WVU’s Dixon Wins Big 12 Title

Friday, March 1

Austin, Texas

11:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

Big 12 Championship

Photo by: Liz Parke

March 01, 2019 10:49 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Friday's Results

By: Joe Mitchin

AUSTIN, Texas – Sophomore David Dixon of the West Virginia University men's swimming and diving team came from behind to win the men's 100 butterfly title at the 2019 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, in Austin, Texas, on Friday night.

Trailing halfway through the race, Dixon touched the wall in an NCAA B-qualifying time of 46.73 to claim his first career individual conference championship. The performance was good for the second-fastest time in the event in program history, helping the Richmond, Virginia, native win the Mountaineers' 13th Big 12 individual title overall and ninth among men.

The win also was WVU's first Big 12 title in the 100 butterfly.

In all, West Virginia claimed one gold, one silver and four bronze medals on the third day of the four-day championship meet. The Mountaineers also combined for six B-cuts during Friday's finals session.

Additionally, senior Emma Harris took down the women's 100 breaststroke school record, previously held by Jenelle Zee (1:01.28) since 2015. Harris finished with a time of 1:01.18 in the event's championship final to claim fifth place.

Two more school records were topped in the women's 200 freestyle relay. Juniors Julia Nilton and Morgan Bullock, freshman Emma Bliss and sophomore Giselle Gursoy finished in 1:31.45 for third place, taking down last year's top mark of 1:31.53. Nilton led off the relay in 22.38, which also was good for a new school record in the women's 50 freestyle. She topped Kayla Andrews' previous best of 22.40 from 2009.

Through three days at the conference meet, WVU has combined to break six school records.

"We had a very strong night, both in the water and on the boards," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "We had several school records and David's win was great. We're competing better each session, and we have a big day tomorrow to finish off the week."

Friday also featured the men's and women's 3-meter diving competitions.

For the men, freshman PJ Lenz earned a score of 330.45 in the finals to earn the bronze medal. Redshirt freshman Jacob Cardinal Tremblay finished fourth with a score of 326.65, while freshman Nick Cover was fifth with a 302.30. Sophomore Caleb Keck took sixth place with a score of 296.65.

A pair of senior women reached the podium as Averly Hobbs finished seventh with a finals score of 287.90. Julia Calcut was next, finishing in eighth with a score of 248.90.

Three Mountaineer women also competed in the 3-meter consolation finals. Senior Madelyn Woods won the event with a score of 290.00. She earned ninth place overall, finishing ahead of sophomore Callie Smith (11th – 271.20) and freshman Camille Burt (14th – 246.90).

"It was an awesome day for the divers," WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I'm thrilled for Averly and Julia for getting into the finals. It was big for us, and I'm incredibly proud of them. The ladies had a tough prelim to earn their spot today, and they did so with confidence. For the men, I'm proud to see each of them step up and compete for their team and their personal goals. Tomorrow will be a fun day on platform."

Friday's finals session began with the women's 100 butterfly, where Bullock registered a bronze-medal swim in 53.09. Nilton won the consolation final to finish ninth overall in 55.14, while sophomore Ally VanNetta took 10th overall in 55.14. Junior Miranda Marcucci also swam in the B final, finishing 13th overall in 57.88. Junior Lexi Glassmire earned a 58.89 in the C final for 23rd overall.

Along with Dixon's performance in the men's event, four other Mountaineers placed in the top eight. Junior Sam Neaveill was fourth in 47.72, while junior Jack Frazier placed fifth in 48.16. Junior Trayton Saladin was sixth with a time of 48.45, ahead of sophomore Angelo Russo, who was seventh in 49.02.

WVU also had three swimmers in the event's consolation final, as sophomore Denys Kostromin (48.54) led the way with a second-place finish for 10th overall. Junior Austin Hartke (48.96) and freshman Josh Madzy (50.82) finished 11th and 15th overall, respectively.

Next were the 400 individual medleys, where sophomore Philip Kay earned a fourth-place finish for the men with a time of 3:52.48. Freshman Josh Harlan also qualified for the championship final, earning a fifth-place finish in 3:54.53.

In the women's 200 freestyle, freshman Reka Kovacs swam a 1:50.13 for eighth place, while Gursoy won the consolation final in 1:48.32 for ninth overall. Freshman Lauryn Kallay also swam in the B final, touching the wall in 1:52.16 for 16th overall. Sophomore Luisa Winkler was 21st overall after her C final swim.

Five Mountaineer men competed in the consolation final of the men's 200 free. Sophomore Max Gustafson led the pack in 1:37.89 for 11th overall, ahead of senior Drew Damich, who was 12th overall in 1:38.50. Junior Ryan Kelly (1:39.97), freshman Tom Hubbard (1:40.30) and junior Brandon Christian (1:41.88) rounded out the group in 14th, 15th and 16th.

Harris' performance in the women's 100 breast was next. Along with the Canberra, Australia, native, senior Marah Bieger and freshman Lauren Beckish swam in the consolation final. The duo placed 14th and 16th overall, respectively.

The men's event featured three Mountaineers earning NCAA B-cuts. Senior Jake Armstrong finished second with a time of 52.35, ahead of redshirt senior Tristen Di Sibio, who was third with a time of 53.38. The hard-fought championship final also featured freshman Fausto Huerta placing fourth with a time of 53.79. Sophomore Ben Brooks took eighth place.

An all-Mountaineer consolation final saw junior Matthew Marsh's 55.07 earn ninth place overall. Junior Jack Portmann and senior Jake Preaskorn also competed.

The final individual event of the evening was the 100 backstroke. On the women's side, VanNetta took seventh place in 55.17. Marcucci (56.96) was 14th overall, while freshmen Megan Zartman and Bettie Logan took 21st and 22nd, respectively.

Sophomore Christopher O'Shea led the men with a fourth-place finish in 48.09. Russo grabbed fifth in 49.02, while senior Merwane El Merini took seventh in 49.17.

Following Friday's events, the men's team sits in second place with 575.5 points. The women are in third place with 350 points.

The Big 12 Championship concludes on Saturday, with preliminaries set to begin at 11 a.m. ET. Men's and women's platform diving will begin at 12 p.m. The finals session is scheduled for 5:40 p.m.

FloSports is providing live video coverage of all four days of the conference meet at FloSwimming.com. Fans can also follow along with the Mountaineers by visiting the championship central webpage, which features the meet schedule, live results, ticket information and more.

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