Final Day of Greensboro Sectionals Sees Pair of 15-Year-Olds Top 1500 Free Podium

2023 ESSZ SUMMER LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS – GREENSBORO

• July 13-16, 2023
• Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
  • Meet Results: 2023 ESSZ Summer Long Course Championship (greensboroaquaticcenter.com)
• Live Stream: Facebook
• Day 1 Recap / Day 2 Recap./ Day 3 Recap

The final night of competition at the Greensboro Speedo Sectionals Meet saw the 100 free, 1500 free, 200 breast, and 200 back contested.

Paige Hetrick continued her run of great form by winning the first event of the session. The Louisville Cardinal, who earlier in the meet earned Olympic Trials cuts in the 50 free, 200 free, and 100 fly, won the 100 free in 55.99. While not under the OT cut, it does represent a new personal best. Rounding out the podium in 2nd place was Savannah Barr’s 56.73 and Hetrick’s teammate at Louisville Ryenne Ulett’s 56.94.

Leading a 1st-2nd-3rd place finish in the 100 free for the University of Louisville was Guy Brooks. Brooks, also the winner of the 200 free, touched in 50.68, ahead of teammates Vladimir Dubinin’s 50.92 and Caleb Duncan’s 51.55.

The longest event on the docket, the 1500 free, saw SwimMAC’s Clarke Neace take the win. The 15-year-old’s time of 17:21.59 was a new personal best by over 13 seconds. Finishing behind Neace was her teammate 16-year-old Charlotte Lepage, who swam 17:37.30. The bronze medalist was fellow SwimMAC swimmer Julia McGovern, who touched in 17.59.03.

Like in the men’s 100 free, the men’s 200 breast saw a trio of Cardinals make the podium. Leading the way was Aidan Kreiley who took the win in 2:17.83. Finishing just behind him in a tight final was Thomas Bried in 2:17.94. The two were the only swimmers under 2:21 as 3rd place went to Jackson Millard, whose time of 2:21.14 was a new personal best by over a second.

Replicating the tight finish in the men’s 200 breast were UNC teammates Skyler Smith and Alexandra Rudolph. Smith would wind up winning the women’s 200 breast in a time of 2:32.28 over Rudolph’s 2:32.28. Rounding out the podium was Sydney Sanders, whose 2:35.90 was good for third.

The men’s 1500 free saw a trio of teenagers atop the podium. Leading the way was last night’s 400 free winner, Santiago Alzate. The 15-year-old representing SwimMAC had a time of 16:04.46, which not only represents a new personal best by over 10 seconds but also a new Junior Nationals cut. Finishing in 2nd and 3rd was a pair of 16-year-olds; Jackson Scheiber in 16:25.25 and Jack Rutledge in 16:30.85

The final women’s event of the meet, the 200 back, saw SwimMAC’s Lauren Bernardo take the win in 2:15.37, just .06 ahead of runner-up Aislin Farris’s 2:15.43. Rounding out the podium was Emma Karam, who touched 3rd in a time of 2:17.50.

Taking the win in the last event of the meet was Ryan Silver. The Marlins of Raleigh swimmer touched in 2:05.22, ahead of SwimMAC’s Maksym Nechydyuk’s 2:06.01 and UNC’s Matthew Van Deusen’s 2:06.90. Silver dropped .19 from his seed, while Nechydyuk dropped over 3 seconds.