No. 2 men’s swimming and diving cruises to 21st Big 12 championship

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — The second-ranked Texas men’s swimming and diving team swept every event on the final day of the Big 12 Championships and pulled away from the field to win its 21^st Big 12 title and 38^th consecutive league championship.

UT finished the meet with [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]1,081 points. West Virginia finished second, with 870 points, followed by third-place TCU, with 702.

Not surprisingly, the Longhorns collected all of the individual hardware at the meet. UT’s Eddie Reese was named Swimming Coach of the Meet, while Matt Scoggin was named Diving Coach of the Meet. Senior Will Licon was named the Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet, while senior Mark Anderson was named Diver of the Meet. Freshman breaststroker Josh Artmann was named Newcomer of the Meet.

Freshman diver Jacob Cornish started the fourth day by winning the platform diving event with 391 points, winning the event by 65 points.

Sophomore John Shebat and junior Jonathan Roberts finished first and second in the 200 backstroke in 1:39.74 (the third-fastest time in the nation this season) and 1:39.87, respectively. They were the fourth and fifth Longhorns to crack the 1:40 barrier and both easily beat the NCAA automatic-qualifying mark.

Junior Brett Ringgold continued his dominance in the 100 freestyle. The All-America won his third consecutive Big 12 title in the event, touching the wall in 42.39, just ahead of teammate Townley Haas, who finished second in 42.62. UT claimed four of the five fastest times in the event, as sophomore Tate Jackson finished third, in 42.79, and senior P.J. Dunne placed fifth in 43.69.

Senior All-America Clark Smith won the 1,650 in 14:33.28, the second-fastest in the country this year. Smith also has the fastest, set earlier this season at the Texas Invitational, and now has three of the five fastest times in UT history.

Licon completed a four-year sweep of Big 12 crowns in the 200 breaststroke, in which he holds the NCAA and American records. Licon won the event in 1:49.89, which is the fastest time this season by any American swimmer. Sophomore Sam Stewart finished second, in 1:56.90, while sophomore Casey Melzer finished fourth in 1:58.51.

Senior Jack Conger repeated as the league’s champion in the 200 butterfly, in which he holds the American record. His winning time of 1:39.17 was the fastest this year in the country. The Longhorns swept the event, as sophomore Max Holter placed second, in 1:44.73, while senior Will Glass placed third, in 1:45.02.

UT’s 400 freestyle relay of Joseph Schooling, Conger, Ringgold and Haas closed out the meet by winning the event in 2:48.66, the second-fastest time in the country this season.

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