AUBURN INVITATIONAL
- February 7-9, 2020
- Hosted by Auburn
- Short Course Yards
- Full Results
The Auburn invite came to a close on Sunday. Swimmers competed individually in the 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 1650 free. The Tigers got a good sign for their sprint and relay scoring at the upcoming SEC Championships as they had 2 sprinters make a big drop on Sunday. Sierra Jett broke 50 for the first time with a 49.68 to win the 100 free final. That was almost a full second drop. In prelims, teammate Camille Porter swam a 49.54, dropping a full second and also breaking 50 for the first time. On Friday, Porter made a huge, 7-tenth drop for a lifetime best 22.33 in the 50 free.
Auburn’s Jack Armstrong set a new collegiate best in the 100 free, winning finals in 44.11. That’s half a second faster than he’s been since he started as a freshman this season. His lifetime best is a 43.35, and this looks like another good sign for the Tiger relays at SECs. In prelims, teammate Aidan Stoffle was just a couple tenths shy of his lifetime best in 44.29. The 2nd fastest time of the day, however, came from FSU’s Gavin Jones in prelims. He dropped a full second in 44.13 before swimming a 44.54 in the final. Placing 2nd in the final was LSU’s Thomas Roark, just a tenth shy of his best in 44.36.
Florida’s Celi Guzman took another win and set another best time, this time in the 200 back. Guzman, who won the 100 fly on Saturday, put up a morning swim of 1:56.42 that marked her first time under 1:57. She went on to win finals in 1:57.00. Teammate Ethan McCloud won the men’s version of that race, clipping his best in 1:46.23.
Another Gator, Ellie Zweifel, set a lifetime best as she won the 200 breast in 2:17.17, dropping nearly a second. The Gators also got a win from Tyler Watson, who set a new collegiate best in the 200 fly. Watson won the final in 1:46.93, just under 2 tenths shy of a best time. It was his first time breaking 1:47 since 2018, and the 3rd fastest swim of his career. In prelims of that event, Alabama’s Cole Brown dropped almost 1.5 second with a 1:47.50. Brennan Gravely, who dropped 5 second in the 400 IM on Saturday, won the 1650 free for the Gators in 15:08.68, 2 seconds away from his best.
Florida State’s Nevada Wood blew away his best in the 200 breast. Coming into the day, his fastest was a 2:01.55 from midseason. Wood dropped almost 4 seconds to a 1:57.77 in prelims. He lowered again to win finals in 1:57.63. Teammates Manuella Andrade (1650 free- 1:12.46) and Alexis Durlacher (200 fly- 2:03.95) also collected wins for FSU.
Time Trials:
- Alabama’s Emily Graham broke 2:20 for the first time in the 200 breast. In a time trial. Graham took almost a second and a half off her best with a 2:19.94. She’s now dropped 2 seconds throughout the season.
- Florida State’s Adrian Aguilar, after setting a best time in the 500 free on day 1, time trialed the event. He swam a 4:24.79, just 8 hundredths slower than his best. His performance this weekend were his first 2 swims under 4:25.
- LSU’s Katie Smith clocked a 55.94 in the 100 back. That’s 8 tenths shy of a best time, which she set in 2018. It’s also her first time under 56 this season.
- FSU’s Tania Quaglieri got in a 50 back time trial, touching in 25.42.
