Bartholomew, Franklin, and Kalisz grab ‘A’ cuts on Day Two Prelims of the Georgia Invite

Karl Ortegon
by Karl Ortegon 0

December 06th, 2014 College, News

See live meet results here, and also on Meet Mobile

400 IM

All 16 female swimmers that made the 400 IM finals slipped under the NCAA ‘B’ cut. The top three this morning were Georgia’s Hali Flickinger (4:06.05), Cal’s Celina Li (4:06.40) and Kaitlyn Jones of Virginia (4:08.55). On the men’s side, 15 of the 16 finalists were under the B cut, with an A cut by IM star Chase Kalisz of Georgia (3:41.71). Bulldog freshmen Gunnar Bentz (3:44.19) and Jay Litherland (3:44.36) rounded out the top three, setting up Georgia for another 1-2-3 sweep, as they did with Kalisz, Tynan Stewart, and Bentz last night in the 200 IM.

100 fly

The top 20 female swimmers finished under the NCAA ‘B’ cut of 54.49, while the A final is separated by less than eight tenths. Virginia’s Ellen Williamson leads the field in 52.03, followed by Cal’s Farida Osman (52.27) and Florida State’s Chelsea Britt (52.31). This will be a very tight final with no clear favorite. Cal freshman Justin Lynch leads the men’s event with a 46.65, followed by Arthur Mendes of Auburn (46.86) and Cal’s Ryan Murphy (46.87). 14 men slipped under the B cut in this event.

200 free

Cal’s golden girl Missy Franklin was hot in the 200 free, blazing to a 1:43.31 finish ahead of teammate Elizabeth Pelton 1:44.19. 500 free champ Leah Smith of Virginia was just behind Pelton in 1:44.20, and looks primed for another great swim following her incredible 500s from prelims and finals yesterday. This event saw 16 B cuts, with Franklin going under the A cut of 1:43.90. Look for some more A cuts tonight, possibly from Pelton and Smith. The men’s side wasn’t quite as deep, as only the top 8 finishers this morning earned B cuts. Cal’s Long Gutierrez (1:35.70) and Trent Williams (1:35.73) were well ahead of the rest of the field. The third fastest qualifier was Georgia’s Alec Cohen in 1:36.82.

100 breast

Virginia’s Laura Simon dominated the field this morning, finishing in 59.15, just off the A cut of 59.12. Auburn’s Natasha Lloyd (1:00.28) and Annie Lazor (1:00.29) sit behind Simon, the only two other swimmers under 1:01. 13 swimmers posted B cuts here. The men’s race will be close up top. Virginia took the top seed again with Yannick Kaeser (52.56), followed by Georgia’s Nic Fink (52.64) and Chuck Katis of Cal (52.68). 10 swimmers finished in B cuts, and the A cut of 52.29 is not far away from the top finishers.

100 back

Courtney Barth0lomew of Virginia is certainly making a name for herself. After nearly breaking Natalie Coughlin’s 100 back American Record last night, she holds the top seed with a 50.76, an incredible time nonetheless (as well as an A cut). Cal swimmers Melanie Klaren (51.98), Franklin (52.03), and Pelton (52.04) are all bunched up behind her. We haven’t seen much 100 backstroke for Missy in SCY while she’s been at Cal, and the reigning Olympic champion certainly has her work cut out for her. 23 swimmers earned B standards. Penn State’s Nate Savoy had the top men’s time (46.46) ahead of Cal backstrokers Jacob Pebley (47.14) and Murphy (47.27). 11 swimmers posted B cuts.

These events as well as the 200 medley relay and 800 free relay will be swum at finals at UGA, which are slated to begin at 5:30pm ET.

In This Story

0
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

About Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon studied sociology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, graduating in May of 2018. He began swimming on a club team in first grade and swam four years for Wesleyan.

Read More »