One event. One win. One American record. The Stanford women’s swimming and diving team opened the Pac-12 Championships on Wednesday with a record-setting 200-yard medley relay at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.
Sacred Heart Prep grad Ally Howe (23.62) led off and was joined by Sarah Haase (26.20), Janet Hu (22.82) and Lia Neal (21.51) to finish the relay in 1:34.15, the fastest finish in American history.
Diving also started on the first day as Stanford senior Alex Clay finished as the Pac-12 runner-up in the 1-meter with a score of 297.05 and Gracia Leydon-Mahoney was fourth at 293.55. The duo combined for 54 points for the Cardinal.
“I’m really proud of the team’s performance,” said Stanford’s fourth-year head coach Greg Meehan. “Our divers got us on a good roll this afternoon and then we had a great relay session. More important than the (American) record, I’m proud of how everyone swam. Specifically, Nicole Stafford leading off our 800 free relay in a time that will qualify her for NCAAs for the first time as a junior was a really meaningful moment.”
Stanford is in second place with 172 points, seven behind UCLA.
“It’s only two events and we need to come out tomorrow and have a great prelims session,” Meehan added.
Competition amps up on Thursday with preliminaries starting at 11 a.m., including the 50 and 500 free, 200 individual medley, and 3-Meter Diving. Finals begin at 6 p.m., which will also feature the 200 free relay.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
If the wikipedia entry on American records is accurate, it’s also worthy to note that the record that was broken was set by a Cal relay team in 2012 that included Palo Alto swimmers Colleen Fotsch and Liv Jensen.