2019 U.S. National Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2019 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 31 – August 4, 2019
• Prelims 9:00 AM/Finals 5:00 PM (U.S. Pacific Standard Time)
• Avery Aquatics Center (Stanford, CA)
• LCM (50 Meter Pool)
• Meet Site
• Psych Sheet
• Pre-scratch timeline
• TV & Livestream Schedule
• Omega Results

Friday finals heat sheets.

Tonight’s finals session will be brief, consisting of only 5 races: the 400 IM (men’s and women’s), 100 fly (men’s and women’s), and the women’s 4 x 200 freestyle relay. ‘B’ finals will swim first, followed by the ‘A’ finals. After both men and women have swam, awards for that event will follow before moving on to the ‘B’ final of the next race.

After posting a 50.68 in the prelims of the 100 butterfly this morning, all eyes are on Maxime Rooney to see if the can improve upon his morning swim. Kelsi Dahlia has the top seed in the women’s 100 fly, but two up-and-coming swimmers are stealing her spotlight: Torri Huske and Claire Curzan. Though neither is expected to beat Dahlia, either, or both, could best the current National Age Group (NAG) Record of 57.93 set by the legendary Mary T. Meagher in 1981.

Brooke Forde, Madisyn Cox, Hannah Miley, and Emma Weyant square off in the women’s 400 IM, while brothers Carson Foster and Jake Foster will vie for a high standing on the podium in the men’s 400 IM where they are the top 2nd and 3rd seeds, respectively, behind Sean Grieshop the top seed and World University Games silver medalist.

Women’s 400 IM – Finals

• World Record: Katinka Hosszu (Hungary), 4:26.36, 2016
• American Record: Katie Hoff, 4:31.12, 2008
• Championship Record: Katie Hoff (United States), 4:31.12, 2008
• U.S. Open Record: Katinka Hosszu (Hungary), 4:31.07, 2015
• Olympic Trials Cut: 4:51.79

Top 3:

1. GOLD: Emma Weyant, 4:35.47
2. SILVER: Brooke Forde, 4:36.06
3. BRONZE: Ally McHugh, 4:38.65

Brooke Forde turned first after the fly in 1:02.39, about half-a-second ahead of Madisyn Cox. Forde still led at 150, but Emma Weyant had begun to move up, and ended up passing Forde by the 200-meter turn, flipping in 2:13.50, 7/10ths ahead of Forde. Weyant was still leading at 250 meters, but Forde had cut her lead in half. Forde turned .12 ahead of Weyan at 300 meters in 3:32.58, but Weyant passed her by a meager .08 at 350 meters. Forde and Weyant were neck-and-neck down the final length, but Weyant surged over the final 50 meters to touch first in 4:35.47, notching the 5th-fastest time in the world this year.

Scotland’s Hannah Miley placed 4th in 4:39.00, Madisyn Cox 5th in 4:39.26, Emma Barksdale 6th in 4:41.49, Kelly Fertel 7th in 4:41.53, and Kate Moore 8th in 4:42.23.

Haley Anderson was the early leader at the 100-meter turn in the ‘B’ final, splitting a 1:03.16 in the first 100 of butterfly, but was run down by Isabel Gormley, who touched first at the 200-meter turn in 2:17.12. Mackenzie Looze produced an incredible 1:17.65 breaststroke split to turn in 3:38.96. Looze held on to win the ‘B’ final in 4:42.22, Anderson taking 2nd in the heat in 4:43.00.

Men’s 400 IM – Finals

• World Record: Michael Phelps (United States), 4:03.84, 2008
• American Record: Michael Phelps, 4:03.84, 2008
• Championship Record: Michael Phelps (United States), 4:05.25, 2008
• U.S. Open Record: Michael Phelps (United States), 4:05.25, 2008
• Olympics Trials Cut: 4:25.99

Top 3:

1. GOLD: Bobby Finke, 4:13.15
2. SILVER: Carson Foster, 4:13.39 — WORLD JUNIOR RECORD
3. BRONZE: Jake Foster, 4:15.03

Kieran Smith took the early lead with a 25.99 split on the first 50 butterfly, but Carson Foster was first at 100 in 56.60, 0.19 ahead of Smith. Carson Foster, a backstroke specialist, extended the lead to flip at 1:29.43 at the 150. Carson Foster was still in the lead at 200 meters, flipping in 2:01.03, with Bobby Finke now in the 2nd position. Carson Foster was 2:37.32 at 250 meters, still about a body length ahead of the field. At 300, Carson Foster was 3:13.97, leading by 1.79 over Finke.

Finke was beginning to run Carson Foster down in the final 100, and over the final 50, Finke surged and passed Carson Foster, touching 1st in 4:13.15 and producing a 57.39 on the final 100 meters of freestyle. Finke’s time could have placed 4th at the World Championships, and Carson Foster 5th at Worlds. Jake Foster placed 3rd in 4:15.03. Kieran Smith placed 4th in 4:15.17, Sean Grieshop 5th in 4:15.50, Brodie Williams of Great Britain 6th 4:16.63, Grant Sanders 7th in 4:18.28, and Mark Szaranek 8th in 4:18.90.

Mikey Calvillo of Indiana University won the ‘B’ final of the men’s 400 IM in 4:16.98, thanks to a great freestyle leg. Dynamo’s Raunak Khosla was 2nd in 4:19.12, and Penn State’s Michael Daly was 3rd in 4:19.69, the last man under 4:20.

Women’s 100 Butterfly – Finals

• World Record: Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden), 55.48, 2016
• American Record: Dana Vollmer, 55.98, 2012
• Championship Record: Dana Vollmer (United States), 56.42, 2012
• U.S. Open Record: Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden), 56.38, 2016
• Olympic Trials Cut: 1:00.69

Top 3:

1. GOLD: Kelsi Dahlia, 57.35
2. SILVER: Amanda Kendall, 57.51
3. BRONZE: Aly Tetzloff, 57.70

Aly Tetzloff had the lead at 50 meters, turning in 26.41, but could not match the back-end speed of other competitors. Kelsi Dahlia, who was 6th at 50 meters, surged in the final 25 to win her signature event in 57.35. Amanda Kendall touched 2nd in 57.51, and Tetzloff 3rd in 57.70.

Torri Huske broke Mary T. Meagher’s legendary 1981 National Age Group Record in a 57.80. Claire Curzan also broke the Record, but does not get the official title, touching 5th in 57.87. Lillie Nordmann was 6th in 57.96, Katie Drabot 7th in 58.43, and Natalie Hinds 8th in 58.78.

The ‘B’ final of the women’s 100 butterfly was won by 200 fly bronze medalist Dakota Luther in 58.48. Kate Douglass was 2nd in the heat in 58.53, and Grace Oglesby 3rd in 58.73.

Men’s 100 Butterfly – Finals

• World Record: Caeleb Dressel (United States), 49.50, 2019
• American Record: Caeleb Dressel, 49.50, 2019
• Championship Record: Michael Phelps (United States), 50.22, 2009
• U.S. Open Record: Michael Phelps (United States), 50.22, 2009
• Olympic Trials Cut: 54.19

Top 3:

1. GOLD: Maxime Rooney, 51.09
2. SILVER: Jack Conger, 51.70
3. BRONZE: Jack Saunderson, 51.76

Maxime Rooney was out in 23.58 at the 50, about a quarter-second slower than his split this morning. Rooney finished on a short stroke, touching in 51.09, .41 slower than he was in the morning but still good enough for the win tonight. Rooney, like former training partner Caeleb Dressel, put his head down for the final 20-25 meters to surge into the wall. Jack Conger touched 2nd in 51.79, and Jack Saunderson 3rd in 51.76.

Saunderson’s performance was faster than any of his 3 swims at the World University Games, where he failed to break the 52-second barrier. Though not as fast as his lifetime best from this morning, Saunderson’s swim tonight also comes as only his 3rd time under the 52-second barrier.

Ryan Held placed 4th in 52.15, John Shebat 5th in 52.19, Danny Kovac 6th in 52.22, Giles Smith 7th in 52.25, and Luca Urlando 8th in 52.31.

Miles Smachlo won the ‘B’ final of the men’s 100 fly in 51.93. Tyler Sesvold touched 2nd in 52.04, and Nicolas Albiero 3rd in 52.38.

Women’s 4 x 200 Freestyle Relay – Final

• World Record: Australia (Titmus, Wilson, Throssell, McKeon), 2019, 7:41.50
• American Record: Manuel, Ledecky, Margalis, McLaughlin, 2019, 7:41.87
• Championship Record: Athens Bulldog Swim Club (Naura, Scroggy, Vreeland, Romano), 2011, 7:58.14
• U.S. Open Record: Vollmer, Scroggy, Hoff, Schmitt, 2010, 7:51.21

Top 3:

1. GOLD: Wisconsin Aquatics, 8:01.41
2. SILVER: Alto Swim Club, 8:01.71
3. BRONZE: Gator Swim Club, 8:08.99

Megan Doty got things rolling for Wisconsin with a 2:00.37 split to take the lead in heat 2 of the women’s 4 x 200 freestyle relay, but the lead was small ahead of Alto Swim Club’s Morgan Tankersley, who hit the wall in 2:00.94. As Doty handed off to Lillie Hosack, Tankersley handed off to Erin Voss. Hosack maintained a narrow lead, though conceded some ground to Voss, hitting the wall at 400 meters in 4:01.18 (2:00.81) to Voss’ 4:01.44 (2:00.50). Ally McHugh went in next for Wisconsin, managing a 2:00.44 split. Finally, Beata Nelson dove in, producing a 1:59.79 to get the Badgers home first in 8:01.41.