Swimming

2024 Men’s Pac-12 Champs Fan Guide: Arizona State Poised to Conclude Pac-12 Era With Title

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By Spencer Penland on SwimSwam

2024 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Dates: Wednesday, March 6 – Saturday, March 9
  • Location: Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, WA
  • Defending champions: Arizona State (1x)
  • Live Results
  • Live Video
  • Championship Central
  • Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, USC, Utah

EVENT SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY – 3/6

  • 200 Medley Relay
  • 800 Free Relay

THURSDAY – 3/7

  • 500 Free
  • 200 IM
  • 50 Free
  • 200 Free Relay

FRIDAY – 3/8

  • 400 IM
  • 100 Fly
  • 200 Free
  • 100 Breast
  • 100 Back
  • 400 Medley Relay

SATURDAY – 3/9

  • 1650 Free
  • 200 back
  • 100 Free
  • 200 Breast
  • 200 Fly
  • 400 Free Relay

2023 REVIEW

FINAL STANDINGS

  1. Arizona State – 897.5
  2. Cal – 819
  3. Stanford – 615.5
  4. Arizona – 323
  5. USC – 314.5
  6. Utah – 300.5

The Arizona State Sun Devils snapped a Cal five-year win streak at last year’s Pac-12 Championships, beating the Golden Bears by 78.5 points. Cal did get disqualified in the 200 medley relay last year, which cost them about half the number of points they ended up losing the title by. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils head into this Pac-12 Championship with a ton of momentum, having added more talent to their roster.

Last year’s Pac-12 Championships was incredibly fast, seeing numerous championship, conference, and NCAA records fall. It also saw some insanely fast relay performances and really impressive depth in a lot of individual events.

This year’s meet will be historic regardless of what happens since it’s the last Pac-12 Championships. Following the conclusion of this season, the schools that make up the Pac-12 will be heading to a handful of other conferences.

As always, the diving portion of the Pac-12 Championships took place last week with the women’s meet. They have yet to post team scores after the conclusion of men’s diving, but Arizona, USC, and Stanford appear to have performed very well in those events.

SWIMMERS TO WATCH

ARIZONA: Beck Parnham (junior – IM/free), Tommy Palmer (sophomore – sprint free/fly), Ralph Daleiden (sophomore – free), Jadan Nabor (senior – fly), Haakon Naughton (sophomore – fly/IM) 

This Arizona team is pretty young, having lost the majority of their top scorers from last year’s team. Sophomore Ralph Daleiden is tied for Arizona’s top returner from last year, having scored 17 points at last year’s meet. A talented sprint freestyler, particularly in the longer sprints, Daleidon enters this week with the 5th-fastest 200 free in the Pac-12 this season, having gone 1:32.43 at the Minnesota Invite in November. He’s also been 42.00 in the 100 free already this season, coming in 6th in the conference this season.

Fellow sophomore Haakon Naughton is the other swimmer tied for Arizona’s top returning scorer from last year. Naughton topped out with a 5th place finish in the 200 fly, where he swam a 1:42.60. Naughton has been close to that time this season, having already gone 1:43.13 in the 200 fly at the Minnesota Invite back in November. He’s been strong in the 100 fly as well, where he’s clocked a season best of 46.37. While the 200 IM was Naighton’s 3rd event last season, it seems he’s really started developing in the 100 free this season as well. He posted his career best of 43.62 in the 100 free at the Minnesota Invite in the fall. We’ll see if he opts for the 100 free/200 fly double this week, or if he goes back to the 200 IM for the easier schedule.

Tommy Palmer, yet another sophomore, is set to help lead this sprint group. Palmer is the Wildcats’ best pure sprinter, holder their top time this season in the 50 free with a 19.29. He’s a strong 100 freestyler as well, having been 43.45 to this point in the season. The 100 fly is Palmer’s non-free event, and he’s been great there this season, already having gone 46.04.

Senior Jadan Nabor is Arizona’s other top 100 flyer heading into the meet, having gone 45.97 to this point in the season, which is Arizona’s only time under 46 seconds this year. Nabor is a good 200 flyer as well, holding a season best of 1:44.61. He’s been 1:45.81 in the 200 IM this season as well.

Junior Beck Parnham is Arizona’s top 400 IMer coming into the meet, having gone 3:47.03 at the Minnesota Invite. The 500 free also appears to be a given for Parnham to swim this week. He’s Arizona’s top swimmer this season with a top time of 4:23.99. Last year, Parnham swam the mile at Pac-12s, though it doesn’t appear he’ll be doing that again this year. He’s yet to race the 1650 this season, though he’s been doing the 200 fly regularly, where he’s been as fast as 1:46.77.

ARIZONA STATE: Leon Marchand (junior – whatever he wants to swim), Ilya Kharun (freshman – fly/free/IM), Hubert Kos (sophomore – Back/IM/Fly), Jack Dolan (fifth year – Back/Free), Julian Hill (fifth year – free)

Defending Pac-12 champion Arizona State is back in action this year with an even stronger roster than last season. In this, the last Pac-12 Championship, the Sun Devils look ready to make a lasting impact. They have a roster which has gone from relatively thin with a few stars to one of the most loaded rosters in the NCAA in just a few years.

Once again, Leon Marchand is here to lead the Sun Devils into the action. Without question one of the best swimmers in the world right now, the junior is the defending Pac-12 champion in the 200 IM (1:37.81), 400 IM (3:31.57), and 200 breast (1:47.67), all three of which were NCAA records when he swam them at last year’s meet.

This season, Marchand leads the Pac-12 in the 200 IM (1:38.78) and 100 free (41.39). He’s 2nd in the 400 IM and 200 breast behind teammates this season. In the 400 IM, Marchand has been 3:37.96 this season, while teammate Hubert Kos has been 3:35.82. Fellow teammate David Schlicht leads the conference in the 200 breast, having been 1:51.55 this season, while Marchand has been 1:51.71. It’s hard to project exactly what Marchand will swim this week, but there are only a few events on the schedule in which he wouldn’t be the favorite.

Sophomore Hubert Kos has taken another massive step forward in his 2nd season with the Sun Devils. As stated above, he leads the conference in the 400 IM this season, already having gone a career best of 3:35.82. Not only does Kos lead the conference in the 400 IM, he also leads the NCAA this season by over two seconds, which is particularly impressive, since the Pac-12 and the mid major MAC are the only two conferences that haven’t had their championships yet.

In the 200 IM, Kos is 2nd in the Pac-12 this season, trailing only Marchand. Kos’ season best of 1:39.26 also stands as the #2 time in the NCAA this season. Perhaps most impressively, Kos has already clocked a 1:36.54 in the 200 back, which is the top time in the NCAA this season and ties for the 7th-fastest performance of all-time in the event. Just a sophomore, Kos is only 0.81 seconds off Ryan Murphy’s NCAA Record of 1:35.73.

Arizona State also has a pair of fifth years that should be huge contributors once again. Jack Dolan was exceptional for the Sun Devils at last year’s Pac-12s, winning the 50 free (18.86), taking 4th in the 100 free (41.96), and 4th in the 100 back (45.06). Dolan has been great so far this season as well, having been 18.90 in the 50 free, which is good for 2nd in the conference. He’s also been 41.53 in the 100 free, which comes in at 5th in the conference, while he’s also swum a 45.09 in the 100 back, which is 4th in the Pac-12.

Fellow fifth year Julian Hill is a huge piece to the Arizona State puzzle, leading the middle distance and distance group. At last year’s meet, Hill came in 3rd in the 500 free (4:12.21), 3rd in the 200 free (1:32.27), and 6th in the 1650 free (14:57.11). This season, Hill has been 1:32.06 in the 200 free, which is 2nd in the Pac-12. His 4:12.37 season best in the 500 is good for 3rd in the conference. It appears Hill may be gearing more towards the 100 free than the mile this year, having swum a season best of 42.80 in the 100 free, while he hasn’t raced the mile.

That’s all well and good for the Sun Devils, as sophomore Zalan Sarkany has taken a huge step forward this season. Sarkany recently swam a 14:28.09 in the 1650 free, which leads the NCAA this season by nearly 10 seconds. He’s also recently put up a career-best of 4:12.45 in the 500.

Freshman Ilya Kharun is ready to make a huge splash in his first college conference championship. Kharun has been phenomenal throughout this season, having already gone 1:37.93 in the 200 fly, which is the top time in the NCAA this season. Kharun has also really improved as a sprint flyer, having gone 44.33 in the 100 fly already this season, which is good for 2nd in the conference. He’s excelling in both the 50 free and 200 IM this season as well. In the 50 free, Kharun has been 18.93 this season, while he’s been 1:42.31 in the 200 IM. The Sun Devils are loaded with 200 IMers currently, so it seems more likely we’ll see Kharun in the 50 free.

CALIFORNIA: Robin Hanson (junior free), Liam Bell (fifth year – breast/sprint free), Matt Jensen (senior – free/fly/IM), Keaton Jones (freshman – back/free/IM), Jacob Soderlund (junior – breast)

This Cal team is heading into the Pac-12 Championships down a handful of their top swimmers. The Golden Bears recently announced that Jack Alexy, Dare Rose, Destin Lasco, and Gabriel Jett will be competing at the Pro Swim Series in Westmont this week rather than the Pac-12 Champs. Additionally, Bjorn Seeliger will not be competing this week. The reasoning given for Seeliger’s absence is that he missed too much school while he was in Doha for the World Championships earlier this month. Those five swimmers represented 277 of Cal’s 671 points from individual swims, so needless to say, those are heavy losses.

Couple the five swimmers who will be absent at this meet with 226 points, Cal loses from last year in swimmers who either graduated or are no longer on the roster, and the Golden Bears are facing an uphill battle at this meet.

Still, Cal has plenty of talent left on the rest of their roster. With the losses, it will be up to junior Robin Hanson to lead Cal’s sprint group. Thankfully for the Golden Bears, they have arguably the deepest sprint group in the NCAA right now. This season, Hanson has been 19.50 in the 50 free, which also stands as his career best in the event. Hanson has also been 42.93 in the 100 free and 1:33.18 in the 200 free this season. His personal best in the 200 free is 1:32.33 and he came in 4th in the event at last year’s Pac-12s with a 1:33.21.

Matt Jensen is another big component of Cal’s sprinting. A versatile short course sprinter, at last year’s Pac-12s, Jensen swam the 100 fly (9th – 45.57), 100 breast (2nd – 51.42), and 100 free (7th – 42.09). Jensen has been strong in his events this season, already having gone 42.79 in the 100 free, 46.23 in the 100 fly, and 52.67 in the 100 breast. He did also clock a career best of 1:45.58 in the 200 IM back in January in a dual meet against Arizona, so it would be interesting to see what he could do in that event at this meet, but I’m not sure well get to see it.

Fifth year Liam Bell is primarily a breaststroker, though he’s a very strong sprinter as well. Bell’s an exceptional 100 breaststroker, holding a career best of 50.50, which is the 16th fastest performance of all-time in the event. He’s a great 200 breaststroker as well, having a career best of 1:51.36 there. This season, Bell has been 51.70 in the 100 breast, while he’s clocked a 1:54.01 in the 200 breast.

Bell is a very capable 50 freestyler as well, holding a career best of 18.96. This season, Bell has only been 19.61 in the 50 free, however, that’s faster than his season best was last year heading into Pac-12s, so there’s no real cause for concern there. Because Cal is so deep in the sprint events, Bell hasn’t been called on often in the 100 free, though he’s very capable there if needed as well, and it will probably be needed on the 400 free relay this week. He holds a career best of 42.81 in the 100 free, which he swam back when he was on Alabama.

Junior Jacob Soderlund is the other piece to Cal’s breaststroke duo right now. Soderlund was an ‘A’ finalist in both breast events at last year’s meet. He’s been on fire so far this season, having posted career bests in both breaststroke events. He’s already been 51.88 in the 100 breast and 1:53.11 in the 200 breast this season.

Freshman Keaton Jones will have to be big for Cal in his first conference championship meet. Jones was unquestionably one of the most highly sought after recruits in this most recent recruiting class. He also competed for the US at the World University Games last summer, where he won gold in the 200 back.

Jones is a versatile swimmer, but he primarily specializes in back and free. He’s been as fast as 46.85 in the 100 back and 1:40.23 in the 200 back, both of which he swam this season at the Minnesota Invite. Jones is also an excellent 500 freestyler, holding a career best of 4:15.54 there. Jones is a great 200 IMer as well, having been 1:45.51 before, however, it seems more likely he would be in the 500 than the 200 IM.

USC: Artem Selin (junior – Free), Chris O’Grady (junior – Breast/IM), Ben Dillard (senior – Breast/IM), Vaggelis Makrygiannis (senior – Back), Krzysztof Chmielewski (freshman free/fly/IM)

The Trojans head into this Pac-12 Championship led by a contingent of veterans. USC has a strong breaststroke group led by senior Ben Dillard and junior Chris O’Grady. So far this season, O’Grady leads the Trojans in the 100 breast with a 51.53, while Dillard has clocked in at 52.58. Meanwhile, Dillard is their top 200 breaststroker, holding a season-best of 1:52.50, which is just ahead of O’Grady’s 1:52.86, both of which are top 5 in the conference. They’re both strong 200 IMers as well, where Dillard enters this meet with a season high of 1:43.24 and O’Grady has been 1:45.14.

Junior Artem Selin is set to lead this sprint group through the week. Selin comes into the meet with the 6th-fastest 50 free in the Pac-12 this season, having gone 19.12 at the Texas Invite. He’s also been 42.94 in the 100 free already this season, which he also swam at the Texas Invite. Both those swims stand as Selin’s career-best in the event.

Senior Vaggelis Makrygiannis will be leading this Trojan backstroke group. He’s been very good in the 100 back this season, leading USC with a 46.03. Makrygiannis is great in the 200 back as well, having clocked a 1:42.16 this season. He’s a strong 500 freestyler as well, having been 4:22.85 to this point in the season.

Freshman Krzysztof Chmielewski, a star for his home country of Poland, is looking to make a huge impact in his first conference championship. Chmielewski is great in a number of races, but is particularly strong in fly and longer free events. In the 500 free, he holds USC’s fastest time of the season with a 4:13.84. He’s even better in the 1650, where he’s already clocked a 14:37.74 this season, which is 2nd in the conference. Chmielewski is also a great 200 flyer, having gone 1:41.20 in the event already this season. It would be highly unusual to see him race the mile/200 fly double, however, he’s good enough in both events that maybe we’ll get to see it happen.

STANFORD: Andrei Minakov (junior – Fly/Free), Rex Mauer (freshman  – free/back), Ron Polonsky (junior  – breast/IM), Zhier Fan (sophomore – breast/IM), Rafael Gu (sophomore – free/fly)

This Stanford team has been continuing to improve over the last handful of years. They look great heading into this meet, with some events where they have some serious depth. What appears to have been a strong performance in the diving events last week should help Stanford get out to a nice start in team scoring as well.

Junior Andrei Minakov is back with the Cardinal and he’s been swimming very well this season. Minakov has already gone 44.16 in the 100 fly at Stanford’s dual meet with Arizona State, which leads the Pac-12 this season and is 3rd in the NCAA currently. He’s been excellent in the 200 fly as well, where he’s been 1:38.61 this season, good for 2nd in the conference and 2nd in the NCAA. Minakov has also been strong in the 50 free this year, entering the meet with a season-best of 19.29.

Sophom0re Rafael Gu has taken a step forward for the Cardinal this year. He’ll be a key part to Stanford’s sprint group. Gu has been 19.31 in the 50 free and 42.40 in the 100 free, both of which should be big for Stanford individually and on relays. Where Gu has been best this season is in the 100 fly, where he’s already clocked a 45.07, which is 5th in the conference.

He’s not as much of a pure sprinter but freshman Henry McFadden is going to be big for Stanford individual and on at least the 800 free relay. McFadden swam a career-best of 1:32.62 in the 200 free at Stanford’s dual meet with Cal about 2 weeks ago. McFadden also holds a career best of 4:16.99 in the 500 free and he’s been within a second of that already this season. Though he doesn’t necessarily have the pure speed of some other college sprinters, McFadden has already posted his career best of 43.14 in the 100 free this season, and he’s been 48.78 in the long course 100 free, which absolutely should be taken into account when considering his potential.

Fellow freshman Rex Maurer is in a similar position to McFadden. Maurer is a phenomenal freestyler, though he’s not a pure sprinter, which would limit his relay value somewhat, except that Maurer is Stanford’s leading backstroker this season. He’s more of a 200 backstroker than 100 backstroker, having been 1:39.75 this season, which is good for 5th in the conference, however, he also leads the Cardinal in the 100 back with a 46.03. Junior Aaron Sequeira is Stanford’s fastest returning backstroker from last season, having taken 6th in the 100 back at last year’s Pac-12s with a 45.45. Given that, it will be interesting to see how Stanford approaches choosing between Maurer and Sequeira for the medley relays.

Maurer has been fantastic in the 500 free to this point in the season, having clocked his career best of 4:11.88 at the Texas Invite back in November. Not only is that time good for 2nd in the Pac-12 this season, it also ranks Maurer 8th in the NCAA as we head into this meet. He’s also posted his career best of 3:41.27 in the 400 IM, which ranks 4th in the conference this year.

Stanford also has a very strong breaststroke duo in junior Ron Polonsky and sophomore Zhier Fan. Polonksy has been 51.39 in the 100 breast this season, while Fan has been 51.70, both of which are top five in the Pac-12. Fan has been much better in the 200 breast, where he’s gone 1:52.68, well ahead of Polonsky’s 1:55.10. That being said, Polonsky is a great 200 IMer, having been 1:42.10 already this season.

UTAH: Jaek Horner (fifth year – Breast/IM), Evan Van Brocklin (sophomore – Free/Fly/IM), Brandon Miller (sophomore – free/back/IM), Jakub Walter (freshman – fly)

Though they finished in 6th last season, this Utah team has some absolute stars on it. First and foremost, Jaek Horner has returned for his fifth year of eligibility. Horner is a terrific breaststroker, particularly sprint breaststroker. He leads the Pac-12 this season in the 100 breast, having gone a 51.32 at the Art Adamson Invite back in November. He’s still been strong in the 200 breast, where he’s been 1:53.37, which is 7th in the conference. Horner has been solid in the 200 IM this season as well, holding a season best of 1:46.43, which is the top time for Utah this year.

Sophomore Evan Van Brocklin is a strong 400 IMer, having been 3:48.75 so far this season. He’s a great 200 flyer as well, having gone 1:44.90 in the event to this point of the season. Van Brocklin has an altitude-adjusted time of 1:42.86 from a recent dual meet, though, altitude adjusted times aren’t all that reliable.

Fellow sophomore Brandon Miller is a strong 400 IMer as well, holding Utah’s top time this season with a 3:48.68. Miller is a great 200 backstroker as well, having been 1:42.74 this season, which makes him Utah’s top swimmer. He leads the Utes in the 500 free as well, having gone 4:21.91 already this season.

Freshman Jakub Walter is looking to make an impact in his first conference championship meet. Walter clocked a 1:45.30 in the 200 fly at the Art Adamson Invite in November. That’s a strong time for a freshman at the mid-season invites. He’s a very strong 200 freestyler as well, having been 1:49.56 in the LCM 200 free, which should mean he could be in the 1:35 range at the slowest in yards.

SHOWDOWNS:

200 Fly

The Pac-12 has some of the best 200 flyers in the NCAA right now, so this should be a great race. Of course, Arizona State freshman Ilya Kharun has been phenomenal in his first college season, already having gone 1:37.93, which leads the NCAA.

Of course, there’s also Leon Marchand, who will show up in all 3 of these showdowns, but almost certainly won’t race all 3 of these events. Marchand has been 1:39.62 in the 200 fly already this season, which is 3rd in the conference. He’s been a touch faster in his career, having gone 1:39.57 at the NC State Invite back in the fall of 2022.

Stanford’s Andrei Minakov has looked excellent so far this season, having already gone 1:38.61. Minakov is the 2nd-fastest swimmer in the Pac-12 this season, as well as the 2nd-fastest in the NCAA. In fact, Kharun and Minakov are the only swimmers in the NCAA this season who have already been under 1:39.

USC freshman Krzysztof Chmielewski is another swimmer to keep an eye on. Chmielewski has been 1:41.20 this season, which isn’t as fast as the other 3 swimmers named above, but he does have a ton of high-level racing experience at the international level, which counts for something.

400 IM

Assuming they both swim it, the 400 IM will be a showdown between Arizona State stars Leon Marchand and Hubert Kos. They are the top two swimmers in the Pac-12 and the NCAA in the event this season, with Kos having been 3:35.82 already, while Marchand has a season-best of 3:37.96. Of course, Marchand is the NCAA record holder with a 3:28.82 career best. That gives him the advantage coming into the race, however, we don’t know how much faster than 3:35 Kos could well end up going.

Arizona State also has the 3rd fastest performer in the conference this season, David Schlicht, who is also 4th in the NCAA in the event currently. Schlicht has been 3:38.16 this season, which is just off his career best of 3:38.03 from last year’s NCAAs.

That means ASU is currently dominant in the event within the conference, as the next-fastest swimmer is Stanford freshman Rex Maurer, who has been 3:41.27.

100 Breast

The 100 breast at this year’s Pac-12s is a very deep event. Of course, it could feature Leon Marchand, although that would be fairly surprising given the other events that take place on Friday. Still, Marchand has been 51.37 in the 100 breast already this season, and, if he swam it, he would certainly be a threat to win. It’s also not as though it’s unprecedented. Caeleb Dressel famously swam the 100 breast, which was not at all one of his usual events, at the 2018 SECs, and actually broke the NCAA record, which was then re-broken by Ian Finnerty a few weeks later at the 2018 NCAAs.

Even without Marchand, this 100 breast would be great. Cal’s Liam Bell has only been 51.70 in the 100 breast so far this season, though he has a career best of 50.50, which is the fastest in the field.

It’s Utah’s Jaek Horner who leads the conference this season, having gone 51.32 back at the Art Adamson Invite in the fall. That time also stands as his career-best in the event, and it’s timely, since Horner is a fifth-year.

The Stanford duo of Ron Polonsky and Zhier Fan will be formidable as well. Polonsky is #3 in the conference this season with a 51.39, while Fan is right behind in 51.70. Both those times also came at the Stanford dual meet with Cal less than two weeks ago.

Right between Polonsky and Fan is USC’s Chris O’Grady, who has been 51.53 this season. That’s O’Grady’s career-best in the event.

SWIMSWAM’S PREDICTIONS

  1. Arizona State
  2. Stanford
  3. Cal
  4. USC
  5. Arizona
  6. Utah

Especially with Cal not swimming five of their best swimmers, Arizona State has a very clear path to victory this week. This team is better than the one that beat a full-strength Cal team at last year’s Pac-12s, so they would have stood an excellent chance of winning this meet regardless.

With ASU as the clear favorites, it really seems as though Stanford is poised to take advantage of Cal’s absences and move up to 2nd. The Cardinal already performed well in diving last week and their swimmers should be on equal footing, if not better than Cal’s this week.

SwimSwam: 2024 Men’s Pac-12 Champs Fan Guide: Arizona State Poised to Conclude Pac-12 Era With Title

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