Di Sibio Wins Big 12 Title to Close Conference Meet

Saturday, February 24

Austin, Texas

11 a.m.

West Virginia University

Big 12 Championships

February 24, 2018 11:22 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Final Results

By: Joe Mitchin

AUSTIN, Texas – Redshirt junior Tristen Di Sibio won the men's 200 breaststroke championship on the final day of the 2018 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, as the West Virginia University swimming and diving teams earned a pair of second-place team finishes.

Di Sibio became WVU's second conference champion of the meet when he touched the wall in 1:56.00 to claim the Big 12 individual title. The Lantana, Texas, native became the Mountaineers' eighth Big 12 men's champion and 12th overall.

The redshirt junior won the event by just .06 in a race that came down to the wire. He earned an NCAA 'B' cut for the performance and recorded the third-fastest time in program history in the event.

Di Sibio joins teammate Jake Armstrong as 2018 Big 12 champions, marking the first time WVU has returned home with multiple event winners since 2014.

The Mountaineers combined to win one gold, four silver and six bronze medals on Saturday, and two golds, 16 silvers and 12 bronzes throughout the four-day meet.

"It was a really solid week all the way through," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "They've just done a really good job this season with training, and it all paid off at the right time. I'm really proud of each and every one of them. As a team, to come in second place on both sides is just something I'm really proud of as well.

"Personally, I think it's the best performance we've had since I've been here at WVU. From top to bottom, we just continued to improve every day and just got better and better. That's definitely something special when it happens."

WVU broke a total of 14 school records during the Big 12 meet, including three on Saturday. Freshman David Dixon took down the men's 200 butterfly record on two separate occasions. First, he broke Pablo Marmolejo's 2009 record of 1:44.03 when he finished in 1:43.63 during preliminaries. In the event's finals, Dixon earned a silver medal in a WVU-best time of 1:42.50.

Junior diver Austin Smith also set a new record on men's platform dive with a finals score of 339.60. The mark topped Alex Obendorf's previous record of 332.70 from 2017. Smith went on to take third in the event.

"First, a big congrats to the whole team, men and women, for a great meet this week," said WVU diving coach Michael Grapner, who was named the Men's Diving Coach of the Meet. "Today was another great day for the divers. I'm so proud of them for their efforts; we're a team with no tower competing against teams with a tower and giving it all they have. Austin Smith set another WVU record today from his previous record he set in his freshman year.

"The ladies did a fantastic job tonight, too. Having three make it back for finals was huge for the team score. Leaving from such a successful conference meet will help to set up a successful Zones meet next week."

WVU produced 15 All-Big 12 First Team selections during the conference meet. Tweleve others found a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team.

Senior Amelie Currat got Saturday's finals session started with a gritty performance in the women's 200 backstroke. Currat battled her way to a silver medal, touching the wall in 1:55.75, just .10 off the school record. Freshman Ally VanNetta (1:58.48) took sixth, while junior Maggie Miller finished eighth in the event.

For the men, sophomore Luke Hene picked up a sixth-place finish in 1:46.51, while sophomore Trayton Saladin went 1:48.12 for seventh. Freshman Angelo Russo took second in the consolation final.

From there, junior Merwane El Merini claimed a third-place finish in the men's 100 freestyle, touching the wall in 43.36. He was followed by a pair of teammates in sophomore Sam Neaveill, who was fifth in 44.13, while junior Drew Damich finished sixth in 44.47. In the women's race, sophomore Julia Nilton took seventh overall in 50.24.

Next was the 1,650 freestyle, where sophomore Trayton Saladin rallied for a third-place finish in 15:36.60. Saladin was just ahead of senior James Koval, who recorded a fourth-place finish in 15:38.35. Junior Brandon Christian placed eighth.

From there, junior Emma Harris took third in the women's 200 breaststroke championship final, earning the bronze medal in 2:13.25. That came moments before Di Sibio's gold-medal-winning performance.

Joining Di Sibio on the men's 200 breaststroke podium was Armstrong, who finished third in 1:57.81. Redshirt senior Nate Carr placed fifth in 1:59.05, while senior Drew Riebel finished seventh in 1:59.38.

"That was a great last 50 (yards)," Riggs said of Di Sibio. "That's the way we train, and that's what we focus on. He was fortunate to do enough to get his fingernails on the wall first. That was really special. We had two (individual champions) in the meet, and hopefully they can both come back and defend them successfully."

In the women's 200 butterfly final, sophomore Morgan Bullock earned herself another top-three finish, as she went 1:57.14 for bronze. Junior Morgan Carr also qualified for the championship final, finishing fourth in 1:58.20.

Dixon nearly earned a come-from-behind victory in the men's event, finishing in second place by just .27 en route to the silver medal. Sophomore Ryan Kelly finished fourth in 1:47.87, while freshman Max Gustafson tallied an eighth-place finish.

Along with Smith's performance in men's platform diving, senior Michael Proietto took fourth with a finals score of 320.70. Freshman Caleb Keck was seventh with a 252.85.

WVU had a trio of women qualify for the platform finals in juniors Julia Calcut and Madelyn Woods and freshman Callie Smith. Calcut led the group in fourth with a score of 212.55, while Woods (175.50) and Smith (162.15) placed seventh and eighth, respectively.

"I can't say enough about what a job Mike (Grapner) is doing," Riggs said. "He's a big part of our programs and a big reason why we finished in second place on both sides. Specifically on the women's side, they did a terrific job every day, and they are a big reason why we got second place."

The meet closed with the 400 freestyle relays, where the men and women each won silver medals. The Mountaineer men, comprised of El Merini, Neaveill, Damich and Nate Carr, went 2:54.30. The women's team of Nilton, Bullock, Currat and freshman Giselle Gursoy touched the wall in 3:20.12.

The WVU men earned 947.5 team points in the meet, as the Texas men won with 1,052 points. TCU finished third on the men's side with 667.5 points. The Mountaineer women earned 650.5 points, ahead of Kansas (613), Iowa State (512.5) and TCU (461). The Texas women earned 1,021 points to finish first.

The Mountaineers will return home to begin preparation for the NCAA Championships. The women's event is slated for March 14-17, in Columbus, Ohio, while the men's national meet commences from March 21-24, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

WVU divers will be back in action from March 5-7, at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships in Piscataway, New Jersey.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.