The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championships
No. 2 Men's Swimming and Diving wins 38th consecutive conference title
02.25.2017 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Longhorns sweep the fourth day of the Big 12 meet, win 21st Big 12 team title.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 2 Texas swept the remaining seven events and closed out its 38th consecutive conference title Saturday evening at the Big 12 Championships.
Texas won its 21st Big 12 title and 38th consecutive league crown with 1,081 points while West Virginia finished second with 870 points. TCU took third with 702 points.
Senior Will Licon was selected as the Outstanding Men's Swimmer of the Meet while senior Mark Anderson was named as the Men's Diver of the Meet. Freshman swimmer Josh Artmann was voted as the Men's Newcomer of the Meet. Eddie Reese was selected as the Men's Swimming Coach of the Meet while Diving Coach Matt Scoggin was named the Men's Diving Coach of the Meet.
Freshman Jacob Cornish kicked off the night by securing his first Big 12 title on platform with 391 points. He outdistanced his nearest competitor by over 65 points.
Sophomore John Shebat and junior Jonathan Roberts became the fourth and fifth Longhorns to clear the 1:40 mark in the 200 backstroke, as Shebat took the win in 1:39.74, good for the No. 3 time in the nation this season. Roberts followed closely behind at 1:39.87, as both Longhorns went well under the NCAA automatic-qualifying mark.
All-America junior Brett Ringgold captured his third straight Big 12 title in the 100 freestyle, where he was victorious in 42.39, a top-10 national time. Olympic gold medalist Townley Haas took second at 42.62 while sophomore Tate Jackson placed third at 42.79. Senior P.J. Dunne took fifth at 43.69.
All-America senior Clark Smith claimed the Big 12 title in the 1,650 freestyle at 14:33.28, good for the No. 2 time in the country only behind his top national time from the Texas Invitational. Smith, the son of former Longhorns swimmers John and Tori (Trees) Smith, holds three of Texas' top-five times in the event.
Licon captured his fourth consecutive Big 12 championship in the 200 breaststroke, an event in which he holds the NCAA and American records. The El Paso native was victorious in 1:49.89, easily the top time in the nation this season. Sophomore Sam Stewart took second at 1:56.90 while sophomore Casey Melzer placed fourth at 1:58.51. Junior Austin Temple took sixth at 2:00.09. Junior Jared Butler won the consolation final at 1:55.50.
American record holder Jack Conger won his second straight league title in the 200 butterfly and posted the top time in the country at 1:39.17. Sophomore Max Holter took second at 1:44.73 and senior Will Glass placed third at 1:45.02.
Texas capped the meet with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay, as junior Joseph Schooling joined Conger, Ringgold and Haas to finish in 2:48.66, good for the No. 2 relay in the country this season.
Players Mentioned
