Session 3: Huskers Get Three Top-11 Finishes

Columbia, Mo. - Nebraska excelled in the 50 Freestyle in Thursday night's finals session at the Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo. The Huskers scored 16 points in the event, including a 9th-place finish from sophomore Jess Andrews. NU had four top-11 finishes on the day.

Mariah Hutchinson placed 16th in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 4:57.39, putting the Huskers on the board in the first event of the night. Kaitlin Arntz and Christina Yemm finished 11th and 14th, respectively, in the 200 IM, while Karen Criss finished 22nd. Arntz narrowly missed her chance for a fifth top-10 Big 12 finish with her 11th-place finish.

The Huskers had three swimmers in the B Finals of the 50 Freestyle, Jess Andrews, Jenna Stroud and C.J. Bray. The trio finished 9th, 11th and 16th, respectively, while Stroud set a new career-best time of 23.33, beating the time she swam in the morning session.

In the C Finals, Jenny Toler swam a new career-best of 23.53, placing her 10th on NU's all-time list, tying her with C.J. Bray, who swam the same time in the preliminary session. Toler got second place in the C Finals. Nebraska's 16 points in the 50 Free extended its lead over sixth-place Iowa State and closed the gap on fourth-place Kansas.

In one meter diving, senior Courtney Jolly battled an ankle injury and wound up placing 15th in the competition with a score of 233.80. Jolly wasn't expected to be able to compete at all with her injury, but wound up diving well in her final Big 12 meet. D'Arcy Schmidt placed 19th and Emily Burbach placed 20th in the one meter as well.

The Huskers 400-medley relay team set the fourth-fastest time in NU history at 3:42.40, six seconds faster than their previous season-best. It was enough to place sixth against a fast field, giving the Huskers 108 points at the end of seven events. NU is currently in 6th place, just four points behind fifth-place Iowa State.

The Big 12 Championships continue Friday morning with a preliminary session starting at 10 a.m. Finals will be on 6 p.m. Friday night.

Results
500 Freestyle
1. Leah Gingrich, Texas (4:40.18)
16. Mariah Hutchinson (4:57.39)

200 IM
1. Kathleen Hersey, Texas (1:55.29)
11. Kaitlin Arntz (2:02.75)
14. Christina Yemm (2:04.67)
22. Karen Criss (2:06.52)

50 Freestyle
1. Hee-Jin Chang, Texas (21.88)
9. Jess Andrews (23.15)
11. Jenna Stroud (23.33)*
16. C.J. Bray (23.54)
18. Jenny Toler (23.53)* --10th all-time

One Meter Diving
1. Kathryn Kelly, Texas (329.30)
15. Courtney Jolly (233.80)
19. D'Arcy Schmidt (212.10)
20. Emily Burbach (206.20)

400 Medley Relay
1. Texas (3:33.92)
6. Nebraska (3:42.40)* --4th all-time
C.J. Bray, Kaitlin Arntz, Kelsey Grushecky, Jess Andrews

*career-best time

Team Standings (after 7 events)
1. Texas (307)
2. Texas A&M (281)
3. Missouri (209)
4. Kansas (173)
5. Iowa State (112)
6. Nebraska (108)

Friday's Schedule of Events
(Prelims ? 10 a.m.)
400 IM
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
Three Meter Diving

(Finals ? 6 p.m.)
200 Freestyle Relay
400 IM
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
Three Meter Diving