As the University of Florida, the University of Miami (FL), University of Kentucky and Washington State University convened at Ohio State University’s McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, already 20 Olympic Trials cuts were seen during the first prelim session earlier today. The teams got down to business again during tonight’s finals, where the format was switched back to the standard college short course yards, where athletes took full advantage of the walls missing earlier today.
Point Standings After Day 1 Men’s: Florida 425, OSU 369, Kentucky 163
Point Standings After Day 1 Women’s: Florida 345.5, OSU 285.5, Kentucky 198, WSU 171, Miami 128
Women’s Events
The women’s meet kicked off with an ever-so-close battle to the wall between the Florida Gators and the Buckeye squad, as the women’s 200y freestyle relay was decided by just .04 of a second. The Florida foursome of Elisavet Panti (23.42), Ashlee Linn (22.19), Alyssa Yambor-Maul (23.05) and Natalie Hinds (21.50) combined for a first place time of 1:30.16. Buckeye Zhesi Li also anchored in a sub-22 time, a 21.36 charging to the wall. Li’s leg combined with the earlier splits of Annie Jongekrijg (22.83), Cheyenne Meek (23.04) and Rachael Dzierzak (22.97) collectively scored a second place finish in a final time of 1:30.20. Both times were just a hair off of the NCAA provisional relay standard of 1:29.90.
Last year’s SEC champion in the 1650, Jessica Thielmann from England, added to the Gator point total with her victory in the 500y freestyle event. She led the field with the only sub-4:40 time of the night, a 4:39.82, to out-touch 2nd place finisher Kendal Casey from Kentucky (4:42.58) and Lindsey Clary (4:44.03) from Ohio State.
Florida also racked up the points going 1-2 in the women’s 200y IM in tonight’s finals, led by senior Ashlee Linn whose time of 1:58.14 blows away her mark from this time in 2014, a 2:00.09 from last year’s Georgia Tech invite. Her time tonight now ranks as 3rd-fastest in the NCAA so far this season, pending the outcome of several other invites in progress this weekend. Teammate Georgia-Mae Hohmann wasn’t too far behind in the race, ultimately registering a time of 1:58.75, followed about a second later by Ohio State sophomore Meg Bailey in 1:59.91.
The speed Zhesi Li threw down in the first event of the night as the anchor of the Buckeye women’s relay was just the beginning, as the sophomore from China scorched the 50y freestyle field with a time of 21.83, an NCAA “A” cut. Li’s incredible time tonight set a brand new meet record and would’ve wound up 6th at last year’s NCAA Championships. Gator Hinds touched 2nd tonight in a time of 22.11, with Washington State getting on the board with Hannah Bruggman’s time of 22.96 to finish 3rd.
It was another down-to-the-wire finish in the final event of the night, the 400y medley relay, with Florida coming out on top once again. This time, the squad of Linn, Burns, Yambor-Maul, and Hinds joined forces for a collective time of 3:34.52, which was enough to out-do 2nd place Kentucky Wildcats who also cleared 3:35 with a mark of 3:34.85.
Men’s Events
The Gator men also started off their meet right, crushing a time of 1:17.55 in the 200y freestyle relay. Caeleb Dressel led off with a phenomenal 18.96, followed by Corey Main’s 19.41, Jack Blyzinski’s 19.47 and Mark Szaranek’s 19.71. The combination of talent’s time now ranks as the top time in the NCAA this year, pending any other incoming results from other invitationals this weekend.
Florida followed up that win with a sweep in the 500y freestyle, led by sophomore Jan Switkowski from Poland. Switkowski scored a time of 4:15.43 with splits of 52.30, 51.66, 51.29 and 50.50 for the win. Teammate Mitch D’Arrigo from Italy was just over a second behind, finishing in 4:16.59, splitting 49.69 on his final 50. Earning the 3rd place spot was another foreign Florida swimmer, as Polish swimmer Pawel Werner clocked a time of 4:17.17. North Carolina State’s Anton Ipsen held the NCAA’s top mark headed into this meet, so Switkowski and company are now in the top of the rankings in the event across the country.
Scottish sophomore Mark Szaranek collected more points for the Gators, leading the field in the 200y IM event. His sub-1:45 time wipes his mark of 1:46.80 from this same month last year off the map, as he stopped the clock tonight in a time of 1:44.95. Szaranek effort now slides behind Louisville’s Nolan Tesone, who owns into op slot on top of the NCAA rankings in 1:44.07 also competing elsewhere tonight.
Dressel did it again for Florida in the speed department, registering a blistering 18.77 in the individual 50y freestyle event for a new pool record. Dressel won the NCAA title last year in 18.67, lending perspective to just how eye-popping this effort was for the sophomore at this point in the season. An 18.77 would have finished 3rd overall in that same race in Iowa City. Dressel’s time tonight blows the “A” standard of 19.18 away and signifies the NCAA’s first sub-19 clocking of the year. **Also, see breaststroke split from Dressel below…looks like the kid can do both sprint free and train breaststroke, FYI.
Also, for anyone monitoring ‘Stache Watch, whereby Florida Coach Gregg Troy said he would shave his mustache if Dressel went 18.39 this season, we’re now just .38 of a second off of the shave-time mark.
The Gators were also dominant in the 400y medley relay, with the crew of Jack Blyzinskyj, Caeleb Dressel, Jan Switkowski and Corey Main throwing down a time of 3:06.50 to win by over 5 seconds. Splits for the men were as follows:
Blyzinskyj – 45.73
Dressel – 52.42
Switkowski – 45.72
Main – 42.63
Florida’s finish tonight is the swiftest in the NCAA (by A LOT) and would have garnered 8th at last year’s NCAA Championships. In fact, Dressel’s breaststroke leg out-split that of now-graduated Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez’s time of 52.53 on Florida’s relay that finished 7th in Iowa City.
I’m with AquaJosh all the way. Once a doper, always a doper. I advocate for minimum 4 yr bans for ANY positive test. The governing bodies need to get tough and clean up this crap!
Manaudou is going to get some real competition from Dressel in Rio. Dressel’s for sure going to go 18.3 at NCAAs along with a 40. low in the 100. CRAZY fast.
While I think Dressel has chance to surprise at Olympics(the last two champions were 21years-old), don’t read that much on yards times.It is another sport.Cielo was between 21.84 he made at panams and 21.30(with LZR) he made at Olympics when he did NCAA record. With his 21.5 form, I expect Dressel to lower Cielo record (at least 18.40).
Manaudou probably would destroy a 50yards race.
Exactly- 40 low is what I was thinking. Just amazing times at this point in the season.
18.77 isn’t much when Oslin is going a 45.99
1. he went 46.00
2. 18.7 is faster than 46.00
No surprise Dressel swims 18.77 considering he swam 21.53 in long course.
But most surprising is he does it right now, I presume not tapered.
A time about 18.30 looks very plausible in March.
Does anyone have a video of Dressel’s swim? I would LOVE to see it
Plus, there’s a reason she went to OSU (not a top tier women’s program). No other major university wanted the baggage.
Yeeow! Switkowski has some speed! Did you see that his first 25 on that 400 medley relay was a 9.11?!
I really don’t like that Li Zhesi is swimming in the NCAA. She was busted testing positive for EPO in 2012 and banned for two years. This girl split a 52 high anchor on China’s medley relay at 2009 Worlds at the age of 14.
Regardless of what has happened, she is fully allowed to compete in the US and in the NCAA. Doubtful doping was even her choice, if a 14 year old girl was pressured by an entire federation, why not give her a second chance at understanding what she did was wrong? The lack of understanding for a situation should not be reason for “not liking” someone given a second opportunity. Ridiculous.
Read before you react. She wasn’t 14 when she tested positive. She was a few months from turning 17. She was 14 when she put up that unreal split, and most likely was doped from 12 or 13 (When she won her first Chinese National title in the 50) until she was busted, and who knows if that continued during the time when she was banned from the sport? Studies have shown that that the gains from doping continue to last after the doping ceases even in microdoses. Whether she was doped willingly or not (and neither of us know the answer for certain) is irrelevant. She was busted for EPO. It doesn’t accidentally show up in a vitamin or… Read more »
Citations to these studies, please? And, specifically, where it talks about the length of residual affects of doping?
She didn’t choose to dope but she paid the price. She left the system in her home country and came to the US to (presumably) take control of her life and be the best clean swimmer she can be. Unless those gains from doping last forever, or past the two year ban, why on earth shouldn’t she get a second chance?!
I stand with aquajosh on this matter. Unreal that a US university would give a sports scholarship to a convicted doper regardless of the circumstances. Personally I will just ignore any results she posts as they are not done on a level playing field.
Ipsen’s 4:16.2 from day 1 of Nike Cup falls to second in the rankings. Wow. Switkowski looks phenomenal, as does the rest of Florida.