2023 Minnesota Invitational – Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2023 Minnesota Invitational 

• November 29-December 2, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 10 AM (CT)
  • Finals: 6 PM (CT)
• Live Results
• Livestream

The first session of the 2023 Minnesota Invitational kicks off tonight in Minneapolis. Tonight’s session will feature just two events: the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay.

You can watch tonight’s action on YouTube:

WOMEN’S 200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:31.73 — Virginia (G. Walsh, A. Walsh, L. Cuomo, K. Douglass) (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:36.24
• 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 1:37.00

Top 3:

1. Cal ‘A’ (Stadden, Neser, Stone, Riley) – 1:34.23
2. Arizona ‘A’ (Armstrong, Ahluwalia, Heimstead, Schwengel) – 1:36.60
3. Pittsburgh ‘A’ (Jansen, Strong, Yendell, Kudlac) – 1:36.92

The Cal women opened up the night with a decisive win in the 200-yard medley relay. Stopping the clock in a time of 1:34.23, they undercut the NCAA ‘A’ standard by over 2 seconds. Isabelle Stadden led-off for the Golden Bears in a personal best time of 23.41, overtaking her previous mark of 23.57 which she posted leading off the Cal relay at NCAAs last March. Jade Neser, Mckenna Stone, and Eloise Riley rounded out the Cal quartet.

Notably, the time by the Golden Bears tonight is faster than they were throughout the entirety of last season. The fastest time they posted last year was a time of 1:34.75 to place 6th at the NCAA Championships.

Arizona ‘A’, which consisted of Paige Armstrong, Maddy Ahluwalia, Julia Heimstead, and Alyssa Schwengel, placed 2nd in an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 1:36.60. Pittsburgh also achieved the ‘B’ cut, with Claire Jansen, Jessie Strong, Sophie Yendell, and Avery Kudlac combining for a time of 1:36.92.

Splits are unavailable for any splits besides backstroke at this time.

MEN’S 200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:20.67 — NC State (K. Stokowski, M. Hunter, N. Korstanje, D. Curtiss) (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:23.71
• 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 1:24.32

Top 3:

1. Cal ‘A’ (Seeliger, Bell, Jones, Alexy) – 1:22.87
2. Cal ‘B’ (Lasco, Jensen, Rose, Hatton) – 1:23.33
3. Arizona ‘A’ (Maric, Foote, Miller, Palmer) – 1:24.03

The Cal men kicked off their meet in Minneapolis with a 1-2 punch in the 200 medley relay. The ‘A’ team of Bjorn Seeliger (21.20), Liam Bell (23.09), Roman Jones (20.10), and Jack Alexy (18.48) stopped the clock in a time of 1:22.87 for the win. The ‘B’ team featuring Destin Lasco (20.53), Matthew Jensen (23.42), Dare Rose (20.02), and Colby Hatton (19.36) finished in 1:23.33.

Notably, the Cal ‘B’ team would’ve led Cal ‘A’ through the first 175-yards if they swam in the same heat.

Arizona placed 3rd tonight in a time of 1:24.03, narrowly missing the NCAA ‘A’ standard in the process. Their squad consisted of Ogi Maric (21.47), Ryan Foote (23.18), Seth Miller (20.52), and Tommy Palmer (18.86).

WOMEN’S 800-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 6:45.91 — Stanford (S. Manuel, L. Neal, E. Eastin, K. Ledecky) (2017)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 7:00.86
• 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 7:05.88

Top 3:

1. Cal ‘A’ (Chavez, Motekaitis, Stadden, Riley) – 7:01.70
2. Cal ‘B’ (Klinker, Hazle, Gantriis, Cook) – 7:08.21
3. Minn ‘A’ (Kaljevic, Van Berkom, Cornish, McCarthy) – 7:08.30

The Cal women posted the fastest two times of the day in the 800 freestyle relay to end the night. The ‘A’ team of Ava Chavez (1:45.18), Mia Motekaitis (1:44.11), Isabelle Stadden (1:45.74), and Eloise Riley (1:46.67) combined to post a winning effort of 7:01.70. The lead-off split by Chavez represents a massive best time, lowering her previous mark of 1:47.42 from May.

The ‘B’ team posted a 7:08.21 to touch just 0.09 ahead of Minnesota for 2nd. Rachel Klinker led off in 1:46.77, Kathryn Hazle split a time of 1:46.61 on the second leg, Emily Gantriis posted 1:47.89 on the penultimate leg, and Lizzy Cook anchored in 1:46.94.

The 3rd place Minnesota team was comprised of Mina Kaljevic (1:46.96), Megan Van Berkom (1:45.43), Hannah Cornish (1:48.16), and Katie McCarthy (1:47.75).

MEN’S 800-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 6:03.42 — Texas (L. Hobson, C. Carrozza, P. Larson, C. Foster) (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 6:16.02
• 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 6:18.94

Top 3:

1. Cal ‘A’ (Hanson, Lasco, Shackell, Jett) – 6:13.62
2. Arizona ‘A’ (Ciuferri, Henderson, Naughton, Maric) – 6:16.52
3. Cal ‘B’ (Jones, Mefford, Frandson, Hawk) – 6:19.13

The Cal men ended night one with a win in the 800 freestyle relay, clocking a time of 6:13.62. The winning quartet consisted of Robin Hanson (1:33.50), Destin Lasco (1:33.06), Aaron Shackell (1:34.17), and Gabriel Jett (1:32.89). Their ‘B’ relay finished 3rd, with Keaton Jones (1:33.45), Colby Mefford (1:35.71), Trent Frandson (1:35.03), and Dylan Hawk (1:34.94) combining for a time of 6:19.13.

The lead-off split by Jones (1:33.45) marks a drop from his previous personal best of 1:34.31 from December of 2022. Jones will contest the 500 freestyle tomorrow morning where he is seeded 27th.

Arizona finished 2nd tonight with a time of 6:16.52. For the second time tonight, Arizona just barely missed the NCAA ‘A’ cut time. Their foursome of Ralph Daleiden Ciuferri (1:32.43), Orion Henderson (1:34.08), Haakon Naughton (1:35.61), and Ogi Maric (1:34.40) fell just 0.50 short of the ‘A’ cut time.

Team Scores (after Day One)

Women:

1. California – 326 points
2. Pittsburgh – 258 points
3. Minnesota – 210 points
4. Arizona – 186 points
5. Harvard – 158 points

Men: 

1. Pittsburgh – 294 points
2. California – 282 points
3. Harvard – 228 points
4. Minnesota – 214 points
5. Arizona – 182 points