2024 Georgia Invitational: Day 2 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

Tonight’s session of the 2024 Georgia Invitational will be a busy one, as it will consist of 5 individual events and 2 relays: the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back. The 200 medley relay will kick off day 2, while the 800 free relay will wrap it up.

Top Seeds: 

• Women’s 400 IM: Emma Weyant, Florida — 4:05.76
• Men’s 400 IM: Jake Magahey, Georgia — 3:44.14
• Women’s 100 fly: Olivia Peoples, Florida — 51.15
• Men’s 100 fly:  Josh Liendo, Florida — 45.23
• Women’s 200 freestyle: Marie Landreneau, Georgia— 1:43.67
• Men’s 200 freestyle: Charlie Hawke, — 1:31.74
• Women’s 100 breast: Anita Bottazzo, Florida — 59.42
• Men’s 100 breast: Aleksas Savickas, Florida — 51.43
• Women’s 100 back: Catie Choate, Florida — 51.87
• Men’s 100 back: Jonny Marshall, Florida — 45.34

This morning, the Florida women put on a show to start the day when they qualified 7 swimmers for the ‘A’ final in the 400 IM. Emma Weyant, a 2x Olympic medalist in this event, holds the top seed and will lead a pack of 6 Gators, including fellow Olympian Bella Sims.

Jake Magahey, last night’s 500 free champion, returns as the top seed in the 400 IM. He blasted a 3:44.14 this morning for a season best, and will look to hold off 5 Gators in this final.

Josh Liendo and Scotty Buff lead a 1-2 punch for Florida tonight in the 100 fly, while fellow Gator and SEC Champion Olivia Peoples is the top seed in the women’s 100 fly. Several other Gators also hold top seeds, with Catie Choate and Jonny Marshall are leading the women and men’s 100 back, and Anita Bottazzo and Aleksas Savickas leading the 100 breast.

Georgia responded to Florida’s 400 IM performance by also placing 7 women in the championship final of the 200 free, although the 2024 NCAA Champion in this event, Bella Sims, opted to swim the 400 IM instead. Marie Landreneau, a freshman, set a huge PB of 1:43.67 to qualify in first, besting her previous best of 1:44.59. Florida’s Julie Brousseau will be the sole non-bulldog in this final.

Bama’s Charlie Hawke and Kaique Alves are the top 2 qualifiers in the 200 free, and are separated by just half a second. Florida’s Jake Mitchell, who qualified in 3rd, will look to break up the Crimson Tide duo tonight.

Heading into day 2, the top 3 teams are identical for the men and women: Florida is currently in first, with Georgia then Alabama trailing behind.

Women’s 200 Yard Medley Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:31.73 —Virginia, 2023
• SEC Record: 1:33.29 — Alabama, 2022
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:36.24
• 2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:36.76

Top 3:

1. Alabama ‘A’ — 1:35.12 (A cut)
2. Florida ‘A’ — 1:35.16 (A cut)
3. Alabama ‘B’ — 1:36.84 (B cut)

While tonight’s top seed in the 100 back, Catie Choate, led things off for Florida in a 24.31, Bama’s Emily Jones, the 4th seed, out-touched her with a 23.72. Florida however, quickly retook the lead, with Bottazzo’s 26.55 besting Avery Wiseman‘s 27.10 and Olivia Peoples splitting a 22.60 to Jada Scott‘s 23.00. By the 150 mark, the two teams were neck and neck, with Florida just ahead, 1:13.46 to Bama’s 1:13.46. Peoples handed the lead to Bella Sims, who anchored in a 21.70, but she was ran down by Cadence Vincent‘s quick 21.30 as the Crimson Tide finished in 1st by just .04 seconds.

Both teams were under the NCAA ‘A’ cut, and Bama showed off their depth with their ‘B’ relay of Ella Menear (24.76), Kasia Norman (27.03), Kailyn Winter (23.04), and Charlotte Rosendale (22.01) finishing in 3rd to beat out LSU’s ‘A’ relay, who finished 4th in 1:37.29.

Men’s 200 Yard Medley Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:20.15, Florida- 2024
• SEC Record: 1:20.15, Florida- 2024
• 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:23.62
• 2025 NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:23.90

Top 3:

1. Florida ‘A’ — 1:21.49 (A cut)
2. LSU ‘A’ — 1:23.44 (A cut)
3. Missouri ‘A’ — 1:24.19 (B cut)

The Florida men ran away with this win, nearly besting second place LSU by two full seconds. Jonny Marshall, who led things off in 20.83, established a lead that the Gators would never relinquish. Marshall, Julian Smith (22.57), Josh Liendo (19.30), and Alex Painter (18.79) combined for a 1:21.49 to take over ASU’s nation leading time of 1:21.83.

While Louisiana State was only a second behind Florida at the 100 mark, as Stepan Goncharow (20.90) and Mitch Mason (23.37) combined for a 44.27, Liendo’s 50 fly split, which broke into the top 10 quickest in history at T-8, made the difference. He was nearly two seconds faster than LSU’s Griffin Curtis, although the Tigers’ anchor, Jere Hribar, was able to gain some ground on the anchor leg by splitting a quick 18.14.

Missouri’s ‘A’ team, consisting of Grant Bochenski (21.10), Logan Ottke (23.74), Jan Zubik (20.52), and Luke Nebrich (18.83), finished in 3rd.

Women’s 400 IM

• NCAA Record: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
• SEC Record: 3:58.23 – Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M (2019)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:03.68
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 4:16.78

Top 8:

1. Bella Sims (FLOR) — 4:00.44
2. Emma Weyant (FLOR) — 4:01.01
3. Zoe Dixon (FLOR) — 4:03.99
4. Mabel Zavaros (FLOR) — 4:05.83
5. Julie Brousseau (FLOR) — 4:09.65
6. Sofia Plaza (FLOR) — 4:12.07
7. Michaela Mattes (FLOR) — 4:13.48
8. Kate Christian (BAMA) — 4:15.72

While the order shifted, Florida held onto the top 7 spots, showcasing their IM dominance. Bella Sims bested her teammate Emma Weyant for the win thanks to an opening 100 fly split of 53.19. She went on to split 1:00.22/1:11.57/55.46 for a combined 4:00.44 and has taken over the nation leading time by just under 7 seconds. Weyant, who is known for her strong back half, split a 1:08.60/55.29 on the second 200 to creep up on Sims during the breaststroke leg. Sims’ opening 200 however (1:53.41), gave her enough cushion compared to Weyant’s 1:57.12, and she was able to hold on to the win.

Sims’ best time of 3:56.59 remains from 2022, while Weyant’s 3:59.00 holds from NCAAs this past year. Weyant was however, faster than she was at last year’s UGA invitational, where she swam a 4:03.65 for 2nd.

Zoe Dixon, who was 7th at the 2024 NCAAs in this event, swam a strong 4:03.99 for 3rd — just .6 off her personal best time.

Men’s 400 IM

• NCAA Record: 3:28.82 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• SEC Record: 3:33.42 — Chase Kalisz, Georgia (2017)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:38.37
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 3:49.53

Top 8:

1. Jake Magahey (UGA) — 3:39.56
2. Giovanni Linscheer (FLOR) — 3:42.82
3. Drew Hitchcock (UGA) — 3:45.19
4. Eric Brown (FLOR) — 3:45.84
5. Peter Bretzmann (FLOR) — 3:46.34
6. Mason Laur (FLOR) —- 3:46.66
7. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero (FLOR) — 3:46.79
8. Tommy Hagar (BAMA) — 3:48.02

Magahey held on to the top seed tonight with a dominant swim that takes over Rex Maurer’s 3:40.90 as the nation leading time. He split 49.73/55.99/1:03.55/50.29 to establish a lead from the onset and never let it up. Magahey set his best time of 3:37.64 earlier this year at NCAAs, which helped him place 5th.

Gio Linscheer, who was 7th at NCAAs, took 2nd over UGA freshman Drew Hitchcock. Linscheer split 51.79/57.66/1:02.36/51.01 for a season best time. Hitchcock was ahead of Linscheer on the first half of the race, with opening splits of 50.74/57.41. Linscheer ultimately took over on the breaststroke leg however, as Hitchcock split a 1:04.91 then 52.13 free leg to total a 3:45.81. His best time stands at 3:41.81, which he recorded last March.

Women’s 100 fly

• NCAA Record: 47.35 — Gretchen Walsh, UVA (2024)
• SEC Record: 48.51 — Maggie McNeil, LSU (2023)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.52
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 53.34

Top 8:

1. Olivia Peoples (FLOR) — 51.56
2. Emily Jones (BAMA) — 51.97
3. Victoria Raymond (BAMA) — 52.21
4. Addison Reese (FLOR) — 52.30
5. Paige Striley (UMIZ) — 52.62
6. Zoe Carlos-Broc (LSU) — 52.64
7. Kailyn Winter (BAMA) — 52.73
8. Sofia Sartori (LSU) — 52.98

Despite adding a few tenths from her prelims swim, Olivia Peoples remained on top of the field. She split 24.32/27.42 to come back for the win, as Alabama’s Emily Jones was out in a quick 23.94 before fading slightly and coming home in 28.03. Despite that, Jones hit a new personal best, getting under 52 for the first time in her career, as her old best of 52.28 was from 2023 SECs.

Victoria Raymond made it 2-3 for the Crimson Tide, getting her hand on the wall before Addison Reese by just .09 seconds.

Men’s 100 fly

• NCAA Record: 42.80 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• SEC Record: 42.80 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.51
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 46.80

Top 8:

1. Josh Liendo (FLOR) — 44.60
2. Scotty Buff (FLOR) — 45.69
3. Jan Zubik (UMIZ) — 45.99
4. Tim Korstanje (BAMA) — 46.43
5. Roman Valdez (UGA) — 46.61
6. Bernardo de Almeida (BAMA) — 46.73
7. Thomas Askew (UGA) — 47.01
8. Peter Sacca (UGA) — 47.39

Thus far, Liendo has yet to swim a race then lose—a trend he continued en route to his dominant win in the 100 fly. The Olympic silver medalist and reigning NCAA champion in this event bested teammate Scotty Buff by 1.09 seconds, splitting 21.15/23.45 to set a new season best in the process. Buff, who owns a best of 44.38, which he set at SECs earlier this year, took his swim out nearly even with Liendo. He split 21.45/24.24  to hold off Missouri’s Jan Zubik and also establish a new season best.

Women’s 200 free

• NCAA Record: 1:39.10 — Missy Franklin, Cal (2015)
• SEC Record: 1:41.21 — Megan Romano, Georgia (2012)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:42.60
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:46.85

Top 8:

1. Marie Landreneau (UGA) — 1:43.32
2. Ieva Maluka (UGA) — 1:44.12
3. Dune Coetzee (UGA) — 1:45.00
4. Rachel Stege (UGA) — 1:45.09
5. Shea Furse (UGA) — 1:45.19
6. Sloane Rammstein (UGA) — 1:45.82
7. Helena Jones (UGA) —- 1:46.49
8. Bri Roberson (UGA) — 1:46.80

With Julie Brousseau opting to swim the 400 IM and dropping the 200 free, this was an all-Georgia show. Freshman Marie Landreneau lowered her personal best once again, splitting 50.72/52.60, and has now dropped exactly 3 seconds since arriving at UGA. Maluka, a transfer from ASU and Latvian Olympian, was just off her personal best of 1:43.94 that she set at Pac-12s earlier this year. She was off to a quick start (50.81), less than a tenth behind Landreneau, before fading slightly and coming home in 53.31.

While Coetzee, Stege, Furse, Jones, and Roberson were all off their personal bests, they all established season best times.

Men’s 200 free

• NCAA Record: 1:28.81 — Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
• SEC Record: 1:29.48 — Kieran Smith, Florida (2021)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:31.21
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:35.35

Top 8:

1. Charlie Hawke (BAMA) — 1:31.05
2. Tomas Koski (UGA) — 1:31.72
3. Kaique Alves (BAMA) — 1:31.78
4. Toni Dragoja (BAMA) — 1:33.61
5. Jovan Lekic (LSU) — 1:34.25
6. Jere Hribar (LSU) — 1:34.65
7. Jake Mitchell (FLOR) — 1:35.02
8. Philipp Peschke (UMIZ) — 1:35.16

Charlie Hawke swam a controlled 44.25/46.80 for a 1:31.05 tonight, exactly .5 off his personal best from NCAAs this year. While Georgia’s Tomas Koski took the race out faster than Hawke, splitting a 44.16 on the opening 100, Hawke was able to establish a lead on the final two 50s (23.47/23.33) to take the win.

For Koski, this marks a new personal best, just dipping under his old PB of 1:31.93 that was set at SECs in 2024. Bama went on to place 3-4, with Alves just .1 off his best of 1:31.68 and Dragoja, a transfer from GWU, just off his best of 1:33.25. Both swimmers however, set new season bests, and were faster than they were at their mid-season invites in 2023.

Jake Mitchell, who owns a PB of 1:31.55 from NCAAs this year, was a distant 7th.

Women’s 100 breaststroke

• NCAA Record: 55.73 — Lilly King, Indiana (2019)
• SEC Record: 56.64 — Mona McSherry, Tennessee (2024)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 58.01
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 1:01.22

Top 8:

1. Anita Bottazzo (FLOR) — 57.49
2. Molly Mayne (FLOR) — 58.97
3. Avery Wiseman (BAMA) — 59.89
4. Lina Bank (UMIZ) — 59.97
5. Diana Petkova (BAMA) — 1:00.16
6. Grace Palmer (LSU) — 1:00.17
7. Kasia Norman (BAMA) — 1:00.43
8. Anna Moore (FLOR) — 1:01.11

Italy’s Anita Bottazo, a freshman at Florida this year, has already shattered records in her debut short course yards meet. She blasted 26.81 in her first 50 before coming home in 30.68 for a 57.49, establishing a new school record for the Gators by over a second. Molly Mayne, another Gator, was the only other swimmer under the 59 mark, swimming 27.76/31.21 for 2nd. Mayne’s best is from SECs earlier this year, where with a 58.68, she was the Gator’s sole swimmer under the 1:00 barrier in the 100 breast.

Wiseman of Alabama, while off her PB of 57.79 from the 2021 Tennessee Invite, set a new season best with her 59.89. Missouri’s Lina Bank marked the only other sub 1:00 swim in this final, though she was just off her PB of 59.81 that she set earlier this month at Mizzou vs Texas A&M,

Men’s 100 breaststroke

• NCAA Record: 49.53 — Liam Bell, Cal (2024)
• SEC Record: 50.03 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.02
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 53.43

Top 8:

1. Julian Smith (FLOR) — 49.98 *NEW SEC RECORD*
2. Aleksas Savickas (FLOR) — 51.36
3. Mitch Mason (LSU) — 52.08
4. Trey Sheils (BAMA) — 52.31
5. Alex Ochsenbein (UMIZ) — 52.60
6. Connor Haigh (UGA) — 52.76
7. Arie Voloschin (UGA) — 53.03
8. Logan Ottke (UMIZ) — 53.25

Julian Smith, the winner of the 200 IM last night, blasted a new SEC record in the 100 breast, taking down Caeleb Dressel’s 50.03 to become Florida’s first 100 breaststroker under 50. Smith, who split 23.45/26.53, came into tonight with a best time of 50.94—a time he set at prelims of NCAAs earlier this year before swimming a 51.18 for 7th at finals. With this swim, the #4 performance of all time, Smith has established a new nation-leading time.

Florida’s Aleksas Savickas swam to second with a 51.36, a season best, while Mitch Mason was third in 52.08, also a season best.

Women’s 100 backstroke

• NCAA Record: 48.10 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• SEC Record: 49.92 — Bella Sims, Florida (2024)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.56
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 53.53

Top 8:

1. Emily Jones (BAMA) — 50.75
2. Eboni McCarty (UGA) — 51.61
3. Catie Choate (FLOR) — 51.69
4. Valeriia Egorova (LSU) — 52.15
5. Zoe Carlos-Broc (LSU) — 52.42
6. Ella Menear (BAMA) — 52.52
7. Carly Meeting (FLOR) — 52.63
8. Cadence Vincent (BAMA) —- 52.64

Alabama’s Emily Jones pulled off the upset on top seed Catie Choate, swimming a huge personal best. Jones came into this meet with a PB of 52.36, but reset it in Alabama’s 400 medley relay last night, where she led off in 51.11, breaking the 52 barrier for the first time. She went on to lower that best once again tonight via a 24.59/26.16 swim, to also break 51 in the same weekend. Georgia’s McCarty (24.97/26.64) got her hand on the wall 2nd, just ahead of Choate (25.03/26.66).

Men’s 100 backstroke

• NCAA Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• SEC Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.48
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 47.16

Top 8:

1. Jonny Marshall (FLOR) — 45.02
2. Grant Bochenski (UMIZ) — 45.66
3. Sam Powe (UGA) — 45.99
4. Scotty Buff (FLOR) — 46.04
5. Wesley Ng (UGA) — 46.42
6. Aiden Norman (FLOR) — 46.86
7. Stepan Goncharov (LSU) — 46.88
8. Brendan Conners (BAMA) — 46.91

Jonny Marshall, the 2024 SEC freshman of the year and a British Olympian, won his primary event with ease, splitting 21.57/23.45. Last night, Marshall led off the Gators’ 400 medley relay in 45.48. While off his PB of 44.12, which made him the fastest freshman ever last year when he swam it, he still established a new season best.

Bochenski had a strong swim in the 100 back to take 2nd, logging splits of 21.82/23.84. His best time of 44.96 stands from SECs earlier this year, but he hit a new season best nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s Sam Powe swam a new PB of 45.99 to break 46 for the first time, getting under his old best of 46.31. Buff, fresh off his runner up finish to Liendo in the 100 fly from earlier in the session, hit a 46.04 for a new season best.

Women’s 800 Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 6:45.91 — Stanford, 2017
• SEC Record: 6:48.59 — Florida, 2024
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 7:00.86
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 7:05.56

Top 3:

1. Florida ‘A’ — 6:53.63
2. Georgia ‘A’ — 6:56.92
3. Georgia ‘B’ — 7:06.34

A close finish between Florida and Georgia throughout the entire race resulted in Florida just edging out Georgia for the win. Sims, who won the 400 IM earlier this session, led the Gators off in 1:43.20 before handing it off the Julie Brousseau. Brousseau swam 1:46.01, Weyant followed that up with a 1:44.32, and Micayla Cronk anchored in 1:43.10.

While Sims established a near 1.5 second lead over Marie Landreneau and the Bulldogs, Dune Coetzee ate into lead that with a 1:45.25 split before Rachel Stege pulled UGA within less than half a second with a 1:42.84. Maluka anchored Georgia, but Cronk was able to best her effort of 1:43.94 and secure the win for the Gators.

Georgia’s ‘B’ relay consisted of Furse, Reinstein, Jones, and Emma Norton, who combined for a 7:06.34.

Men’s 800 Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 6:02.26 —Cal, 2024
• SEC Record: 6:06.36 — Florida, 2024
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 6:15.80
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut: 6:18.42

Top 3:

1. Florida ‘A’ — 6:12.85
2. Georgia ‘A’ — 6:15.39
3. LSU ‘A’ — 6:20.38

The Gators led this race from start to finish, albeit Georgia kept it close for the first two legs. Alex Painter led things off for the Gators with a 1:34.11 and handed the slim lead that he established over UGA’s Tomas Koski (1:34.30) to Josh Liendo. Liendo split a 1:31.42 to maintain that lead, though barely, over Jake Magahey, who split 1:31.46. It was Julian Smith, the newly minted SEC record holder in the 100 breast, showing off his versatility, who made the difference. Smith’s split of 1:32.32 was over 2 seconds quicker than Georgia’s Cooper Cook (1:34.85), and while freshman Will Gavin split a 1:34.78, quicker than Jake Mitchell‘s 1:35.00, it was not enough to take over Florida’s lead.

LSU was third in 6:20.38, and featured Jovan Kekic (1:34.40), Jere Hribar (1:33.52), Andrew Garon (1:36.11), and Griffin Curtis (1:36.35).

Scores Thru Day 2

Women:

1. Florida — 733.5
2. Georgia — 559.5
3. Alabama — 476.5
4. LSU — 390.5
5. Missouri — 347

Men:

1. Florida — 765.5
2. Georgia — 536
3. Alabama — 416.5
4. LSU — 365
5. Missouri — 316