2016 USA College Challenge: Day 2 Live Recap

2016 USA COLLEGE CHALLENGE

• Saturday, Nov 12 – Sunday, Nov 13, 2016
• Indiana University Natatorium, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN
• Short course yards format
• Start times: Saturday: 4:30 PM Eastern, Sunday: 11:30 AM Eastern
• Rosters
• Meet site
• Live stream
• Live results

USA Swimming’s inaugural College Challenge kicks continues this afternoon, as a mixed squad of veterans and youngsters representing the USA National Team will face a collection of top notch swimmers from the Big Ten Conference. You can watch the action live at the link above, but we’ll providing live updates throughout the afternoon, as well.

Following day 1, the USA National Team leads the Big Ten with a score of 185 to 111.

WOMEN’S 1000 FREE:

Team USA’s Leah Smith built a 7 second lead over the rest of the field in the women’s 1000 free, winning the race in 9:21.54. That now makes her the 2nd fastest woman in the country this season, as Katie Ledecky smashed the NCAA record at yesterday’s Stanford vs Texas dual meet with a 9:10.49.

Behind her, Team USA’s Ashley Twichell and Big Ten’s Rose Bi battled for the silver medal. Bi made a late charge on the final 50, but came up just short. Twichell took 2nd in 9:28.35, while Bi was the bronze medalist with her 9:28.38.

MEN’S 1000 FREE:

USA’s Zane Grothe and Big Ten’s Jordan Wilimovsky were neck-and-neck to the finish of the men’s 1000 free. Grothe jumped out to the early lead, holding on to his slight edge while Wilimovsky, a U.S. Olympian, made a big move on the final 50 to try and get to the wall first. At the finish, it was Grothe who got his hand on the wall first, finishing in 8:46.22 ahead of Wilimovsky’s 8:46.34. The Big Ten’s PJ Ransford rounded out the medals with an 8:55.40.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE:

Big Ten champion Siobhan Haughey battled with Team USA’s Mallory Comerford in the 200 free, with Haughey touching ahead for a Big Ten victory in 1:42.93. Comerford followed closely behind for silver with a quick 1:43.28. Taking bronze was Team USA’s Leah Smith, who earned her 2nd medal of the day with a 1:44.37 for 3rd.

MEN’S 200 FREE:

The Big Ten came out on top again in the men’s 200 free, with Olympic gold medalist Blake Pieroni outpacingTeam USA’s Zane Grothe. Pieroni registered a winning time of 1:33.43, while Grothe earned another medal with a 1:34.83 for silver. Team USA’s Drew Kibler touched out the Big Ten’s Anze Tavcar for bronze, clocking a 1:35.33 to Tavcar’s 1:35.55.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK:

Ali Deloof put Team USA back on top, cracking 51 seconds for the 2nd time in as many days to win the 100 back in 50.99. Following behind her to secure a top 3 sweep for Team USA, Hannah Stevens touched in 52.02 for 2nd and Eva Merrell touched in 52.26 for 3rd.

MEN’S 100 BACK:

Shane Ryan threw down a 45.75 to pick up a win for the Big Ten in the men’s 100 back, giving him the only sub-46 time of the field. Olympian Jacob Pebley finished just a few tenths back for the silver, clocking a 46.14 ahead of the USA’s Sean Lehane, who took 3rd in 46.50.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST:

Olympic gold medalist Lilly King came within a half second of her own American Record in the 100 breast. King won the race in 57.30, just .45 shy of the 56.85 she swam at 2016 NCAAs, to give the Big Ten a victory. Picking up 2nd was Team USA’s Andee Cottrell, who clocked a 58.85 for silver. Big Ten’s Lindsey Horejsi closed out the podium with a 59.50.

MEN’S 100 BREAST:

Team USA’s Michael Andrew and Cody Miller, the Olympic bronze medalist in this race, swam to a photo finish in the men’s 100 breast. Andrew blasted a 51.90 to win the race, finishing just .15 shy of his lifetime best. Miller’s 52.02 was good for 2nd, while Nic Fink completed the USA sweep with a 52.16 for 3rd.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY:

Coming off her lightning fast performance last night, Team USA’s Kelsi Worrell continued to look dominant in the butterfly races. Today, she picked up a victory in the 200 fly with a winning time of 1:53.77. The Big Ten’s Gia Dalesandro and Team USA’s Hannah Saiz were separated by less than a tenth for silver, with Dalesandro getting her hands to the wall slightly faster in 1:55.77 to Saiz’s 1:55.86.

MEN’S 200 FLY:

Team USA’s Tom Shields blew away the field in the men’s 200 fly, throwing down a 1:39.89 for the win. As usual, Shields was the fastest man through the first 100, but he also came back stronger than anyone else with a 25.72 on the final 50. Earning the silver was Big Ten’s Vini Lanza, who posted a 1:43.15 ahead of Big Ten teammate Ching Lim, who was 3rd in 1:45.86.

WOMEN’S 50 FREE:

All-American Zhesi Li swam to a Big Ten victory in the 50 free, posting the only sub-22 time of the field with her gold-winning 21.72. Team USA’s Madison Kennedy (22.11) and Mallory Comerford (22.26) posted a pair of 22-lows to take 2nd and 3rd for Team USA.

MEN’S 50 FREE:

The Big Ten went 1-2 in the men’s 50 free, with All-Americans Ali Khalafalla and Paul Powers swimming sub-20 for the top 2 spots. Khalafalla, who had already been 19.4 once this season in a dual meet, clipped his season best time to win in 19.42. Powers followed clocesly in 19.79 for silver. Team USA’s Dillon Virva also broke 20 seconds to take 3rd in 19.84.

WOMEN’S 200 IM:

15-year-old Alex Walsh led a Team USA 1-2 in the women’s 200 IM, racing to the wall in 1:55.89 for the win. Just a few tenths back, her teammate Kirsten Vose and Big Ten’s Siobhan Haughey were locked in a battle for 2nd. Vose was slightly faster through the final 50, getting to the wall in 1:56.19 to Haughey’s 1:56.22.

MEN’S 200 IM:

Team USA’s Michael Andrew picked up his 2nd win of the day in the 200 IM. Andrew built himself a lead of over a second, getting his hand to the wall in a winning time of 1:44.20. Jacob Pebley‘s 1:45.63 was good for his 2nd silver of the day, while the Big Ten’s Evan White claimed 3rd in 1:46.63.

WOMEN’S 400 FREE RELAY:

The winning Team USA relay featured a monster anchor split by Mallory Comerford, who tore through the water in 47.03. Combined with Ali Deloof (48.81), Kelsi Worrell (47.41), and Amanda Weir (48.39), the team finished with an overall winning time of 3:11.64.

Taking 2nd was the Big Ten squad of Zhesi Li (48.39), Chase Kinney (48.54), Gabby Deloof (48.00), and Siobhan Haughey (48.36) in 3:13.29.

MEN’S 400 FREE RELAY:

The Big Ten closed the meet with a win, as their 400 free relay won the men’s race. Blake Pieroni led off with a quick 42.57 to get the ball rolling, while Shane Ryan clocked a blistering 41.72 on the anchor split. Combined with Anze Tavcar (43.79) and Cannon Clifton (42.73), they won the race in 2:50.81.

The Big Ten also took the silver in this race, with the B team’s relay, highlighted by a 42.58 2nd leg split by Ali Khalafalla, finishing in 2:53.28. Team USA swam to 3rd, with Tom Shields registering the fastest leadoff split in 42.53 on the way to the team’s 2:53.84.

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

• Team USA- 349
• Big Ten All Stars- 247

Despite some big swims today, the Big Ten wasn’t able to stage a comeback on day 2. Team USA won the 2016 USA College Challenge with a final score of 349 to 247.