COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team took down another school record and won six of seven races on day two of the Art Adamson Invitational on Thursday at the Student Recreation Natatorium.
The Aggie foursome of freshman Clayton Bobo, senior Angel Martinez, junior Adam Koster and freshman Shaine Casas took down the school record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:20.46. The Aggies also logged victories in the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
After two days of action, the Aggies lead the team standings with 1,139 points. Trailing the Aggies were LSU (417 points), Hawaii (348), Air Force (268), Incarnate Word (172) and SMU (133).
Head coach Jay Holmes said:
"It was a really good day overall. One of the really big things that we wanted to get done this week was making sure that we were swimming all our relays at the NCAA Championships. You don't get a chance to do that unless you prove that you belong there. Based on what we were able to do today, we were able to show that and put it together. It's a lot of fun when the plan comes together."
200 Medley Relay
The Aggie foursome of freshman Shaine Casas, junior Ben Walker, senior Angel Martinez and junior Adam Koster scorched the field with a winning time of 1:24.83, which was more than two seconds faster than the runner-up finishers.
400 IM
Texas A&M swept the top two spots in the 400 IM with Ben Walker taking first in 3:47.39 and freshman Alberto Gomez right behind with a time of 3:50.12. Both Aggies posted NCAA "B" cuts.
100 Butterfly
The Aggies grabbed the top three places in the 100 butterfly with senior Angel Martinez grabbing the gold medal in 46.23 with freshman Shaine Casas (46.70) and senior Mateo Gonzalez (47.39) right behind. All three Aggies achieved NCAA "B" cuts.
200 Freestyle
Texas A&M swept the top four spots in the 200 freestyle. Freshman Clayton Bobo flirted with the Aggies' school record in the race with a winning time of 1:34.41, which was just .02 of a second off of Paul-Marc Schweitzer's school standard of 1:34.39 achieved at the 2014 SEC Championships. Sophomore transfer Mark Theall also turned in an NCAA "B" cut with a runner-up time of 1:35.44. Senior Steve Richardson took third in 1:36.37, but had a "B" cut of 1:35.97 in the morning prelims.
100 Breaststroke
Two Aggies earned "B" cuts in the 100 breaststroke with junior Benjamin Walker placing second in 53.60 (53.29 in the prelims) and sophomore Tanner Olson placing third in 53.62.
100 Backstroke
Freshman Shaine Casas became the second Aggie ever under the 46-second barrier in the 100 backstroke with a winning time of 45.99. Casas' time was just off of Brock Bonetti's school standard of 45.64 set at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Junior Mike Thibert also tallied a "B" cut with a third-place effort of 47.48.
800 Free Relay
The Aggies closed out the night by shattering the school record in the 800 free relay. The foursome of freshman Clayton Bobo, senior Angel Martinez, junior Adam Koster and freshman Shaine Casas touched in 6:20.46 (NCAA "B" cut), which lopped nearly a full second off the old school standard of 6:21.20 by Paul-Marc Schweitzer, Luke Shaw, Mateo Muzek and Hunter Funk at the 2014 SEC Championships
The Aggie foursome of freshman Clayton Bobo, senior Angel Martinez, junior Adam Koster and freshman Shaine Casas took down the school record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:20.46. The Aggies also logged victories in the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
After two days of action, the Aggies lead the team standings with 1,139 points. Trailing the Aggies were LSU (417 points), Hawaii (348), Air Force (268), Incarnate Word (172) and SMU (133).
Head coach Jay Holmes said:
"It was a really good day overall. One of the really big things that we wanted to get done this week was making sure that we were swimming all our relays at the NCAA Championships. You don't get a chance to do that unless you prove that you belong there. Based on what we were able to do today, we were able to show that and put it together. It's a lot of fun when the plan comes together."
200 Medley Relay
The Aggie foursome of freshman Shaine Casas, junior Ben Walker, senior Angel Martinez and junior Adam Koster scorched the field with a winning time of 1:24.83, which was more than two seconds faster than the runner-up finishers.
400 IM
Texas A&M swept the top two spots in the 400 IM with Ben Walker taking first in 3:47.39 and freshman Alberto Gomez right behind with a time of 3:50.12. Both Aggies posted NCAA "B" cuts.
100 Butterfly
The Aggies grabbed the top three places in the 100 butterfly with senior Angel Martinez grabbing the gold medal in 46.23 with freshman Shaine Casas (46.70) and senior Mateo Gonzalez (47.39) right behind. All three Aggies achieved NCAA "B" cuts.
200 Freestyle
Texas A&M swept the top four spots in the 200 freestyle. Freshman Clayton Bobo flirted with the Aggies' school record in the race with a winning time of 1:34.41, which was just .02 of a second off of Paul-Marc Schweitzer's school standard of 1:34.39 achieved at the 2014 SEC Championships. Sophomore transfer Mark Theall also turned in an NCAA "B" cut with a runner-up time of 1:35.44. Senior Steve Richardson took third in 1:36.37, but had a "B" cut of 1:35.97 in the morning prelims.
100 Breaststroke
Two Aggies earned "B" cuts in the 100 breaststroke with junior Benjamin Walker placing second in 53.60 (53.29 in the prelims) and sophomore Tanner Olson placing third in 53.62.
100 Backstroke
Freshman Shaine Casas became the second Aggie ever under the 46-second barrier in the 100 backstroke with a winning time of 45.99. Casas' time was just off of Brock Bonetti's school standard of 45.64 set at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Junior Mike Thibert also tallied a "B" cut with a third-place effort of 47.48.
800 Free Relay
The Aggies closed out the night by shattering the school record in the 800 free relay. The foursome of freshman Clayton Bobo, senior Angel Martinez, junior Adam Koster and freshman Shaine Casas touched in 6:20.46 (NCAA "B" cut), which lopped nearly a full second off the old school standard of 6:21.20 by Paul-Marc Schweitzer, Luke Shaw, Mateo Muzek and Hunter Funk at the 2014 SEC Championships