2023 Pac-12 Men’s Championships, Day 3: Andrei Minakov Sizzles 44.34 100 Fly
The 2022-23 season got off to a delayed start for Andrei Minakov, the Stanford junior and reigning NCAA champion in the 100 butterfly not racing for the Cardinal until midseason.
The Russian is starting to make up for lost time.
He grabbed the top seed in the 100 fly at prelims on Friday at the 2023 Pac-12 Men’s Championships at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, his time of 44.34 nearly a second clear of the field. He’ll have his times from last year – the Pac-12 record of 43.71 and the meet record of 43.90 – in his sights for the evening’s finals.
The rest of the morning action from Federal Way:
2023 Pac-12 Men’s Championships
2023 Pac-12 Men’s Championships Team Scores
Combined Team Scores - Through Event 9 1. Arizona State University 357.5 2. California, University of, Ber 251 3. Stanford University 238 4. Southern California, Universit 202.5 5. University of Arizona 197 6. Utah, University of 174
400 individual medley
Call it a mild surprise that Leon Marchand was not the top seed in prelims of the 400 IM. Make it a slightly larger surprise that the reigning NCAA champion was seventh tenths away from the B final.
Given the field assembled, few might have assumed Jason Louser would be on top in prelims. The California senior went 3:37.60 to nab the top seed. He did it from an early heat, with his best time this season at 3:58.26, though he had been 3:38.23 at NCAAs last year, where he won the B final.
He’ll face a battle to hold onto that placement in finals, with the last two NCAA record holders in pursuit. Marchand went 3:39.05 to glide into the A final in second. He set the NCAA record this year at 3:31.84. He took it from Hugo Gonzalez of Cal, who set it in winning the national title last year. Gonzalez was only seventh in prelims, though, scraping into the A final with seven tenths to spare in 4:34.22.
Arizona State owns seeds two through five, with Hungarian Olympian Hubert Kos third in 3:40.47. He missed the A final in the shorter IM. Daniel Matheson was fourth.
Off his silver medal in the 500 free, Lucas Henveaux got into the A final in sixth for Cal. Ron Polonsky of Stanford, the 200 IM bronze medalist, finished eighth.
Event 10 Men 400 Yard IM
==================================================================
NCAA: N 3:32.88 3/25/2022 Hugo Gonzalez, Atlanta
PAC-12: M 3:32.88 2022 Hugo Gonzalez, CAL
PAC-12 Champ: P 3:34.45 2022 Leon Marchand, ASU
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Louser, Jason SR California 3:58.26 3:37.60
23.09 49.70 (26.61)
1:17.73 (28.03) 1:44.83 (27.10)
2:14.12 (29.29) 2:44.36 (30.24)
3:11.60 (27.24) 3:37.60 (26.00)
2 Marchand, Leon SO ASU 3:31.84 3:39.05
22.52 48.71 (26.19)
1:16.31 (27.60) 1:42.84 (26.53)
2:13.71 (30.87) 2:44.97 (31.26)
3:12.59 (27.62) 3:39.05 (26.46)
3 Kos, Hubert FR ASU 3:43.77 3:40.47
22.82 50.38 (27.56)
1:17.08 (26.70) 1:44.12 (27.04)
2:15.37 (31.25) 2:47.38 (32.01)
3:14.49 (27.11) 3:40.47 (25.98)
4 Matheson, Daniel SO ASU 3:46.64 3:42.25
23.66 50.81 (27.15)
1:19.78 (28.97) 1:48.73 (28.95)
2:19.92 (31.19) 2:51.17 (31.25)
3:17.03 (25.86) 3:42.25 (25.22)
5 Schlicht, David SR ASU 3:43.16 3:42.70
23.53 50.33 (26.80)
1:18.62 (28.29) 1:46.75 (28.13)
2:18.18 (31.43) 2:49.89 (31.71)
3:16.72 (26.83) 3:42.70 (25.98)
6 Henveaux, Lucas GS California NT 3:42.93
23.85 51.55 (27.70)
1:20.65 (29.10) 1:48.66 (28.01)
2:20.36 (31.70) 2:52.85 (32.49)
3:18.32 (25.47) 3:42.93 (24.61)
7 Gonzalez de Oliveira, GS California 3:57.92 3:43.22
23.19 50.39 (27.20)
1:19.30 (28.91) 1:47.10 (27.80)
2:18.29 (31.19) 2:50.09 (31.80)
3:17.25 (27.16) 3:43.22 (25.97)
8 Polonsky, Ron SO Stanford 3:44.50 3:43.47
23.33 50.67 (27.34)
1:18.62 (27.95) 1:46.44 (27.82)
2:17.86 (31.42) 2:50.17 (32.31)
3:17.54 (27.37) 3:43.47 (25.93)
100 butterfly
Andrei Minakov led a Stanford 1-2-3 in the 100 fly, followed by Rafael Gu in 45.10 and Aaron Sequeira in 45.18. The Cardinal have four A finalists.
Cal only has one, with Dare Rose in fourth. Arizona State accounts for the other three, led by fifth-place Cody Bybee. But Max McCusker, who entered with the fastest time of the season in 45.01, barely made it in seventh in 45.62. He’ll need some outside smoke to get on the podium tonight.
Event 11 Men 100 Yard Butterfly
==================================================================
NCAA: N 42.80 3/23/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
PAC-12: M 43.71 2022 Andrel Minakov, STAN
PAC-12 Champ: P 43.90 2022 Andrei Minakov, STAN
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Minakov, Andrei JR Stanford 45.07 44.34
9.35 20.37 (11.02)
32.06 (11.69) 44.34 (12.28)
2 Gu, Rafael FR Stanford 45.77 45.10
9.69 21.13 (11.44)
32.86 (11.73) 45.10 (12.24)
3 Sequeira, Aaron SO Stanford 46.19 45.18
9.55 20.96 (11.41)
32.90 (11.94) 45.18 (12.28)
4 Rose, Dare JR California 45.30 45.34
9.44 21.09 (11.65)
32.92 (11.83) 45.34 (12.42)
5 Bybee, Cody SR ASU 46.20 45.51
9.71 21.19 (11.48)
33.07 (11.88) 45.51 (12.44)
6 Affeld, Jonny JR Stanford 46.30 45.58
9.75 21.23 (11.48)
33.21 (11.98) 45.58 (12.37)
7 McCusker, Max SR ASU 45.01 45.62
9.37 20.88 (11.51)
32.93 (12.05) 45.62 (12.69)
8 Colson, Alexander SR ASU 45.77 45.63
9.74 21.27 (11.53)
33.14 (11.87) 45.63 (12.49)
200 freestyle
Grant House in on track for a second straight 200 free title. Perhaps more importantly to the veteran is that he led three Sun Devils in the top three spots.
House set the pace in prelims at 1:32.50. He has been 1:31.51 this season and went 1:30.23 at the meet last year. Second was teammate Patrick Sammon in 1:32.71, while Julian Hill secured fourth in 1:33.17.
In between is Cal’s Robin Hanson in third at 1:33.01. Gabriel Jett is in the medal picture after posting the sixth-fastest prelims time of 1:33.28.
Patrick Callan and Andrew Gray will duke it out for the final finals spot in a swim-off, tying for eighth. ASU was first, second, fourth, and 10th around that tie; Cal was third, sixth, and 11th.
Event 12 Men 200 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
NCAA: N 1:29.15 3/27/2019 Dean Farris, Harvard
PAC-12: M 1:30.14 2019 Andrew Seliskar, CAL
PAC-12 Champ: P 1:30.23 2022 Grant House, ASU
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 House, Grant SR ASU 1:31.51 1:32.50
21.46 45.20 (23.74)
1:09.26 (24.06) 1:32.50 (23.24)
2 Sammon, Patrick SO ASU 1:32.79 1:32.71
21.59 45.31 (23.72)
1:08.95 (23.64) 1:32.71 (23.76)
3 Hanson, Robin SO California 1:33.74 1:33.01
21.59 45.14 (23.55)
1:08.89 (23.75) 1:33.01 (24.12)
4 Hill, Julian SR ASU 1:32.26 1:33.17
21.29 44.73 (23.44)
1:08.91 (24.18) 1:33.17 (24.26)
5 Daleiden Ciuferri, Ra FR Arizona 1:34.01 1:33.26
21.81 45.27 (23.46)
1:09.05 (23.78) 1:33.26 (24.21)
6 Jett, Gabriel SO California 1:32.41 1:33.28
22.00 46.63 (24.63)
1:09.67 (23.04) 1:33.28 (23.61)
7 Dupont, Andres FR Stanford 1:34.64 1:33.39
22.17 45.81 (23.64)
1:09.75 (23.94) 1:33.39 (23.64)
8 Callan, Patrick GS California 1:33.64 1:33.79
21.90 45.82 (23.92)
1:09.96 (24.14) 1:33.79 (23.83)
8 Gray, Andrew SR ASU 1:33.55 1:33.79
21.67 45.02 (23.35)
1:09.27 (24.25) 1:33.79 (24.52)
100 backstroke
Cal’s breaststroke contingent, in a year where that seems to be a weakness league wide, could be a difference-maker in the title race. The Golden Bears swept the top five spots, led by Reece Whitley’s 51.34. Teammates Matthew Jensen and Jacob Soderlund also got under 52 seconds, while Liam Bell and Luke Rodarte joined the top-five party. ASU countered only with John Heaphy in 10th place.
Event 13 Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
==================================================================
NCAA: N 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
PAC-12: M 50.04 2014 Kevin Cordes, ARIZ
PAC-12 Champ: P 50.78 2019 Carsten Vissering, USC
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Whitley, Reece GS California 51.51 51.34
10.86 24.06 (13.20)
37.49 (13.43) 51.34 (13.85)
2 Jensen, Matthew JR California 52.57 51.60
11.12 24.37 (13.25)
37.84 (13.47) 51.60 (13.76)
3 Soderlund, Jacob SO California 53.25 51.90
11.26 24.42 (13.16)
38.19 (13.77) 51.90 (13.71)
4 Bell, Liam SR California 52.15 52.02
10.79 23.81 (13.02)
37.56 (13.75) 52.02 (14.46)
5 Rodarte, Luke GS California 52.93 52.10
11.09 24.36 (13.27)
37.93 (13.57) 52.10 (14.17)
6 O'Grady, Chris SO Southern Cali 52.09 52.44
11.10 24.31 (13.21)
38.11 (13.80) 52.44 (14.33)
7 Fan, Zhier FR Stanford 52.63 52.50
11.11 24.82 (13.71)
38.44 (13.62) 52.50 (14.06)
8 Horner, Jaek SR Utah 51.88 52.54
11.14 24.53 (13.39)
38.44 (13.91) 52.54 (14.10)
100 breaststroke
Jack Dolan and Owen McDonald hit back for Arizona State by taking the top two seeds in the 100 fly. Dolan went 44.78 to lead the way, McDonald following in 45.09.
Destin Lasco remains the favorite, though. He entered with the top time in the field at 44.73 and finished third in prelims in 45.13. Cal added two more A finalists, with Bjorn Seeliger seventh and Jack Alexy eighth.
Event 14 Men 100 Yard Backstroke
==================================================================
NCAA: N 43.35 3/25/2022 Luca Urlando, Georgia
PAC-12: M 43.49 2016 Ryan Murphy, CAL
PAC-12 Champ: P 44.14 2020 Zachary Poti, ASU
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Dolan, Jack SR ASU 45.25 44.78
10.34 21.26 (10.92)
33.07 (11.81) 44.78 (11.71)
2 McDonald, Owen FR ASU 46.05 45.09
10.79 21.73 (10.94)
33.46 (11.73) 45.09 (11.63)
3 Lasco, Destin JR California 44.73 45.13
10.50 21.87 (11.37)
33.64 (11.77) 45.13 (11.49)
4 Ungur, Andrei SR Utah 45.27 45.19
10.62 21.84 (11.22)
33.61 (11.77) 45.19 (11.58)
5 Sequeira, Aaron SO Stanford 46.78 45.44
10.94 22.17 (11.23)
33.73 (11.56) 45.44 (11.71)
6 MacAlister, Leon SR Stanford 45.58 45.63
10.64 22.00 (11.36)
33.71 (11.71) 45.63 (11.92)
7 Seeliger, Bjorn JR California 45.23 45.79
10.41 21.75 (11.34)
33.74 (11.99) 45.79 (12.05)
8 Alexy, Jack SO California 47.05 46.24
10.57 21.81 (11.24)
33.71 (11.90) 46.24 (12.53)
