Mijatovic Marvels Again, Conference Championship Recap & Dressel Heads To Westmont Pro Swim

swin @) swan Mijatovic Eclipses Phelps, Thorpe As Record Run Continues: It was another incredible outing for phenom Luka Mijatovic at the Sectionals meet in Carlsbad over the weekend, as the 14-year-old broke four National Age Group Records while overtaking two of the biggest names the sport has ever seen. Also: Texas concludes Big 12 chapter with another sweep, Indiana men three-peat at Big Tens, Cal women claim Pac-12 title, and the second Pro Swim Series stop of the year heads to Westmont. MIJATOVIC BREAKS FOUR NATIONAL AGE GROUP RECORDS, INCLUDING PHELPS' 400 IM Luka Mijatovic kicked off his 2024 long course season in style on the weekend, rocketing to four new National Age Group Records and coming within three one-hundredths of a fifth at the CA/NV Speedo Sectionals in Carlsbad, California. The 14-year-old broke his own 13-14 NAG Records in the 200 free, 400 free and 1500 free, but the performance that stands out the most came in the 400 IM, where his time erased Michael Phelps' name from the record books. Coming into the meet with a personal best of 4:30.79, Mijatovic went 4:28.13 in the prelims before getting all the way down to 4:24.20 in the final, closing with a stunning 27.42 last 50 to break Phelps' NAG Record of 4:24.77 set in 2000. In the 200 free, Mijatovic broke the 1:50 barrier for the first time in 1:49.63, lowering his NAG Record of 1:50.40 while also becoming the fastest 14 & under swimmer ever by surpassing Australian great Ian Thorpe (1:50.07). Mijatovic, who turns 15 in April, also took down his own record of 3:52.01 in the 400 free with a time of 3:51.18, and did the same in the 1500 free, knocking off his 15:27.38 mark in 15:26.73. In the 800 free, the Pleasanton Seahawks' product swam to a time of 7:59.67, three one-hundredths back of his 7:59.64 record set last summer. Also delivering multiple all-time swims at the competition was Santa Clara Swim Club's Shareef Elaydi, who at 14, clocked 2:00.38 in the 200 fly to rank #3 in the boys' 13-14 age group, trailing only Phelps (1:59.02) and Thomas Heilman (1:59.87). Later in the meet, Elaydi broke the National Age Group Record in the 200 IM in a time of 2:03.73, knocking off Michael Andrew's mark of 2:04.13 from 2014. INDIANA MEN ROLL TO THIRD STRAIGHT BIG TEN TITLE After the Indiana women scored an upset conference title victory one week earlier, the Hoosier men made good on their status as pre-meet favorites at the men's championships, cruising to a third straight victory by nearly 300 points. Indiana won four relays, had Brendan Burns and diver Carson Tyler win a pair of events and added two more titles from Tomer Frankel and Jassen Yep to finish with a total of 1520 points, well clear of runner-up Ohio State (1226). Michigan's Gal Cohen Groumi and Tyler tied for the lead in individual points at the meet with 92, as Groumi won the 200 IM, upset Burns in the 200 fly and added a runner-up finish in the 100 fly, while Tyler won the 3-meter and platform diving events and was the runner-up on 1-meter. Burns concluded his incredible conference championship career with wins in the 100 back, 200 back and a 3rd-place finish in the 200 fly for 91 points. 2024 Big Ten Team Standings – Men's Top 5 1. Indiana, 1520 2. Ohio State, 1226 3. Michigan, 1153.5 4. Wisconsin, 1044.5 5. Minnesota, 849.5 CAL STORMS TO FIRST WOMEN'S PAC-12 TITLE SINCE 2021 The Cal women closed the book on the Women's Pac-12 Championships with a wire-to-wire victory in Federal Way, winning their first conference title since 2021, the first under head coach Dave Durden and the last of the Pac-12 era. Momentum was on the side of the Golden Bears from the jump, as they broke the Championship Record in the meet-opening 200 medley relay while Stanford and USC had one relay DQ apiece on Day 1 to push them down the team standings early. From there, Cal had two individual wins from Isabelle Stadden in the backstrokes, plus a sweep of the fly events from Mia Kragh (100 fly) and Rachel Klinker (200 fly) to roll to the title. With a breaststroke double from Kaitlyn Dobler and a critical win in the meet finale, the 400 free relay, the USC Trojans snagged the runner-up position over two-time defending champion Stanford, which settled for 3rd in the team standings. The Cardinal were led by freshman Caroline Bricker, who won the 200 and 400 IM and was the runner-up to Dobler in the 200 breast for 92 individual points. 2024 Pac-12 Team Standings – Women's Top 5 1. Cal, 1397.5 2. USC, 1291 3. Stanford, 1283 4. UCLA, 1089 5. Arizona State, 990.5 TEXAS ENDS DOMINANT BIG 12 RUN WITH 12TH STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP SWEEP The Texas Longhorns said goodbye to the Big 12 with another dominant showing at the conference championships in Morgantown, as the women's team won its 12th straight title and 22nd overall, while the men's team remained undefeated with 28 championship victories. For the Longhorn women, Kelly Pash led the charge with three individual wins in the 200 free, 200 fly and 200 IM, earning her Swimmer of the Meet honors. The men's award went to standout freshman Will Modglin, who swept the 100 back, 200 back and 200 IM in his debut conference championship meet. While Texas heads to the SEC in 2024-25, this season marked the addition of some new teams to the Big 12, which shook up the team standings including newcomer Houston placing 2nd in the women's meet. 2024 Big 12 Team Standings – Women's Top 5 1. Texas, 2092 2. Houston, 1266.5 3. TCU, 1215.5 4. Cincinnati, 918.5 5. BYU, 771.5 2024 Big 12 Team Standings – Men's Top 5 1. Texas, 1979 2. TCU, 1430 3. BYU, 1402 4. Cincinnati, 1285.5 5. West Virginia, 1138.5 ON DECK: MEN'S PAC-12S, WESTMONT PRO SWIM Most of the conference championship chaos that comes every February is in the books, but we've got one more Power Five meet, Men's Pac-12s, on the docket. The meet will run Wednesday through Saturday (March 6-9) from the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, with Leon Marchand leading an Arizona State team aiming to defend its title before the conference essentially disbands at season's end. * Men's Pac-12 Fan Guide This week will also feature the second stop of the three-leg 2024 Pro Swim Series in Westmont, Ill., which will run on the same dates as Pac-12s at the FMC Natatorium. The meet will host a big chunk of the top swimmers in the country as they gear up for the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, with Caeleb Dressel headlining a star-studded entry list. * Full Westmont PSS Psych Sheet Breakdown The Italian Olympic Trials will also run this week—read more here. QUICK HITS * Audrey Derivaux broke the longstanding National Age Group Record for 13-14 girls in the 200 IM at the New Jersey Meet of Champions, clocking 1:55.73 to erase Alex Walsh's mark of 1:56.20 set at the Winter Junior Championships in 2015. * Rather than racing at the Pro Swim Series event like several of her training partners, Katie Ledecky is heading to the Florida Swimming Spring Senior Championships this weekend to race the 1650 free—the same meet she set the American and U.S. Open Record in the mile last year. * The Harvard men won their seventh straight Ivy League title over the weekend, scoring 1682 to outpace runner-up Princeton (1321). * A minor shift to the Olympic schedule has opened the door for Leon Marchand to swim both the 200 fly and 200 breast in Paris. * Reigning Olympic champion Maggie MacNeil has said the Paris Games will be her last, with plans of attending law school within the next few years. * The pre-scratch psych sheets for the Women's NCAA Division I Championships were released on Tuesday morning, with official entries expected to drop on Wednesday. * The NCAA also announced the list of invited swimmers for the D3 championships. DOWN GOES PHELPS: LUKA MIJATOVIC BREAKS MICHAEL PHELPS’ 13-14 400 IM RECORD By Braden Keith on SwimSwam Luka Mijatovic broke his third National Age Group Record in two days on Friday, taking down Michael Phelps' 400 IM Record. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Down Goes Phelps: Luka Mijatovic Breaks Michael Phelps’ 13-14 400 IM Record Read More → - AUDREY DERIVAUX BREAKS ALEX WALSH’S 13-14 200 IM NAG WITH 1:55.73 By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam Derivaux broke Tess Howley's 200 butterfly NAG record just a few weeks ago and now broke Alex Walsh's 200 IM record. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Audrey Derivaux Breaks Alex Walsh’s 13-14 200 IM NAG With 1:55.73 Read More → - INDIANA MEN CLAIM THIRD-STRAIGHT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE IN DOMINANT FASHION By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam The Hoosier men scored 1520 points at the 2024 Big Ten Championships, winning their third consecutive conference title by nearly 300 points. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Indiana Men Claim Third-Straight Big Ten Championship Title In Dominant Fashion Read More → - CAL WOMEN WIN LAST PAC-12 TITLE, FIRST OF DAVE DURDEN ERA By Riley Overend on SwimSwam The Cal women led from start to finish at the last-ever Women's Pac-12 Championships this week, winning their sixth conference crown — and first since 2021. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cal Women Win Last Pac-12 Title, First of Dave Durden Era Read More → - TEXAS MEN REMAIN UNDEFEATED WITH 28TH AND FINAL BIG 12 TITLE IN EDDIE REESE’S LAST SEASON By Robert Gibbs on SwimSwam The Longhorn men closed out their Big 12 run with 28-straight titles under longtime head coach Eddie Reese, including this year's win. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Texas Men Remain Undefeated With 28th and Final Big 12 Title In Eddie Reese’s Last Season Read More → - LONGHORN WOMEN WIN 22ND, AND FINAL, BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP By Robert Gibbs on SwimSwam The Longhorn women closed out their Big 12 era with their 22nd team title in the 28 years the conference has hosted a swimming & diving championship meet. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Longhorn Women Win 22nd, and Final, Big 12 Championship Read More → - CAELEB DRESSEL HEADLINES STAR-STUDDED FIELD AT WESTMONT PRO SWIM (PSYCH SHEETS) By James Sutherland on SwimSwam Dressel will race for the first time in 2024 next week in Westmont, holding entries in the men's 50, 100 and 200 free, and the 100 fly. Read the full story on SwimSwam: Caeleb Dressel Headlines Star-Studded Field At Westmont Pro Swim (Psych Sheets) Read More → - Twitter Facebook Instagram Website