Three Records Fall, Cyclones Finish Fourth

AUSTIN, Texas – The Iowa State swimming and diving team (4-5, 1-2 Big 12) finished the 2018 Big 12 Championships in fourth place with 512.5 points. The final day of the event featured the Cyclones knocking off three school records: 200 fly, 400 freestyle relay and platform diving.

PRELIMS

The final day of events began with the 200 backstroke, where Harper Emswiler qualified for the consolation final. The 100 free was up next, and Laura Miksch had the fastest time among swimmers not from Texas. Her PR time of 49.81 ranks second all-time. Also qualifying for the consolation final was Andersen and Luo.

Iowa State qualified four into scoring finals in the 200 breaststroke. Danica Delaquis and Lehr Thorson both made the 'A' final, Thorson with a PR time that moved her into Iowa State's top-20 all-time. Kasey Roberts and Martha Haas would make it into the consolation final. Mary Kate Luddy used the sixth-fastest 200 fly time in school history to qualify for her third 'A' final of the 2018 Big 12 Championships. Rachel Resch and Kami Pankratz qualified for the 'B' finals in the event.

FINALS

The final night session of the Big 12 Championships started off with the 200 backstroke, where Emswiler set a new personal best with a time of 2:01.43, nearly .60 faster than her prelims time, taking 12^th overall. Miksch would match her PR time set in prelims of 49.81, taking sixth overall in the 100 free. Andersen would also set a personal best, placing 12^th, while Luo tied for 14^th.

In the mile swim, Haley Ruegemer and Keely Soellner finished sixth and seventh respectively, each posting top-15 times in school history. Jessi Storer and Kami Pankratz would also score for Iowa State, finishing in 10^th and 14^th. Delaquis and Thorson were very successful in the 200 breast. Thorson would swim a new PR, placing sixth, while Delaquis finished in fifth. In the consolation final, Roberts finished in 10^th, Haas in 13^th.

"I went into finals with my training partner Danica," Thorson said. "We'd been doing all the practices together, and it was really great to experience [finals] with her. I proved to myself that I can go those crazy times that I've seen everyone else go."

Mary Kate Luddy again proved to be a top butterflier for Iowa State, breaking her own school record with a 1:59.54. She becomes the first Cyclone to swim below the two-minute mark with her time. In the 2018 Big 12 Championships, Luddy posted 43 individual points, 12^th-most in a single conference meet, and pushed her career points scored at conference to third overall with 136. Resch's PR time placed her in 12^th, Pankratz finished 14^th.

In the diving well, Dana Liva set a new school record in platform diving with a score of 283.40. Her score tops one of Tien Tran, whose 271.75 stood atop Iowa State's leaderboard since 2010. Sydney Ronald finished in sixth scoring 200.55 in finals. During preliminary competition, Katherine Mueller finished 10^th with a 186.70 and Alex Aaberg finished 14^th.

The final event of the Big 12 Championships was the 400 freestyle relay. The Cyclone team of Miksch, Andersen, Luo and Emswiler swam a new school record time of 3:21.57, placing third.

"Today we had a fantastic morning session," head coach Duane Sorenson said after the meet. "We came back tonight and really lit it up, highlighted by the three school records. I'm really pleased with the effort on their part. We put TCU in a spot to catch up, and we outscored them and Kansas today."

The Cyclones would finish the 2018 Big 12 Championships in fourth place overall scoring 512.5 points. Iowa State was on top of TCU, but trailed West Virginia, Kansas and the Big 12 Champion Texas.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Aaberg

Danica Delaquis

Harper Emswiler

Martha Haas

Dana Liva

Mary Kate Luddy

Laura Miksch

Katherine Mueller

Kami Pankratz

Rachel Resch

Kasey Roberts

Sydney Ronald

Haley Ruegemer

Keely Soellner

Jessi Storer

Lehr Thorson

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