Session 7: Huskers Finish Fifth at Big 12 Championships

Austin, Texas - The Nebraska swimming and diving team finished up at the 2010-11 Big 12 Championships Saturday evening. The night was highlighted by Kelsey Grushecky's sixth-place finish in the 200-butterfly. The Huskers finished with 350 points. Texas and Texas A&M battled for the top spot for the duration of the weekend, with Texas prevailing with 948 points, followed by Texas A&M and Missouri.

Four Huskers earned points for NU in the platform dive event. Amy Herman, Alyson Ramsey, Kaitlan Walker and Payton Michaud all finished in the top-13 of the event, including Amy Hermans eighth-place finish in the finals, garnering 29 points for Nebraska.

In the first swimming event of the night,the 200-backstroke, Ellan Dufour finished in 15th place overall and seventh in the "B" finals with her time of 2:01.08. She improved by .05 over her time in the morning preliminaries.

Three Huskers qualified for the "B" finals of the 100-yard freestyle. Hayley Martin put in a tenth-place effort in the finals with her time of 50.19. The time was .05 off of her morning preliminary time. Ariel Weech and Lexie Halberstadt round out the Huskers earning points in the event. Weech's twelfth place time of 50.51 was .41 faster than her morning prelim time, and a new career-best. Halberstadt was .38 off of her morning preliminary time for a 15th overall finish.

The 1,650-freestyle saw Bailey Pons finish in sixth-place to earn the Huskers 13 points. Her time of 16:38.14 was the fifth-fastest time in Nebraska history and a new career-best. Brandie Kavalec also finished in eighth-place in the event at 16:50.29. The time was a career-best for Kavalec in her final conference meet. Morgan Flannigan finished ninth with her time of 16:51.52. The freshman set a career best by nearly half of one minute.

Nebraska saw three more Huskers earn points for Big Red in the 200-breaststroke finals. Kristin Strecker finished the "B" final fourth for a twelfth-place finish overall. Her time of 2:19.14 was .33 faster than her preliminary time, and good for a new career-best. Kelsey Larson and Ashley Reiter earned 14th and 16th place finishes, respectively. Larson's time of 2:19.95 was .41 slower than her morning prelim time while Ashley Reiter's time of 2:21.53 was .17 faster than her preliminary time.

Kelsey Grushecky earned a top-six finish in the 200-butterfly. Her time of 1:59.42 was .86 faster than this morning's time and is a season-best. Blaine Hoppenrath finished 13th overall at 2:03.10 while Meredith Matthies earned a 16th overall finish at 2:06.40.

In the final event of the night, the 400-freestyle relay, the Husker finished fifth overall with a time of 3:22.20. The team of Hayley Martin, Lexie Halberstadt, Kelsey Grushecky and Ariel Weech teamed up for the fifth-best time in NU history.

Results:

400-Freestyle Relay
1.Texas - 3:14.41
5. Nebraska - 2:22.20

200-Butterfly
1.Camile Adams, Texas A&M - 1:53.66
6. Kelsey Grushecky, Nebraska - 1:59.42
13. Blaine Hoppenrath, Nebraska - 2:03.10
16. Meredith Matthies, Nebraska - 2:06.40

200-Breaststroke
1. Laura Sogar, Texas - 2:07.66
12. Kristin Strecker, Nebraska - 2:19.14
14. Kelsey Larson, Nebraska - 2:19.95
17. Ashley Reiter, Nebraska - 2:21.53

1,650-Freestyle
1.Maureen McLaine, Texas A&M - 16:13.41
6. Bailey Pons, Nebraska - 16:38.14
8. Brandie Kavalec, Nebraska - 16:50.29
9. Morgan Flannigan, Nebraska - 16:51.52

200-Backstroke
1. Dominique Bouchard, Texas - 1:52.02
15. Ellan Dufour, Nebraska - 2:01.08

100-Freestyle
1. Karlee Bispo, Texas - 47.98
10. Hayley Martin, Nebraska - 50.19
12. Ariel Weech, Nebraska - 50.51
15. Lexie Halberstadt, Nebraska - 51.18

Platform Dive
1. Maren Taylor, Texas - 331.25
8. Amy Herman, Nebraska - 189.30
9. Alyson Ramsey, Nebraska - 214.50
12. Kaitlan Walker, Nebraska - 201.45
13. Payton Michaud, Nebraska - 194.80

Final Team Results:
1. Texas - 948
2. Texas A&M - 931
3. Missouri - 588.5
4. Kansas - 409.5
5. Nebraska - 350
6. Iowa State - 176