Pac-12 Men’s Championships, Day 4 Finals: Hubert Kos Knocks Off Ryan Murphy’s NCAA Record in 200 Backstroke
Already an Olympic finalist when he made the move across the world to Tempe, Ariz., to join head coach Bob Bowman and his squad at Arizona State University, Leon Marchand has thrived in the three years since. He has captured five NCAA titles and posted the fastest times ever in four different short course yards races while winning five world titles in long course, including a world record. Meanwhile, Hubert Kos has followed a similar pattern, beginning his career at Arizona State one year later but similarly blossoming into a star.
Already a European champion in the 200 IM when he joined the Sun Devils, Kos won his first world title less than a year after making the move, coming from behind to upset American Ryan Murphy in the 200-meter backstroke at the World Championships. Now, Kos has knocked off Murphy again, dethroning the star American from the top of the record books in the yards version of the event.
In the final Saturday evening at the Pac-12 Men’s Championships in Federal Way, Wash., Kos clocked 1:35.69 in the event, four hundredths quicker than Murphy’s time in winning his third of four consecutive NCAA titles in 2016. Kos was out slower than Murphy over the first 100 yards by three tenths, but he closed in 24.57 to slip under the eight-year-old standard. He also lowered the Pac-12 meet record of 1:38.64 set by Cal’s Destin Lasco, the two-time defending NCAA champion in the 200 back, last season.
The title was the third individual win for Kos this week, and he was joined as a top finisher by Arizona State teammate Owen McDonald, whose time of 1:37.70 ranks behind only Kos and Florida freshman Jonny Marshall in the national rankings. Stanford’s Rex Maurer was third in 1:39.83, with the freshman closing strong to touch out Cal fifth-year swimmer Sebastian Somerset by a single hundredth.
Event 17 Men 200 Yard Backstroke
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 1:35.73 3/26/2016 Ryan Murphy, California
PAC-12: M 1:35.73 2016 Ryan Murphy, CAL
PAC-12 Champ: P 1:36.94 3/4/2023 Destin Lasco, CA
1:39.13 A Standard
1:44.60 B Standard
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Kos, Hubert SO ASU 1:39.05 1:35.69NA 20
22.20 46.66 (24.46)
1:11.12 (24.46) 1:35.69 (24.57)
2 McDonald, Owen SO ASU 1:38.49 1:37.70 A 17
23.18 47.95 (24.77)
1:12.91 (24.96) 1:37.70 (24.79)
3 Maurer, Rex FR STAN 1:40.68 1:39.83 B 16
23.40 48.98 (25.58)
1:14.64 (25.66) 1:39.83 (25.19)
4 Somerset, Sebas GS CAL 1:40.32 1:39.84 B 15
23.52 48.94 (25.42)
1:14.26 (25.32) 1:39.84 (25.58)
5 Sequeira, Aaron JR STAN 1:39.62 1:40.55 B 14
23.30 48.79 (25.49)
1:14.21 (25.42) 1:40.55 (26.34)
6 Saleem, Ziyad JR CAL 1:40.73 1:40.64 B 13
23.91 49.72 (25.81)
1:15.75 (26.03) 1:40.64 (24.89)
7 Zuchowski, Josh SO STAN 1:40.62 1:40.71 B 12
23.84 49.83 (25.99)
1:15.68 (25.85) 1:40.71 (25.03)
8 Crews, Kai JR CAL 1:41.09 1:41.33 B 11
23.64 49.42 (25.78)
1:15.27 (25.85) 1:41.33 (26.06)
Arizona State’s 1-2 finish in the 200 back was part of another huge night for the Sun Devils, who finished the meet having lost only two races out of the 21 held over four days. The team won a second consecutive Pac-12 title, setting itself up for a run at the national championship in two-and-a-half weeks. Stanford placed second here while two-time defending national champion Cal placed third, but it’s worth noting that Cal was missing plenty of stars at the conference meet. Expect an exciting showdown between these two high-powered West Coast rivals later this month in Indianapolis.
1650 Freestyle
Hungarian distance swimmer Zalan Sarkany has been a huge addition for the Sun Devils over the last two seasons, moving into the eighth position on the national level in the 1650 freestyle for key points last year before turning himself into a title contender this season. Already the owner of the top time in the country, Sarkany dominated the 1650 at the conference meet with a time of 14:23.01.
That performance knocked five seconds off his previous season best while putting himself a whopping 16.73 seconds clear of anyone else in the country. In the process, Sarkany lowered the Pac-12 record of 14:24.35 established by Chad La Tourette in 2012, and he also beat the meet record of 14:33.69 set by Cal’s Zach Yeadon three years ago.
USC’s Krzysztof Chmielewski, the World Championships silver medalist in the 200-meter butterfly last year, was already the second-quickest performer nationally entering this race, and while he was just two seconds short of his season-best time, he was still 18.63 seconds and more than 25 yards behind Sarkany. Chmielewski touched in 13:39.64, while another big-points event for Arizona State saw Daniel Matheson placed third in 14:44.85.
Event 16 Men 1650 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 14:12.08 2/22/2020 Bobby Finke, Florida
PAC-12: M 14:24.35 2012 Chad La Tourette, STAN
PAC-12 Champ: P 14:33.69 2021 Zach Yeadon, CAL
14:37.31 A Standard
15:25.12 B Standard
Name Year School Seed Finals Points
=========================================================================
1 Sarkany, Zalan SO ASU 14:28.09 14:23.01MA 20
23.12 48.58 (25.46)
1:14.35 (25.77) 1:40.28 (25.93)
2:06.37 (26.09) 2:32.44 (26.07)
2:58.77 (26.33) 3:24.88 (26.11)
3:51.15 (26.27) 4:17.43 (26.28)
4:43.75 (26.32) 5:10.12 (26.37)
5:36.31 (26.19) 6:02.31 (26.00)
6:28.30 (25.99) 6:54.64 (26.34)
7:20.99 (26.35) 7:47.43 (26.44)
8:13.74 (26.31) 8:40.10 (26.36)
9:06.52 (26.42) 9:33.02 (26.50)
9:59.48 (26.46) 10:25.91 (26.43)
10:52.47 (26.56) 11:19.05 (26.58)
11:45.67 (26.62) 12:12.16 (26.49)
12:38.70 (26.54) 13:05.18 (26.48)
13:31.56 (26.38) 13:57.83 (26.27) 14:23.01 (25.18)
2 Chmielewski, Kr FR USC 14:37.74 14:39.64 B 17
24.00 50.07 (26.07)
1:16.37 (26.30) 1:42.83 (26.46)
2:09.30 (26.47) 2:36.05 (26.75)
3:02.80 (26.75) 3:29.42 (26.62)
3:56.11 (26.69) 4:22.69 (26.58)
4:49.24 (26.55) 5:15.59 (26.35)
5:41.82 (26.23) 6:08.06 (26.24)
6:34.52 (26.46) 7:01.11 (26.59)
7:27.69 (26.58) 7:54.40 (26.71)
8:21.25 (26.85) 8:48.08 (26.83)
9:14.85 (26.77) 9:41.72 (26.87)
10:08.59 (26.87) 10:35.70 (27.11)
11:02.95 (27.25) 11:29.96 (27.01)
11:57.23 (27.27) 12:24.26 (27.03)
12:51.48 (27.22) 13:18.89 (27.41)
13:46.04 (27.15) 14:13.11 (27.07) 14:39.64 (26.53)
3 Matheson, Danie JR ASU 14:45.52 14:44.85 B 16
24.20 50.63 (26.43)
1:17.11 (26.48) 1:43.81 (26.70)
2:10.68 (26.87) 2:37.66 (26.98)
3:04.58 (26.92) 3:31.48 (26.90)
3:58.35 (26.87) 4:25.26 (26.91)
4:52.22 (26.96) 5:19.19 (26.97)
5:46.15 (26.96) 6:13.25 (27.10)
6:40.12 (26.87) 7:07.13 (27.01)
7:34.09 (26.96) 8:01.46 (27.37)
8:28.65 (27.19) 8:55.93 (27.28)
9:23.11 (27.18) 9:50.17 (27.06)
10:17.34 (27.17) 10:44.46 (27.12)
11:11.76 (27.30) 11:38.95 (27.19)
12:05.99 (27.04) 12:32.95 (26.96)
12:59.92 (26.97) 13:26.52 (26.60)
13:53.15 (26.63) 14:19.48 (26.33) 14:44.85 (25.37)
4 Custer, Liam SO STAN 14:59.62 14:46.22 B 15
25.44 53.03 (27.59)
1:20.61 (27.58) 1:47.55 (26.94)
2:14.61 (27.06) 2:42.10 (27.49)
3:09.15 (27.05) 3:36.28 (27.13)
4:03.30 (27.02) 4:30.22 (26.92)
4:57.16 (26.94) 5:23.93 (26.77)
5:50.79 (26.86) 6:17.84 (27.05)
6:44.97 (27.13) 7:12.00 (27.03)
7:39.07 (27.07) 8:05.92 (26.85)
8:32.70 (26.78) 8:59.63 (26.93)
9:26.46 (26.83) 9:53.26 (26.80)
10:20.02 (26.76) 10:46.99 (26.97)
11:14.17 (27.18) 11:41.25 (27.08)
12:08.42 (27.17) 12:35.46 (27.04)
13:02.14 (26.68) 13:28.90 (26.76)
13:55.54 (26.64) 14:21.46 (25.92) 14:46.22 (24.76)
5 Machado, Gabe JR STAN 15:03.53 14:55.52 B 14
24.23 50.66 (26.43)
1:17.50 (26.84) 1:44.39 (26.89)
2:11.60 (27.21) 2:38.73 (27.13)
3:05.91 (27.18) 3:33.15 (27.24)
4:00.34 (27.19) 4:27.56 (27.22)
4:54.63 (27.07) 5:21.91 (27.28)
5:49.21 (27.30) 6:16.61 (27.40)
6:43.92 (27.31) 7:11.24 (27.32)
7:38.68 (27.44) 8:06.01 (27.33)
8:33.12 (27.11) 9:00.33 (27.21)
9:27.62 (27.29) 9:55.02 (27.40)
10:22.35 (27.33) 10:50.00 (27.65)
11:17.46 (27.46) 11:44.88 (27.42)
12:12.39 (27.51) 12:39.88 (27.49)
13:07.44 (27.56) 13:34.73 (27.29)
14:02.05 (27.32) 14:29.28 (27.23) 14:55.52 (26.24)
6 Grady, Reece FR ASU 15:47.63 14:56.90 B 13
24.43 51.14 (26.71)
1:18.54 (27.40) 1:46.07 (27.53)
2:13.80 (27.73) 2:41.14 (27.34)
3:08.47 (27.33) 3:36.12 (27.65)
4:03.69 (27.57) 4:30.81 (27.12)
4:58.29 (27.48) 5:25.96 (27.67)
5:53.32 (27.36) 6:20.65 (27.33)
6:47.94 (27.29) 7:15.27 (27.33)
7:42.63 (27.36) 8:09.83 (27.20)
8:37.27 (27.44) 9:04.61 (27.34)
9:32.11 (27.50) 9:59.35 (27.24)
10:26.52 (27.17) 10:53.83 (27.31)
11:21.28 (27.45) 11:48.91 (27.63)
12:16.54 (27.63) 12:43.61 (27.07)
13:10.71 (27.10) 13:37.66 (26.95)
14:04.61 (26.95) 14:31.38 (26.77) 14:56.90 (25.52)
7 Meehan, Jack SR CAL 15:11.92 14:58.38 B 12
25.00 52.18 (27.18)
1:19.49 (27.31) 1:46.81 (27.32)
2:13.88 (27.07) 2:41.36 (27.48)
3:08.36 (27.00) 3:35.71 (27.35)
4:02.91 (27.20) 4:30.19 (27.28)
4:57.58 (27.39) 5:24.80 (27.22)
5:52.13 (27.33) 6:19.37 (27.24)
6:46.65 (27.28) 7:14.03 (27.38)
7:41.23 (27.20) 8:08.48 (27.25)
8:35.61 (27.13) 9:02.72 (27.11)
9:29.87 (27.15) 9:57.03 (27.16)
10:24.22 (27.19) 10:51.65 (27.43)
11:18.87 (27.22) 11:46.14 (27.27)
12:13.50 (27.36) 12:40.95 (27.45)
13:08.55 (27.60) 13:36.07 (27.52)
14:03.80 (27.73) 14:31.49 (27.69) 14:58.38 (26.89)
8 Kopp, Tyler SR CAL 15:13.90 15:05.36 B 11
24.67 51.67 (27.00)
1:18.84 (27.17) 1:46.11 (27.27)
2:13.64 (27.53) 2:41.15 (27.51)
3:08.36 (27.21) 3:35.61 (27.25)
4:03.01 (27.40) 4:30.49 (27.48)
4:57.77 (27.28) 5:25.29 (27.52)
5:52.72 (27.43) 6:20.35 (27.63)
6:47.82 (27.47) 7:15.52 (27.70)
7:43.19 (27.67) 8:10.81 (27.62)
8:38.34 (27.53) 9:05.94 (27.60)
9:33.63 (27.69) 10:01.38 (27.75)
10:29.15 (27.77) 10:56.77 (27.62)
11:24.64 (27.87) 11:52.58 (27.94)
12:20.55 (27.97) 12:48.42 (27.87)
13:16.19 (27.77) 13:44.18 (27.99)
14:11.73 (27.55) 14:39.05 (27.32) 15:05.36 (26.31)
100 Freestyle
Cal picked up a rare win in the 100 free, the second Golden Bears title of the meet and just the second non-Arizona State winner so far. Had Jack Alexy been present, he likely would have won the event, but he instead claimed a win in the long course version of the event Saturday at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Westmont, Ill.
In Alexy’s absence, senior Matthew Jensen came through, blasting his way home in 10.89 to overtake race leader Jack Dolan at the finish by three hundredths, 41.63 to 41.66. But Arizona State still outscored Cal in the A-final by a margin of 48 to 34 as Patrick Sammon took third in 41.77, three hundredths ahead of Jonny Kulow (41.80). Meanwhile, Cal’s other representative, Liam Bell, took fifth in 42.22.
Event 18 Men 100 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 39.90 3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
PAC-12: M 40.75 2022 Bjorn Seeliger, CAL
PAC-12 Champ: P 40.90 3/4/2023 Bjorn Seeliger, CAL
41.50 A Standard
43.46 B Standard
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Jensen, Matthew SR CAL 41.57 41.63 B 20
9.29 19.87 (10.58)
30.74 (10.87) 41.63 (10.89)
2 Dolan, Jack SR ASU 41.38 41.66 B 17
9.16 19.58 (10.42)
30.59 (11.01) 41.66 (11.07)
3 Sammon, Patrick JR ASU 41.85 41.77 B 16
9.47 19.97 (10.50)
30.90 (10.93) 41.77 (10.87)
4 Kulow, Jonny SO ASU 41.53 41.80 B 15
9.38 19.80 (10.42)
30.68 (10.88) 41.80 (11.12)
5 Bell, Liam GS CAL 42.17 41.98 B 14
9.51 20.21 (10.70)
31.10 (10.89) 41.98 (10.88)
6 Daleiden Ciufer SO ARIZ 42.07 42.22 B 13
9.55 20.22 (10.67)
31.24 (11.02) 42.22 (10.98)
7 Gu, Rafael SO STAN 42.18 42.45 B 12
9.64 20.45 (10.81)
31.48 (11.03) 42.45 (10.97)
8 Maurer, Luke SR STAN 42.20 42.61 B 11
9.71 20.49 (10.78)
31.58 (11.09) 42.61 (11.03)
