A Closer Look at Torri Huske’s 15-16 National Age Group Record in the 100 Fly

2019 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

16-year-old Torri Huske broke a record more than twice her age on Friday night in Stanford when she posted a 57.80 in the ‘A’ final of the women’s 100 butterfly. In 44 strokes, Huske took down Mary T. Meagher‘s 38-year-old 15-16 National Age Group Record in the 100 LCM butterfly, posting a final time of 57.80.

Off the dive, Huske kicked out to nearly the full 15 meters before breaking the surface. At the 50-meter turn, Huske was sitting in 3rd place with a 26.80 split, trailing the early leader, Aly Tetzloff, and Amanda Kendall, who turned in 26.41 and 26.58, respectively. Kelsi Dahlia was sitting only 6th at the turn with a 27.06 over the first 50, but made it all up in the second half with a 30.29 to hit the wall first in 57.35. Huske, meanwhile, was 31.00 on the second 50, making her back-end the 5th-fastest of the 8 swimmers in the field.

Stroke count:

  • 1st 50: 20
  • 2nd 50: 24
  • Total: 44

Huske took her races out fast yesterday and faded more than most of her competitors on the 2nd 50, but considering the women who beat Huske in the finals are all in their 20s–25 (Dahlia), 28 (Kendall), and 22 (Tetzloff), respectively–and Huske only is 16, they have strength and experience on their side.

Huske’s split difference from the first 50 to the second was 4.20 seconds, putting her 5th in terms of endurance and ability to finish the race. Dahlia had the narrowest gap in splits with 3.23 seconds, though Lillie Nordmann and Katie Drabot also boasted a difference of less than 4 seconds between the first and second 50s with 3.60 and 3.97 second split differences, respectively. Claire Curzan, who also slipped under Meagher’s record with a final time of 57.87, had a split difference of 4.03 seconds.

Huske’s Splits:

Huske – Prelims Huske – Finals
1st 50 26.60 26.80
2nd 50 31.38 31.00
TOTAL TIME 57.98 57.80* NAG RECORD

Watch Huske’s race:

TOP 5 PERFORMERS: U.S. GIRLS 15-16 100 FLY

  1. Torri Huske, 57.80, 2019
  2. Claire Curzan, 57.87, 2019
  3. Mary T. Meagher, 57.93, 1981
  4. Lillie Nordmann, 57.96, 2019
  5. Cassidy Bayer, 58.11, 2016

15-year-old Claire Curzan also broke Meagher’s record in the 100 fly ‘A’ final last night, registering a 57.87. Curzan is younger than Huske, having just turned 15 on June 30th, meaning she has 23 months yet to chip away at this record. Lillie Nordmann did not eclipse Meagher’s record, but became only the 4th 15-16 girl ever to break 58 seconds in the 100 fly; the first to break 58 was Meagher in 1981, and every other since happened on August 2nd at the 2019 U.S. National Championships.

Kelsi Dahlia, recently-returned from the 2019 FINA World Championships, won the gold medal last night in 57.35. Veteran Amanda Kendall, 28, was second in 57.51, and 22-year-old Aly Tetzloff of Auburn claimed bronze in 57.70

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Markster
4 years ago

Not trying to take away from Huske’s great swim but I think it’s worth point out that Mary T Meagher swam her fly races without goggles or underwaters.

Ger
Reply to  Markster
4 years ago

Or tech suits

Bitcoinsmeister
Reply to  Markster
4 years ago

Or track blocks

Pvdh
Reply to  Bitcoinsmeister
4 years ago

I heard there were sharks in the pool and one of her arms was torn off during the race. She had to stop and re attach it in the middle of the race.

USSWIM33
Reply to  Markster
4 years ago

Claire Curzan crazy impressive – under MT’s record and almost 2 years to make faster.

Swimmomtoo
Reply to  Markster
4 years ago

Without underwater?! Wow and why not?

HonestObserver
Reply to  Markster
4 years ago

And she did it in a pool that was around 4’6″ deep at the shallow end.

USSWIM33
Reply to  Markster
4 years ago

MT also had to touch the wall with hands exactly the same height vs now hands can be staggered/slightly overlapped as long as simultaneous.

About Reid Carlson

Reid Carlson

Reid Carlson originally hails from Clay Center, Kansas, where he began swimming at age six with the Clay Center Tiger Sharks, a summer league team. At age 14 he began swimming club year-round with the Manhattan Marlins (Manhattan, KS), which took some convincing from his mother as he was very …

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