Swimming to Success: ASU, BYU, KU, and Utah Shine in Big 12 Weekly Honors

Four institutions from the Big 12 earned recognition in Swimming and Diving as Arizona State’s Ilya Kharun (men’s swimmer), Jonathon Adam (men’s co-newcomer), Iza Adame (women’s swimmer) and Caroline Bentz (women’s newcomer) were honored along with BYU’s Nathaniel Eliason (men’s co-newcomer), Kansas’ Shiyun Lai (women’s co-diver) and the pair from Utah, Elias Petersen (men’s diver) and Holly Waxman (women’s co-diver).

Kharun claimed victories in both individual events he participated in, aiding the Sun Devils in their dual meet triumph over No. 24 Minnesota. He recorded a time of 1:40.13 in the 200 butterfly and completed the butterfly events with a winning time of 44.73 in the 100 butterfly. The sophomore from Las Vegas added to his victories with a win in the 200 medley relay (1:22.71; 19.08 butterfly split) and a close second-place finish by 0.04 seconds in the 400 free relay (2:48.50; 40.85 split). This marks his fifth Conference accolade of the season.

Adame triumphed in both breaststroke events as ASU’s women’s team triumphed over No. 23 Minnesota 191-109. The senior registered a personal-best time of 1:00.22 in the 100 and 2:12.40 in the 200 breaststroke. She concluded her competition with the fastest 50 breaststroke leg (23.23) in the 200 medley relay, securing her third top placement.

Petersen spearheaded Utah’s men’s diving team to a decisive 182.5-79.5 victory over UC Santa Barbara during the Utah Diving Invite by winning both springboard events. He dominated the 1-meter dive with a score of 375.25, finishing nearly 30 points ahead, while he also led by over 40 points in the 3-meter dive event (373.75). This is the junior’s second accolade of the season.

Lai achieved victories in both diving events during the Jayhawks dual meet against Houston. The sophomore tallied a score of 296.93 on the 1-meter and followed it with a score of 331.65 on the 3-meter. This marks her third weekly accolade of the season and the fourth of her career.

Waxman claimed her second Conference weekly recognition of the season by finishing in the top two in both springboard events she entered. The senior was the leading diver at the Utah Diving Invite, as her scores of 292.25 on the 1-meter and 303.45 on the 3-meter accumulated 37 points for the Utes.

Adam earned his first Conference award of his career after mastering the backstroke events against the 24^th-ranked Gophers. In the 100 backstroke, he secured a season-best with a winning time of 46.29 before clocking in at 1:42.26 in the 200 backstroke. He concluded his meeting with the 200 medley relay, where the Sun Devils finished in 1:25.99 (24.49 backstroke split) for third.

Eliason was instrumental in four event victories as the Cougars men’s team overcame UC Santa Barbara 161-101. The freshman secured two individual wins with triumphs in the 50 freestyle (20.29) and the 100 freestyle (44.62), while contributing to two relay gold medals with BYU’s 200 medley relay (1:30.33; 21.56 butterfly split) and 400 freestyle relay (2:59.82; 45.10 split).

Bentz concluded the accolades for Arizona State following a clean sweep in her four events. The King George, Virginia native topped the rankings in the 200 back by over 3.7 seconds (1:54.61) as well as the 50 free (22.23). She also anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay (3:17.62) with a 48.88 split and led the 200 medley relay (1:36.40) with a 21.39 freestyle split.

 

A comprehensive list of the season’s weekly Big 12 Swimming and Diving award recipients can be found here.

 

Big 12 Swimming and Diving Weekly Awards – January 15

 

Men’s Swimmer of the Week:  Ilya Kharun, Arizona State

Men’s Diver of the Week: Elias Petersen, Utah

Men’s Co-Newcomers of the Week: Jonathon Adam, Arizona State & Nathaniel Eliason, BYU

Women’s Swimmer of the Week: Iza Adame, Arizona State

Women’s Co-Divers of the Week: Shiyun Lai, Kansas & Holly Waxman, Utah

Women’s Newcomer of the Week: Caroline Bentz, Arizona State