2024 Georgia Fall Invite: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2024 Georgia Invitational

• November 20 – 22, 2024
• Gabrielsen Rec Center — Athens, GA
• Competing teams: Georgia Southern University, UGA (host), LSU, Alabama, Missouri, U of SC, Florida
• Prelims: 9:30 am ET/Finals: 5:30 pm ET
  • Watch: SECN+ Network
• Live Results: “UGA Fall Invitational 2024” on MeetMobile
• Day 1 Prelims | Day 1 Finals | Day 2 Prelims | Day 2 Finals | Day 3 Prelims

A big battle in the men’s 200 back, a brutal Bella Sims double, Josh Liendo swimming a different day 3 race, and Florida’s Julian Smith looking for an impressive 100 breast/100 free double are the highlights of the finals session on Friday at the 2024 Georgia Fall Invitational.

The Florida sophomore Sims has the versatility to swim, and win, a lot of events at the NCAA Championships, but at this meet she’s taking on a tough double with the 200 back and 200 fly – reminiscent of former Gator Teresa Crippen, who handled that double as well as about anyone. Sims was comfortably the top qualifier in both events in prelims.

In the men’s 200 fly, her Florida teammate Josh Liendo was the top qualifier in prelims in 1:41.37, a tenth better than Missouri’s Jan Zubik. The 100 free, where he is the defending NCAA Champion, is his usual final-day event, but he chose the 200 fly at this meet instead and went a best time. He’s only other swum it one other time – in a dual meet against Georgia earlier this month.

In his absence, Florida’s Julian Smith will chase an unusual 100 breast/100 free sweep. Smith is the top seed in the 100 free (42.08) after breaking Caeleb Dressel’s SEC Record in the 100 breast on Thursday. He probably won’t break an SEC Record in the 100 free final, but he only needs to drop a tenth to swim a best time – being chased by the 200 free winner Charlie Hawke of Alabama.

The most under-the-radar race of the night is the men’s 200 back, where Florida sophomore Jonny Marshall and Alabama’s Tommy Hagar were separated by only .02 seconds in prelims. Along with Sam Powe of Georgia (.27 back in the heats), and a few others, there are about five or six guys in this race who could be chasing sub-1:40.

Diving was completed earlier in the day.

Night 3 Order of Events

• Women’s 200 back
• Men’s 200 back
• Women’s 100 free
• Men’s 100 free
• Women’s 200 breast
• Men’s 200 breast
• Women’s 200 fly
• Men’s 200 fly
• Women’s 400 free relay
• Men’s 400 free relay

Women’s 1650 Free – Timed Finals

Finished in prelims

1. Abby McCulloh, Georgia – 15:46.99
2. Michaela Mattes, Florida – 15:59.38
3. Julie Brousseau, Florida – 16:00.47
4. Emma Weyant, Florida – 16:03.47
5. Rachel Stege, Georgia – 16:08.11
6. Liberty Williams, Alabama – 16:16.12
7. Camille DeBoer, Florida – 16:24.11
8. Zoe Schneider, Missouri – 16:24.31

While nobody at the top of the rankings really went too hard after big time drops in the women’s 1650 free (McCulloh was about nine seconds off), the top five will all comfortably qualify for the NCAA Championships based on their results on Friday. It took 16:14 to make the meet last year.

That includes Abby McCulloh from Georgia, the defending NCAA Champion in the event, who swam 15:46.99.

The Bulldog senior has hit great end-of-season tapers in two of her previous three years, and with this midseason time being five seconds ahead of what she did at last year’s Georgia Invite, another stuck landing would make her comfortably the favorite to defend her national title in the event.

The Florida women performed well, with Mattes locking up her first NCAA invite as a sophomore thanks to a best time by about a second. Her freshman teammate Julie Brousseau was 3rd in 16:00.47 in her first-ever 1650 free swim.

Alabama senior Liberty Williams placed 6th in 16:16.12. She’ll need a drop at SECs to lock up a spot at the NCAA Championships, but was 12 seconds better than she was mid-season last year. Last year, she was able to get that big drop at SECs, but it wound up costing her at NCAAs as she fell to 38th place. Her best time remains a 15:43 that she swam at Louisville in spring 2022 as a sophomore, which is about 12 seconds than her best time at Alabama.

Men’s 1650 Free – Timed Finals

1. Gio Lincscheer, Florida – 14:45.25
2. Leonardo Alcantara, Alabama – 14:48.31
3. Luke Whitlock, Florida – 14:49.90
4. Jovan Lekic, LSU – 14:50.90
5. Luke Corey, Florida – 14:56.00
6. Nikola Simic, LSU – 14:56.69
7. Josh Parent, Florida – 15:01.08
8. Eric Brown, Florida – 15:06.84

Last year’s NCAA runner-up Gio Linscheer locked up his place at the 2025 NCAA Championship with a 14:45.25 in the men’s 1650 free. That’s about five seconds slower than he was last season where he managed to hit a personal best at both the SEC and NCAA Championships.

He was bang-on his 14:40 pace from this meet last season through about 1200 yards (and in fact had an identical time at the 1100 yard split), but gave up about five seconds over the last 450.

The big breakthrough was from Alabama sophomore Leonardo Alcantara. The Brazilian-born sophomore didn’t turn too many heads last season in his first year as a freshman and was just 17th at SECs in this event in a best time of 15:09.37. He dropped 21 seconds on Friday to lock up an NCAA invite this year in what might have been the Crimson Tide’s worst event last season – they had no NCAA qualifiers and no SEC finishers in the top 17.

U.S. Olympian Luke Whitlock cruised to 3rd place in 14:49.90, about a four-tenths improvement in his first collegiate mile. He finished 15th at the Olympics in the 800 free. LSU’s Jovan Lekic, who represented his native Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Olympics, was 4th on Friday in 14:50.90. That leaves him just five seconds short of Craig Hamilton’s school record and ranks him as the second-best miler in program history.

WOMEN’S 200 BACK – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:47.24, Beata Nelson (Wisconsin) – 2019
• SEC Record: 1:48.06, Rhyan White (Alabama) – 2020
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:50.50
• 2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:54.01

A-Final:

1. Bella Sims, Florida – 1:49.43
2. Jo Jo Ramey, Florida – 1:53.10
3. Zoe Dixon, Florida – 1:53.23
4. Mabel Zavaros, Florida – 1:53.78
5. Katie Schroeder, Florida – 1:54.27
6. Valeriia Egorova, LSU – 1:54.44
7. Catie Choate, Florida – 1:54.52
8. Zoe Carlos-Broc, LSU – 1:55.84

Florida sophomore Bella Sims led a 1-2-3-4-5 finish for the Florida Gators, opening her tough double with a 1:49.43.

That swim is 1.8 seconds faster than she was at this meet last year, though her best time of 1:48.32 from high school still stands.

While her swim was the fastest of the season nationally based on times coming into the day, a pair of swimmers from the nearby Tennessee Invite surpassed her (including an NCAA Record from Virginia’s Claire Curzan), so Sims now ranks 3rd in the country in this event.

Her teammate Jo Jo Ramey (1:53.10) was 2nd, about a second away from her best time, while junior Zoe Dixon knoced about four-tenths off her best time for 3rd. Dixon didn’t swim this event at NCAAs last year, choosing to race the 200 fly as her final-day event instead. But after top 8 finishes in the 200 IM and 400 IM at nationals, she was only 32nd in the 200 fly – probably driving this reversion to the 200 back for her last individual event.

The biggest breakthrough for the Gators was Canadian-born Katie Schroeder, a transfer from the University of Toronto. She had a handful of yards times from dual meets that Toronto swam against teams like Rutgers and FAU coming into the season, but this was a 2.6 second improvement on her previous personal best.

LSU’s Valeriia Egorova broke the Tiger streak with a 6th-place finish in 1:54.44. That shaved .05 seconds off her best time and left her ranked 2nd all-time in program history. Zoe Carlos-Broc finished 8th in 1:55.84, which also moves her into the top 10 in program history at #8.

The second-best time of the day actually came from the B Final, where Alabama’s Emily Jones swam 1:52.25. That makes her #2 in Alabama history behind All-American and U.S. Olympian Rhyan White.

MEN’S 200 BACK – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:35.37, Destin Lasco (Cal) – 2024
• SEC Record: 1:35.75, Shaine Casas (Texas A&M) – 2021
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:38.80
• 2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:40.62

A-Final

1. Jonny Marshall, Florida – 1:38.46
2. Aiden Norman, Florida – 1:40.02
3. Sam Powe, Georgia – 1:40.24
4. Ruard Van Renen, Georgia – 1:40.37
5. Tommy Hagar, Alabama – 1:40.47
6. Caleb Maldari, Florida – 1:40.82
7. Friffin Curtis, LSU – 1:43.35
8. Brendan Conners, Alabama – 1:43.37

After a tight prelims session in the 200 back, Florida sophomore Jonny Marshall blew the field away pretty confidently in the final, finishing in 1:38.46. That’s almost identical to his time from this meet last year.

Marshall was in command of the race from start-to-finish, opening up almost a full-second lead on the first 50 yards alone. The runner-up Aiden Norman from Florida was more controlled in his opener, but had a big 25.29 final split to finish 2nd and close the gap a bit on Marshall. Norman, a Canadian, is racing in his first collegiate season.

Tommy Hagar of Alabama was the 2nd seed after prelims and was in 2nd place for the first 150 yards of this race, but he faded late to finish 5th in 1:40.47, about three-tenths slower than he was in the morning.

WOMEN’S 100 FREE – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 44.83, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
• SEC Record: 45.83, Erika Brown (Tennessee) – 2020
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 47.10
• 2024 NCAA Cutline: 48.34

A-Final:

1. Cadence Vincent, Alabama – 48.26
2. Helena Jones, Georgia – 48.27
3. Zara Zallen, Missouri – 48.58
4. Micayla Cronk, Florida – 48.72
5. Bri Roberson, Georgia – 48.97
6. Michaela De Villiers, LSU – 49.01
7. Marie Landreneau, Georgia – 49.36
8. Kailyn Winter, Alabama – 49.44

After Gator domination in the first few events of the night, there was some variety at the top of the table in the women’s 100 free.

Alabama sophomore Cadence Vincent won in 48.26, just out-touching Georgia’s Helena Jones (48.27). Vincent’s prelims time of 48.16 moved her to 6th in the school’s all-time rankings.

Missouri’s Zara Allen finished 3rd in 48.58 which is a new best time by less-than-a-tenth. She’s been 48.7 twice already this season (in a dual meet against Texas A&M and in the team’s intrasquad). She has shown big progress early in the season, though her 200 free has led the way – dropping about a second in that event earlier in the meet and having been the five fastest times of her college career already this season.

MEN’S 100 FREE – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• SEC Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 41.34
• 2024 NCAA Cutline: 42.19

A-Final

1. Julian Smith, Florida – 41.71
2. Jere Hribar, LSU – 41.95
3. Kaique Alves, Alabama – 42.17
4. Stepan Goncharov, LSU – 42.22
5. Charlie Hawke, Alabama – 42.28
6. Grant Bochenski, Missouri – 42.36
7. Toni Dragoja, Alabama – 42.74
8. Alex Painter, Florida – 43.04

After breaking the SEC Record in the 100 breast on Thursday, Florida senior Julian Smith added a win in the 100 free on Friday in a new best time of 41.71.

With the loss of Macguire McDuff, Smith becomes an even-more crucial cog of the wheel for the Gators as they chase a repeat top 3 finish at NCAAs in an increasingly-crowded field. A potential five-relay swimmer who can eat up the breaststroke leg of the medley relays is an immeasurably-valuable swimmer in the NCAA format.

Smith was a 5 relay guy this week, swimming only the two individual events, which could be a hint at the Gators’ plan for him come March.

LSU’s Jere Hriabr was 2nd in 41.95, shaving .01 seconds off his best time from last season as he remains #2 all-time in program history behind only US Olympian Brooks Curry. Hribar as a freshman last season made a big impact on LSU’s relays, and this year he has the support of Pitt transfer Stepan Goncharov, who placed 4th in this race in 42.22. That’s a best time for him by four tenths of a second.

Alabama had three swimmers in the A-Final with Kaique Alves matching his best time from NCAAs last season where he finished 30th in prelims. Charlie Hawke shaved .03 seconds off his best time to place 5th.

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 2:01.29, Kate Douglass (Virginia) – 2023
• SEC Record: 2:03.26, Bethany Galat (Texas A&M) – 2018
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 2:05.73
• 2024 NCAA Cutline: 2:09.55

A-Final

1. Avery Wiseman, Alabama – 2:08.19
2. Molly Mayne, Florida – 2:09.15
3. Grace Rainey, Florida – 2:09.87
4. Anita Bottazzo, Florida – 2:10.48
5. Gracie Weyant, Florida – 2:11.96
6. Sofia Plaza, Florida – 2:12.49
7. Anna Moore, Florida – 2:13.44
8. Olivia Dellatorre, Georgia – 2:14.01

Alabama senior Avery Wiseman picked up her first individual win of the weekend in the 200 breaststroke, touching in 2:08.19. While that’s well-shy of her lifetime best of 2:05 from the 2023 SEC Championships, it is about the same time she went at midseason last year.

She was locked in a tight four-way battle early in the race, but a fast back-half split of 1:06.47 gave her margin on the win over Florida’s Molly Mayne. Florida had the #2 through #7 finishers behind Wiseman, with maybe most notably Anita Bottazzo finishing 4th in 2:10.48. She was tight with Wiseman and the rest of the leaders halfway, but she is primarily a sprint breaststroker – as demonstrated by her school record and win of 57.49 in the 100 breaststroke on Thursday.

This is her first yards meet.

MEN’S 200 BREAST – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:46.35, Leon Marchand (ASU) – 2024
• SEC Record: 1:50.08, Aleksa Savickas (Florida) – 2023
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:50.65
• 2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:53.12

A-Final:

1. Aleksas Savickas, Florida – 1:51.59
2. Peter Bretzmann, Florida – 1:54.02
3. Arie Voloschin, Georgia – 1:54.20
4. Alex Ochsenbein, Missouri – 1:54.95
5. Trey Sheils, Alabama – 1:55.45
6. Connor Haigh, Georgia – 1:55.83
7. Michael Deans, Alabama – 1:56.44
8. Raphael Windmuller, Florida – 1:56.72

Florida’s Aleksas Savickas was the clear class of the field, cruising to a comfortable win in the 200 breast in 1:51.59. That’s about a second back of what he swam to finish 2nd at last year’s SEC Championships.

He and Texas A&M’s Alex Sanchez, who hasn’t yet swum the 200 breast final on Friday at the Art Adamson Invitational, are the clear front-runners for the SEC title again this season after going 1-2 last season.

Notably, 4th-place finisher Alex Ochsenbein dropped more than two seconds in prelims (1:54.76) but added slightly in finals (1:54.95). The freshman had a best of 1:58.9 when he arrived at Missouri and now ranks 7th all-time in program history. 5th-place finisher Trey Sheils of Alabama dropped big in prelims too and his 1:54.92 in prelims ranks him 6th in program history.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:49.16, Alex Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
• SEC Record: 1:51.45, Bella Sims (Florida) – 2024
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:52.47
• 2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:55.88

A-Final:

1. Lainy Kruger, Florida – 1:55.22
2. Ieva Maluka, Georgia – 1:55.35
3. Mabel Zavaros, Florida – 1:56.20
4. Victoria Raymond, Alabama – 1:56.45
5. Addison Reese, Florida – 1:56.68
6. Jenna Bridges, LSU – 1:56.91
7. Sofia Sartori, LSU – 1:57.46
8. Taylor Williams, Missouri – 1:58.69

In a finals session that flew by, the top qualifier in prelims Bella Sims wound up dropping the 200 fly, where she would have had only about 30 minutes break.

In her absence, Florida teammate Lainy Kruger won in 1:55.22. Always a fast closer, she used a big final 50 split of 30.08 to make up the 1.3 second gap behind Georgia’s Ieva Maluka. Maluka still held on for 2nd and a new best time of 1:55.35, which knocked eight tenths off her previous best time from the team’s early-November dual meet against NC State.

Maluka is a transfer from Arizona State, but never swam the 200 fly while in Tempe.

Florida’s Mabel Zavaros was 3rd in 1:56.20 in a best time.

MEN’S 200 FLY – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:37.35, Jack Conger (Texas) – 2017
• SEC Record: 1:38.69, Shaine Casas (Texas A&M) – 2021
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.05
• 2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:42.10

A-Final:

1. Josh Liendo, Florida – 1:39.14
2. Jake Magahey, Georgia – 1:40.07
3. Jan Zubik, Missouri – 1:41.65
4. Drew Hitchcock, Georgia – 1:43.17
5. Mason Laur, Florida – 1:43.40
6. Matthew Judkins, Missouri – 1:43.79
7. Scotty Buff, Florida – 1:44.94
8. Jacob Pishko, LSU – 1:45.40

Florida’s Josh Liendo picked up his third individual win and sixth overall win (on the way to a perfect seven-for-seven weekend), albeit not in a traditional event for him.

He won the 200 fly in 1:39.14, which moves him up to 15th in the all-time rankings in only his third-ever attempt at the race in yards, with his second attempt being in prelims.

That swim broke the University of Florida record that was set by Jan Switkowski in 2018 and made him only the second varsity Gator to go under 1:40 in that event ever. The swim would have placed him 3rd at last year’s NCAA Championship meet.

Georgia’s Jake Magahey finished 2nd in 1:40.07, a best time by 1.2 seconds. He was historically a 1650 freestyler on the final day of big invites and championships, but last season flipped to the 200 fly and has since made big strides. He was 15th at NCAAs last year, and this time would have made the A-Final.

Women’s 400 Free Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 3:05.84, Virginia – 2023
• SEC Record: 3:08.00, Florida – 2024
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:13.74
• 2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 3:15.28

Top 6:

1. Florida (3:11.79) – Sims 47.36, Kruger 48.19, Reese 48.69, Cronk 47.55
2. Georgia (3:12.95) – Jones 48.27, McCarty 48.16, Roberson 48.28, Maluka 48.24
3. Alabama (3:13.93) – Vincent 48.24, Jones 48.35, Scott 48.42, Petkova 48.92
4. LSU (3:15.28)
5. Missouri (4:15.93)
6. Georgia B (3:16.11)

Bella Sims was the relay hero once again for the Gators. The rangy sophomore split 47.36 on Florida’s opening leg to give them a lead, with Mikayla Cronk splitting 47.55 on the anchor to bring them home. Sims previously led the Florida 800 free relay to a win against a Georgia team that had the top 8 finishers in the individual 200 free event, showing the power of having a swimmer of her caliber on the roster.

The Florida women were the NCAA runners-up in this relay last season. with Sims, Kruger, Cronk, and the now-graduated Isabel Ivey. Freshman Addison Reese won’t be able to replace Ivey’s 46-low split right away, but her 48.69 split on the third leg was about a second faster than her best flat-start coming into the meet.

Georgia had a well-balanced relay of four 48-lows, but couldn’t pop the 47s they would have needed to beat out Florida. Helena Jones led off in 48.27, matching the time she swam to finish 2nd in the individual event.

Men’s 400 Free Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 2:43,40, Arizona State – 2024
• SEC Record: 2:44.07, Florida – 2023
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 2:49.79
• 2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 2:51.01

Top 6:

1. Florida (2:46.81) – Painter 42.67, Dardis 42.48, Smith 41.13, Liendo 40.53
2. Alabama (2:48.03) – Alves 42.30, Hawke 41.25, Dragoja 41.93, Wilson 42.55
3. LSU (2:49.00) – Goncharov 41.95, Hribar 41.48, Garon 42.92, Curtis 42.65
4. Georgia (2:49.81)
5. Florida B (2:51.02)
6. Missouri (2:51.83)

The Florida men capped the meet with a 2:46.81 winning relay. While the last two splits from Smith (41.13) and Liendo (40.53) were big, this relay demonstrated how much the Gators miss McDuff and his 40-point relay splits off last year’s runner-up squad.

Alabama finished 2nd in 2:48.03 and the LSU men, one of the big stories of this meet, were 3rd in 2:49.00. Led by another big time drop from the transfer Goncharov in 41.95, that was the Tiger men’s third school record of the meet after previously breaking the 200 free relay (1:16.47) and 400 medley relay (3:04.92) marks.

Final Team Scores

Men:

1. Florida – 1,157.5
2. Georgia – 796
3. Alabama – 649.5
4. LSU – 593
5. Missouri – 524
6. Wisconsin – 32 (divers)

Women:

1. Florida – 1,156.5
2. Georgia – 784.5
3. Alabama – 669
4. LSU – 574
5. Missouri – 492.5
6. South Carolina – 53.5 (divers)
7. Wisconsin – 24 (divers)
8. Georgia Southern – 6 (divers)