(Photo: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Atheltics)
Arizona State kicked off the first full day of individual events with numerous first-place finishes, once again showcasing its dominance in the pool.
The session began with the Sun Devil women competing in the 500-yard freestyle. Junior Deniz Ertan and sophomore Alexa Reyna quickly surged ahead of the field. Ertan shaved two seconds off her preliminary time, while Reyna improved by three. The pair stayed close for most of the race, with Reyna touching the wall first in an impressive 4 minutes and 39.24 seconds, closely followed by Ertan, who finished in 4:39.74, securing NCAA “B” times.
Soon after, the Sun Devil men took to the blocks to continue Arizona State’s distance momentum. The race was tight until the 200-yard mark, where senior Daniel Matheson pulled away, gaining a full body-length lead over his competitors. Utah freshman Jones Lambert made a late push during the last 25 yards, but Matheson ultimately claimed first place with a time of 4:14.37, and Lambert finished over a second later at 4:15.47.
The Sun Devil women dominated the 200-yard individual medley, sweeping the top three spots. Senior Charli Brown, junior Zoe Summar and sophomore Sonia Vaishnani all earned NCAA “B” times. Vaishnani started off with the fastest butterfly leg, clocking in at 25.66 seconds. The trio stayed within a second of each other throughout the race, but Brown’s quick freestyle leg of 27.97 seconds secured her the win.
The Sun Devil men also claimed the top two places in the 200-yard individual medley. Freshman Michael Hochwalt and junior Cale Martter had a close race, with Martter improving his prelims time by nearly a second to win gold in 1:42.89. Hochwalt finished just behind, clocking in at 1:43.29, only .36 seconds off of Martter’s time.
The Sun Devil women wrapped up the night with the 50-yard freestyle. Graduate Caroline Bentz claimed victory with a time of 21.77, securing an NCAA “B” cut, while teammate freshman Julia Ullmann placed third with a time of 22.19. Ullmann was behind the field after the first lap, but she closed the gap in the second half of the race with a strong underwater push off the wall.
The Sun Devil men packed the championship final in the 50-yard freestyle to end the session, claiming seven of the eight lanes. Sophomore Ilya Kharun, junior Jonny Kulow and junior Tommy Palmer finished in the top three, all within .32 seconds of each other, with the remaining swimmers coming in less than a second behind.
Arizona State continued its winning streak on day two of the Big 12 Championships, aiming to maintain its momentum throughout the remainder of the competition.
