USC takes third overall at Pac-12 championships


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USC swim and dive celebrates after its meet against UC Santa Barbara Jan. 29.
USC swim and dive celebrates after its meet against UC Santa Barbara Jan. 29. The Trojans had strong individual finishes in the Pac-12 invitational. (Photo courtesy of USC Athletics)

The USC women’s swim team competed in Federal Way, Wash. this weekend for the Pac-12 championships, taking home multiple titles and finishing third overall. 

The Trojans have now won at least two Pac-12 individual titles for 14 consecutive years and in 21 of 22 seasons.

The women’s 200-yard medley relay came in second with a 1:35.40, swam by fifth year Calypso Sheridan, sophomores Kaitlyn Dobler and Anicka Delgado and senior Laticia Transom. The relay team finished between its two main rivals this season — Stanford and UC Berkeley — edging out the Golden Bears by 0.69 seconds. 

Sheridan, Dobler, Transom and sophomore Hanna Henderson placed third in the 200-yard freestyle relay, finishing with a 1:28.02.  The relay team was once again edged out by the Cardinal and Cal, who each took first and second respectively. 

Individually, the Trojans finished strong, taking home multiple wins and frequent placements within the top three slots. Sheridan placed third in the 400-yard individual medley, finishing with a 4:07.18. Delgado took first in the 50-yard freestyle with 21.89. Transom placed second in the 200-yard freestyle with 1:42.49. 

Freshman Caroline Pennington took home the win for the mile swim, finishing 1650 yards in 15:48.69 seconds. Pennington won the Pac-12 title for the Trojans, her first championship meet in Federal Way.  

“Caroline Pennington opened up our final session with a win in the mile,” said senior and team captain Isabelle Odgers in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “That that really got the team fired up and ready to go, and I think that that momentum kind of built throughout the session.” 

For the 200-yard breaststroke race, USC swept the top three finishes with times all under 2:07.00. Odgers took first place with a 2:06.42, winning the Pac-12 championship for the event. Dobler took second place with a 2:06.65, and Sheridan placed in third with a 2:06.97. 

Dobler took victories on multiple fronts in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing with a 57.31. Dobler not only won the Pac-12 title, but now also holds the USC school record, Pac-12 record and Pac-12 championship record. 

She is now a back-to-back conference champion after competing last year. 

“We had a lot of really good swims, so it’s just really good to have that energy going,” Dobler said. “[The team’s energy] really fueled me in my races and I ended up being really happy with the way I performed.” 

This team’s conference run became a memorable one for them due to the results. According to Odgers, the team’s energy was a game changer for the results of the meet. 

“Last year we took kind of a smaller group to Houston, and that group had really amazing energy, but the presence on deck this year with all 22 amazing women was just something that you can’t really compare to,” Odgers said. 

Overall, the team’s success led to a positive ending to the season, bringing momentum going into March.

 “We were the loudest team and the happiest team on deck,” Odgers said. 

The Trojans will compete in the NCAA tournament from Mar. 16 through Mar. 19 in Atlanta, Ga.