2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors
Break Out Athletes continued Liz Pelton continued...... After an average PAC 12 time, it looked like it was going to be someone else’s party and Liz was simply invited. But Liz didn’t see it that way. She raced to a 2nd place finish, again narrowly missing a title. Saturday would be the day the light really went on, though, and you could see everyone nodding in agreement, “Yes, she had a great meet.” It was 200 back day. Racing to an NCAA record in prelims by nearly 2 seconds, it was just a sign of things to come. In finals, the pool deck was more crammed and packed for the 200 back final than any event during the meet. With a prelim time of 1:49.62, swimmers, coaches and fans alike were excited to see if she could repeat her Pac 12 success. With a field filled with NCAA Champions and Olympians, Liz ...Kevin Cordes continued
March brought the Championship season, and Indy was the perfect setting. The House of Champions has a rich tradition of swimming history and is THE ideal place for swimmers to become legends. During the sessions, the deck buzzed with whispers of fable-like times. When it was finally race time, everything became quiet and seemed to be in slow motion. Kevin swam with speed and grace, looking at ease. With each stroke, the anticipation rose. At each 50, all eyes stared at the scoreboard as they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. We all knew we were witnessing something special, very
showed that competitive confidence and swagger. She dominated the event, lowering her time to 1:47.84, setting the American, US Open and NCAA records. This was easily the race of the meet. While other swimmers and teams were the story of the session or even the day, Liz became the storyline of the meet, winning NCAA Swimmer of the Year. As an athlete, there is just something about Liz. She has a swagger. She has an air of confidence. She looks like a competitor who means business. In the month of March she was all business, establishing herself among the Greats of Berkeley. To summarize her freshman year: During the regular season, roughly 70% of the time you could count on her to win her events. In other instances she would have won the
special. In the end, Kevin set 2 NCAA Records, won 3 National Championships and was named NCAA Swimmer of the Year. Times of 50.74 and 1:48.68 and a 49.56 split shattered the previous marks. Not too bad for a quiet kid with a great work ethic and positive attitude. Even more impressive is that he feels he hasn’t achieved anything yet. Kevin Cordes is the 2012-2013 Male Breakout Athlete.
event but was listed exhibition. She was undefeated in the 200 back and 400 IM. The 50 free and the 200 fly are the only events she didn’t win. UCLA was the only dual meet where she didn’t record an individual win. During the Championship season, .71 of a second kept her from being a 3-time National Champion. She had 5 events (100 free, 200 free, 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM) that ranked in the Top 5 at NCAAs. Her time in the 100 free would have placed 4th, the 200 free was 2nd, the 100 back would have placed 2nd, she won the 200 back, and the 200 IM was 2nd. Her 400 IM would have placed at the NCAA Championships as well. She was PAC 12 Swimmer of the Meet and NCAA Swimmer of the Year. It’s hard to argue that Liz Pelton should not be the Female Breakout Athlete of 2012-2013.
Kevin Cordes: records at 2013 NCAA Championships 100 Breaststroke Prelims
:50.93 AR 100 Breaststoke - Finals
:50.74* 200 Breaststroke-Prelims
1:49.79* 200 Breaststroke-Finals
1:48.68* *Indicates all records NCAA 14