2018 Texas A&M Last Chance Meet
- February 23rd-25th
- Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
- SCY (25 yards)
- Live results
LSU junior Harrison Jones broke his own school record in the 200 fly on Saturday, the 2nd day of the Texas A&M Last Chance Meet.
Jones swam 1:42.74, which knocks a tenth of a second off his old record (set at SECs in 1:42.84). When Big Ten results are filled in to the official ranking system (they aren’t, as of posting), that will have improved him from 24th to 23rd in the national rankings this season in the event, moving ahead of Michigan’s Evan White. That one spot could be crucial, with 28 or 29 swimmers usually invited in each men’s event and the Pac-12 Championships still left to swim.
He’ll still be able to swim the 200 fly normal event on Sunday to try and improve his standing even further: per NCAA rules, a swimmer can race prelims and finals of an event at a meet, plus one additional time trial of the same event.
Other Significant Results from Saturday:
- Texas A&M freshman Haley Yelle took advantage of the same two swims + 1 time trial rule to cement her spot at the NCAA Championships. She was squarely on the bubble of the 500 free yesterday after prelims on Friday, and even her slim chance of qualifying was then slashed when her teammate Caitlynn Moon jumped her in finals. Yelle, though, took command of her own fate on Saturday with an evening time trial, swimming solo, of 4:38.52 in the 500 free. She now ranks 22nd nationally, and with all major conference meets entered into the database is locked-in for her first NCAA Championship meet.
- Texas A&M freshman Camryn Toney swam 4:09.80 in the 400 IM final. Besides jumping her into 7th-place on A&M’s all-time school rankings, it moves her to 41st place nationally and gives her a chance, albeit an unfavorable one, at qualifying for the NCAA Championships. With Katie Ledecky ahead of her (and a 50/50 shot at best to enter the 400 IM at NCAAs), that puts Toney a spot-or-two away from confidence for an invite. She should have a chance to time trial the event on Sunday, where even a tenth-or-two would probably lock up her spot.
- Texas A&M sophomore Ben Walker swam a 1:54.25 in the 200 breaststroke, which jumps him to 18th nationally in the event. He previously ranked 33rd with a 1:55.31 from SECs. That swim gives the A&M men a chance at 5 qualifiers in this event alone, with Mauro Castillo-Luna ranked 2nd nationally in 1:52.15, down to a 22nd-rank from Austin Van Overdam (1:54.45).
