Pac-12 Swimming Awards: Leon Marchand Sweeps Swimmer, Freshman of Year

Leon Marchand; Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Pac-12 Swimming Awards: Leon Marchand Sweeps Swimmer, Freshman of Year

Arizona State star Leon Marchand was named the Pac-12 Men’s Swimmer and Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Friday. Dave Durden is the Swim Coach of the Year.

Arizona diving coach Dwight Dumais earned a postseason accolade, having tutored Diver of the Year Bjorn Markentin. Stanford’s Jack Ryan is the Freshman Diver of the Year.

Marchand, a native of France, led Arizona State to its best NCAAs finish since 1982. He won NCAA championships in the 200 individual medley, in an NCAA record of 1:37.69, and the 200 breaststroke in 1:48.20. He was also second in the 400 IM, winning CSCAA Men’s Swimmer of the Year.

Marchand won three Pac-12 titles, in the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 breast, to go with a leg on the Sun Devils’ victorious 800 freestyle relay. Arizona State finished third at Pac-12s, their best performance in 27 years. The Toulouse native is the second swimmer ever to win Swimmer and Freshman of the year simultaneously, joining USC’s Klete Keller in 2001.

Durden led Cal to its seventh NCAA title. It’s the fifth time Durden has led the Golden Bears to the top of the NCAA mountain. He’s the Pac-12 coach of the year for a fifth straight year and 11th time in his career. He also led Cal to its ninth Pac-12 title (the seventh under his leadership).

Markentin was the high-scorer among the divers at Pac-12s. the native of Saskatoon, Canada, finished as the runner-up in the 3-meter springboard, third on platform and fifth on 1-meter. The former Pac-12 Freshman Diver of the Year was an All-American on 1-meter at NCAAs, finishing seventh.

Dumais earned his first men’s Diving Coach of the Year in his fifth season. He was also named women’s Diving Coach of the Year earlier this week. The Wildcats scored 161 points at Pac-12s.

Ryan finished second on 1-meter springboard at Pac-12s and third on 3-meter. He was also eighth on platform. He earned NCAA berths on both springboard events, peaking at eighth place on 1-meter at NCAAs to earn All-American recognition.

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