2017 Arena Pro Swim Series – Austin: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2017 ARENA PRO SWIM SERIES – AUSTIN

The 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin continues today with the 200 free, 200 back, 50 free, and 400 IM. On the women’s side, U.S. Olympians Amanda Weir and Melanie Margalis are slated to swim the 50 free and 200 free respectively. Fellow U.S. Olympian Jacob Pebley headlines the men’s 200 back, while Olympic gold medalist Ryan Held is set to race Michael Andrew and Japan’s Shinri Shioura in the 50 free. Japanese Olympic medalist Daiya Seto will make an appearance in the 400 IM at the end of the session.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE

  1. Hali Flickinger, 1:59.69
  2. Kayla Sanchez, 2:00.26
  3. Melanie Margalis, 2:00.28
  4. Claire Rasmus, 2:00.62
  5. Amanda Weir, 2:01.08
  6. Holly Hibbott, 2:01.17
  7. Kathryn Greenslade, 2:01.21
  8. Taylor Ruck, 2:01.68

U.S. Olympian Hali Flickinger led the way through the women’s 200 free prelims, taking top seed for finals in 1:59.69 with the only sub-2:00 of the morning. Canadian 15-year-old Kayla Sanchez (2:00.26) dropped a second from her seed time to take 2nd seed, just .02 ahead of Melanie Margalis (2:00.28). Sanchez will be joined by fellow Canadian junior standout Taylor Ruck, who qualified 8th for tonight’s final in 2:01.68.

We’re used to seeing her in the sprints, but Amanda Weir has also been adding the 200 free to her in-season event slate lately. Today, she took 5th in prelims with a 2:01.08.

MEN’S 200 FREE

  1. Fuyu Yoshida, 1:50.46
  2. Tsubasa Amai, 1:50.52
  3. Jeremy Bagshaw, 1:50.68
  4. Soeren Dahl, 1:50.97
  5. (T-5) Marcos Lavado, 1:51.03
  6. (T-5) Markus Thormeyer, 1:51.03
  7. Jack LeVant, 1:51.39
  8. Naito Ehara, 1:51.42

Japan’s Fuyu Yoshida and Tsubai Amai finished in the top 2 slots of the men’s 200 free prelims. Amai was slightly faster on the final 50, but came up just short of taking the top seed. Naito Ehara, the top seed for prelims, just squeaked into the final at 8th in 1:51.42. Yuki Kobori barely missed out with a 1:51.55 for 9th place.

WOMEN’S 200 BACK

  1. Hillary Caldwell, 2:10.77
  2. Mackenzie Glover, 2:11.39
  3. Eva Merrell, 2:11.91
  4. Hannah Moore, 2:13.23
  5. Lucie Nordmann, 2:13.52
  6. Taylor Ruck, 2:13.79
  7. Alex Walsh, 2:14.44
  8. Lisa Bratton, 2:14.56

Canadian Olympian Hillary Caldwell posted an impressive 2:10.77 to lead prelims of the women’s 200 back. Tonight’s final will feature 3 swimmers from the 2016-17 USA Junior National Team, as Eva Merrell, Lucie Nordmann, and Alex Walsh all qualified for the top 8.

Scottsdale Aquatic Club’s Taylor Ruck, who competes for Canada internationally, swam back-to-back events this morning. She qualified for her 2nd championship final of the day in this event, earning the 6th spot for tonight.

MEN’S 200 BACK

  1. Jacob Pebley, 1:58.19
  2. Hennessey Stuart, 2:00.20
  3. Sean Lehane, 2:00.27
  4. Omar Pinzon, 2:03.11
  5. Markus Thormeyer, 2:03.75
  6. Rob Hill, 2:03.83
  7. Coleman Stewart, 2:04.76
  8. Harrison Lierz, 2:04.88

Cal’s Jacob Pebley cruised to the top spot in the men’s 200 back, clockign the only sub-2:00 swim through prelims. Hennessey Stuart and Sean Lehane rounded out the top 3 with a pair of 2:00-lows. Those 3 are no strangers to racing each other, as they’ve previously raced at the NCAA Championships and Olympic Trials. That sets up a good battle in the middle of the pool for finals.

Narrowly missing out on the top 8 was Sean Grieshop, who took 9th in 2:05.18.

WOMEN’S 50 FREE

  1. (T-1) Ky-Lee Perry, 25.39
  2. (T-1) Michelle Williams, 25.39
  3. Beryl Gastaldello, 25.62
  4. Amanda Weir, 25.76
  5. Maddie Locus, 25.88
  6. (T-6) Natalie Labonge, 25.91
  7. (T-6) Kristin Malone, 25.91
  8. Kayla Sanchez, 25.92

NC State freshman Ky-Lee Perry dropped a personal best 25.39 to tie Canadian Michelle Williams as the top seed for finals. Perry’s teammte Natalie Labonge will join her in the final. Labonge was also in a tie this morning, clocking an identical time to Kristin Malone as they share the 6th seed for finals.

Canada’s Kayla Sanchez qualified for her 2nd final of the day at 8th, as did Swim Atlanta’s Amanda Weir, who qualified 4th.

MEN’S 50 FREE

  1. Syun Kawasaki, 22.70
  2. Shinri Shioura, 22.73
  3. Michael Andrew, 22.76
  4. Ryan Held, 22.84
  5. Yuri Kisil, 22.89
  6. Matt Grevers, 22.97
  7. Luis Flores, 23.14
  8. Ollie Smith, 23.23

Japan’s Syun Kawasaki and Shinri Shioura took 1-2 in prelims of the men’s 50 free, followed by the USA’s Michael Andrew. All 3 swimmers touching in the 23.7-range to take the middle lanes for tonight. Ryan Held and Yuri Kisil were just a tenth behind, taking 4th and 5th respectively.

Matt Grevers was back in action this morning, with the 50 free prelims marking his first swim since the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Grevers dipped under the 23-mark to take 6th in 22.97.

WOMEN’S 400 IM

  1. Mary-Sophie Harvey, 4:41.33
  2. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, 4:44.59
  3. Sydney Pickrem, 4:46.14
  4. Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo, 4:50.57
  5. Candice Hall, 4:50.70
  6. Hannah Moore, 4:50.73
  7. Matea Samarzdic, 4:50.86
  8. Bethany Galat, 4:52.43

Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey led by a large margin through prelims, securing the top seed for finals with a quick 4:41.33. Fellow Canadian Erika Hodgson followed for the 2nd seed, while Texas A&M teammates Sydney Pickrem and Monika Gonzalez came in at 3rd and 4th.

MEN’S 400 IM

  1. Daiya Seto, 4:20.09
  2. Sean Grieshop, 4:23.33
  3. Tristan Cote, 4:24.11
  4. Josh Zakala, 4:26.72
  5. Casey Storch, 4:26.75
  6. Anton Ipsen, 4:27.29
  7. Jarod Arroyo, 4:27.72
  8. Carson Foster, 4:28.58

Japan’s Daiya Seto, an Olympic medalist in this race, looked very good this morning on the way to a 4:20.09. Seto looked like he was saving some energy when he got to the freestyle leg, so we could see him swim sub-4:20 tonight. There to challenge him will be 2nd seed Sean Grieshop, the Junior World Record holder in this event.

Michael Andrew returned to the pool, blazing to a lifetime best 4:28.89. That took 10 seconds off his previous best 4:38.61 from last July, but put him just out of the A-final at 9th place. Taking 8th was 15-year-old Carson Foster with a speedy 4:28.58.

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Rad Swimmer
7 years ago

Harrison Leirz at only 14 in the A final. I believe that puts him at 6th all time.

Peter
7 years ago

MA’s splits 57 1:07 1:16 1:07 even if he was conserving energy, that’s a rough freestyle split for someone of his size

bobo gigi
7 years ago

Lauren, I have a problem with your top 8 of the men’s 400 IM. I saw Grieshop easily win the 4th heat in 4.23 something and you didn’t mention him. Carson Foster in lane 1 of the same heat was in 4.28 something too.

Packfan
Reply to  bobo gigi
7 years ago

Yeah MA is in the B final – the final results didn’t get posted until the B flight swam

bobo gigi
7 years ago

Off topic, for those who want news of Cassidy Bayer. Very interesting interview.
http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&itemid=16222&mid=14491

bobo gigi
7 years ago

Andrew is entered in the 50 free and the 400 IM.
What does it mean? Does he have again some ambitions in the decathlon of swimming? Does he work his endurance for his 200 IM, his real goal apart from breaststroke?
He broke the 13/14 NAG record in yards a few years ago. Since then no sign of life in that event. And in long course he has always struggled a lot.
He swam one 400 IM in long course in 2016 in 4.38.
He swam one 400 IM in long course in 2015 at the same Austin GP in 4.39.
His best time in 2014 was 4.39.
Interesting to see today his performance.

Bigly
Reply to  bobo gigi
7 years ago

Based on the :31 split of the last 50 of his 200 SCM IM at Worlds, I’d say he now has suicidal tendencies.

Mikeh
Reply to  Bigly
7 years ago

Michael Andrew’s freestyle stroke seems flawed to me. His left arm comes around the side instead of over the top, and he also doesn’t seem to be extending. In an underwater video I saw his arms didn’t seem to be catching water until midway through the pool.
His body will zigzag instead of move straight down the pool.

Alex
Reply to  Mikeh
7 years ago

That means he has a lot of space to improve, specially from technical point of view

Nc Swim Fan
Reply to  Alex
7 years ago

He and his team have shown little willingness to admit flaws or imperfections in his training or technique

Mikeh
Reply to  Nc Swim Fan
7 years ago

Wow I got negative votes for pointing out Michael Andrew’s stroke flaws! He is a great swimmer and I have supported him in this site for what it’s worth. But his freestyle is flawed and must change for him to become all God intended him to be in the pool.

About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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