Gretchen Walsh Swims 47.9 100 Free, 52.1 100 Back at Intrasquad Meet

2020 September Senior Showdown

• September 26-27, 2020
• Centennial Sportsplex, Nashville, Tennessee
• Short Course Yards (25 yard course)
• Results on Meet Mobile: “September Senior Showdown”

USA Swimming National Teamer Gretchen Walsh and her Nashville Aquatic Club Teammates swam a 2-day intrasquad over the weekend.

Walsh swam two races over the weekend, topping the girls’ field in both events. First, in the 100 free, she swam 47.98, and she followed it with a 52.11 in the 100 back. Both of those are her best times since meets shut down in mid-March. Her best times in those races are 46.98 and 51.57, respectively.

She now leads the country in the month-old 2020-2021 season, among all ages, in both events, including ahead of her future teammates at the University of Virginia, which had their first intrasquad of the season last weekend.

While the 2020-2021 season is going to be different for a lot of reasons, Walsh is already much faster than she was at this time last year. In her season-opening meet last year, which was the first weekend of October, she swam 50.32 in the 100 free.

The two events in which Walsh is a member of the US National Team are the 50 free and 100 free, in long course meters.

Since the 2016 Olympic Games, she ranks 7th nationally in the 100 free in long course with a best time of 53.74. Traditionally, 6 swimmers are taken to the Olympics in that event.

Top Americans, Women’s 100 LCM Free, since the 2016 Olympic Games.

1. 52.04 – Simone Manuel – 2019 World Championships
2. 52.59 – Mallory Comerford – 2017 World Championships
3. 53.18 – Abbey Weitzeil – 2019 Summer Nationals
4. 53.42 – Erika Brown – 2019 U.S. Open
5. 53.44 – Margo Geer – 2018 Summer Nationals
6. 53.59 – Lia Neal – 2017 Summer Nationals
7. 53.74 – Gretchen Walsh – 2019 World Championships
8. 53.80 – Allison Schmitt – 2020 Pro Swim Series Des Moines
9. 53.87 – Kelsi Dahlia – 2017 Summer Nationals
10. 54.14 – Katie McLaughlin – 2018 Pan Pac Championships

She also ranks 4th since the Olympic Games in the 50 free among American women with a best of 24.71. The top 2 are Simone Manuel (23.97) and Abbey Weitzeil (24.47).

The top performer on the boys’ side of the pool was 17-year old Evan Petty, who is one of the top uncommitted (publicly) high school seniors in the country. He improved that status this weekend thanks to a 47.99 in the 100 back, which shaves .03 seconds off his previous best time, and a 1:50.83 in the 200 IM, which shaved .3 seconds off his previous best time.

The meet was also a breakout for 14-year old Spencer Nicholas. He knocked 2.3 seconds off his previous lifetime best in the 100 fly to swim 50.92. That ranks him as the 3rd-fastest 13-14 boy post-quarantine in that event nationally. He also knocked almost 2 seconds off his lifetime best in the 200 back to touch in 1:55.15.

Other Top Swims from This Weekend

• 16-year old Adrienne Raber swam 53.40 in the 100 yard free, which was just .06 seconds away from a best time
• 13-year old Connie Wang knocked more than 9 seconds off her previous best time to go 2:13.51 in the 200 yard backstroke.
• 13-year old Anna Hulan swam a 1:09.27 in the 100 yard breaststroke. That stands as one of the top 20 times in the country for 13 & unders since quarantines lifted and racing resumed. She also swam a best time of 2:12.49 in the 200 IM, which was more than a 2 second drop and ranks her in the top 10 at her age over the last 6 months.
• In the boys’ 50 free, a pair of 17-year olds, Jack Flanagan and Hammer Massey, battled to the finish, with Flanagan taking the win in 21.33 and Massey 2nd in 21.72. That’s a new best time for Flanagan, who is a recent transfer from nearby Ensworth Aquatics and is committed to swim at Miami University in Ohio. It’s also a best time for Massey, another former Ensworth Aquatics swimmer, and an uncommitted high school junior.
• Flanagan also swam 46.48 in the 100 free, while Massey added a best time in his best event, the 200 free, of 1:41.12.