2024 Minnesota Invite
- December 4-7, 2024
- Prelims: 10 am CST/ Finals: 6 pm CST
- SCY (25 Yards)
- University of Minnesota
- Participating Teams: Minnesota (host), University of California- Berkley, University of Nevada- Las Vegas (Men Only), Harvard, Rutgers, University of Denver
- 2025 NCAA Championship Standards
- Live Stream
- Live Results
- Psych Sheets
- Day 1 Finals Results
The 2024 Minnesota Invite got underway yesterday, with Cal sweeping the women’s and men’s 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays to open the action in Minneapolis, MN. Today, we’ll get our first look at swimmers in their individual events during prelims of the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, and 50 freestyle.
Top Seeds:
- Women’s 500 freestyle: Katie McCarthy, Minnesota — 4:44.69
- Men’s 500 freestyle: Bar Soloveychik, Minnesota — 4:17.80
- Women’s 200 IM: Isabelle Stadden, Cal — 1:59.03
- Men’s 200 IM: Kaiser Neverman, Minnesota — 1:44.45
- Women’s 50 freestyle: Mary-Ambre Moluh, Cal — 22.14
- Men’s 50 freestyle: Bjorn Seeliger, Cal — 19.34
WOMEN’S 500 FREE – PRELIMS
- NCAA Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky (Stanford) – 2017
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:37.89
- 2024 NCAA Cutline: 4:41.19
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Katie McCarthy (MINN), 4:43.09
- Ava Chavez (CAL), 4:44.88
- Eliot Kennedy (MINN), 4:45.00
- Maya Geringer (CAL), 4:45.27
- Kathryn Hazle (CAL), 4:46.47
- Alexandra Bastone (HARV), 4:47.30
- Erika Carlson (UNLV), 4:49.09
- Anja Kaljevic (MINN), 4:50.38
Cal’s Ava Chavez was a late entry to the women’s 500 freestyle–she isn’t listed in the event on the heat sheet–but she dominated the first heat from lane eight. Chavez won the heat in 4:44.88, bettering the lifetime best of 4:47.76 she swam less than a month ago at Cal’s tri-meet against ASU and Stanford. This is the third 500 freestyle lifetime best she’s swum this season, and she’s brought her best all the way down from the 4:50.09 she owned at the beginning of the season.
Her time stood up as the fastest time of the morning until the final heat. There, top seed Katie McCarthy swam a season-best 4:43.09 to touch first and take over event’s fastest time from Chavez.
Minnesota senior Eliot Kennedy won heat three in 4:45.00, nearing both Chavez’s time and her own lifetime best of 4:44.15, swum at a February 2024 dual meet. She moved through to the ‘A’ final easily as well, grabbing the third seed. The Golden Gophers also got Anja Kaljevic into the ‘A’ final, as the sophomore swam a 4:50.38 to qualify in eighth, about a half-second ahead of Cal freshman Mia West‘s 4:40.75 out of heat one.
Cal has three swimmers in the ‘A’ final as well, with Maya Geringer (4:45.27) and Kathryn Hazle (4:46.47) joining Chavez.
MEN’S 500 FREE – PRELIMS
- NCAA Record: 4:02.31, Leon Marchand (ASU) – 2024
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:10.74
- 2024 NCAA Cutline: 4:14.90
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Bar Soloveychik (MINN), 4:18.65
- Joey Tepper (MINN), 4:19.14
- Matthew Chai (CAL), 4:20.64
- Gabriel Jett (CAL), 4:21.62
- Keaton Jones (CAL), 4:21.64
- Tyler Kopp (CAL) , 4:21.75
- Thackston McMullan (CAL), 4:22.38
- Kieran Watson (DU), 4:23.29
The Minnesota men’s distance group has looked strong to start the season and that continued this morning, as Bar Soloveychik and Joey Tepper pushed each other in the final heat of the men’s 500 freestyle. The pair broke away from the rest of the heat together and swam the two fastest prelims times. Soloveychik clocked 4:18.65 to secure the top seed, with Tepper hitting 4:19.14 for second. No other swimmer broke 4:20, though Matthew Chai, who’s been great for Cal this season, led the way for the Golden Bears with a solid prelims effort of 4:20.64.
Cal took over the next four qualifying spots. Heat three was a tight race between teammates Gabriel Jett, Keaton Jones, and Thackston McMullen. Jett snuck his hand on the wall first in 4:21.62, just two-hundredths ahead of Jones to take over the top time of the morning from Denver senior Kieran Watson, who held on to sneak into the final in eighth position (4:23.29).
The freshman McMullan touched third in heat three with a personal best 4:22.38, improving by 3.07 seconds from the best he set at the Cal, ASU, Stanford tri-meet.
WOMEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS
- NCAA Record: 1:48.37, Kate Douglass (Virginia) – 2023
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:53.66
- 2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:57.03
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Isabelle Stadden (CAL), 1:56.99
- Leah Polonksy (CAL), 1:57.97
- Margaux McDonald (CAL), 1:58.93
- Kathryn Hazle (CAL), 1:59.20
- Lizzy Cook (CAL), 1:59.73
- Arielle Brotman (CAL), 1:59.76
- Stephanie Iannaccone (HARV), 2:00.39
- Molly Urkiel (RUT), 2:00.49
Fifth-year Isabelle Stadden cruised to the win in the final heat. She stopped the clock at 1:56.99, taking over the top time of the morning from her teammate Leah Polonsky, who won the penultimate heat. Polonsky swam 1:57.97 and trails Stadden by just under a second heading into the final.
The Cal women showed out in the IM this session, claiming the top six spots in the ‘A’ final and winning the final four heats. In the final heat, Stadden led a 1-2-3 finish for the Golden Bears. In heat four, graduate transfer Margaux McDonald and senior Lizzy Cook became the first swimmers to break 2:00 this morning, clocking 1:58.93 and 1:59.73, respectively. They qualified for the ‘A’ final in third and fifth.
Only Cal women broke the 2:00 barrier in prelims this morning, as Harvard’s Stephanie Iannaccone and Rutgers’ Molly Urkiel rounded out the ‘A’ finalists with prelims swims of 2:00.39 and 2:00.49.
MEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS
- NCAA Record: 1:36.34, Leon Marchand (ASU) – 2023
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:41.03
- 2024 NCAA Cutline: 1:43.05
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Gabriel Jett (CAL), 1:41.89
- Destin Lasco (CAL), 1:44.60
- Carter Lancaster (CAL), 1:45.31
- Sean Swift (CAL), 1:45.44
- Kaiser Neverman (MINN), 1:45.74
- Daniel Nicusan (UNLV), 1:45.99
- Cooper Kiel (UNLV), 1:46.14
- Ryan Slonac (MINN), 1:46.25
Gabriel Jett swam a massive personal best in his second event of the session, clocking a 1:41.89 to lead the men’s 200 IM prelims by 2.71 seconds. Jett’s swim is a lifetime best by 2.70 seconds, improving from the 1:44.59 he swam last month. Jett’s a versatile swimmer but hasn’t often focused on the 200 IM as he typically does the 500 freestyle on Day 2 at championship meets. He swam it at the 2023 Minnesota Invitational, posting a 1:46.56 before swimming a then-lifetime best 1:45.59 at the Cal vs. ASU dual in January.
He sits ahead of his teammate, defending NCAA champion Destin Lasco. This meet is Lasco’s debut in the NCAA for the 2024-25 season. As he didn’t have a time recorded yet this season, he raced out of heat two and cruised to a 1:44.60, which held as the fastest time until Jett’s swim.
The Golden Bears own the top four times of the morning, as Carter Lancaster and Sean Swift check in with 1:45.31 and 1:45.44 efforts. Swift’s been as fast as 1:43.74, but Lancaster’s time approached his lifetime best of 1:45.02.
Kaiser Neverman, the top seed on the psych sheet, moved through to the ‘A’ final safely in fifth (1:45.74) and will have a teammate in the championship final as Ryan Slonac swam a lifetime best 1:46.25 to grab eighth. The UNLV men also have two up in the ‘A’ final, as Daniel Nicusan broke 1:46 for the first time (1:45.99) and Cooper Kiel swam a season-best (1:46.14).
WOMEN’S 50 FREE – PRELIMS
- NCAA Record: 20.37, Gretchen Walsh (Virginia) – 2024
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 21.63
- 2024 NCAA Cutline: 22.11
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Mary-Ambre Moluh (CAL), 22.19
- Isabelle Stadden (CAL), 22.37
- Morgan Brophy (CAL), 22.40
- Livi Wanner (MINN), 22.49
- Mia West (CAL), 22.51
- Ella Mazurek (CAL), 22.58
- Femke Hoppenbrouwer (CAL), 22.71
- McKenna Stone (CAL), Hannah Cornish (MINN), 22.74*
*Swim-off Required
Freshman Mary-Ambre Moluh came within hive-hundredths of her lifetime best to lead the way in the women’s 50 freestyle prelims. Moluh qualified first for tonight’s final in 22.19, touching .18 seconds ahead of Stadden on her second swim of the session. Stadden’s 22.37 is a season-best and qualified her for her second ‘A’ final of the day after she qualified first overall in the 200 IM.
Livi Wanner, another freshman, wasn’t that far from her lifetime best as well. She qualified fourth–breaking up what would otherwise be a potentially all-Cal final–with a 22.49. She swam her lifetime best 22.40 earlier this season at Minnesota’s dual meet against Wisconsin, which is the team’s one dual meet loss so far this season.
We say potentially all-Cal final because there will be a swim-off for lane eight. Cal’s McKenna Stone and Minnesota’s Hannah Cornish tied for eighth in 22.74. If Stone wins, Wanner will be the only non-Cal Bear in the final, as Morgan Brophy, Mia West, Ella Mazurek, and Femke Hoppenbrouwer qualified along with Moluh and Stadden.
MEN’S 50 FREE – PRELIMS
- NCAA Record: 17.63, Caeleb Dressel (Florida) – 2018
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 18.82
- 2024 NCAA Cutline: 19.13
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Bjorn Seeliger (CAL), 19.22
- Nans Mazellier (CAL), 19.52
- Evan Petty (CAL), 19.53
- Roman Jones (CAL)/Colby Hatton (CAL), 19.70
- (tie)
- Kai Crews (CAL), 19.74
- Nikolas Antoniou (CAL), 19.78
- August Vetsch (CAL), 19.84
There’s no doubt in the men’s 50 freestyle–this will be an ‘A’ final where all eight lanes will be taken up by Cal swimmers. Fifth-year Bjorn Seeliger dropped a season-best 19.22 to lead the fleet of Cal sprinters into the ‘A’ final, touching three-tenths ahead of freshman Nans Mazellier. Mazellier’s 19.52 for the second seed is his first time breaking 20 seconds; his lifetime best coming into the meet was the 20.13 he swam leading off the 200 free relay at the Triton Invite in October.
Evan Petty and Nikolas Antoniou joined Mazellier in swimming lifetime bests. Petty touched a hundredth behind Mazellier, posting a 19.53 to break his previous best of 19.73 from March 2023. Antoniou, like Mazellier, broke 20 seconds for the first time, clocking 19.78 to qualify in seventh.
They are joined by Roman Jones (19.70), Colby Hatton (19.70), Kai Crews (19.74), and August Vetsch (19.84) in the ‘A’ final. The top non-Cal swimmer is Harvard sophomore and defending Ivy League champion Sonny Wang, who swam 19.85 to miss tying Vetsch by a hundredth.
I know Cal is missing a few top swimmers, but it kinda looks like they don’t have the depth that Texas has, or even Indiana. I know they typically peak at the right time but in terms of pure depth and low end potential scorers, it appears a little underwhelming
Yeah it hurts to watch as a Cal fan
You’re correct but once conference and NCAAs come, they’ll be a lot closer to Texas and IU.
People assume that just because you swim really fast early on, that you’ll be better come NCAAs than the teams that aren’t super fast in season. That’s not always true. Texas used to swim very poorly in season, lose dual meets, then win NCAAs. CAL has lost Pac 12s then won NCAAs.
My senior year, I got 5th in a dual meet against OSU and swam faster than all 4 of them at the end of the season. People put way more emphasis on how dual meet times will translate into end of season success than we used to.
Agree, but think the depth will come back by conference and NCAAs. But still think Texas + Indiana for 1st/2nd, Florida, CAL, ASU for 3-5.
Yea, it’s great that they had 10 guys sub 20 in prelims, but likely only Seeliger will score out of that group.
I don’t think it’s out of the question they continue their top 2 streak, but it feels more likely than not it ends this year.
(Side note, feels like we should give more credit to Durden that they haven’t been out of the top 2 at NCAAs since 2009–that’s incredible)
An all-Cal 50 free final. That’s almost unfair.
And that only includes one of the guys who will be on the relay at NCAAs.
Who will be #4? Seeliger, Alexy, Lasco
Nice 200 IM by Jett. I bet he wouldn’t mind coming down from the 500, if he can figure out breaststroke.