Bailey Claims Big 12 Mile Championship, School Record

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Columbia, Mo. ? Junior Lauren Bailey claimed the second Big 12 Conference championship of her career as she won the 1,650-yard freestyle in a school-record, NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 16:20.05 to lead the Huskers to a fifth-place finish with 386.5 points at the 2006 Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Bailey, who set the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:53.86) school record just three weeks ago, broke that mark again as she was clocked at 9:51.91 at that point on her way to blowing away the field and shattering former Nebraska All-American Michelle Butcher’s 16-year old 1,650-free mark of 16:25.99 by nearly six seconds. It was the first automatic-qualifying mark in Head Coach Pablo Morales’ five-year career at Nebraska.

 

Texas’ Stephanie Anderson took the early lead, but Bailey made her move near the 750-yard mark and never looked back as she defeated Anderson by more than three seconds. Anderson won the 400-yard individual medley conference title on Friday.

 

Bailey’s time was also a MizzouAquaticCenter pool record, the second record she holds at the venue along with her 1,000-yard freestyle school-record swim.

 

“I was very confident that Lauren would do very well,” Head Coach Pablo Morales said. “We knew that Stephanie Anderson would be tough, but Lauren has very good control in that race. She looked good from the beginning, settled in, and made up ground on Anderson.”

 

Bailey won her other conference title as a freshman in the 400-yard individual medley and she has now qualified for her third NCAA Championship meet in a row. Junior co-captain Kate Wheeler hopes to join Bailey at the national meet as the she placed third in a NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 16:36.24. Wheeler edged out Texas’ Macie Garrett, last year’s Big 12 mile champion, while junior Mackenzie Clark was eighth in a career-best 16:51.93, also an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark. Nebraska scored a total of 56 points in the event as junior Casey Schnack added nine points with her ninth-place overall finish. It was the second year in a row in which the Huskers have scored at least 50 points in the mile.

 

“The distance group has been our foundation from the beginning of the season and in years past,” Assistant Coach Doug Humphrey said. “We look to them to lift our team and today was no exception.”

 

Junior Bailey Ingles was Nebraska’s third-highest finisher on Saturday night in the pool. The Omaha, Neb., native was competing in her first Big 12 Championship finals as she placed sixth in the 200-yard butterfly, matching her season-best time from the prelims of 2:03.97. Freshman Christina Yemm was 14th overall (2:08.42) after competing in the consolation finals.  

 

The Husker divers also continued to perform very well as they qualified three for the finals on the platform dive. Senior Becky Johnson led the trio with a fifth-place showing (221.55) while sophomore Kaci Ressler finished seventh (202.65) and junior Danielle Stansbury eighth (184.05).

 

Senior Rachel Schlatter led the group of NU swimmers competing in the consolation finals with an 11th-place finish (2:20.37) in the 200-yard breaststroke in her final race as a Husker. Sophomore Adrienne Goodman was 13th in 2:22.42.

 

Nebraska also broke its season best in the 400-yard freestyle relay team with a time of 3:27.44 to place fifth.

 

Final Team Scores

1. #9 Texas-942.5

2. #12 Texas A&M-761

3. Kansas-453

4. #25 Missouri-439

5. Nebraska-386.5

6. Iowa State-357

 

Saturday Preliminary Results

(Nebraska finishes)

 

200-yard Backstroke

(1-8 Finalists, 9-16 Consolation Finalists, 17-24 Bonus Finalists)

 

Bonus Finals

23. Emilee Crawford, Nebraska, 2:09.62

 

100-yard Freestyle

(1-8 Finalists, 9-16 Consolation Finalists, 17-24 Bonus Finalists)

 

Consolation Finals

14. Lynn Siemert, Nebraska, 51.57 (Career Best)

 

Bonus Finals

18. Jenny Toler, Nebraska, 52.34 (Season Best)

19. Jenna Stroud, Nebraska, 52.36 (Season Best)

24. AlexKing, Nebraska, 52.82

 

200-yard Breaststroke

(1-8 Finalists, 9-16 Consolation Finalists, 17-24 Bonus Finalists)

 

Consolation Finals

11. Rachel Schlatter, Nebraska, 2:20.88 (Season Best)

15. Adrienne Goodman, Nebraska, 2:21.10 (Career Best)

 

Bonus Finals

20. Lana Baker, Nebraska, 2:28.26

 

200-yard Butterfly

Finals

6. Bailey Ingles, Nebraska, 2:03.97 (Season Best)

 

Consolation Finals

14. Christina Yemm, Nebraska, 2:08.42

 

Platform Dive

5. Becky Johnson, Nebraska, 221.55

7. Kaci Ressler, Nebraska, 202.65

8. Danielle Stansbury, Nebraska, 184.05

 

400-yard Freestyle Relay

5. Nebraska, 3:27.44 (Season Best)