2015 Big 12 Championships: Event Breakdown

02.25.2015 | Swimming and Diving

By: cyclones.com

AUSTIN, Texas – The Iowa State swimming and diving team (7-4, 2-1 Big 12) is set for the 2015 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas. Action kicks off at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with final sessions scheduled to wrap up Saturday, Feb. 28.

A brief breakdown of the Cyclone swimmers and divers in each event is listed below.

Sprint Freestyle
The Cyclones sprinters are led by five-time All-Big 12 honoree Amanda Paulson. The senior from Monticello, Minnesota is the current school record holder in the 50 free with a time of 22.67 set during the 2014 Big 12 Championships.

Alex Flatness currently holds the top 100 free time on the season for Iowa State with a mark of 51.26, ranking her 12^th on ISU's all-time top-20 performers chart. Team captain Sarah Deis set the pace for Iowa State in the 200 free on the season with a time of 1:51.01, making her the 11^th-best performer in school history.

Flatness and Dies are seeded 12^th and ninth in their respective events, putting them on the bubble to make finals. Savanna Townsend, Maddie Rastall and Brooke Evensen will also content for finals spots in the sprint freestyle events for the Cyclones.

Distance Freestyle
Returning with two All-Big 12 awards from her conference championship debut last year, Karyl Clarete looks to improve upon her 2014 performance, which saw school records fall in the 500, 1000 and 1650 free. With times of 4:57.56 and 10:13.79, Clarete is seeded ninth and fifth in the 500 and 1650 free, respectively.

Elizabeth Kleiner, Mary Kate Luddy and Samantha Fossum are seeded 11^th, 13^th and 14^th in the 1650 free, respectively, with times of 10:28.64, 10:33.89 and 10:42.64.

Butterfly
Kaylee Kucera and Luddy have clocked Iowa State's top-performances in the 100 and 200 fly, respectively, with times of 55.72 and 2:03.61. Both swimmers are seeded in the top-10 in their respective events, and Kucera's personal best time of 55.70 in the 100 fly was posted during the 2014 Big 12 Championships.

Kristy Kunkel brings another top-10 seed in the 200 fly for the Cyclones with a time of 2:05.28, while Shahar Silberman sits 11^th on the psych sheet with a seedtime of 2:05.40.

Backstroke
Iowa State's duo of Bre Loeschke and Marissa Engel lead the Cyclones in the backstroke events, combining for four top-10 times on ISU's all-time top-performers list, including Loeschke's school record time of 1:56.82 in the 200 back. During the 2014 Big 12 Championships, Engel and Loeschke recorded a second and fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke with times of 1:56.93 and 1:59.10, respectively. Both swimmers are seeded in the top-10 in both backstroke events.

Kucera and Kunkel are seeded 11^th and 13^th in the 100 and 200 back with times of 56.48 and 2:04.64, respectively, heading into the conference championship meet.

Breaststroke
The breaststroke events have been a proven strength for Iowa State during Duane Sorenson's tenure, as the Cyclones have tallied 21 Big 12 honors in breaststroke events since 1998. Newcomer Kasey Roberts leads the Cyclones in both the 100 and 200 breast with times of 1:02.19 and 2:15.91, respectively – both NCAA B-cut qualifying times.

Roberts is seeded in the top-five in both breaststroke events, while senior Ali Stearns sits eighth and seventh in the 100 and 200 breast with times of 1:02.55 and 2:17.55, respectively. Stearns took home an eighth-place finish in the 100 breast during last year's conference meet.

Including Danica Delaquis, April Long and Megan Childs, the Cyclones have nine total top-16 seed times in the breaststroke events heading into the 2015 Big 12 Championships.

Individual Medley
Roberts, Engel and Deis bring a combined four top-15 seed times to the conference meet in the 200 and 400 IM. Roberts leads the Cyclones in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.56, ranking her fourth all-time in Iowa State school history.

In a time of 4:21.67, Engel took eighth in the 400 IM during last year's conference meet, while Deis finished eighth in the 200 IM, touching in a time of 2:03.55.

Diving
The Cyclones will bring three divers with NCAA Zone Diving qualifying scores on the 2014-15 season in Elyse Brouillette (1-meter, 306.97; 3-meter, 306.68), Julie Dickinson (3-meter, 308.63) and Sydney Ronald (3-meter, 303.83). Brouillette and Dickinson also combine for three Big 12 Diver of the Week awards on their careers.

During the 2014 Big 12 Championships, Brouillette reached finals on all three boards with fourth, fifth and seventh-place finishes in the platform, one-meter and three-meter events, respectively. Sophomore diver Becky Stochl will also be on the boards for Iowa State this week.

Medley Relay
Iowa State's 200 medley relay team of Roberts, Delaquis, Paulson and Townsend are seeded third heading into the meet with a time of 1:42.67, while Loeschke, Roberts, Kucera and Paulson sit seventh with a time of 3:51.81 in the 400 medley.

Freestyle Relay
The Cyclone relay team of Deis, Townsend, Flatness and Paulson are seeded third in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:24.30. Iowa State sits fifth and sixth on the psych sheet in the 200 and 800 free relays, respectively.

For live coverage and updates from the 2015 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships, follow @CycloneSD on Twitter.