The Texas A&M men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams hosted the Art Adamson Invitational over the weekend.
The men earned their third consecutive win in the meet with a score of 1,322, which is more than the combined scores of second place USC and third place Hawaii. The men set eight new school records throughout the meet.
Sophomore Shaine Casas set five of those school records, in addition to setting three pool records and becoming the nation’s leader in three events. His first place time of 1:40.16 in the finals round of the 200 IM put him in 10th place in the world in the race and set a school record. Additionally, a time of 45.57 on his leg in A&M’s 400 medley relay set a school record for Casas.
Casas also notched a pool record in the 100 back with a time of 53.14.
Casas helped the men take the lead on the first day with a score of 412. Junior Mark Theall notched the No. 1 time in the country with his first place finish in the 500 free (4:12.19), which also broke a school record.
Men’s coach Jay Holmes said he was especially pleased with the start of the meet and the records set.
“It was a good day in the fact that we did get all these records done, which is always fun,” Holmes told 12thman.com. “We’re out to a good start to move on into the meet here.”
The women’s team settled into second place on the first day, where they would remain until the end of the meet to finish with a total of 1,098.5 points.
The Aggies also earned multiple Olympic Trial cuts throughout the meet. In the 200 IM, sophomore Caroline Theil secured first (2:14.39), senior Anna Belousova clinched second (2:15.86) and junior Jing Wen Quah earned fourth (2:15.88). Sophomore Emma Carlton also earned a qualifying time in the 50 free, placing fourth in 25.84.
Theil added another cut time in the 400 IM with a time of 4:50.42, along with junior Camryn Toney (4:50.04).
Carlton had qualifying times of 1:00.66 in the 100 fly and 1:02.55 in the 100 back. Junior Taylor Pike (1:00.53) also secured a cut in the 100 fly.
For the men, the 200 medley relay team earned an NCAA B cut, and the 800 free relay earned an A cut.
Women’s coach Steve Bultman said the invite went pretty well overall and that the team will be focusing on the upcoming finals.
“The mornings were good with the long courses to get some Olympic Trial cuts,” Bultman told 12thman.com. “With finals coming up, we need to make sure we are taking care of that.”
The women’s team will return to action on Jan. 9 at 5 p.m. in Dallas with a dual meet against SMU, while the men’s team gets back in the pool on Dec. 16 in San Antonio against Trinity University and Incarnate Word.