The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championships
Smith topples school, league records at Big 12 Championships
02.27.2016 | Men's Swimming and Diving
All-America junior Clark Smith takes down Michael McBroom’s school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle, notches top time in the country.
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AUSTIN, Texas – School and Big 12 records from All-America junior Clark Smith in the 1,650-yard freestyle and meet records from All-America juniors Will Licon and Jack Conger highlighted Texas' march to the team title Saturday at the Big 12 Championships.
The Longhorns captured their 37th consecutive conference title and 20th Big 12 crown with 1,018 points. West Virginia finished as the runner-up with 847 points while TCU took third at 759.
Licon was selected as the Big 12 Men's Swimmer of the Meet, and Townley Haas was named the Big 12 Men's Newcomer of the Meet. Junior Mark Anderson took top honors as the Men's Diver of the Meet, and Matt Scoggin was selected as the Men's Diving Coach of the Meet.
Swimming the event for the first time in college, Smith dropped the nation's top time and set school and Big 12 records in the 1,650 freestyle at 14 minutes, 31.29 seconds. Smith, the 2015 NCAA champion in the 500 freestyle, broke the school and Big 12 record of 14:32.75 set by Michael McBroom at the 2013 NCAA Championships. The swim also broke McBroom's meet record of 14:33.53 from the 2013 Big 12 Championships.
"It was a two or three-minute drop from the last time I swam it, so I can't complain" Smith said. "I tried to get in the top eight going into the (NCAA Championships) meet, but anywhere from 14:30 to 14:40 would've been great."
"We call that his first real mile," said UT head coach Eddie Reese. "I think he's just starting in that event. Clark's going to knock that one (record) fully. I just told him what (splits) to hold. He's like a very smooth machine.
All-America junior Mark Anderson kicked off the night by winning his third straight Big 12 title in the platform diving event. The Californian handily took home top honors in the platform final with 458.70 points.
Freshman Ryan Harty picked up his first career Big 12 individual title in the 200 backstroke, as he led a trio of Longhorns atop the final standings in 1 minute, 41.05 seconds. His classmate John Shebat followed closely behind at 1:42.05, while sophomore Jonathan Roberts took third at 1:42.14.
"I think with a little bit more rest I'll be able to get those splits down and hopefully keep it under 1:40," Harty said. "That's the goal for the season. I'm excited to see what the next couple of weeks holds for us, and I'm looking forward to going fast at the NCAA Championships."
Sophomore Brett Ringgold claimed his second straight Big 12 title in the 100 freestyle and took the win in 42.08, an NCAA automatic-qualifying cut. Freshman Townley Haas took second at 42.80 and freshman Tate Jackson added a fourth-place mark of 43.74. Seniors Matt Ellis and John Murray placed fifth and sixth at 44.13 and 44.22, respectively.
Licon, the defending NCAA champion in the 200 breaststroke, smashed his own meet record in the same event and claimed the Big 12 title in 1:50.47, good for the No. 1 time in the country this season.
Conger cruised to victory in the 200 butterfly and was victorious at 1:40.57, just under Joseph Schooling's previous meet record of 1:40.59 and well under the NCAA automatic-qualifying standard of 1:42.43. Senior John Martens took second at 1:44.50 while junior Will Glass placed third at 1:45.83.
Texas capped the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay in 2:50.29, good for the seventh-fastest relay in school history. Haas led off in 42.75 before Schooling 42.5 on the second leg. Murray split 43.32 on the third leg before Ringgold anchored in 41.72.
