Pac-12 Takes Lead at USA College Challenge: Recap courtesy of USA Swimming

LOS ANGELES – After tallying 10 wins on day one of the USA College Challenge, the Pac-12 Conference took a 155-141 lead over Team USA at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the University of Southern California campus on Saturday night.

After strong performances in Budapest this summer, Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Stanford University) and Kathleen Baker (Winston-Salem, N.C./California-Berkley) contributed with individual and relay wins for the Pac-12 Conference.

Ledecky got the Pac-12 on the scoreboard with a victory in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:28.75, while Baker won the 200y back in 1:50.62. Click here for complete results from Los Angeles.

Tom Shields (Huntington Beach, Calif./California Aquatics) led Team USA with wins in both the 100y fly (45.16) and 100y free (42.73). He also contributed to the men’s 400y medley relay first-place finish.

Team USA swept the men’s 200y breast, led by a time of 1:53.42 from Olympian Josh Prenot (Santa Monica, Calif./California Aquatics). National Team members Nic Fink (Morristown, N.J./Athens Bulldog Swim Club) and Cody Miller (Las Vegas, Nev./Badger Swim Club) followed.

Zane Grothe (Boulder City, Nev./Badger Swim Club) rounded out the individual wins for Team USA. He won the 500y free in a time of 4:13.63 and was followed by USA teammate Mitch D’Arrigo (Gainesville, Fla./Gator Swim Club).

Also winning individual races on Saturday for the Pac-12 Conference were Louise Hansson (Helsingborg, Sweden/University of Southern California) in both the women’s 100y fly and 100y free, Patrick Mulcare (Tigard, Ore./University of Southern California) in the men’s 200y back,  Maggie Aroesty (Long Island, N.Y./University of Southern California) in the women’s 200y breast, Andrew Seliskar (McLean, Va./California-Berkley) in the men’s 400y IM and Ella Eastin (Irvine, Calif./Stanford University) in the women’s 400y IM.

“I wasn’t surprised when we were going into the last relays with a tie,” Lia Neal (Brooklyn, N.Y./Stanford Swimming). “That just makes it really interesting and a really cool spectacle, just attention and entertainment for other people within USA Swimming.”

Sunday’s session, which begins at 10:30 a.m. PT, will air live on the Pac-12 Network. Both sessions will also be available to stream live for authenticated Pac-12 Networks subscribers via the Pac-12 Now app and Pac-12.com.

About USA Swimming

As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.

About the Pac-12 Conference

The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 51 of the last 57 years, with 501 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities. The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to www.pac-12.com/conference.

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