the 800 free relay for USC, scoring 1: 32.69 to bring down his PB 2018 from 1: 32.80, and Trenton Julian it was fantastic with a 1: 31.52 flight split to Cal.
Joining Seeliger in the Cal medley winning relay, Bryce Mefford, Reece Whitley and Ryan Hoffer everything looked good. Mefford just came out of his best time in 2019 with 45.51 on his back, while Whitley’s 50.83 puts him close to 50.65 last season.
Hoffer’s 45.05 on the flight was almost half a second slower than that of 2020, although he jumped early with 44.59.
800 FREE RELAY
- Cal, 6: 11.98
- Stanford, 6: 12.83
- Arizona, 6: 16,30
Initial divisions
Flying Splits
| Swimmer | School | Share |
| Trenton Julian | Lime | 1: 31.52 |
| Preston forst | Stanford | 1: 31.68 |
| Zach Yeadon | Lime | 1: 32.96 |
| Brooks Fail | Arizona | 1: 33.66 |
| Grant Shoults | Stanford | 1: 33.75 |
| Hunter Ingram | Arizona | 1: 33.82 |
| Mason Gonzalez | Stanford | 1: 34.12 |
| Daniel Carr | Lime | 1: 34,22 |
| Max Saunders | USC | 1: 34.67 |
| Dominic Margarino | USC | 1: 34.71 |
| Harry Homans | USC | 1: 34.97 |
| Isaac Stump | Arizona | 1: 35.42 |
| Noah Carlson | Utah | 1: 37.03 |
| Marko Kovacic | Utah | 1: 38.68 |
| Dylan Becker | Utah | 1: 39.99 |
400 Medley Relay
- Cal, 3: 02,60
- Arizona, 3: 05.35
- Stanford, 3: 06.14
Rear divisions
| Swimmer | School | Share |
| Bryce Mefford | Lime | 45.51 |
| Ogi Maric | Arizona | 45.90 |
| Andrei Ungur | Utah | 46.91 |
| Leon MacAlister | Stanford | 47.41 |
| Jack Kirby | USC | 47.64 |
| Jack Anderson | Arizona | 47.93 |
| David Schlicht | Arizona | 48.30 |
| Ryan Garstang | Utah | 48.83 |
Breast Splits
| Swimmer | School | Share |
| Reece Whitley | Lime | 50.83 |
| Daniel Roy | Stanford | 51.54 |
| Sam Iida | Arizona | 51.74 |
| Andrew Britton | Utah | 51.98 |
| Ryan Foote | Arizona | 52.04 |
| Mario Koenigsperger | USC | 52.28 |
| Ty Wells | Arizona | 53.02 |
| Jaek Horner | Utah | 53.68 |
Fly Splits
| Swimmer | School | Share |
| Ryan Hoffer | Lime | 45.05 |
| Ethan Hu | Stanford | 45.11 |
| Noah Reid | Arizona | 45.11 |
| Alexei Sancov | USC | 45.50 |
| Ben Waterman | Utah | 46.41 |
| Brooks Tamer | Arizona | 46.89 |
| Santiago Contreras | Utah | 47.39 |
| Ty Coen | Arizona | 47.59 |
Free Divisions
| Swimmer | School | Share |
| Bjorn Seeliger | Lime | 41.21 |
| Nikola Miljenic | USC | 41.92 |
| Jonny Affeld | Stanford | 42.08 |
| Marin Ercegovic | Arizona | 42.30 |
| Cooper Deryk | Utah | 42.35 |
| Finn O’Haimhirgin | Utah | 42.64 |
| Tai Combs | Arizona | 43.80 |
| Aldan Johnston | Arizona | 43.94 |
TEAM SCORE (ON DAY 1 + DIVING)
- Utah, 189
- Stanford, 173
- Arizona, 152
- USC, 124
- Cal, 102