GREENSBORO, NC – Day Two of the Big 12 Championships brought suspense, speed, and another championship title for Arizona Swim & Dive.
The morning session had an unexpected and rare swim to finish the preliminary round.
Mason Nyboer tied 16th with a West Virginia distance swimmer, resulting in a swim-off. To most, another 500-yard swim would seem grueling, but it turned out to be the momentum the cats needed going into finals.
"No one loves doing a swim-off longer than a 100, and a 500 is a big ask," said head coach
Ben Loorz. "But Mason turned it into the most entertaining race of the morning. He was a cold-blooded killer in that race… he knew his man, knew their strategy, strengths, and weaknesses, and just used everyone to his advantage. It created a great spark for the team!"
Arizona carried that energy into the finals.
Julia Wozniak claimed silver and
Riley Botton just behind her, earning bronze in the 50-yard free.
Patricija Kondraskaite also added a fifth-place finish in the 50 free "A" final. On the men's side,
Duncan Henderson placed seventh, with multiple Wildcats contributing in the "B" and "C" finals as well.
The end of the night belonged to the freshman,
Luke Hernandez. Competing in his first Big 12 Championships, Hernandez claimed the 3-meter title with a powerful performance under pressure.
"We could not be more proud of
Luke Hernandez for capturing his first Big 12 Conference Championship on the Men's 3m Springboard tonight," said assistant dive coach
Dwight Dumais. "Watching him step onto this stage as a freshman and deliver dive after dive under mounting pressure was truly special. This is a tremendous accomplishment for Luke — and it's only the beginning."
"We also can't say enough about the incredible support we received from Arizona Swimming & Diving during the contest. The atmosphere was absolutely electric."
Through the first two days, the Wildcats continue to stack points and beat personal bests. Arizona Swim & Dive is set to compete tomorrow at 8:00 AM MST for the preliminary round and 3:15 PM MST for finals. Live broadcasting will be available on ESPN+.
