2017 NCSA Junior Nationals: Day 4 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

National Age Group record-holders Phoebe Bacon and Reece Whitley will chase the record books tonight with the top seeds in the 100 back and 200 breast, respectively.

The girls 500 free should be an entertaining race, with Genevieve Pfeifer, Sierra Schmidt and Paige Madden all finishing within a half-second this morning. The boys, meanwhile, will take on the 100 free, where David Madej topped Sam Pomajevich and Jack Dolan this morning.

Dolan is also the top qualifier in the boys 100 back, while Pomajevich is second in the 100 fly. The top flyer is Georgia commit Camden Murphy, who was the only swimmer to break 48 this morning.

Margaret Aroesty was just off a lifetime-best in the 200 breast this morning, and Talia Bates is the top seed in the 100 fly.

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

Girls 100 Back – Finals

Top 3:

1. Julia Cook, AGS – 52.37
2. Phoebe Bacon, NCAP – 52.96
3. Carly Quast, AQJT – 53.60

Aggie Swim Club’s Julia Cook came through with a big finals swim, cutting a second and a half from prelims to win the girls 100 back. Cook was 52.37, her lifetime-best by a tenth of a second. The 16-year-old high school junior now sits 14th on the all-time list for 15-16s, jumping past Olympian Olivia Smoliga.

Nation’s Capital 14-year-old Phoebe Bacon did crack 53 in finishing second. Bacon was still a tenth off her lifetime-best, which ranks 3rd all-time in the 13-14 age bracket.

Aquajet Carly Quast out of Minnesota took third in 53.60, a few ticks off her lifetime-best from last fall’s Minnesota high school state meet. She narrowly touched out Alexandra Sumner (53.61) as well as Grace Countie (53.70) and Ashlyn Schoof (53.78) in an extremely tight finish through the middle of the heat.

Boys 100 Back – Finals

Top 3:

1. Jack Dolan, RSCA – 47.61
2. Spencer Walker, ACAD – 48.13
3. Luke Sobolewski, CM – 48.23

Rockville Swim Club’s Jack Dolan defended his top seed to win the boys 100 back. His 47.61 was tops in the field by half a second, and cut exactly one tenth off his best time ever. The 16-year-old also jumps from #11 to #9 on the all-time list for the age group.

Academy Bullet Spencer Walker also hit a best time to take silver. Walker was 48.13, cutting two tenths off his best. And Luke Sobolewski actually tied his personal best down to the hundredth, going 48.23 for bronze.

It was another very tight field, with 4th through 7th separated by just three tenths of a second.

Girls 500 Free – Finals

Top 3:

1. Genevieve Pfeifer, CSP – 4:39.48
2. Sierra Schmidt, CW – 4:39.75
3. Madison Homovich, MOR – 4:44.03

What was built up as a great race in the girls 500 free did not disappoint. Club Wolverine’s Sierra Schmidt went out fast, leading top-seeded Genevieve Pfeifer by about a half-second for the first 300 yards. By the 400, though, Pfeifer had reeled in Schmidt and trailed by just a tenth of a second. In a dash to the finish, Pfeifer outsplit Schmidt 55.0 to 55.3 to pick up the win by just three tenths of a second.

Both girls hit lifetime-bests and cracked 4:40 for the first time, with Pfeifer going 4:39.48 for the CSP Tideriders and Schmidt finishing in 4:39.75. Pfeifer now moves to #35 all-time in the 17-18 age group at the age of 17, and Schmidt moves up to #37 after previously ranking in the 80s.

Marlins of Raleigh 16-year-old Madison Homovich was third in 4:44.03, winning another tight race with Sinead Eksteen (4:44.11) out of NCAP.

Boys 100 Free – Finals

Top 3:

1. Jack Dolan, RSCA – 44.11
2. Trey Freeman, BAY – 44.32
3. Sam Pomajevich, NCAP – 44.47

Jack Dolan came up with his second win of the night, going 44.11 to win the 100 free in a tough double. Dolan had just one event between his 100 back and 100 free, though that one event did include 4 heats of 500 freestyles.

That wasn’t quite a lifetime-best for Dolan – his top time is a 43.61 from last year that ranks 6th all-time in the 15-16 age group.

Baylor’s Trey Freeman was second in 44.32, about a tenth off his lifetime-best from last month. Freeman is also inside the top 25 all-time for the 15-16 class.

Swimming the first half of his double, Sam Pomajevich was third here. going 44.47. Top prelims swimmer David Madej did cut time from his morning swim but still slipped to 4th in 44.58.

Girls 200 Breast – Finals

Top 3:

1. Margaret Aroesty, LIAC – 2:09.43
2. Ashley McCauley, MOR – 2:09.82
3. Alexis Yager, ACAD – 2:11.24

Long Island Aquatic Club’s Margaret Aroesty topped the girls 200 breast in a new lifetime-best 2:09.43, cutting almost two seconds off her best time. She now checks in at #18 all-time in the 17-18 age group and is still just 17 years old.

Marlins of Raleigh’s Ashley McCauley pushed Aroesty right down to the end, going 2:09.82 for silver. The 16-year-old moves even higher in the all-time ranks, sitting at #8 for 15-16s.

The Academy Bullets got another medalist with Alexis Yager at 2:11.23.

Boys 200 Breast – Finals

Top 3:

1. Reece Whitley, PCAC – 1:52.64
2. Spencer Rowe, NCAP – 1:57.21
3. Timothy Wu, NCAP – 1:58.02

Penn Charter’s Reece Whitley blew out the field to win the boys 200 breaststroke. His 1:52.64 was almost five seconds ahead of a good field, and was still three tenths off his lifetime-best. Whitley just aged up into the 17-18 age bracket, and this swim checks him in at #3 all-time behind only Andrew Seliskar and Kevin Cordes.

Nation’s Capital went 2-3 as a team, getting Spencer Rowe in for silver (1:57.21) and Timothy Wu to bronze (1:58.02). The 200 breast final was a very tough one, with the top 6 all breaking two minutes in the race.

Girls 100 Fly – Finals

Top 3:

1. Rachel Wittmer, AQJT – 53.67
2. Talia Bates, GSC – 53.70
3. Isabella Gati, NCAP – 53.74

Rachel Wittmer took the final girls title of the night, going 53.67. The Minnesota-based high school senior cut about three tenths of a second off her best time to pick up the win, narrowly touching out Talia Bates, the 16-year-old from Gator Swim Club.

Bates was second in a top 4 separated by only about a tenth of a second. Her 53.70 topped Nation’s Capital’s Isabella Gati (53.74) and Abigail Harter (53.79) for silver.

Bates and Harter (who is 15) crack the top 80 swimmers in history in the 15-16 age group for their efforts.

Boys 100 Fly – Finals

Top 3:

1. Camden Murphy, KAW – 46.58
2. Sam Pomajevich, NCAP – 47.77
3. Tyler Sesvold, SCST – 47.90

Michigan high school senior Camden Murphy topped the 100 fly field in a massive blowout, going 46.58. That won by more than a second over a good field.

NCAP’s Sam Pomajevich was second, taking home his second top-3 finish in the last 5 events. Pomajevich was 47.77, as both he and Murphy finished a few tenths off their lifetime-bests.

St. Charles Swim Team’s Tyler Sesvold took bronze out of the state of Illinois, going 47.90 and sliding in as the last swimmer under 48 in the final.