(Photo: Addie Russ/WCSN)
TEMPE – First-year Tyler Porter didn’t realize that he would be swimming against fourth-year Ilya Kharun in the 100-meter freestyle during an intrasquad scrimmage for Arizona State’s swim and dive team at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center on Sept. 25. Porter and the rest of the newcomers competing against Kharun received a second surprise during the race when the swimmers dove into the water. Kharun came above the surface, extended both arms above his head and did the entire 100 meters in the butterfly stroke.
Kharun led for most of the race, but over the final 25 meters, Porter outswam his Olympian teammate and won in 49.69 seconds.
Kharun and his team, made up of returning Sun Devil swimmers, displayed a strong presence in the water accompanied by discipline, giving them a victory over the newcomer team.
Like many of his newcomer teammates, first-year Kristupas Trepocka had never swum in a collegiate meet before and asked head coach Herbie Behm what time he should race in the men’s 200-meter freestyle. Behm simply told him, “Just try and beat everybody else.”
“I think the newcomers raced really well,” Behm said. “They were really competitive and that’s what we want.”
The team still has a long way to go if they hope to win a third straight Big 12 title this season.
First-year Ellie Chalupsky had an accidental equipment malfunction during the women’s 100-meter freestyle when her swim cap came off during the last 20 meters of the race. The women’s 50-meter freestyle race was so close that all of the participants immediately turned to the scoreboard to look at the unofficial times to see who was the winner – but the results were later changed due to a 15-meter violation because one of the swimmers stayed underwater too long after the 25-meter turn.
Collegiate meets are normally in yards, but ASU has become a powerhouse in the last three years, winning Big 12 Championships and NCAA titles. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, ASU had seven swimmers compete in Paris. For those who will compete for their national teams outside ASU, this exhibition meet was held in meters in preparation for the World Championships Trials in October and to give newcomers a taste of elite competition.
“That’s exactly why we did that and just be super diligent on staying on them in practice to be aware of 15 meters, but also like turns and stuff was not very good,” Behm said. “And this was short-course meters, which most of the Americans have never done before. So they have to be hyper-aware of these walls because it’s different than what they normally race in. So I thought it’s a good learning moment for them.”
Second-year Albane Cachot won every race she competed in when she was a new arrival for the team last season, but the scrimmage humbled her as she lost her first race in the women’s 200-meter freestyle to first-year Alyssa Albertyn. Behm said Albertyn had been a standout over the summer and was excited to see her elevate her training in a competitive environment.
ASU’s dominance was at its pinnacle during the NCAA men’s championship, when both the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams broke NCAA records. Instead of keeping those lineups intact during the scrimmage, Behm mixed up the teams throughout the Mona Plummer lanes and had them all compete on three different variations. The head coach said that based on their practice times, six other swimmers could have made either of those two National Championship relay teams.
“Individual ambition serves the common good, and that’s what we try and create here, where it’s every day something competitive where they’re having to raise the bar on one another,” Behm said.
The Sun Devils know they have a target on their backs and are focusing on individual progress to build off the momentum from the previous season by pushing the incoming swimmers. ASU opens the season with its first dual meet at home against UNLV on Oct. 2.
“Now we got some more information of where they need to focus in training,” Behm said. “Next week with UNLV, it’ll be good to have like different competitors — people that we don’t know exactly — to race against.”
