2018 U.S. Nationals: Day 3 Pan Pacs (& More) Projected Roster Updates

2018 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, July 25 – Sunday, July 29, 2018
• William Woollett Aquatics Center, Irvine, CA
• Prelims 9 AM / Finals 6 PM (U.S. Pacific Time)
• Meet website
• Meet information
• Event Order
• Full selection procedures
• Psych Sheet
• SwimSwam Previews Index
• TV Schedule
• Pick ‘Em Contest
• Omega Results
• Live Stream

Doubles are extremely scarce three day into U.S. Nationals, suggesting that 3rd-place finishers might be in tough shape to make the Pan Pacs squad.

Through three days, we only have two priority 1 doubles on the men’s side and just one on the women’s side. We were just able to lock in the top two second-placers in modified world rank on the men’s side (Jay Litherland and Jacob Pebley), but the rest of the second-placers are still waiting for official Pan Pacs selection.

The big roster news is that two national team mainstays have finally punched their likely tickets to Pan Pacs and 2019 Worlds. Caeleb Dressel stopped his slide, winning the 100 fly to lock in a Pan Pacs spot, while Jack Conger was second. Based on modified world rank, Conger is the second swimmer on the bubble behind only Zach Harting. 

On the women’s side, Kelsi Dahlia got into Pan Pacs with a 100 fly win and Ally McHugh had a breakthrough 400 IM to join the squad. Katie Ledecky remains the only woman with two priority 1 qualifying swims.

Tomorrow should offer lots of opportunities for priority 1 doubles, though. Ledecky could add another in the 400 free, as could Townley Haas. Ryan Murphy is favored to do so in the 100 back, and either Kathleen Baker or Regan Smith could do it in the women’s event.

DOUBLES TRACKER

In order to start selecting more swimmers to the team, sufficient doubles must be met to make roster space. Here’s how many doubles are needed to completely invite each priority for each international meet:

So far, here is our doubles tally:

Men:

• Pan Pacs: 2
• Jr Pan Pacs: 1
• Worlds: 2
• WUGs: 1
• Pan Ams: 0

Women:

• Pan Pacs: 1
• Jr Pan Pacs: 0
• Worlds: 1
• WUGs: 2
• Pan Ams: 1

Reminder: we define ‘doubles’ as an athlete already qualified for the team who qualifies in another event. If only priority 1 swimmers have been invited, a swimmer already qualified who hits priority 2 status (say, 2nd place) in another event doesn’t count as a double until there is space for the priority 2 swimmers.

You can find full selection procedures for all five major meets here.

Each meet has its own unique selection criteria, but all break down by priority: priority 1 will be selected first, priority 2 only if there is roster space remaining after that, priority 3 only if there is roster space remaining and so on. Below, we’ll track who’s in line to qualify for what team, moving to lower priorities as sufficient doubles are met.

Bear in mind that these rosters are in flux as the meet moves on. We’ll update daily, but be patient as we work through the intricacies of the criteria.

• Priority 1 is listed in blue
• Priority 2 is listed in red
• Priority 3 is listed in green
• Priority 4 is listed in yellow
• Priority 5 is listed in white
• All 2019 rosters hinge on the results of 2019 Pan Pacs, which affect Worlds selection (and therefore the trickle-down of athletes to World University Games and Pan Ams). Those rosters are listed in italics.

Men’s Projected Rosters

Women’s Projected Rosters