Crisci Brothers Earn Olympic Trials Cuts, Fuller Fires Off PB 2:08.80 200 Back in Knoxville

2024 TNAQ May Invitational

• May 23-26, 2024
• Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• LCM (50 meters)

Flynn Crisci punched his ticket to his first U.S. Olympic Trials this summer, dropping more than a second in the 100-meter breaststroke with a personal-best 1:02.07 at last weekend’s TNAQ May Invitational to sneak under the cut of 1:02.19.

Crisci, a Pitt graduate who transferred to Tennessee for his fifth year last season, crushed his previous-best 1:03.74 from last November. Rising Tennessee sophomore Jed Garner narrowly missed the cut with his personal-best 1:02.57 for 2nd place. Crisci added lifetime bests in the 50 free (23.10) and 100 free (50.98), not far off the Trials cuts of 22.79 and 49.99, respectively.

Crisci’s younger brother, rising Tennessee junior Aidan Crisci, will be joining him in Indianapolis next month after pulling off a huge drop in the 400 IM (4:24.58). Aidan knocked almost four seconds off his previous-best 4:28.40 from two weeks ago to get under the Trials cut of 4:25.19. He added a best time in the 200 butterfly (2:01.41), taking a couple tenths off his previous best (2:01.62) from a couple weeks ago.

Rising Tennessee senior Jordan Crooks put his sprint dominance on display with victories in the 50 free (22.29) and 100 free (48.87). The Cayman Islands 22-year-old has been as fast as 21.73 and 47.71 last July at the 2023 World Championships, where he placed 6th in the 50 free and 7th in the 100 free. At the NCAA Championships in March, Crooks placed 2nd in the 50 free (18.09), 4th in the 100 free (40.61), and 6th in the 200 free (1:31.03).

Rising ASU junior Jake Mason picked up a Trials berth in the 400 free with a personal-best 3:55.42 in prelims. He sliced more than a second off his previous-best 3:56.83 from last June to dip under the Trials cut of 3:55.59.

Women’s Recap

Rising Tennessee senior Josephine Fuller ripped a personal-best 200 back time of 2:08.80 to become the sixth-fastest American in the event this calendar year. That makes the 21-year-old a strong contender for the U.S. National Team (top-6 finish at Trials) and a dark horse for the Olympics (top 2).

Only Isabelle Stadden (2:08.42), Rhyan White (2:07.38), Phoebe Bacon (2:07.24), Claire Curzan (2:05.77), and Regan Smith (2:03.99) have been faster in 2024. Fuller lowered her previous-best 2:09.16 from January. She’s coming off a 5th-place showing in the yards version of the 200 back at the NCAA Championships in March.

The DeLoof sisters were also in action last weekend in Knoxville. Tokyo Olympian Catie DeLoof clocked a season-best 2:02.07 in the 200 free prelims, still about a second off the Trials cut of 2:00.89. The 27-year-old Michigan graduate has been as fast as 1:59.38 in 2021. Catie is headed to Trials next month in the 100 free, where her season-best 53.88 from last month ranks 6th among Americans this calendar year. She now trains at Tennessee after previous stints with pro groups at Virginia and Loughborough, England.

Fellow Michigan graduate Gabby DeLoof registered two season bests in the 200 free (2:00.04) and 200 back (2:12.48). The 28-year-old New York Athletic Club swimmer has been as fast as 1:56.55 in the 200 free in 2018 and 2:10.71 in the 200 back from 2021.

McKenna Debever blasted three lifetime bests in the 50 back (29.04), 50 fly (27.35), and 100 free (56.20). The 27-year-old Texas A&M graduate from Peru dropped .41 seconds in the 50 back, .22 seconds in the 50 fly, and .34 seconds in the 100 free.

Rising Tennessee sophomore Sophie Brison checked in at 2:13.59 in the 200 back. She matched the Trials cut of 2:13.59, coming just half a second short of her best time from her 2021 Olympic Trials Wave I victory (2:13.08).

Rising Tennessee junior Julia Burroughs also picked up a Trials cut in the 50 free at 25.61 during a time trial. She shaved a couple tenths off her previous-best 25.89 from a couple weeks ago.

Rising Tennessee senior Sara Stotler threw down a season-best 1:00.14 in the 100 fly prelims. She cleared the one-minute barrier last summer at 59.66. Stotler has been as fast as 59.58 in 2021.