2014 Junior Pan Pacs: Seliskar, King and Powers lead US to three top seeds at day 2 prelims

Braden Keith contributed to this report.

Day 2 of the 2014 Jr. Pan Pac Championships in Maui, Hawaii could be more of the same as day 1, where the Americans won 7 of 8 gold medals. Team USA holds the top seed in 7 of 8 events on Thursday as well: all except the girls’ 100 free.

There, Australian 15-year old Shayna Jack will look to continue the success she had on Wednesday, where she broke the Australian Age Record in the 200 free – an event that is only her 3rd-best. Americans Amy Bilquist and Stanzi Moseley, though, will be chasing. Bilquist was the 2014 Junior National Champion in the 100 free in the U.S., and Moseley was the winner of the 18 & unders-only C-Final at senior Nationals a week later.

The men’s 100 free will be exciting too. Townley Haas, who won four golds at U.S. Junior Nationals, is tied for the top seed with Blake Pieroni, and a 3rd American Paul Powers is close behind. Only two of those swimmers can advance to the final, so the pressure will be on in the heats.

2014 JUNIOR PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, August 27th-Sunday, August 31st
• Kihei, Maui, Hawaii
• Prelims 9AM (local time) / 12PM PDT / 3PM EDT / 4AM+1 Tokyo / 5AM+1 Sydney / 9PM Cape Town / 4PM Rio de Janeiro / 8PM London / 9PM Paris
• 2012 results
• Psych Sheets
• Live stream
• Live results
• Medals Table After Day 1
• Full Day 1 finals recap
• Results also available on Meet Mobile under “2014 Jr Pan Pacific Swimming Championships”

Thursday, August 28th:

• 100 free
• 100 breast
• 400 IM
• Finals Only – 800 Free Relay

Girls 100 Free – Prelims

Though Shayna Jack has been the star so far for Australia, it was her teammate Chelsea Gillett who took the top seed in the 100 free out of prelims. Gillett was 55.18 this morning, cutting from her seed. She was also a finalist in the 200 last night, finishing 5th.

Jack, though, is just behind, in 55.26. The 200 free runner-up has been almost a half-second faster, though, so watch for her to break out tonight in finals.

Stanzi Moseley is the third seed in 55.37 as the Americans try to run down their Aussie rivals. China’s Menghui Zhu is her country’s best medal hope so far, going 55.50 for the fourth seed.

Australia’s Lucy McJannett was 55.57 for fifth, but will be bumped to the B final as the third Australian so Amy Bilquist will move up to her 5th seed. Bilquist was 55.79, just ahead of 200 free champ Katie Drabot‘s 56.02. Drabot will head to the B heat with McJannett.

Probable A finalists:

1. Chelsea Gillett, AUS, 55.18
2. Shayna Jack, AUS, 55.26
3. Stanzi Moseley, USA, 55.37
4. Menghui Zhu, CHN, 55.50
5. Amy Bilquist, USA, 55.79
6. Rikako Ikee, JPN, 56.16
7. Sachi Mochida, JPN, 56.21
8. Heather Lam, CAN, 56.91

Boys 100 Free – Prelims

American Paul Powers is the top seed for boys, just outside the 49-second range in prelims. Powers was 50.09 in an event where the American men went 1-2-3. Blake Pieroni was second in 50.32, and Townley Haas will head the B final after going 50.37, missing out on the championship heat by just .05 in what’s probably the weakest freestyle distance he swims. Haas won the 200 last night and is an outstanding swimmer in the mid-distances.

Australia’s Blake Jones was 50.75 for fourth. The field is really tight from there: Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan (50.82), Canada’s Markus Thormeyer (50.88), Australia’s Vincent Dai (50.90) and Aussie Brayden McCarthy (50.94) were all within .12 of one another. McCarthy heads to the B heat as Australia’s third man.

Probable A finalists:

1. Paul Powers, USA, 50.09
2. Blake Pieroni, USA, 50.32
3. Blake Jones, AUS, 50.75
4. Katsuhiro Matsumoto, JPN, 50.82
5. Markus Thormeyer, CAN, 50.88
6. Vincent Dai, AUS, 50.90
7. Mitchel Ferraro, CAN, 51.34
8. Fuyu Yoshida, JPN, 51.49

Girls 100 Breast – Prelims

17-year-old Lilly King took the top seed in the 100 breast, beating out the Japanese youngster Runa Imai. King was 1:08.47 this morning, three tenths off her best from nationals. Imai, one of the few swimmers at this meet born after 2000, was 1:09.37, and the two are the top seeds into the final.

King also sits just a half-second off the meet record, so keep an eye on her and that 1:07.99 mark tonight.

American Jorie Caneta is third at 1:10.43, with her teammate Emily Kopas missing out on the A final despite a fourth place finish in 1:10.92. Japan’s second swimmer was Sae Saito at 1:10.99.

Canadian Kelsey Wog just touched out Japan’s third, Ayaka Tokunaga, 1:11.18 to 1:11.20. Tokunaga will drop to the B heat with Kopas.

Canada’s second, Genevieve Robertson, will be into the final at 1:11.51 before the top Australian seed. Abbey Harkin was the top swimmer from Down Under, going 1:12.23 to sit 7th into tonight’s final.

Probable A finalists:

1. Lilly King, USA, 1:08.47
2. Runa Imai, JPN, 1:09.37
3. Jore Caneta, USA, 1:10.43
4. Sae Saito, JPN, 1:10.99
5. Kelsey Wog, CAN, 1:11.18
6. Genevieve Robertson, CAN, 1:11.51
7. Abbey Harkin, AUS, 1:12.23
8. Xinlan Lin, CHN, 1:13.26

Boys 100 Breast – Prelims

It’s the first Canadian top seed of the meet so far, with Matthew Ackman leading the boys 100 breaststrokers. Ackman was 1:01.85 this morning, two tenths faster than his seed time to lead the field.

American Connor Hoppe is next at 1:02.07, a couple tenths off his lifetime-best. If both boys can swim around their best tonight, it should be an outstanding matchup.

Japan nabbed the next two seeds with Ryuya Mura (1:02.37) and Yuya Hinomoto (1:02.84). Canada’s second swimmer is James Guest at 1:02.89, and American Cody Taylor was just a hundredth behind in 1:02.90 before the triples start adding up. Japan’s Rintaro Okubo winds up in the B heat despite going 1:02.91.

Australia struggled a little in both breaststrokes. Matthew Wilson is the top swimmer in a 1:03.19 that gets him the 7th seed. That’s a drop of three tenths from his incoming seed time. Then come two more B final swimmers: the third American, Todd Owen (1:03.24) and the third Canadian, James Dergousouff (1:03.35).

New Zealand’s George Schroder rounds out the A final at 1:03.66.

Probable A finalists:

1. Matthew Ackman, CAN, 1:01.85
2. Connor Hoppe, USA, 1:02.07
3. Ryuya Mura, JPN, 1:02.37
4. Yuya Hinomoto, JPN, 1:02.84
5. James Guest, CAN, 1:02.89
6. Cody Taylor, USA, 1:02.90
7. Matthew Wilson, AUS, 1:03.19
8. George Schroder, NZE, 1:03.66

Girls 400 IM – Prelims

Make that two in a row for Canada. Mary-Sophie Harvey picked up top billing in the girls 400 IM with a lifetime-best 4:45.36 in the morning session. Harvey cut over five seconds from her seed to take the top spot over Hiroko Makino of Japan. Makino, who looked to be in tight IM battles with last year’s Junior World Champ Ella Eastin, was 4:46.03 this morning, a bit off her best. Eastin is fourth at 4:47.71, eight seconds off her best, and between Eastin and Makino is fellow American Leah Stevens (4:46.21).

Yura Taniguchi is the second Japanese swimmer at 4:47.95. From there things drop back to Australia’s Tianni Gilmour at 4:49.10.

Japan’s third was Chihiro Yamada (4:49.94) and the US’s third was Courtney Harnish (4:50.55). Those two will square off in the B final. Taking their place in the A: Monika Gonzalez Hermosillo of Mexico (4:53.46) and Alexandra Aitchison of Canada (4:55.08).

Probable A finalists:

1. Mary-Sophie Harvey, CAN, 4:45.36
2. Hiroko Makino, JPN, 4:46.03
3. Leah Stevens, USA, 4:46.21
4. Ella Eastin, USA, 4:47.71
5. Yura Taniguchi, JPN, 4:47.95
6. Tianni Gilmour, AUS, 4:49.01
7. Monika Gonzalez, MEX, 4:53.46
8. Alexandra Aitchison, CAN, 4:55.08

Boys 400 IM – Prelims

The Americans went 1-2-3-4 in the final event of prelims, the 400 IM. Andrew Seliskar is the leader, going 4:19.60. That’s still a ways off his best, but it would take a major drop to challenge the junior world record of 4:14.97 from Gunnar Bentz.

Curtis Ogren snuck into the A final at 4:20.17. That’s just two tenths up on Sean Grieshop (4:20.35) who heads to the B final, and a little more than a half-second ahead of Corey Okubo (4:20.83) who would be out of a finals swim altogether if there were more than 15 boys entered in the race. As is, Okubo will slide to an outside lane in the B final.

Bradlee Ashby is the top challenger, but back at 4:25.58, it would take a giant swim for Ashby to push the top two tonight. Fighting him for medal status is Juran Mizohata of Japan at 4:26.40.

Canada’s duo of Robert Hill and Tristan Cote are in at 4:27.68 and 4:28.80, respectively, and the last two finals slots go to China’s Zhou Wang and New Zealand’s Liam Albery.

Probable A finalists:

1. Andrew Seliskar, USA, 4:19.60
2. Curtis Ogren, USA, 4:20.17
3. Bradlee Ashby, NZL, 4:25.58
4. Juran Mizohata, JPN, 4:26.40
5. Robert Hill, CAN, 4:27.68
6. Tristan Cote, CAN, 4:28.80
7. Zhou Wang, CHN, 4:31.92
8. Liam Albery, NZL, 4:32.61