2019 NCSA Junior Nationals: Murdock Hits Trials Cut in 200 BK at Day 1 Prelims

2019 NCSA JUNIOR NATIONALS

• Tuesday, August 6 – Saturday, August 10, 2019
• Indiana University Natatorium, Indianapolis, IN
• LCM format
• Prelims 8:30 AM / Finals 5:30 PM (U.S. Eastern Time)
• Psych Sheets
• Live results available on Meet Mobile under “2019 NCSA Summer Swimming Championships”

The first session of the NCSA Summer Swimming Championships kicked off this morning, with the women’s 100 free, men’s 100 free, women’s 200 back, men’s 200 back, women’s 50 fly, men’s 50 fly, as well as the early heats of the men’s and women’s 200 medley and 200 free relays.

WOMEN’S 100 FREE

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Camille Spink (NCAP) – 56.48
2. McKenna Stone (FOX)/Ellie McLeod (DADS) – 56.75
3. –
4. Brieanna Romney (SEVA) – 56.93
5. Ella Welch (CARD) – 57.22
6. Danielle Ghine (EST) – 57.24
7. Madison Hall (WOLF) – 57.31
8. Emma Sticklen (KATY) – 57.61

14-year-old Camille Spink of Nation’s Capital swam a personal best of 56.48 to take the top seed in tonight’s A final. Spink took exactly half a second off her previous best of 56.98, which she had swum about 2 weeks ago. The swim also brought Spink up from a tie for #39 all-time for 13-14 girls, to a tie for #15 with Megan Romano. A 56.28 tonight would boost her into the top 10 all-time. 16-year-old McKenna Stone (Fox Valley) and 17-year-old Ellie McLeod (DADS) tied for the #2 spot this morning at 56.75. They swam pretty different races, however, with Stone going out much faster (27.00/29.75), and McLeod coming home faster (27.67/29.08).

17-Year-Old Emma Sticklen (KATY) dropped a full second to earn her way to the A final with a 57.61. Her previous best of 58.61 was from March of this year. Arabella Sims (SAND) earned the top seed for the B final with her 9th place finish in a time of 57.63, which was a personal best by .82 seconds.

MEN’S 100 FREE

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Cason Wilburn (ECAT) – 50.74
2. Connor Boyle (FOX) – 51.09
3. Matthew Tannenberger (SSAN) – 51.23
4. Max Saunders (SCSC) – 51.31
5. Gregory Kalin (MHSW) – 51.61
6. Parker Nolan (CWAC) – 51.78
7. Aleksei Hernandez-Nietling (KCSA) – 51.97
8. Nico Butera (PEAQ) – 51.99

Cason Wilburn (ECAT), an 18-year-old, took the top seed for tonight’s A final with his prelims swim of 50,74. In addition to being a personal best for Wilburn, he was the only swimmer in the field this morning to crack 57 seconds. However, 2nd seed Connor Boyle (FOX), 16, has a best time of 50.75, just.01 off Wilburn’s time this morning.

16-Year-Old Nico Butera (PEAQ) had a huge swim to qualify 8th for tonight’s A final. Butera clocked a 51.99, taking 1.27 seconds off his previous best of 53.26. To add to the significance of that swim, Butera’s previous best had been set roughly one week ago. Jacob Carlson (WEST), an 18-year-old, swam a personal best of 52.14 to take the top seed for tonight’s B final.

WOMEN’S 200 BACK

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Justine Murdock (BBA) – 2:12.90
2. Elyse Heiser (ZSC) – 2:15.96
3. Meghan Lee (EST) – 2:16.01
4. Alexandra Massey (ENSW) – 2:16.95
5. Madison Kolessar (SSC) – 2:17.39
6. Kallie Chelsvig (ENSW) – 2:17.60
7. Jessica Geriane (ACAD) – 2:17.79
8. Sophie Duncan (NCAP) – 2:18.00

Justine Murdock (BBA), 16, blew away her previous best time of 2:15.25, and qualified first for tonight’s A final by over 3 seconds. Her time of 2:12.90 also came in way under the Olympic Trials cut of 2:14.69. That is Murdock’s first 2020 Trials cut to date. She swam a very consistent race, keeping her splits tight. She was out in 31.85, then split 33.42, 33.93, and 33.70 on the last 3 splits, for 1:05.27/1:07.63 100 splits.

15-year-old Elyse Heiser (ZSC) dipped under 2:16 for the first time in her career to grab the 2nd spot in tonight’s A final. Jessica Geriane (ACAD), 16, had a big drop of 1.87 seconds to earn her way into the A final with her time of 2:17.79. 13-Year-Old Kathryn Grimes (SAND) swam a best time by 3.32 seconds, going 2:18.30 to qualify 10th, 2nd in the B final. Grimes dipped under 2:21, 2:20, and 2:19 for the first time in her career with that swim.

MEN’S 200 BACK

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Noah Rutberg (NCAP) – 2:03.00
2. Holden Raffin (MSC) – 2:03.52
3. Sawyer Grimes (SAND) – 2:05.34
4. Jaden Olson (CWAC) – 2:05.94
5. Andrew O’Brien (CSP) – 2:05.99
6. Colin Bitz (EST) – 2:06.05
7. William Modglin (ZSC) – 2:06.64
8. Tyler Hong (GLSS) – 2:07.17

Noah Rutberg led the way in prelims, establishing a new personal best of 2:03.00. His previous mark was 2:03.90. Rutberg and 2nd place finisher Holden Raffin (MSC) were far ahead of the rest of the field. Raffin was in at 2:03.52, nearly 2 seconds ahead of anyone else this morning. Jaden Olson (CWAC) dropped well over 2 seconds to qualify for the A final, finishing with the 4th fastest time this morning. Olson swam a 2:05.94, well under his 2:08.38 previous best.

Zachary Rowe (NCAP) finished 10th this morning, 2nd seed in tonight’s B final, dropped a whopping 4.62 seconds to make it back for finals. He swam a 2:07.56, breaking 2:10 for the first time, as his previous best was 2:12.18.

WOMEN’S 50 FLY

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Athena Ye (ACAD) – 27.69
2. Ella Welch (CARD) – 27.78
3. McKenna Stone (FOX) – 27.79
4. Alexandra Massey (ENSW)  -27.86
5. Caroline Bricker (CMA) – 27.98
6. Aris Runnels (NCAP) – 28.02
7. Carly Sebring (NCAP) – 28.26
8. Emma Sticklen (KATY) – 28.27 (27.90 in swim-off)

In a very tight field of women’s 50 fly, Athena Ye led the way with a 27.69. The 18-year-old grabbed the top seed for tonight, but not by much, as 15-year-old Ella Welch (CARD) is only .09 seconds behind. McKenna Stone is only .01 seconds behind Welch, qulaifying 3rd for the A final, and making her 2nd A final of the day. Alexandra Massey (ENSW) and Caroline Bricker (CMA) were also under 28 seconds this morning.

There was a tie for 8th in prelims this morning between Emma Sticklen (KATY) and Michaela Herwig (ACAD), both swimming 28.27. In a swim-off for the final spot in the A final, the pair nearly tied again, with Sticklen coming out just barely on top. Both swimmers swam faster in the swim-off, with Sticklen clocking a 27.90 and Herwig swimming a 27.95. That means there were 7 swimmers this morning under 28 seconds.

MEN’S 50 FLY

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Cason Wilburn (ECAT) – 24.94
2. Parker Nolan (CWAC) – 25.16
3. Tristan DeWitt (FORT) – 25.22
4. Aayush Deshpande (FOX) – 25.40
5. Aleksei Hernandez-Nietling (KCSA) – 25.43
6. Seth Miller (CWAC)/Grant Afman (MSC) – 25.47
7. –
8. Max Saunders (SCSC) – 25.54

4 of the A finalists from the men’s 100 free will also be back in the A final of the men’s 50 fly. Cason Wilburn, who also picked up the top seed in the 100 free, clocked a 24.94 for the top seed tonight in the 50 fly. Wilburn was the only swimmer in the fiueld to break 25 seconds this morning, much like he was the only to crack 51 seconds in the 100 free.

Parker Nolan, who is an A finalist in the 100 free, picked up the 2nd seed for tonight, swimming a 25.16. Aleksai Hernandez-Nietling is another swimmer who will be in the A final of both the 100 free and 50 fly. Max Saunders came in 8th this morning, earning his way to his 2nd A final of the day.