Sun Devils Experience Minor Setbacks On Day Four Of Big 12 Championships

(Photo: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Atheltics)

Arizona State experienced rare struggles during day four of the Big 12 Championships, with its first event losses and a relay disqualification.

The Sun Devil women initiated the competition with the 200-yard butterfly. Sophomores Grace Lindberg and Sonia Vaishnani and junior Deniz Ertan competed for ASU. Ertan established herself as the one to beat, pulling ahead to gain a full body-length lead over her competition by the end of the race. Also, the second 50 yards of her race were a full second faster than her preliminary split. Ertan kept her head down and touched the wall, securing first place with a time of 1 minute and 54.92 seconds.

Junior Jake Mason and sophomores Filip Senc-Samardzic and Ilya Kharun took to the blocks next for the Sun Devils in the 200-yard butterfly. Kharun is one of the fastest swimmers in the NCAA in butterfly races, and he proved why when he worked his underwaters to give him a lead on the field. The sophomore finished his race strong, clocking in at 1:39.41. The Arizona Wildcats took silver and bronze behind Kharun.

The next event of the evening was the 100-yard breaststroke, where senior Iza Adame dove into the water for the Sun Devil women. Adame could not pull ahead of the competition early in the race, causing her to fall behind and fail to catch up the rest of the race. Cincinnati’s junior Joleigh Crye took first with a time of 58.09. Houston and BYU took second and third place.

Junior Andy Dobrzanski and freshman Oscar Bilbao were next to compete for the Sun Devil men in the 100-yard breaststroke. Dobrzanski split a 24.15 at the 50-yard mark, putting him in the lead. He surpassed his pace from preliminaries and out-touched his opponent in lane three from TCU by .28 to win with a time of 51.75.

The second to last event of the day was the 100-yard backstroke. Graduate Caroline Bentz and sophomore Miriam Sheehan showcased high tempo straight out of the gates. Bentz had an impressive first turn at the 25-yard mark with a fast flip and strong use of underwater kicks. The graduate held a quicker pace than she did in the 400-yard medley relay on Thursday. She placed first with a time of 51.22. Second place went to Houston, coming in at 52.28, more than a second after Bentz.

The Sun Devil men competed next in the 100-yard backstroke. Senior Jack Wadsworth came in as the top seed in the event by .12 seconds. During the final race, his underwater capabilities helped him win, and the senior split a 21.6 at the 50-yard mark. He had a quick second 50 yards as he surged toward the wall, finishing at 45.01. His teammate freshman Lucien Vergnes took second place at 45.46, and Arizona’s junior Ryan Hardy picked up third place at 45.64.

The last event of the evening was the 200-yard freestyle relay. Freshman Julia Ullmann led off the relay for the Sun Devil women. She utilized her powerful underwater kicks to keep up with the Wildcats. Fifth-year Erin Milligan was second in the water, earning a time of 21.83. Third in the water for ASU was Sheehan, who aimed to keep Arizona State in the race by increasing her arm speed and tempo. Bentz anchored the relay, trying to close the gap between the Wildcats. The Sun Devils ultimately fell short, placing second in the relay, clocking in at 1:28.57. Arizona earned gold with a time of 1:26.92.

The Sun Devil men took to the competition pool for the last time on day four to compete in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of junior Tommy Palmer, Kharun, senior Patrick Sammon and junior Jonny Kulow swam an impressive race to set a new Big 12 record. However, Kharun left the blocks too early for his leg of the race to disqualify the team, so the record did not count.

The minor setbacks during day four of the Big 12 Championships will not significantly impact ASU’s overall score. The Sun Devils have earned plenty of first-place finishes and hope to turn things around before the last day of the competition.