Megan Kingsley Drops Another Half-Second in Finals of First Meet Back

f2017 Athens Sectionals

• July 13-16, 2017
• UGA Ramsey Center, Athens, GA
• Results on Meet Mobile
•  Results
  • Thursday
  • Friday
  • Saturday
  • Sunday

The most significant big-picture story of Day 3 at the 2017 Athens Sectionals on the University of Georgia campus was the return of Megan Kingsley – a former USA Swimming National Team member and Junior National Champion. In her first meet back from knee surgery, Kingsley made the A final in the 100 fly and dropped from a 1:02.67 in prelims to a 1:02.03 in finals to take 6th place. While still two seconds away from her best time in the event of 59.91, the time is encouraging just a few months off major knee surgery.

First race after 4 months post-surgery and I couldn't be happier!! It feels so good to race and be next to my team again! #godawgs

— Meg Kingsley Brooks (@Megs_Kingsley) July 15, 2017

Kingsley hadn’t swum long course since the 2016 Olympic Trials, nor any meet since the 2017 NCAA Championships where her highest finish was 12th in the 200 fly.

That 100 fly on Saturday was won by Auburn’s Hailey Black in 2:00.26.

The best men’s swim of the day came from Georgia undergrad Walker Higgins, who won the men’s 400 free in 3:52.13. That’s half-a-second improvement on his previous best time, which was done at last month’s US National Championships.

Other Day 3 Winners:

• Meryn McCann of the Athens Bulldog Swim Club won the women’s 400 free in 4:15.96, having just enough to pull away from teammate and runner-up Shauna Lee (4:16.20) for the win.
• Kentucky Aquatics’ David Dingess swam a best time of 54.00 to win the 100 fly. That’s his first best time of the summer in this event.
• Athens Bulldog 17-year old Danielle Dellatorre won the 10 breaststroke in 1:10.44. 15-year old Claire Donan from Triton Swimming in Kentucky took 2nd in 1:11.00.
• Dynamo Swim Club’s Basil Orr, a Georgia undergrad, won the men’s 100 breaststroke in 1:03.55.
• A group of SwimMAC teenagers won the women’s 800 free relay in 8:20.28, touching almost 5 seconds ahead of the runners-up from the Dynamo Swim Club.
• Dynamo Swim Club, with two of the three Litherland triplets (Kevin and Mick) in the lineup, won the men’s 800 free relay in 7:35.31. SwimMAC, with a full high school relay, took 2nd in 7:39.12.

Team Standings After Day 3:

Women’s Standings:

1. SwimMAC Carolina – 533.5
2. Athens Bulldog Swim Club – 356
3. Dynamo Swim Club – 290
4. Lakeside Swim Team – 265
5. SwimAtlanta – 116

Men’s Standings:

1. Dynamo Swim Club – 504.5
2. Kentucky Aquatics – 346
3. SwimMAC Carolina – 332.5
4. Lakeside Swim Team – 227
5. SwimAtlanta – 147

Combined Standings:

1. SwimMAC Carolina – 866
2. Dynamo Swim Club – 794.5
3. Lakeside Swim Team – 492
4. Athens Bulldog Swim Club – 467
5. Kentucky Aquatics – 437