2017 NCSA Junior Nationals: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2017 NCSA JUNIOR NATIONALS

• Tuesday, March 14 – Saturday, March 18, 2017
• Tuesday Timed Finals 4:00 PM Eastern
• Wed-Sat Prelims 8:30 AM / Finals 6:00 PM Eastern
• Live Stream
• Live results available on Meet Mobile
• Results will be posted here after each session

Keep refreshing this page for live, event-by-event updates of all the action from Orlando.

Girls 200 Free

Top 3:

1. Morgan Tankersley, Greater Tampa – 1:45.54
2. Genevieve Pfeifer, CSP Tideriders – 1:45.97
3. Ella Tierney, NASA Wildcat – 1:46.04

17-year-old Morgan Tankersley of Greater Tampa Swim Association won a tight 200 free title to open the night. Her 1:45.54 is about a second off her best time from last fall’s Florida high school state meet, but still won this event by a half-second and chopped three seconds off her prelims swim.

CSP Tiderider Genevieve Pfeifer was second in 1:45.97, with Ella Tierney third with a 1:46.04 for NASA Wildcat. All three girls are 17 and already checking into the all-time top 100 list for the 17-18 age group.

Further back in the A final, 12-year-old Claire Tuggle re-broke her own National Age Group (NAG) record, going 1:47.71 for 7th. She broke Kylie Stewart’s 11-12 NAG in prelims with a 1:48.85, and took another full second off the mark in finals. The old record was 1:49.64. Tuggle is now only about three seconds off the NAG record in the next age group up, set by Olympic champ Missy Franklin.

Boys 200 Free

Top 3:

1. Robert Freeman, Baylor – 1:35.96
2. Cody Bybee, Dayton Raiders – 1:36.39
3. Jack Dolan, Rockwood – 1:36.56

The Baylor School’s Robert ‘Trey’ Freeman came up with a big win in the men’s event, going 1:35.96. That itself would be inside the top 15 in the all-time 15-16 age group if Freeman didn’t already sit 9th with his 1:35.53 from last year.

Freeman beat out Dayton Raider Cody Bybee (1:36.39) as well as Rockwoods Swim Club’s Jack Dolan (1:36.56) for the title. Dolan, who like Freeman is 16, sliced another tenth off his best time in order to move from #20 to #19 in the all-time lists. He sits right behind Olympian Tom Shields at present.

Girls 50 Breast

Top 3:

1. Ema Rajic, Champaign County Y – 27.89
2. Jacquline Clabeaux, York – 27.90
3. Margaret Aroesty, Long Island Aquatic – 28.15

Champaign County YMCA’s Ema Rajic won the girls 50 breast, cutting another half-second off her best to go 27.89. Her previous best before this meet was a 29.02 put up at this meet a year ago.

She topped York Swim Club’s Jacqueline Clabeaux by just .01 seconds in a thriller of a finish. Clabeaux finished in 27.90, about two tenths faster than she was at this meet last year. And a third 17-year-old, Long Island’s Margaret Aroesty, was 28.15 to win another touchout over New Trier’s Ingrid Wall (28.17).

Boys 50 Breast

Top 3:

1. Reece Whitley, Penn Charter – 24.44
2. William Myhre, St. Charles – 25.13
3. Charles Scheinfeld, New Trier – 25.14

Penn Charter’s Reece Whitley blew out the boys 50 breast field, going an astounding 24.44 to win the title. That’s a personal best for Whitley, who was 24.69 at this meet last year.

William Myhre out of the St. Charles Swim Team in Illinois took second, touching out New Trier’s Charles Scheinfeld 25.13 to 25.14 in a battle of Illinois club swimmers.

Girls 400 IM

Top 3:

1. Kristen Romano, Long Island – 4:10.24
2. Margaret Aroesty, Long Island – 4:10.98
3. Alexis Yager, Academy Bullets – 4:12.07

Long Island Aquatics teammates Kristen Romano and Margaret Aroesty dueled for the girls 400 IM title, with Romano coming from behind to win in 4:10.24. Romano led early, but Aroesty flew back with a huge 1:09 breaststroke split to take the lead. But a 57.2 freestyle from Romano dropped the hammer and passed up Aroesty, who was finishing up the latter half of a 50 breast/400 IM double.

Aroesty went 4:10.98 for second. Academy Bullet Alexis Yager was 4:12.07 to take third. They’ll all land inside the top 100 all-time for the 17-18 age group. Romano dropped almost two seconds and moves up to 52nd all-time. Aroesty now jumps inside the top 60. Both are on the younger end of the 17-18 age group at present.

Also pulling an event double was Genevieve Pfeifer, who came off of a runner-up 200 free finish to take 4th here in 4:12.89.

Boys 400 IM

Top 3:

1. Talmadge Davis, Team Greenville – 3:50.21
2. Eric Knowles, Dayton Raiders – 3:50.66
3. Caleb Aman, Lane 4 – 3:51.03

Team Greenville’s Talmadge Davis came up with the boys IM win, going 3:50.21 and coming within three tenths of his lifetime-best from Winter Juniors. He, too, had to come from behind, splitting 51.4 over the final 100 to track down Eric Knowles of the Dayton Raiders. Knowles went 3:50.66, cutting almost a full second off his best time, also set at Winter Juniors in December.

Lane 4 Aquatics’ Caleb Aman was third in 3:51.03, barely touching out Casey Storch (3:51.19) of Machine Aquatics. The entire top 5 were 17 years old, with Will Cumberland of NCAP rounding out that group in 3:51.84.

Girls 50 Fly

Top 3:

1. Phoebe Bacon, Nation’s Capital – 24.20
2. Julia Cook, Aggie Swim Club – 24.35
3. Abigail Gibbons, Blue Dolfins – 24.41

14-year-old Phoebe Bacon became the youngest winner of the night, crushing a 24.20 in the 50 fly to pick up a big win. It was a pretty young field, with 16-year-old Julia Cook second and 14-year-old Abigail Gibbons third.

Bacon cut four tenths off her best swim, put up at NCSAs a year ago. The Nation’s Capital swimmer didn’t get to challenge a NAG record as the 13-14 age group no longer records 50s of strokes, but her swim is among the faster swims on record in that event.

Cook was a full second faster than she’s ever been prior to this week, going 24.35 to pick up the win. Gibbons went 24.41, shaving a half-second off her best.

Boys 50 Fly

Top 3:

1. Camden Murphy, Kingfish – 21.32
2. Cody Bybee, Dayton Raiders – 21.57
3. Sam Pomajevich, Nation’s Capital – 21.66

Kingfish Aquatic Club of Waterford’s Camden Murphy pulled out the final event title of the night, going 21.32 to take the 50 fly. Murphy had previously been 21.7 in this event at last year’s NCSA meet. The high school senior is coming off of a state record-setting performance in Michigan just last week in the 100 fly. He’s verbally committed to Georgia for next season.

Dayton Raider Cody Bybee, pulling an event double with the 200 free, came up with his second runner-up finish of the night. He was 21.57 for silver, followed by NCAP’s Sam Pomajevich. Pomajevich tied for 8th and had to win a swim-off just to get a spot in the final, but rose all the way to 3rd with his 21.66. That’s still about a tenth off what he went to win that swim-off, though it’s considerably faster than he went in prelims.