Session 5: Huskers Secure Three Top-Eight Finishes

Columbia, Mo. - Kaitlin Arntz finished fifth in the 100 Breaststroke and Mariah Hutchinson set a school record in the 100 Fly as Nebraska finished a successful third day of competition at the Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo., on Friday evening. Arntz's finish is NU's highest so far in the meet and Hutchinson broke the school record that was just set earlier in the day by teammate Kelsey Grushecky.

The three meter dive prelims were in between Friday's preliminary and finals sessions at the pool, and senior Courtney Jolly, who is still battling an injured ankle, dove her way to a 12th place finish with a score of 263.55. D'Arcy Schmidt placed 16th and Emily Burbach got 18th place for NU.

The 200 Freestyle Relay led off the evening's finals meet, and the Husker team of Jess Andrews, C.J. Bray, Jenny Toler and Jenna Stroud took fifth place with a season-best time of 1:32.44. The Huskers were just a second behind fourth-place Kansas and third-place Missouri, but they swam well enough to place fourth all-time on the NU career list.

Two Huskers were in the B Finals of the 400 IM, and both Blaine Hoppenrath and Christina Yemm set career-bests in their final time swimming the event this season. Hoppenrath secured 13th place with a time of 4:22.53, while Yemm got 15th place with a time of 4:25.45.

Mariah Hutchinson placed first in the B Finals of the 100 Fly in a time of 54.16, breaking the school record that teammate Kelsey Grushecky set earlier in the day. Grushecky swam in the A Finals and finished eighth, giving Nebraska an 8-9 finish in the 100 Fly as the Husker duo earned 20 points for the team. Jess Andrews finished sixth in the C Finals for Nebraska.

Jenny Toler was the lone participant in the 200 Free for the Huskers in the finals session. She finished second in the C Finals, just missing her career-best time she set earlier in the day by two one-hundredths of a second.

The Huskers had two A Finalists in the next event, the 100 Breaststroke, as juniors Kaitlin Arntz and Hailey Dean both swam career-best times in the morning preliminary session to earn their way into the top eight finalists. Arntz equaled her time of 1:02.29 in the final, finishing fifth, while Dean finished eighth, and the duo gave the Huskers another crucial 23 team points.

The final event of the night was the 100 Backstroke, as the Huskers had three swimmers in the C Finals, including Rachell McClain, Karen Criss and Jenna Stroud, and one in the B Finals, C.J. Bray. The trio of Huskers in the C Finals finished 20th (Criss), 22nd (McClain) and 23rd (Stroud), while Bray took eighth in the B Finals.

Nebraska sits in sixth place after session 5 of 7 of the Big 12 Championships with 188 points, just 19 points behind fifth-place Iowa State. Texas A&M leads the meet with 563 points.

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

Results
200 Freestyle Relay
1. Texas A&M (1:28.58)
5. Nebraska (1:32.44)# --4th all-time

400 IM
1. Kathleen Hersey, Texas (4:07.76)
13. Blaine Hoppenrath (4:22.53)*
15. Christina Yemm (4:25.45)*

100 Butterfly
1. Triin Aljand, Texas A&M (52.47)
8. Kelsey Grushecky (54.58)
9. Mariah Hutchinson (54.16)* --1st all-time
24. Jess Andrews (56.47)

200 Freestyle
1. Karlee Bispo, Texas (1:44.21)
18. Jenny Toler (1:50.49)

100 Breaststroke
1. Carlye Ellis, Texas (1:00.74)
5. Kaitlin Arntz (1:02.29)*
8. Hailey Dean (1:03.22)
20. Colleen Criss (1:06.36)*
21. Sarah Ziegelmann (1:06.49)*

100 Backstroke
1. Lindsey King, Texas A&M (53.26)
16. C.J. Bray (57.58)
20. Karen Criss (56.88)#
22. Rachell McClain (57.61)
23. Jenna Stroud (58.15)

Three Meter Diving
12. Courtney Jolly (263.55)
16. D'Arcy Schmidt (232.05)
18. Emily Burbach (230.50)

# season-best time
* career-best time

Team Standings (after 13 events)
1. Texas A&M (563)
2. Texas (537)
3. Missouri (358)
4. Kansas (301)
5. Iowa State (207)
6. Nebraska (188)

Saturday's Schedule of Events
(Prelims ? 10 a.m.)
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Platform Diving

(Finals ? 6 p.m.)
Platform Diving (5 p.m.)
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
1,650 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
400 Freestyle Relay