2014 US National Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2014 US NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – DAY 2 – FINALS

Day 2 of the 2014 U.S. National Championships in Irvine, California will feature some big-name showdowns. In the women’s 200 backstroke it will be Beisel versus Pelton versus Franklin; in the women’s 200 free it will be Franklin versus Ledecky, and in the men’s 200 breaststroke it will be Cordes versus history.

The first day of this meet was an explosion of speed, with all but one of the winning times faster than last year’s National Championship meet. So far, if prelims are any indication, it looks like we’re going to have more of the same on Thursday.
Michael Phelps, the man everyone wanted to see, didn’t have a prelims swim today, but there’s a chance we’ll see a surprise appearance in an NBAC relay. Most of the other stars at this meet are on the lineup, so there will still be a good show for the nearly sellout crowd.

Women’s 200 Freestyle – FINALS

  • 2013 US National Champion: 1:55.56 – Missy Franklin
  • Meet Record: 1:54.40 – Allison Schmitt – 2012
  • World Record: 1:52.98 – Federica Pellegrini – 2009
  • American Record: 1:53.61 – Allison Schmitt – 2012
  • US Open Record: 1:54.40 – Allison Schmitt – 2012
  • Time to make the 2013 US National Team (#6 Nationally At Selection Meets): 1:58.41 – Maya DiRado

At the 100, it was neck and neck between Katie Ledecky and Missy Franklin. The pair flipped at 56.64 and 56.74, respectively. On the third 50, Ledecky pulled a little ahead, but Franklin kept it close. At the end of the race, Katie Ledecky reached the wall for the win at 1:55.16. Missy Franklin finished second at 1:56.40. Leah Smith booked her ticket to Pan Pac’s with her third place finish at 1:57.57. Shannon Vreeland finished fourth with her time of 1:57.73.

Chelsea Chenault finished fifth with her time of 1:58.60, followed by Cierra Runge at 1:58.70 for sixth.

Rounding out the top 8 in the women’s 200 freestyle was Simone Manuel at 1:58.79 and Sarah Henry at 1:59.05.

Allison Schmitt won the B-final with her time of 1:58.36. Madisyn Cox finished second at 1:59.22.

Emily Allen dropped more than three seconds to win the C-final of the 200 freestyle at 1:59.35.

Men’s 200 Freestyle – FINALS

  • 2013 US National Champion: 1:45.97 – Ryan Lochte
  • Meet Record: 1:44.10 – Michael Phelps – 2008
  • World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann – 2009
  • American Record: 1:42.96 – Michael Phelps – 2008
  • US Open Record: 1:44.10 – Michael Phelps – 2008
  • Time to make the 2013 US National Team (#6 Nationally At Selection Meets): 1:47.59 – Michael Wynalda

At the 100, Clay Youngquist and Conor Dwyer were pushing the lead, flipping at 52 low. Matt McLean had a huge back half to reach in and win the race. He hit the wall with his time of 1:46.93, booking his ticket to Pan Pac’s. Conor Dwyer was second at 1:46.93. Reed Malone surprised a lot of people today in prelims, and was able to do it again tonight during finals. He finished third, securing his trip to the Gold Coast, with his time of 1:47.41. Michael Weiss had the fourth fastest swim of the night, grabbing the final Pan Pac spot with his time of 1:47.87.

Clay Youngquist had an aggressive first 100 and wasn’t able to hang on through the final 50 meters. He finished fifth at 1:48.08. Michael Klueh was sixth with his time of 1:48.30.

Michael Wynalda and Drew Cosgarea round out the final of the men’s 200 freestyle with their times of 1:48.66 and 1:48.73, respectively.

Frank Dyer won the B-final heat of the men’s 200 freestyle. The race was close the whole way and it came down to the touch at the end of the race. Connor Jaeger finished second at 1:48.41.

Townley Haas dropped close to a second to win the C-final of the men’s 200 freestyle with his time of 1:48.75.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke – FINALS

  • 2013 US National Champion: 2:23.44 – Breeja Larson
  • Meet Record: 2:20.38 – Rebecca Soni – 2009
  • World Record: 2:19.11 – Rikke Moeller Pederson – 2013
  • American Record: 2:19.59 – Rebecca Soni – 2012
  • US Open Record: 2:20.38 – Rebecca Soni – 2009
  • Time to make the 2013 US National Team (#6 Nationally At Selection Meets): 2:26.52 – Annie Zhu

At the 100, Breeja Larson has close to a body length lead ahead of Micah Lawrence and Melanie Margalis. In the final 50, Micah Lawrence reeled in Larson and passed her, finishing with a body length lead at the wall. Lawrence reached in for the win with the 6th fastest time in the world this year at 2:23.05. Breeja Larson finished second at 2:24.16. Both of those swimmers will make the 2014 Pan Pac’s team. Melanie Margalis finished third with her time of 2:25.27.

Molly Hannis finished fourth with her time of 2:29.o6. Andee Cottrell added a fifth place finish with her time of 2:29.15. Emma Reaney was sixth at 2:29.27.

Kaylin Burchell and Annie Lazor round out the final 8 of the women’s 200 breaststroke with their times of 2:29.29 and 2:30.30.

Annie Zhu won the B-final of the women’s 200 breaststroke with her time of 2:27.83, dropping a second and a half from her morning swim. Andrea Kropp was second with her time of 2:27.97.

Emily Kopas won the C-final of the women’s 200 breaststroke with her time of 2:29.63, dropping two seconds from her morning swim.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke – FINALS

  • 2013 US National Champion: 2:08.34 – Kevin Cordes
  • Meet Record: 2:07.86 – Kevin Cordes – 2014
  • World Record: 2:07.01 – Akihiro Yamaguchi – 2012
  • American Record: 2:07.42 – Eric Shanteau – 2009
  • US Open Record: 2:07.86 – Kevin Cordes – 2014
  • Time to make the 2013 US National Team (#6 Nationally At Selection Meets): 2:11.70 – Clark Burkle

After the most exciting prelim swim of the meet, Kevin Cordes was suprisingly slow tonight to win the men’s 200 breaststroke. After a US Open performance this morning, he only finished with a 2:09.48, leaving the fans somewhat disappointed. Nic Fink had a good swim, however, dropping more than a second to finish second at 2:09.62. With those swims, Cordes and Fink will make the Pan Pac roster. Josh Prenot will be on the bubble for the Pan Pac’s team with his third place time of 2:10.43.

Bj Johnson finished fourth with his time of 2:10.77. DJ Macdonald was fifth with his time of 2:11.27, followed by Cody Miller in sixth at 2:11.41.

Will Licon and Matt Elliot finished 7th and 8th at 2:11.68 and 2:12.05, respectively.

Cody Taylor dropped just over half of a second to won the B-final of the men’s 200 breaststroke with his time of 2:12.73. Brad Craig reached in for second at 2:12.78.

Jonathan Rutter won the C-final of the men’s 200 breaststroke with his time of 2:14.45, a one and a half second drop from his morning swim.

Women’s 200 Backstroke – FINALS

  • 2013 US National Champion: 2:05.69 – Missy Franklin 
  • Meet Record: 2:05.69 – Missy Franklin – 2013
  • World Record: 2:04.06 – Missy Franklin – 2012
  • American Record: 2:04.06 – Missy Franklin – 2012
  • US Open Record: 2:05.69 – Missy Franklin – 2013
  • Time to make the 2013 US National Team (#6 Nationally At Selection Meets): 2:10.23 – Kathleen Baker

It’s a rough night for Elizabeth Beisel. She scratched from the final of the 200 freestyle to focus on her backstroke. Beisel slipped off the start, falling way back off the start. Missy Franklin won the race with her time of 2:08.38. In this writer’s opinion, Beisel should have won that race. After starting from behind, she ran down the field and finished sixth. She would have been right there with Franklin, and probably in front of her.

Kathleen Baker secured her spot on the Pan Pac’s team with a second place finish at 2:10.42. Lisa Bratton was third at 2:11.57, and she will be on the bubble for the Pan Pac’s team with that swim.

Finishing in fourth was Melanie Klaren at 2:11.58, followed by Liz Pelton in fifth at 2:11.99. Elizabeth Beisel came back for sixth with her time of 2:12.37.

Rounding out the top 8 in the women’s 200 backstroke was Kylie Stewart at 2:12.42 and Courtney Bartholomew at 2:13.49.

Hali Flickinger won the B-final of the women’s 200 backstroke with her time of 2:11.55. Sarah Denninghoff finished second at 2:12.99. Bonnie Brandon would have been in the mix if not for a bad slip off the start.

Danielle Gayler won the C-final of the women’s 200 backstroke with her time of 2:12.25, a three second drop from her morning swim.

Men’s 200 Backstroke – FINALS

  • 2013 US National Champion: 1:55.16 – Ryan Lochte
  • Meet Record: 1:53.08 – Aaron Piersol – 2009
  • World Record: 1:51.92 – Aaron Piersol – 2009
  • American Record: 1:51.92 – Aaron Piersol – 2009
  • US Open Record:  1:53.08 – Aaron Piersol – 2009
  • Time to make the 2013 US National Team (#6 Nationally At Selection Meets): 1:56.83 – Drew teDuits

Ryan Lochte took it out very strong for the first 100 of his 200 back. He went into the 150 with a .8 second lead ahead of Ryan Murphy and Tyler Clary. Tyler Clary powered through his final 100 to win the race with his time of 1:54.73. That will book him his ticket to the Gold Coast for the Pan Pac Championships. Ryan Murphy had enough of just missing making the team. He finished in the top 2 for the first time, earning himself a roster spot on the Pan Pacs team as well. He finished with a time of 1:55.99. Ryan Lochte finished third at 1:56.47, which isn’t the worst thing in the world for him, as he is already on the Pan Pac’s team and can go for a faster time again in a few weeks.

Jacob Pebley finished fourth with his time of 1:56.68, followed by Connor Green in fifth and 1:67.60. Carter Griffin finished 6th with his time of 1:58.87.

Sean Lehane and Jonathan Robers were 6th and 7th at 1:59.01 and 1:59.78.

It came down to three in the b-final of the men’s 200 backstroke. Robert Owen got his hand on the wall first for the win with his time of 1:59.78. Jack Conger was second with his time of 1:59.90 and Drew teDuits was third at 1:59.96.

Curtis Ogren won the C-final of the men’s 200 backstroke with his time of 2:00.86.

Women’s 50 Butterfly – FINALS

  • 2013 US National Champion: 26.08 – Christine Magnuson
  • Meet Record: 26.08 – Christine Magnuson – 2013
  • World Record: 24.43 – Sarah Sjostrom – 2014
  • American Record: 25.50 – Darra Torres – 2009
  • US Open Record: 25.50 – Darra Torres – 2009

Kendyl Stewart won the women’s 50 butterfly with a new meet record time of 25.99. Although this is not a qualifying event for the Pan Pac Championships, it does put her in good position to make the 2015 World Championships roster. As long as there are enough doubles, she will have a spot on the world Championships roster.

Finishing second was last years champion, Claire Donahue, at 26.11. Kelsi Worrell finished third at 26.35, followed by Ivy Martin at 26.37.

Natalie Hinds won the B-final of the women’s 50 butterfly, followed by Beata Nelson in second at 26.88.

Janet Hu won the C-final of the women’s 50 butterfly at 27.27.

Men’s 50 Butterfly – FINALS

  • 2013 US National Champion: 23.29 – Eugene Godsoe
  • Meet Record: 23.29 – Eugene Godsoe – 2013
  • World Record: 22.43 – Rafael Munoz – 2009
  • American Record: 22.91 – Bryan Lundquist – 2009
  • US Open Record: 22.91 – Bryan Lundquist – 2009

To close the final individual event of the night, Matt Grevers sprinted through the final of the men’s 50 butterfly to win with his time of 23.50. That will put him in good position to make the 2015 World Championships team. Again, it will depend on the number of doubles that the swimmers have. The non-olympic events are third priority for World Championship team selection.

Tim Phillips finished second at 23.58, followed by Connor Black in third at 23.64 and Matthew Josa in fourth at 23.67.

Paul Davis reached in to win the B-final of the men’s 50 butterfly with his time of 23.77. Andrew Seliskar finished second at 23.96.

Michael Andrew won the C-final of the men’s 50 butterfly at 24.44

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PsychDad
10 years ago

Aswimfan, the real question is: if Schmitt is a God fearing person and God never made a mistake, as a poster claims here, why is she swimming so slow? Your argument is well reasoned, but there is no place for reason here. The reason is replaced by a click.

Lazy Observer
Reply to  PsychDad
10 years ago

Whaaaaa? Second question: Whaaaaaa?

aswimfan
10 years ago

The claim by some people that the swimmers are not (fully) tapered in this trials in order to prepare for pan pacs is as silly as the claim that the australians were not tapered in the commonwealth games to prepare for pan pacs.

There are some explanations for the relatively slower swimming than expected, but not tapered is not it.

Maybe a couple of swimmers like Ledecky and Franklin can afford to, but who wants to risk not getting selected to pan pacs and thus 2015 kazan?

Some are forgetting that this trials is very important in that it also serves as the selection for 2015 Worlds.

So, is the explanation for Schmitt ridiculously slow swim is because she’s not… Read more »

John
10 years ago

(1) The obsession with Dressel on every thread is bizarre. Perhaps he should retire and become the new anouncer as he seems more popular than Phelps.
(2) From a continent where many people swim fast all year round (Europe) , we always have “in season” as an excuse for slow US times. (A strange name because what is the season? I thought it meant “competitive season” but it means the opposite.) Anyway, if that is then replaced by “slow times here because they are saving it for Pan Pacs”, what happens if they go slow in Pan Pacs? “Times slow here because they are saving themselves for Rio in 2016”?
Irvine needs a Katinka Hosszu!

10 years ago

i don’t know why the criticism on missy franklin and tyler clary. every swimmer has their own style and personality. that is what makes this interesting and exciting. do we really want the drago character from rocky iv talking in monotone or some east german robots from the 70s and 80s ?
as far as some of the apparent “slow” times it is somewhat justified given that the big meet is in two weeks and the qualifying process for kazan isn’t as unforgiving as the USOT where 3rd is just as bad as last ! a lot of the elites know they only need to qualify for pan pacs with a decent time and just have a time in… Read more »

PVK
10 years ago

AND…it’s time for Missy Franklin to get with the times and grow up. She’s not America’s high school sweetheart anymore. She is sooo dolled up for the media it makes me sick.

Sven
Reply to  PVK
10 years ago

Vanderkaay or van den Hoogenband. You can impersonate one famous swimmer of Dutch origin. Don’t hog them both.

Pvdh
10 years ago

Clary apologized about missing the podium. He said he thought they would be later. And when beat ryan lochte in his top event (or is that 200 I’m?) who wouldn’t be pumped?

JDM
10 years ago

It seems to me that the B and C finals are relatively more competitive than the A finals, and that there is more time being dropped from morning to night in those B and C finals as well. It seems to me that is where the fully rested athletes are swimming, and the truly elite swimmers we are disappointed in know they just need one top 3 finish. They can manage that (or are trying to manage that) without a full taper, thus saving the big show for three weeks from now. That is my hope anyway. For example, we know now Clary has a big workout from Marsh tomorrow. And Adrian talked about this “journey” of taper. Love Adrian… Read more »

PVK
10 years ago

Jesus, what a downright horrible and strange meet. You have [most] of the stars of the sport blowing it in finals, a poolside “reporter” who clearly just got out of the 5th grade, annoying & repetitive commentary. I must be forgetting something. Severely underwhelming…good luck usa..

About Tony Carroll

Tony Carroll

The writer formerly known as "Troy Gennaro", better known as Tony Carroll, has been working with SwimSwam since April of 2013. Tony grew up in northern Indiana and started swimming in 2003 when his dad forced him to join the local swim team. Reluctantly, he joined on the condition that …

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