2023 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
- June 27 – July 1, 2023
- Indianapolis, IN
- Indiana University Natatorium
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheet (updated version, 6/26)
- Live Results
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- How To Watch
- Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
The first finals session of the 2023 U.S. National Championships is official in the books. That means the moment we’ve all been waiting for is here: the first scoring update for the Pick ‘Em contest!
The first day of these Trials was a wild one, seeing young swimmers absolutely show out and a number of unexpected event winners. Really, the craziness mostly came in the 100 freestyles, as the other events today all had a clear favorite, all of whom ended up winning: Regan Smith in the women’s 200 fly, Carson Foster in the men’s 200 fly, Katie Ledecky in the women’s 800 free, and Bobby Finke in the men’s 1500 free.
While those winners were expected, the 100 frees were a very different story. Kate Douglass broke through in the women’s 100 free tonight, throwing down a 52.57 to win the race by over half a second. That wasn’t a popular selection at all in the Pick ‘Ems, as only eight of the entrants in the contest picked Douglass to win the event. Meanwhile, Torri Huske was almost unanimously a top two selection, and she ended up finishing fifth in the event tonight.
The men’s 100 free was a whole other story. I’ve run quite a few of these Pick ‘Em contests now, and I can confidently say I’ve never seen an event with such low scores before. Here is the breakdown on the men’s 100 free:
Men’s 100 free results:
- Jack Alexy – 47.93
- Chris Guiliano – 47.98
- Matt King – 47.99
- Destin Lasco – 48.00
As a reminder, Pick ‘Em scoring goes 7 points for correctly guessing the winner, 5 points for guessing 2nd place, 4 points for 3rd place, and 3 points for 4th place, and 1 point for correctly picking a top four finisher but in the wrong place.
Very few entrants even scored in the men’s 100 free tonight, which is impressive because you get a point just for correctly guessing a swimmer to finish in the top four. No one picked Chris Guiliano to finish in the top four, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. Destin Lasco, who finished in fourth tonight, had exactly one contestant pick him to finish in the top four. Moreover, that contestant picked Lasco to win the race, so they only ended up getting one point out of the pick.
Jack Alexy won the race and 11 entrants had picked him to finish in the top four. One person, screen name “TheRealSam” picked Alexy to win the event, so they now have some serious bragging rights. On top of that, only one person picked Alexy to finish second, while five picked him to finish third, and four thought Alexy would finish in fourth.
Matt King was the most-selected swimmer out of the top four finishers, but that really isn’t saying much. 11 contestants did correctly pick King to finish third, while 39 others picked him to finish elsewhere in the top four.
Moving on, it’s time to recognize the day one winner for this Pick ‘Em contest. Despite the ups and downs of the day, screen name “cvh” managed to end day one of the contest with a healthy lead. “cvh” scored 71 points today, leading the field by 11 points. A big boost to their score came in the men’s 1500 free, where “cvh” correctly picked the top four finishers, which is good for 19 points in that event alone. Congratulations!
Below, you’ll find the scoring results from day one of the Pick ‘Em contest:
Was there a decided prize?
Who had Hellman Guiliano Cox and Looney in their picj’em
Enjoying my current position in the top 25 for the first time. I want to thank all those swim fans that have believed in me all these years.