Last night at the Mt. Hood Western Sectionals, Sandra Freeman of Boulder Swimming was the only swimmer to punch her ticket to the 2016 Olympic Trials in Omaha. Tonight, a whopping nine athletes earned OT cuts with their performances tonight.
The event with the most cuts (five) was the 100 backstroke. On the men’s side, 16-year-old Daniel Carr led three swimmers under the 57.19 qualification standard with a 56.00. That was a best time by almost a full second for the Cheyenne Mountain Aquatics swimmer from Colorado. Aaron Young of the Canby Swim Team was as close to Carr as he could get without tying him, taking 2nd in 56.01, while 100 free winner Kyle Robrock slid under the Trials cut with a 57.14. That was Young’s best time since 2011, when he went a 57.22 to dip below the 2012 Trials cut. On the women’s side, Boise YMCA’s Samantha Wicks took the win in 1:02.79, while incoming USC freshman Hannah Leach cleared the OT standard as well with a time of 1:03.18.
Dylan Bunch of the Denver Hilltoppers crashed through the 4:00 barrier, notching a best time of 3:56.88 to take the men’s 400 free, going nearly two full seconds under the OT cut. That’s his first Trials cut ever, and he’ll likely be able to post another one in the 1500 free tomorrow, a distance in which he excels.
Boise State standout Brittany Aoyama, who swam this meet unattached, won the women’s 100 fly with a time of 1:01.05. That’s an OT cut for her, though she’s already been a 1:00.48 to qualify in a time trial at the 2014 US National Championships. On the men’s side of that event, two swimmers touched the wall under the Trials qualifying standard. Aaron Young, who touched 2nd in the 100 back and also grabbed a Trials cut in that event earlier in the session, won in 54.48, which clears his best time by over half a second. The Louisville post-grad has put together quite a meet thus far. He touched ahead of 200 free winner Ryan McCoy (54.70), who broke 55 seconds for the first time as well in this event. McCoy should be very pleased with that swim, as he got his first ever Trials cut after missing it by tenths in the 200 free yesterday.
OTHER EVENT WINNERS
- W400 free: Amanda Richey (unattached) | 4:19.72
- W100 breast: Keaton Blovad (Tualatin Hills SC) | 1:11.67
- Almost two full seconds under her previous best, just .18 off of OT cut
- M100 breast: Gabriel Rooker (Tualatin Hills SC) | 1:04.06
- Just .37 off of OT cut, personal best by .03
To see full results, click here.
Also Santo Condorelli is back with his former Oregon coach. Pretty cool for Oregon..
LOSC losing Coley and THSC firing Linck Bergen doesn’t keep these swimmers from returning. Just with credible Coaching they trust to get them to the next level. GO OREGON!!
Pretty awesome results. So glad to see Young back in Oregon swimming for his home state after an impressive 4 years at Louisville. Most swimmers end sooner than their college career. He’s on a roll still moving up. Great news for Canby swim club. Was their coach his former coach?