HOUSTON, Texas – Houston extended its meet lead in search of a fourth women’s crown, and two-time defending champion Cincinnati ascended to the top of the men’s standings on Friday night to close day three of the American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
 
Houston finished Friday’s finals session with 644.5 points, over 200 points ahead of second place SMU (438.5 points). Cincinnati (362 points), Tulane (310 points), East Carolina (290 points) and UConn (264.5 points) rounded out the women’s finishers. On the men’s side, Cincinnati’s 562 points inched ahead of ECU’s 558.5 points into a slim lead heading to the final day, with SMU (510 points) and UConn (386.5 points) right behind.
 
Tulane’s Olivia Johnson ended Houston’s dominance over the top position on the podium to lead off the night in the women’s 400 IM. The defending champion retained her crown in the distance with a time of 4:07.72. Cincinnati’s Camryn Streid was second in 4:16.96, followed by Tulane’s Jordan Morling in third with a time of 4:18.31.
 
Colin Feehery took home the men’s 400 IM in his first career start at the American meet, touching the wall in a victorious 3:46.53. Cincinnati’s Spencer Sehlhor was the event runner-up with a time of 3:48.42, with defending champion Marek Osina of ECU third with a time of 3:48.97.
 
After nearly setting the meet record in the 100 butterfly during the prelim session, Erin Trahan of SMU claimed her third straight gold medal in the event. The top seed cruised in for the win at :52.04, just ahead of Cincinnati’s Lina Kutsko in second place (:52.20). Houston’s Katie Higgins was third with a time of :53.77.
 
Gustavo Santos of ECU capped a rare American four-peat in the men’s 100 butterfly, breaking his own meet record time of :45.76 from the morning prelim session with a championship showing of :45.64. UConn’s Cooper Knapp was second in :47.18, with ECU’s Durde Matic in third place (:47.99).
 
Zarena Brown picked up her third consecutive win in the 200 freestyle, as the Houston senior swam to the victory in 1:44.33 ahead of teammate Mykenzie Leehy (1:45.59). It was a Cougar podium sweep that saw Samantha Medlin round out the all-conference honorees in third place with a time of 1:47.34.
 
Freshman Michael Balcerak of Cincinnati entered the winner’s circle in the 200 freestyle, clocking a championship time of 1:35.15. ECU’s Blaz Demsar was the runner-up in 1:35.76, followed by Cincinnati’s Din Selmanovic in third (1:35.88).
 
Houston’s Peyton Kondis was the lone woman to break one minute in the 100 breaststroke, earning her third conference championship in the event in :59.34. Tulane’s Kate McDonald was second with a time of 1:00.34, followed closely in third by Houston’s Angeliki Mavrantza with a 1:00.52 showing.
 
Caleb Rhodenbaugh of SMU won the closest decision of the meet thus far in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in :53.12 to edge out Cincinnati’s Dominic Polling (:53.13) for the championship. ECU’s Lyubomir Epitropov was third with a time of :53.29.
 
Laura Laderoute nearly equaled her meet record prelim time (:52.61) in the Friday final of the 100 backstroke, repeating as the conference champion with a winning :52.75. SMU’s Felicia Anderson was the runner-up in :54.07 and Houston’s Ioanna Sacha claimed third (:54.13).
 
Will Kearsey earned his second gold medal and meet record of the weekend in the 100 backstroke, taking his third career conference title in the distance with a time of :46.08. Cincinnati’s Blake Hanna was the runner-up in :47.58 and Joey Puglessi third in :47.63.
 
SMU’s Peter Smithson brought home his first career American title, winning the 3-meter dive with 404.85 points to establish the second-best score in meet history. ECU’s Rodrigo Romero was second with 374.90 points, and defending champion Parker Hardigree of SMU checked in third with 367.10 points.
 
Houston put an emphatic stamp on the proceedings Friday night in the 400 medley relay. Laderoute, Kondis, Katie Higgins and Brown nearly reached the meet record in the event with a time of 3:34.11. SMU’s Anderson, Gabriella Grobler, Trahan and Samantha Smith were the event runners-up in 3:37.43, and Cincinnati’s Jaclyn Klimczak, Victoria Hunt, Kutsko and Abigail Johnston finished third in 3:38.68.
 
ECU’s Osina, Epitropov, Santos and James Ward swam the first sub-3:10.00 final 400 medley relay heat in meet history, claiming gold in 3:09.53. Cincinnati’s Blake Hanna, Polling, Balcerak and Alex Fortman took second in 3:10.75, followed by SMU’s Riley Hill, Rhodenbaugh, John Easton and Daniel Forndal in 3:11.74.
 
Men’s Teams Scores
1. Cincinnati – 562
2. ECU – 558.5
3. SMU – 510
4. UConn – 386.5
 
Women’s Teams Scores
1. Houston – 644.5
2. SMU – 438.5
3. Cincinnati – 362
4. Tulane –310
5. ECU – 290.5
6. UConn – 264.5
 
Championships Schedule:
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22
 
SESSION 6 – 10:00 A.M. (SWIMMING PRELIMS)
12:30 P.M. (DIVING PRELIMS)
SESSION 7 – 5:00 P.M. (FINALS)
 
Prelims – Women’s Platform Diving
Prelims – Men’s Platform Diving
Women’s 1,650 Yard Freestyle^
Men’s 1,650 Yard Freestyle^
Finals – Women’s Platform Diving
Women’s 200 Yard Backstroke
Men’s 200 Yard Backstroke
Women’s 100 Yard Freestyle
Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle
Women’s 200 Yard Breaststroke
Men’s 200 Yard Breaststroke
Women’s 200 Yard Butterfly
Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly
Finals – Men’s Platform Diving
Women’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay*
Men’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay*
 
All times Central
 
THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The American Athletic Conference (The American), a member of the NCAA, was reconstituted in 2013. With the conference office in Providence, Rhode Island, The American is comprised of the following institutions: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, ECU, Houston, Memphis, Navy (in football only), USF, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa. Wichita State (basketball and Olympic sports) joined the Conference on July 1, 2017. Under the leadership of Commissioner Mike Aresco, The American sponsors 22 championships – 10 for men and 12 for women; is a member of the College Football Playoff; has television partnerships with ESPN and CBS Sports; in the spring of 2019, signed a landmark television agreement with ESPN that commences in 2020-21; and has a marketing partnership with Learfield. For more information, please visit www.TheAmerican.org.