Austin Surhoff Hits Personal Best and OT Cut in First Race Since 2016 Trials

2019 BIG AL PRINCETON INVITE – LCM TRIALS

  • Monday, December 9th, 2019
  • Princeton, NJ
  • Results on Meet Mobile
    • ‘PRINCETON SWIMMING BIG AL LCM TIME TRIAL MEET’

Like most of the winter invitationals we’ve covered this NCAA season, Princeton ended theirs with a long course time trial session today for anyone looking to snag Olympic Trials cuts or get some LCM racing in.

Among those competing yesterday was Johns Hopkins assistant coach Austin Surhoff, the 2010 NCAA 200 IM champion and University of Texas alumnus. Surhoff, a Baltimore native (his father played for the Baltimore Orioles in the MLB), graduated from Texas in 2014, then coached at Johns Hopkins for 2017-18, the University of Virginia for 2018-19, and then moved back to JHU for this season.

Today, Surhoff swam to a 22.87 in the 50 free, going a lifetime best by over two seconds (he had only raced it once since high school, a 24.91 at a June club meet in 2011 at age 20). Moreover, it was an Olympic Trials cut, easily getting under the standard of 23.19. He was also 51.29 in the 100 free, within a second of his best time of 50.40 from the 2013 U.S. Summer Nationals.

Surhoff has not logged an official race since the 2016 Olympic Trials. Specifically, his last swim was the 200 IM final at that meet, where he went a 2:00.33 to finish eighth overall. That was July 1st, 2016, over three years ago. Surhoff’s first Olympic Trials were in 2008, where he placed 13th in the 200 IM, and his best finish came in 2012, where he was 4th at 1:59.58.

As far as the 50 free rankings go this season (starting September 1, 2019), Surhoff ranks 17th amongst Americans.

At the time trials this morning, two Denver standouts were a bit quicker in the 50 free. Junior Cameron Auchinachie hit an OT cut of 22.53, erasing his old best of 22.71 from the 2019 U.S. Summer Nationals. Auchinachie’s first time under 23.0 came almost exactly a year ago when he went 22.81 at the LCM time trial after the Tennessee Invitational, and he’s been faster than that in all three swims since then.

Redshirt junior Sid Farber, meanwhile, was 22.60 to snag second ahead of Surhoff. He was just off of his 2018 best of 22.55. In the 100 free, meanwihle, Farber broke 50.0 for the first time ever, winning the time trial in 49.93. Auchinachie didn’t race; Princeton alumnus En-Wei Hu-Van Wright was 50.60 to take second.

On the women’s side, Penn State’s Maddie Cooke and Princeton freshman Nikki Venema both snagged an OT cut each. Cooke won the 50 free time trial in 25.74, while Venema tied the OT cut with a 25.99. Cooke came in with a best of 26.04, and Venema had been 26.52.

Venema also lowered her 100 free best from a 57.59 to her time of 56.83 today.

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Look at the world record line
4 years ago

Meh

thebabyorange
Reply to  Look at the world record line
4 years ago

Probably you aren’t a swimmer, you wouldn’t know what it feels like to go a best time after a 3 year break. You do not know what you have to go through.
Everyone has different goals, not every swim is a wr swim

Wanna Sprite?
Reply to  thebabyorange
4 years ago

He’s commenting that on like every article

PsychoDad
Reply to  thebabyorange
4 years ago

I am a big Surhoff fan ever since he won NCAAs, obviously. But, in any sport, when you make a long break and you start competing again, you go back to basics, you “play” using sound fundamentas, and you are relaxed as expectations are low. You swim, play, shoot, very well, first couple of times. Especially in the shortest event, in this case. Then it is downhill until you get back into “the real” competitive form.

SwimSam
4 years ago

Wherever he may roam, Austin is always in GO mode! Attawaytogo!

Drewbrewsbeer
Reply to  SwimSam
4 years ago

Camp Longhorn?

Mid-Westco
4 years ago

Surhoff special!!!

Harambe
4 years ago

See you in Omaha big dog, let’s hope you’re better at sprinting than you are at bowling

DCSWIM
4 years ago

Maybe trying to join the ISL?

Austin Surhoff
Reply to  DCSWIM
4 years ago

But actually yeah

Rev
4 years ago

Congrats to Austin
Mom Polly winde surhoff was stud national team swimmer in the 80s

Drewbrewsbeer
4 years ago

I remember how insane his times looked as a HS freshman. Glad he’s still in it!

About Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon studied sociology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, graduating in May of 2018. He began swimming on a club team in first grade and swam four years for Wesleyan.

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