2025 U.S. Summer Championships: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2025 U.S. Summer Championships

• Tuesday, August 5 – Friday, August 8, 2025
• Irvine, California
• William Woollett Aquatics Center
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 9:00 am local / 12:00 pm ET
  • Finals: 5:00 pm local / 8:00 pm ET
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Stream Info (Available on USA Swimming Network App)
• Live Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 1
  • Finals: Day 1

Day 2 Prelims Heat Sheet

Good Morning to all those just waking up to enjoy some fast swimming on the west coast, and Good [Insert Time of Day here] to the rest of you wherever you may be. For those of us on the East Coast of the United States, today’s prelims session fits perfectly into your lunch break, with the session, just six events long, expected to take just over an hour to complete

Day 2 Prelims Schedule:

• Women’s 400 Free
• Men’s 400 Free
• Women’s 100 Fly
• Men’s 100 Fly
• Women’s 200 Breast
• Men’s 200 Breast

The session kicks off with the 400 freestyle with Amelia Weber and Aaron Shackell as the top seeds. Weber, who hails from Australia, achieved a time of 4:06.78 at her nation’s trials in June and was under their qualifying standard for Singapore; however, she placed 3rd and was unable to be named to the team. Her biggest competition comes from Bella Sims, who also placed 3rd at her trials, the US Nationals, but was named to the team for the 4×200 free relay, where she helped them win the silver medal. The pair, both seeded under 4:10, are joined there by Madi Mintenko and Michaela Mattes and the quartet will look to set up a strong final tonight.

The men’s 400 free prelims are expected to set up a showdown between the USA’s two Paris Olympians in this event. Shackell and Kieran Smith both had off meets at the US Nationals and will be in the hunt for a good lane in tonight’s final. The pair are both seeded under 3:46 and lead the field by over two seconds, but don’t expect them to be that fast, as only times swum in the final tonight can earn them a spot on the Pan-Pac roster, with each chasing the 2nd place time of 3:45.71 from US Nationals.

The 100s of fly, too, see a pair of Olympians atop the field as Alex Shackell and Caeleb Dressel lead their respective fields. Shackell missed the plane to Singapore by one spot, but will need to swim a personal best in tonight’s final if she wishes to earn a spot on the Pan-Pac roster in this event. Dressel, on the other hand, did not compete at the US Nationals, but he too is possibly in the hunt for a Pan-Pacs roster spot. Seeded a full second over his closest competition, Ben Armbruster of Australia and Aiden Hayes of Wolfpack Elite, Dressel will be hunting for a strong finish tonight, after taking the bronze last night in the 50 free.

The morning concludes with the 200 breaststroke, where, despite the event being a weakness in Singapore for the Australians, they hold the top seeds in both the men’s and women’s events. Sienna Harben leads the field in the women’s event, with her seed time of 2:26.94 over a second and a half clear of her closest competitors, Isabelle Odgers and Kaitlyn Nguyen, both of Ivrine Novaquatics. On the men’s side, Joshua Collett, a fellow Aussie, will look to earn the top seed tonight against NCAA champion Jassen Yep and Hong Kong’s Adam Chillingworth.

WOMEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – Prelims

• World Record: 3:54.15 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• American Record: 3:56.46– Katie Ledecky (2016)
• US Open Record: 3:56.81– Katie Ledecky, USA (2025)
• World Junior Record: 3:56.08 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• Pro Swim Series: 3:56.81– Katie Ledecky, USA (2025)

Top 8

1. Madi Mintenko – 4:09.34
2. Justina Kozan – 4:11.43
3. Molly Walker – 4:12.04
4. Chloe Stepanek – 4:12.53
5. Bella Sims – 4:12.61
6. Gena Jorgenson – 4:12.89
7. Michaela Mattes – 4:14.12
8. Summer Cardwell – 4:14.21

One of just two events this morning, with heats that are not circle-seeded, the first heat of the women’s 400 IM saw all of its entrants entered in non-conforming times, using either yards time or bonus entries. The top seed in this heat, Sophia Knapp, is seeded with a 500 free time of 4:41.80 and holds a PB of 4:14.41 in the event dating back to 2022. Knapp, who swam for UVA, trailed Kate Mouser at the 200-meter mark by 1.64 seconds with the Purdue Boilermaker flipping at 2:07.35. Mouser continued her impressive run and took the first heat in 4:20.84 ahead of Maddie Waggoner at 4:22.63.

Fresh off the plane from Singapore with a relay silver medal, Bella Sims wasted no time in the early stages of the 400 free. The #2 seed and top seed in the first of two circle seeded heats, Sims jumped out to an early lead, flipping in 58.97 at the 100 mark ahead of the pair of Louisville Cardinals, Summer Cardwell and Daria Golovaty, who were each over a second back. Sims, who placed 3rd at this event at US Nationals behind Katie Ledecky and Claire Weinsten, continued to maintain her lead on the field as she made the turn at the halfway mark in 2:03.46, with Cardwell 1.09 seconds back and Sims’ former teammate at Florida, Michaela Mattes, just under two seconds back. Sims remained in the lead but slowed a little on the backhalf and cruised into the wall in 4:12.61, with Mattes passing Cardwell to take 2nd, 4:14.12 to 4:14.21.

The third heat was a much tighter affair in its opening stages as the top five swimmers at the 200-meter mark were all separated by less than half a second as Justina Kozan, swimming out of lane 8, flipped first at 2:03.49, with Molly Walker and Amelia Weber, both of Australia, behind by .25 and .40 respectively. By the 300 turn, however, future UVA Cavalier, Madi Mintenko, had burst through the field, flipping at 3:06.01 and led Kozan by nearly two seconds. Mintenko kept her pace up and took the heat win in 4:09.34, with Kozan back by over two seconds at 4:11.43. Behind the top two things were close as both Walker and Chloe Stepanek finished ahead of Sims time from the previous heat

MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – Prelims

• World Record: 3:39.96 – Lucas Martens, GER (2025)
• American Record: 3:42.78 – Larsen Jensen (2008)
• US Open Record: 3:43.33 – Rex Maurer, USA (2025)
• World Junior Record: 3:44.31 – Petar Petrov Mitsin (2023)
• Pro Swim Series: 3:43.55 – Sun Yang (2016)

Top 8

1. Matthew Galea – 3:50.58
2. Aaron Shackell – 3:50.65
3. Kieran Smith – 3:51.26
4. Alec Enyeart – 3:52.44
5. Colin Jacobs – 3:53.59
6. Gabriel Manteufel – 3:53.61
7. Mason Edmund – 3:54.93
8. Juan Vallmitjana – 3:55.37

With a target time of 3:56.96 from Alex Axon in the first heat, TJ Frost of Ohio State got himself off to a fast start in the opening 100, flipping in 55.40. By the 200 however, the middle lanes of the heat started to assert themselves as Gabe Manteufel had the lead at the halfway mark, flipping in 1:54.08 ahead of Alec Enyeart by .62 and ahead of the heat’s top seed and 2024 Olympian in this event, Kieran Smith, who was .89 back.

Smith made his move over the next 100 and pulled himself into the lead by .30 over Manteufel with the Florida Gator flipping at 2:53.27. Enyeart, who was back by just under a second, tried to close the gap on Smith but couldn’t make up the difference, and despite passing Manteufel on the last 100, he still finished 1.18 back of Smith, who stopped the clock in 3:51.26

Smith’s fellow Paris Olympian in the event and the top seed in the event, Aaron Shackell, took matters into his own hands and opened the race in 55.05, nearly a second ahead of Colin Jacobs. By the halfway mark, Shackell had only further extended his lead over Jacobs and Josh Brown as he split 1:54.29, 1.54 ahead of the chasing pair.

By the 300-meter mark, however, Australian Matthew Galea made up what was a 1.56-second deficit to sit just under a second back of Shackell and with the momentum behind him he split 28.92/28.08 over the last 100 to catch Shackell (29.41/28.59) on the last 50 to take the heat win and post the fastest overall time of 3:50.58, .07 ahead of Shackell.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – Prelims

• World Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2025)
• American Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh (2025)
• US Open Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2025)
• World Junior Record: 56.33 – Mizuki Hirai, JPN (2024)
• Pro Swim Series: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2025)

Top 8

1. Alex Shackell – 57.69
2. Bella Grant – 58.75
3. Bailey Hartman – 59.31
4. Sydney Gring – 59.58
5. Rachel Klinker / Isabella Boyd – 59.66
7. Erika Pelaez – 59.83
8. Miriam Sheehan – 1:00.21

With just 21 entries, all of the swimmers, barring DQ, were guaranteed to make it back into a final tonight, but competition was still tough as each swimmer was still fighting for a spot in the A-Final.

2024 Paris Olympian Alex Shackell posted the fastest time in the field by a wide margin as she won the last heat in 57.69. Shackell, who was 3rd in this event at the US Nationals, opened in 26.66, the only swimmer under 27 and just one of four under 28, Shackell closed in 31.03, the 2nd fastest in the field to stop the clock at 57.69. Flanking her tonight will be Bella Grant and Bailey Hartman, who respectively stopped the clock at 58.75 and 59.31. The pair were the only others amongst the top 8 to split under 28, as they hit the halfway mark in 27.46 and 27.65.

Grant’s compatriot Isabella Boyd was out slower in 28.88 but closed fastest of the field, coming home in 30.78 to tie for 5th with Rachel Klinker at 59.66. US Olympians Bella Sims and Rhyan White both were no-shows.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – Prelims

• World Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• American Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel (2021)
• US Open Record: 49.76 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• World Junior Record: 50.62 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
• Pro Swim Series: 50.42 – Ilya Kharun, CAN (2025)

Top 8

1. Trenton Julian – 51.18
2. Ben Armbruster – 51.73
3. Aiden Hayes – 51.83
4. Julian Koch – 52.16
5. Evan Fentress – 52.35
6. Jack Dahlgren – 52.63
7. August Vetsch – 52.71
8. Grant House – 52.96

Caeleb Dressel, who placed 3rd last night in the 50 free entered the 100 fly as the top seed, but was a no-show in the final heat of the event. However, despite his absence, the last heat saw some swift times as Trenton Julian blasted his way to the top of the field with a time of 51.18.

Julian, who also finished 3rd in the 200 IM and 4th in the 200 fly at US Nationals, was 5th in this event, recording a time of 51.53 in the finals. In Indianapolis earlier this summer, Julian split 24.21 and 27.32, but this morning, uncharacteristically, had a strong last 50 as he was out a smidge slower at 24.25, but closed much faster, recording the only sub-27.5 split in the field with his 26.93.

The Mission Viejo Nadadore’s time of 51.18 surpassed the 51.73 and 51.83, put up by the #2 and #3 seeds, Ben Armbruster and Aiden Hayes, in the preceding heats. Armbruster finished 3rd in this event at the Australian Trials in June, recording a time of 51.45, while Hayes won the B-final at US Nationals in a time of 52.05.

The trio were the only ones to record times under 52, with Pittsburgh’s Julian Koch the next fastest at 52.16.

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – Prelims

• World Record: 2:17.55 – Evgeniia Chikunova, RUS (2023)
• American Record: 2:18.50 – Kate Douglass (2025)
• US Open Record: 2:19.30 – Kate Douglass, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 2:19.64 – Viktoria Gunes, TUR (2015)
• Pro Swim Series: 2:19.30 – Kate Douglass, USA (2024)

Top 8

1. Sienna Harben – 2:28.15
2. Gabrielle Rose – 2:32.03
3. Isabelle Odgers – 2:32.66
4. Mackenzie Lung – 2:33.01
5. Mia Cheatwood – 2:33.55
6. Jonette Laegreid – 2:33.76
7. Ella Flowers – 2:34.42
8. Sofia Szymanowska – 2:35.06

Three swimmers entered the 200 Women’s 200 breaststroke seeded under 2:30, but only Sienna Harben broke that barrier this morning in the prelims. Harben, who was DQed in this event at her nation’s trials early this month, was seeded with a time of 2:26.94 and was just a little over a second slower, stopping the clock at 2:28.15. The Australian, opened in 1:11.05, one of only two sub-1:12 splits in the field, and was the lone swimmer to not split above a 39 on any of her 50s as she was 38.99 on the last length.

Twenty-six years her senior, Gabby Rose of Alpha Aquatics secured herself lane 5 in tonight’s final as the #2 seed, as she stopped the clock at 2:32.03, 1.90 seconds off her PB from last year’s Olympic Trials. Rose, who finished 3rd last night in the 50 breast with a new PB of 31.49, was 1:12.45 at the 100 and trailed Harben by 1.40 at the 100 in the last heat but faded on the backhalf to finish 3.88 seconds back.

After those two, Isabelle Odgers from heat 2 had the next fastest time as she stopped the clock at 2:32.66, with Mackenzie Lung of Fresno State rounding out the top 4 with her 2:33.01. Mia Cheatwood, who was just .03 back of Harben in the final heat at the 100 meter mark, faded on the last 100, splitting 40.18 and 42.29 to finish 5th at 2:33.55.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – Prelims

• World Record: 2:05.48 – Haiyang Qin, CHN (2023)
• American Record: 2:06.54 – Matthew Fallon (2024)
• US Open Record: 2:06.54 – Matthew Fallon, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 2:07.27 – Shin Ohashi, JPN (2025)
• Pro Swim Series: 2:08.18 – Matthew Fallon, USA (2024)

Top 8

1. Jassen Yep – 2:12.87
2. Charlie Egeland – 2:13.07
3. Adam Chillingworth – 2:13.23
4. Joshua Collett – 2:13.61
5. Logan Brown – 2:13.86
6. Jake Eccleston – 2:14.29
7. Finlay Schuster – 2:14.53
8. Daniel Li – 2:14.68

Jassen Yep, showed that his talents were not just contained to a 25-yard pool as the NCAA champion in this event put himself into a good position to win this event tonight. Yep, who represents Indiana Swim Club was the #2 seed entering the meet, but his 2:12.87 secured him lane 4 tonight by .20 with his teammate Charlie Egeland taking the 2nd seed. Yep, opened in 1:03.72, .01 ahead of Egeland, who swam in heat 3. Egeland closed faster, 34.99 to 35.01, but Yep’s 3rd 50 of 34.14 was faster than Egeland’s 34.35 and made all the difference.

Egeland, who entered the meet at the 11th seed at 2:13.97 and placed 23rd at US Nationals (2:16.97), cut .90 off his PB as he won the last heat ahead of top seed Joshua Collett and 4th seed Logan Brown. Collett, who placed 4th at Australian Trials, was right with Egeland at the 100, trailing by .04, but either shut things down or faded a little on the backhalf as he finished over half a second back at 2:13.61.

Rounding out the top three tonight is Hong Kong’s Adam Chillingworth. Chillingworth formerly represented Great Britain, but changed his sporting nationality to Hong Kong, where he grew up. He won the first heat by 1.06 seconds over Jake Eccleston, making up a nearly half-second differential at the halfway mark, ultimately hitting the wall in 2:13.23.