2020 Auburn Fall Invitational
- Wednesday, November 18th- Friday, November 20th
- James E. Martin Aquatic Center, Auburn, AL
- Short Course Yards (SCY)
- Prelims/Finals
- Teams: Auburn, Florida
- Live Results
The 2020 Auburn Fall Invitational has kicked off here at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center as the Auburn Tigers host the Florida Gators this week. The championship-style meet will feature three days of competition, consisting of a prelims and finals session each day. This morning, the invite saw the prelims of the men’s and women’s 500 free, 200 IM, and 50 free.
Highlighting the prelims session was Florida junior Kieran Smith‘s leading 500 free time, where he put up a 4:11.08. That registers as the 2nd-fastest swim of his career, only behind his NCAA/American record of 4:06.32 from the 2020 SEC Championships. Florida teammates sophomore Trey Freeman (4:16.87) and junior Bobby Finke (4:18.37) rounded out the top 3 times in the event this morning.
Smith also swam the 200 IM this morning, posting the top time of 1:46.46. The remaining top four in this event, Florida sophomore Kevin Vargas (1:47.46), Auburn freshman Reid Mikuta (1:47.50), and Florida junior Miguel Cancel (1:47.51), are separated by just five one-hundredths.
In the men’s 50 free, the entire top three this morning all swam sub-20, led by Florida sophomore Eric Friese (19.74). At the 2019 Georgia Tech Fall Invitational around the same time last year, Friese swam 20.07/19.73 in this event. Florida newcomer Adam Chaney put up the second-fastest swim this morning with a 19.81, which is just outside of his top five career times. Florida junior Will Davis rounded out this morning’s top three at 19.85. Sophomore Nik Eberly put up the fastest Auburn swim this morning at 20.15 to take fourth into finals.
On the women’s side, Florida sophomore Leah Braswell leads the 500 free by nearly 3 seconds heading into finals with a 4:41.28. Florida sophomore Tylor Mathieu (4:44.22) and newcomer Elise Bauer (4:44.76) finish off the top three morning times while Auburn’s Emily Hetzer sits in fourth with a 4:45.76. For Bauer, her time this morning chopped more than two seconds off her lifetime best of 4:47.34 from March 2019.
In the women’s 200 IM, Florida teammates Kathleen Golding (1:58.35) and Vanessa Pearl (1:58.53) swam morning times less than two-tenths apart, setting up a nice dual for this evening’s finals. Golding’s swim this morning flirted with her career best of 1:58.18, set at the 2020 SEC Championships. Auburn’s Hannah Ownbey registered the only other sub-2:00 swim this morning with a 1:59.53.
Topping the women’s 50 free was Florida sophomore Talia Bates, touching in at 22.59. Swimming just 0.04s behind Bates to join her in the middle lanes this evening was transfer teammate Katie Mack (22.63). Mack’s current career best is a 22.60, which she set as a 15-year-old in 2017. Auburn’s AJ Kutsch (22.86) and Florida’s Kirschtine Balbuena (22.88) were the remaining sub-23 swimmers this morning.
Tonight’s finals session is set to begin at 6:00pm ET, starting with the 200 free relay timed finals and ending with the 400 medley relay timed finals.
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Don’t you miss the good old Auburn days when they had racers and coaches?
I’m talking the Richard Quick / Dave Marsh era… Gosh, so many olympic medallists out of that crew.
Freddy B, Caesar, Targett, think that squad, or at least their protégés, still hold the 200 free relay record.
Related to that, I’ve always wished the 2008-2012 sprinters from Australia and French had swam NCAA, the battles with Adrian would’ve been legendary
Auburn – at least from a racing perspective (ignoring culture, academics, other important aspects) – has really, really regressed.
Ah yes, when I think of Auburn, the first things that come to mind are culture and academics. They do have what must be the biggest f’ing John Deere tractor display in North America a few blocks away from campus though.
If Kieran breaks the NCAA record in the 200y free this year, Florida will have swept every men’s freestyle individual event record in yards from the 50 to the 1650.
Clark Smith’s disgusting 1000 would like a word
Finke was within a second @ SEC last year. I assume Clark’s record was the first 1000 of a mile as well…don’t recall.
It was not, I believe it was a straight up 1000…
It was but he went for the 1000 then just finished
It was not a straight up 1000, he did swim the last 650 (and even paced Townley to his first NCAA cut as part of it). He did relax for a bit at the 1000 wall though after a hand touch-his 11th 100 was a 1:23.88. His total time was 15:41.
4:06 tonight?
It’s not the UT pool.
Kieran Smith, 4:03 tonight. You heard it here first, folks.
I can get behind this
definitely possible, I’ve always thought men could get close to breaking 4 minutes
Reminds me of an interesting conversation I had with a training buddy recently. I mused which might come first: a man breaks 4:00 in the 500, or a woman breaks 20.0 in the 50. Maybe a discussion for another place and time, but if Smith threw down a 4:03, I would have to believe the former as the more likely first outcome. (I felt a woman breaking 20.0 in the 50 seemed the more likely first outcome).
Really? Why did you think thats more likely? That would take more than even a Dressel type swim!
After doing the 400, 800 and 1500 LC the weekend before. Then going back up in yardage. This kid isn’t near rested or shaved.
He didn’t do the 1500 but I feel that
He might just be doing 200 IM tonight
I believe he scratched the 500 tonight. Meet Mobile only shows him swimming the 200 IM.
That’s fast