Sun Devils Have Yet To Lose An Event After Day Three Of Big 12 Championships

(Photo: Casey McNulty/Sun Devil Athletics)

Arizona State dominated on day three of the competition, sweeping all the individual and relay races across the board.

The Sun Devils kicked off the evening with the women’s 100-yard butterfly, where freshman Julia Ullmann stood out as the only swimmer to open the first lap in under 11 seconds. She used her underwater speed to touch the wall at the 50-yard mark in 23.9 seconds and finished with a time of 51.4, shaving a hundredth of a second off of her preliminary swim and securing first place.

Sophomore Ilya Kharun followed in the men’s 100-yard butterfly, claiming gold in the championship heat. He reached the 50-yard mark in 20.38 seconds and, despite close competition, pulled ahead in the final 25 yards with a powerful underwater push. Kahrun touched in an impressive 44.13.

The ASU women were well represented in the 400-yard individual medley, where four Sun Devils competed for the top spots. Junior Ella Guilfoil, senior Charli Brown, sophomore Sonia Vaishnani and senior Hana Edwards all had a close race. Vaishnani led at the 50-yard mark during the butterfly leg, followed closely by Brown. The teammates built a body-length lead ahead of the rest of the field, with Vaishnani pulling ahead around 300 yards. Brown responded with increased arm speed during the freestyle, closing the gap in the final 50 yards. The pair finished within .05 seconds of each other, with Vaishnani just outtouching Brown to take the gold.

In the men’s 400-yard individual medley, sophomore Reece Grady, senior Daniel Matheson, junior Cale Martter and freshman Michael Hochwalt competed for ASU. It was the battle of the Sun Devils for the entirety of the race, with Martter gaining a slight lead after the breaststroke. But during the freestyle, Matheson earned an edge by being the last to surface after the final turn. During the last 10 yards, Hochwalt increased his speed to pass Martter and Matheson to touch the wall first with a time of 3:41.40.

The women’s 200-yard freestyle saw sophomores Alexa Reyna and Grace Lindberg and fifth-years Erin Milligan and Elli Straume finish in the top five. Milligan and Arizona’s freshman Kayman Neal were neck-and-neck throughout the race. However, Milligan used her underwater skills to edge out Neal and claim victory by less than a second, finishing with a time of 1:45.41.

In the men’s 200-yard freestyle, freshman Quin Seider, seniors Tiago Behar and Patrick Sammon and junior Jonny Kulow all swam NCAA “B” times. Sammon led the race for the first 100 yards but then dropped back around the 150-yard mark. The senior made a strong push on the final two laps to finish first with a time of 1:31.57, while Kulow secured second place, less than a second behind at 1:32.41. Arizona’s freshman Tomas Lukminas finished in third place with a 1:32.44.

The final event of the night was the 400-yard medley relay. The Sun Devil women started strong with graduate Caroline Bentz in the 100-yard backstroke, followed by senior Iza Adame in the breaststroke. Although Houston briefly pulled ahead after the breaststroke leg, Ullmann, the recent 100-yard butterfly champion, closed the gap. Milligan brought it home for the Devils in the freestyle, and she split a 47.72 to earn ASU another relay gold. Arizona claimed silver, with Houston taking bronze.

The Sun Devil men closed out the day with their 400-yard medley relay. Freshman Lucien Vergnes opened with a 45.81 backstroke leg, followed by junior Andy Dobrzanski in the breaststroke with an impressive 50.52. Kharun built a half-pool-length lead during the butterfly with his underwater technique and a strong pull, splitting a 43.15. Kulow anchored the race with a quick freestyle finish, stopping the clock at 3:00.55, three seconds ahead of Arizona, and securing an NCAA “A” cut.

After three days of racing, Arizona State has yet to lose an individual or relay event. Heading into the final two days of competition, the Sun Devils will look to continue their dominance in the water and keep their winning streak alive.