Iowa State Remains in Fifth After Day Three

Iowa State Remains in Fifth After Day Three

02.28.2020 | Swimming and Diving

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Iowa State swimming and diving team (5-5, 0-2 Big 12) remains in fifth after three days of the Big 12 Championship with 262 points. The day marked a major highlight as Lehr Thorson went down as the first Cyclone to post an NCAA B cut since the 2017-18 season while earning a silver medal in the 100 breast.

Thorson recorded her second NCAA B cut of the day in the 100 breast finals with her personal-best time of 1:01.02. Thorson now sits within .56 seconds of the school record. Martha Haas extended her dominance from prelims to finals, finishing sixth in the championship heat with 1:02.06. Haas moves up to the sixth-ranked Cyclone with the finish.

An additional two Cyclones medaled in the A final of the 100 back. Elizabeth Richardson touched the wall at 55.14 for seventh place. Her time also ranked ninth all-time. Emily Haan notched eighth overall with her finish of 55.30.

"Very proud Lehr; second place in the 100 breaststroke and having the second-fastest time in school history," said head coach Duane Sorenson. "Also having Martha to place sixth in that race with her personal-best time. The team swam well today. We're still a long ways behind TCU and West Virginia, but we'll keep fighting and see what we do."

Moving into the 100 back B finals, Sophia Goushchina now ties with seventh in school history after her 54.96 finish. Goushchina also ties the 19^th-top time in the event. Wyli Erlechman placed sixth in the heat with her time of 56.97, after recording her personal best of 55.75 in prelims.

Two swimmers secured their place in the B finals of the 100 fly. Trinity Gilbert (56.23) and Wyli Erlechman (56.33) raced alongside one another to take a fifth and sixth-place finish. Gilbert's time came .03 seconds from becoming the 20^th ISU top performer.

In the 400 IM, Lucia Rizzo swam a 4:27.44 to touch third in the B final. Kennedy Tranel bettered her prelims time to 4:30.02 to become the 16^th-ranked Cyclone. Kami Pankratz followed, touching seventh with 4:33.01.

Keely Soellner proved her endurance in the 200 free B finals by battling back from fifth to finish third in the heat with her time of 1:50.35. Emma Ruehle had a close finish, grabbing sixth with 1:50.86. Nolwenn Nunes secured points for Iowa State with an eighth-place finish of 1:54.55.

After moving on to three-meter diving consolation finals, Michelle Schlossmacher Smith posted her fifth score this season over the Zone qualifying mark with 285.60. Schlossmacher Smith placed third, while Jayna Misra (278.80) and Dana Liva (268.90) took the next two spots.

The 200 free relay concluded the night with Iowa State taking fifth. The team of Anna Andersen, Martha Haas, Emily Haan and Sophia Goushchina touched with a time of 1:33.28.

PRELIMS

Four swimmers made their way into A finals for placing in the top eight in prelims, while 12 Cyclones placed themselves into B finals for touching eighth through 16^th. The 100 breaststrokers shined, with Thorson highlighting prelims. Thorson recorded the first Cyclone NCAA B cut since the 2014-15 season and the third overall in the event. The finish also ranked Thorson second all-time. The Cyclones caused six record book revisions in the session all while seven set personal bests.

The Cyclones begin the final day of the Big 12 Championship with prelims beginning at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m. Events taking place tomorrow include platform diving, 200 back, 100 free, 1650 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and the 400 free relay.

Finals will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN +. Follow the team on Twitter (@CycloneSD) or on Facebook at facebook.com/cyclonesd for in-game updates, post-meet recaps and results throughout the season.