Completed Event: Swimming and Diving versus Big 12 Duals on January 16, 2026 , , 5th, 781 points
Final
Swimming and Diving
Big 12 Duals
5th, 781 points
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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Move Into 2nd At Big 12 Championship
02.25.2016 | Swimming and Diving
AUSTIN, Texas – The Iowa State swimming and diving team saw four individuals and one relay team reach the podium in the 2016 Big 12 Championship at the Texas Swimming Center Thursday. The strong Cyclone showing pushed Iowa State into second place in the team standings with 203.5 points.
Mary Kate Luddy led the Iowa State charge in the 500 freestyle to begin the night, taking the crown in the B heat with a season-best time of 4:55.84. Luddy was neck-and-neck with TCU's Catherine Maxey most of the race and entered the final 50 yards behind by .17 seconds, but a 28.44 split led Luddy to a victory by .15 seconds.
Mollie McNeel and Haley Ruegemer bolstered the Cyclone depth in the event, taking third and fourth place, respectively, both within 3.12 seconds of Luddy's time. Evan Hundley also topped her career-high set in prelims, finishing in 5:05.26.
The 200 individual medley helped the Cyclones make a big push for the No. 2 spot, as Kasey Roberts and Marissa Engel finished 3-4 to pick up 31 points for Iowa State and a pair of All-Big 12 honors. Roberts earned First-Team All-Big 12 honors with her time of 2:00.79, while Engel earned second-team distinction with her finish of 2:00.99.
Iowa State again relied on its depth to continue making up ground, this time in the 50 freestyle, which featured five Cyclones in the B heat. The Cyclone trio of (23.42), Savanna Townsend (23.43) and Laura Miksch (23.44) swam remarkably close times to earn the top-three spots in the heat.
On the diving board, Julie Dickinson took home the top Iowa State finish on the day with a score of 291.95 to finish in fourth place and earn All-Big 12 Second-Team honors. Elyse Brouillette didn't finish far behind, totaling 287.95 points to come in fifth and take home an All-Big 12 Second-Team award.
Iowa State rounded out the night with the 400 medley relay squad of Engel, Roberts, Kaylee Kucera and Flatness touching in 3:42.92 to tie the fourth-fastest result in school history.
“We did a really nice job of racing tonight,” Sorenson said. “[I'm] very pleased with what we did. Our medley relay, it was fourth [place], but it's our fourth-fastest time ever in school history, so we can't be disappointed in that. Very pleased with what our 200 IM-ers did and then our diving did outstanding…so big points out of them.”
Roberts Makes 'B' Standard, Six Cyclones Make Finals in 50 Free
The Cyclones opened the first prelim session of the meet with the 500 freestyle, in which Mollie McNeel and Haley Ruegemer both cracked Iowa State's all-time top performers list with times of 4:59.89 and 5:00.63, respectively. Mary Kate Luddy led the way for Iowa State in the event, touching in 4:56.61.
Marissa Engel claimed second place in her heat of the 200 individual medley, finishing with a time of 2:02.74. Her result was good enough for No. 12 all-time in the event until Kasey Roberts notched the fourth-best time in school history at 2:00.70.
Roberts' time beat the NCAA 'B' Standard for the 200 IM by .89 seconds, making it her second 'B' cut of the season after finishing the 200 breaststroke in 2:14.61 at the Big Challenge in November.
Iowa State had nine representatives in the 50 freestyle to close out the swimming portion of prelims, led by team captain Savanna Townsend, who finished the race in a career-best 23.32 seconds. Fellow captain Alex Flatness finished one-hundredth of a second off Townsend's mark, touching in 23.33 seconds to cut .11 seconds off her previous personal record.
In the diving well, Iowa State's dynamic duo of Elyse Brouillette (287.05) and Julie Dickinson (265.05) finished fourth and sixth, respectively, to move on to the finals round of the one-meter board. Becky Stochl finished in scoring position for the Cyclones with 238.80 points and Maggie James tallied 189.15 points in her return from injury.
The Cyclones return to the Texas Swimming Center Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. for prelim competition in the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke. The divers will compete on the three-meter board, with prelims slated for a 12 p.m. start.
Fans can follow along with the action at the Iowa State swimming and diving team's official Twitter account (@CycloneSD) and check back at cyclones.com after the day's events for a full recap and results.
Players Mentioned
Diving
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Diving
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Back/IM
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Sprint Free/Back
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MD Free/Back
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Diving
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Sprint/Fly/Back
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Dis. Free/Fly/IM
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Distance
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Sprint/Breast
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Breast/IM
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Dist. Free/IM
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Sprint Free/Fly
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