Smith Rips 57.7 100 Back, Manuel Rides Momentum With 1:56 200 Free On Day 2 of Austin Sectionals

2026 Speedo Sectionals – Austin

• July 15-19, 2026
• Austin, Texas
• Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center
• LCM (50 meters)
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2026 ST TXLA SZ LC Sectional Champs”
• Recaps: Day 1

Regan Smith and Simone Manuel headlined a group of five Texas pros who won their second event in as many days at the Speedo Sectionals in Austin on Thursday night, both turning in impressive performances.

Smith, who won the women’s 200 fly on the opening night, followed up by dominating the 100 back, producing the lone sub-1:02 time of the event with a blistering 57.78.

Smith went 58.27 in the prelims with a strong back half (28.44/29.83) and then turned up the heat on the first length in the final while coming home roughly the same (27.93/29.85).

The world record holder with her 57.13 from the 2024 Olympic Trials, Smith leads the 2025-26 world rankings with the 57.49 she produced at the Fort Lauderdale Open in May.

Manuel, who set a new season-best en route to winning the 100 free on Day 1, outduelled Erin Gemmell to top the 200 free field last night, posting a time of 1:56.70.

Manuel trailed Gemmell by nearly three-tenths at the halfway mark (56.44 to 56.72), but erased most of that deficit on the third 50 with a 29.90 split. Coming home, Manuel overtook her, out-splitting Gemmell by a slim margin (30.08 to 30.20) to earn the victory by seven one-hundredths.

Manuel’s time is four one-hundredths shy of her 1:56.66 season-best that ranks her 21st in the world this season, while Gemmell, who clocked 1:56.77, was just over three-tenths back of her season-best (1:56.38) that ranks 15th in the world.

Taking 3rd was current Longhorn and Hungarian native Nikolett Padar, who out-split both Manuel and Gemmell on the back half (29.96/29.74) to clock 1:57.62, just off her season-best of 1:57.27 from the Fort Lauderdale Open. In 4th, Lillie Nesty broke 1:59 for the first time in 1:58.34 to shatter her previous PB of 1:59.40 by over a second.

On the men’s side, Carson Foster arguably had the best performance of the day in the 400 IM, putting up a time of 4:11.37 as he gradually pulled away from Rex Maurer (4:14.47) over the first 300 before holding him at bay coming home.

Foster’s season-best of 4:07.02 from the U.S. Open ranks him 3rd in the world this season, while Maurer’s time from last night takes more than a second off his previous season-best of 4:15.58 from the Longhorn Elite Invite and moves him into 23rd in the world.

OTHER EVENTS

• Chris Guiliano and Luke Hobson were engaged in a tight battle in the men’s 200 free through 150 meters, but Guiliano ran away with it on the last 50, touching in a time of 1:47.21 with a 27.97 closing split, while Hobson faded in 29.49 to ultimately finish in 1:48.99. Guiliano ranks 11th in the world this season with his 1:45.38 from the Westmont Pro Swim in March, while Hobson ranks 3rd after clocking 1:44.49 at the U.S. Open in December.
• Texas A&M commit and North Texas Nadadores member Ella McWhorter won the women’s 50 breast in a time of 32.53, one tenth off her lifetime best set last summer at the U.S. Junior Championships and then matched at last month’s Pro Swim in Indianapolis.
• Campbell McKean got one back on Luka Mladenovic in the final of the men’s 50 breast, as the 19-year-old American clocked 27.54 to top the 22-year-old Austrian’s time of 27.72. McKean was slightly faster than his season-best of 27.60 from the Longhorn Elite Invite, while Mladenovic was just shy of his 27.70 from the Austrian Championships. This was a flip of the results from last night, when Mladenovic got the better of McKean in the 200 breast. Another Texas-trained swimmer, Jack Kelly, rounded out the top three in 28.32.
• Shaine Casas picked up his second win as many days in the men’s 100 back, pulling away from Mark Nikolaev (54.62) and Will Modglin (54.83) on the back half to touch first in 54.09. All three men were 26.0 at the 50, led by Modglin’s 26.02, but Casas had the fastest second 50 of 28.00 to secure the win. Casas’ season-best stands at 53.76, set at the Westmont Pro Swim in March.
• Fifteen-year-old Kaia Finanger of the Woodlands Swim Team edged out LSU’s Saskia Blasius to win the women’s 400 IM in a time of 4:58.06, lowering her personal best time by five seconds. Finanger set her PB less than a month ago at the Fran Crippen Memorial Swim Meet of Champions in 5:03.08. Blasius, a German native, was 2nd in 4:59.23. Her PB stands at 4:48.01 set back in July 2023.