Runge returns to the pool in Arizona State’s win over Cougars

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – There were high expectations for Cierra Runge in her return to NCAA swimming, and the Olympic gold medalist delivered with first-place finishes in the 100-and 200-yard freestyle events in Arizona State’s 174-85 home-opening win over Washington State on Saturday.

“We’ve been training really well during this interim holiday period,” ASU coach Bob Bowman said. “It was good to get back into racing. In general, we had good energy, people were racing well. It was nice to have Cierra Runge for the first time racing for us, her first meet in a year. Emma Nordin was really good today, and across the board, we swan pretty well. Turns and finishes are things we can always improve on.”

ASU Swimming and Diving start season with win over Cougars

Runge placed a 1:49.44 in the 200, nearly three seconds ahead of second-place Ryan Falk of WSU, and took the 100 in 50.64 seconds. Runge previously swam at the University of California and the University of Wisconsin before transferring to ASU. She won the 800 free relay at the 2016 Olympics and the World Championships in both 2015 and 2017.

“It feels really awesome,” Runge said, “being able to compete and contribute was awesome. I missed the competition, I hadn’t competed since August nationally, and it’s been a year and a half since I have done duals. I told the team this is the best experience I have had swimming collegiately.”

Silja Kansakoski, the junior from Oulu, Finland, won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:02.43 and is excited to have the Runge as a teammate.

“It’s amazing, I never saw someone so fast,” Kansakoski said. “It brings so much more confidence to our team to have (Runge) here. We trained so hard over winter training, and I can’t wait to see how quick we are going to swim.”

Other winners on Saturday were: Nordin in the 1,000 free (10:10.80) and 500 free (4:50.02), Chloe Isleta in the 100 back (55.13) and 200 back (2:00.09), Ruby Martin in the 200 butterfly (2:02.53), Fanny Teijonsalo in the 50 free (23.68) and 100 butterly (55.29), and Taylor McCoy in the 200 individual medley (2:07.61).

The Sun Devil team of Isleta, Kansakoski, Teijonsalo, and Camryn Curry swam the 200-yard medley relay in 1:42.23, while Nordin, Kendall Dawson, Runge, and Marlies Ross produced a 7:34.53 in the 800-yard free relay. Mackenzie Duarte won the Cougars’ lone event, the 200 breast, in 2:15.66.

The Sun Devils have two more home meets in the season, against California at 2 p.m. on Jan. 25 and at noon versus Stanford on Jan. 26. The men will be competing in the same meets.

Sun Devils outduel Golden Bears in final seconds of thriller

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – In about as evenly matched as a game you’ll find this season, Arizona State outlasted California, 62-61,  on Sunday, after 18 lead changes and 13 ties.

The No. 19 Sun Devils and No. 24 Golden Bears went back and forth throughout the first half, with none taking a larger lead than a five-point advantage. Cal led after one, 23-20, with the only outstanding statistic being the Golden Bears’ ability to take advantage of points off turnovers. Cal was again in the driver’s seat by one, 33-32, at the break, despite Kianna Ibis scoring 13 of her game-high 26 points.

“Moving through the season, we have so many other weapons, besides Kianna,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “I would feel a little stressed because we’ve been leaning on her so hard, but I know we have other weapons.”

ASU defeats Cal in PAC-12 thriller, 62-61

ASU kept All-American Cal center Kristine Anigwe from scoring until the late stages before halftime. Anigwe, the 6-foot-4 senior who is from Phoenix’s Desert Vista High School, leads Division I with 14.4 rebounds per game. She scored 21 and grabbed 16 on Sunday.

“This loss isn’t going to define our season,” Anigwe said. “It’s going to help us grow.”

Consecutive Sun Devil baskets to conclude the third resulted in a 52-48 lead. Anigwe came back to knot it at 55-55, and Courtney Ekmark answered with a three, her first points of the night. Anigwe’s offensive rebound with the score tied and 1:26 on the clock sent her to the line for two points. Ibis dropped in two free throws 30 seconds later to tie it again. Cal could not get off a shot against the tough defense on the next possession. ASU guard Reili Richardson drew the foul while driving to the basket with 4.6 to go, and she iced the first of two. Cal had one more chance but couldn’t get off a quality shot attempt.

“I think this is probably the best point guard conference in women’s basketball,” Turner Thorne said, “and Reili is right up there.”

Looking at the final box score, the teams were nearly deadlocked in all categories, with ASU narrowing the turnover margin. Jaelyn Brown added 11 points for Cal, while Charnea Johnson-Chapman led the Sun Devils with seven rebounds.

“You have to be really tough to find ways to make plays,” Cal coach Lindsey Gottlieb said of playing ASU. “There were times in the game when our guards did a really good job of that. They’re not going to give up anything easy.”

ASU was coming off a 72-65 loss to No. 6 Stanford on Friday, while the Bears lost 60-55 at Arizona. The Sun Devils will hit the road next weekend, beginning at No. 5 Oregon on Friday and No. 10 Oregon State on Sunday. The next home game will be Jan. 25 against UCLA. The Golden Bears continue their season, hosting Washington State at 11:30 PT on Friday morning.

Leonard-Baker opens ASU gymnastics season with two 9.9s

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State gymnastics team opened its season with a productive 195 points on Friday to place second of four teams. No. 19 Missouri won the meet with 195.45 points, No. 23 Minnesota was third with 194.150, and Illinois-Chicago was fourth with 193.925.

Sophomore Cairo Leonard-Baker recorded a 9.9 to win the floor, ASU’s highest event on Friday (48.925), and she also scored a 9.9 on the uneven bars. Five Gym Devils recorded 9.8s in the meet, the next highest after Leonard-Baker’s marks.

ASU Opens season with second place finish

“We had some little things to brush off, but all-around, I’m pretty happy about it,” Leonard-Baker said of the year’s initial meet. “There are little form things, like sticking landings. We have the basics down though. Now that we have freshmen, it’s different because there are people looking up to me. I can’t qualify for freshmen awards anymore; I’m competing against sophomores, juniors and seniors. It’s a whole new ball game, but I’m ready for it.”

ASU’s roster posts three freshmen on its roster this year, although none made it into the rotation on Friday: Jasmine Gutierrez, Stephanie Tripodi and Kaitlin Harvey from Mesa’s Desert Ridge High School.

“We have work to do,” ASU coach Jay Santos added. “There were a little jitters and bobbles. We need to be able to finish our routines cleanly, and we’ll be in good shape. We want them to go out there and embrace the moment.”

Lexy Ramler of the Gophers won the all-around with 39.525 points, with a 9.9 on the vault and 9.9 on bars. Missouri’s Britney Ward posted a 9.95 on the balance beam, the highest mark of the competition.

Next, the Gym Devils will be at Texas Woman’s University on Jan. 12 and defending national champion UCLA on Jan. 21. They return home to face Utah at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 26.