18-Year Old Matt Fallon Swims 2:11.33 in 200 Meter Breast in Orlando

2021 USA SWIMMING 18 & UNDER SPRING CUP – ORLANDO

• April 29 – May 2
• Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center, Orlando, Florida
• Long Course Meters (LCM)
• Results Available on Meet Mobile Under “2021 TYR 18&U Spring Cup – Orlando”
• Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap

Correction: a previous version of this article said Fallon’s 200 breast was the fastest in the state of Florida. Cody Miller swam a 2:10 at a Pro Swim Series meet in the same facility 2015, though the LSC doesn’t recognize that swim as an “Open” record.

Note: USA Swimming has split its Olympic Trials meet into two events for 2021 as part of its COVID-19 safety protocols. The Wave I meet, which comes first, is for the slower qualifiers, while a faster set of standards has been put in place to qualify for the Wave II meet. The top 2 finishers in each event at the Wave I meet will qualify to compete at the Wave II meet.

A huge best time from Matthew Fallon in the 200 breaststroke and a number of swimmers creeping closer to Wave II Olympic Trials cuts were the highlights of the 3rd night of racing on Saturday.

Fallon, who is from New Jersey but is in the midst of a second 6-week training camp in Florida, already had a Wave II Olympic Trials cut in the 200 breaststroke entering the meet, but knocked more than 2 seconds off his previous best to win the event in 2:11.33.

That improved upon his previous best of 2:13.36 that was swum at the 2019 US National Championships. He’s now the 12th-ranked American in the event during the Olympic Trials qualifying period, which opened in November of 2018. Fallon is the second-fastest junior swimmer on that list after Josh Matheny. Will Licon leads that field in 2:07.62.

The time also makes Fallon the 7th-best American 18 & under in history:

All-Time Fastest American 17-18s, Men’s 200 LCM Breaststroke:

1. Daniel Roy – 2:09.73 (2018)
2. Reece Whitley – 2:10.82 (2017)
3. Kevin Cordes – 2:10.92 (2012)
4. Jake Foster – 2:11.01 (2019)
5. Josh Matheny – 2:11.05 (2021)
6. AJ Pouch – 2:11.06 (2019)
7. Matt Fallon – 2:11.33 (2021)
8. Josh Prenot – 2:12.21 (2012)
9. AJ Bornstein – 2:12.54 (2018)
10. Cody Taylor – 2:12.73 (2014)

Fallon will swim at the University of Pennsylvania this fall. Both Fallon and fellow New Jerseyan Jack Alexy (more on him later later) are on currently on a 6 week training camp in St. Petersburg. Fallon had a previous 6 week training camp in Florida at the beginning of the year.

The winners of both the boys’ and girls’ 50 freestyles also swam best times and crept closer to Olympic Trials Wave II cuts. In the women’s races, Lexie Mulvihill of Tampa Elite Aquatics won in 25.82, beating out Eboni McCarty (26.08) and Cambria Semmen (26.30).

Mulvihill’s best time coming into the meet was a 25.90 done at the 2019 Summer Junior National Championships. The Wave I cut is 25.99 and the Wave II cut is 25.65.

Mulvihill was committed to swim at Auburn, but was recently released from her National Letter of Intent after a coaching change there, and so will announce a new choice for the coming fall.

McCarty of the Madison Swimming Association in Alabama is committed to Georgia and has been 25.79 in the 50 free. For Semmen, a junior committed to Northeastern University in Boston, her third-place finish is a best time by almost half-a-second. Northeastern University has qualified a sprinter, Megan Clark, for the NCAA Championships in recent years, though Semmen will enter with times that rank her among the program’s best already.

In the boys’ 50 free, Jack Alexy of the Somerset Hills YMCA in New Jersey won in a time of 22.90. His prelims swim shaved .11 seconds off his best time from the 2019 National Championships and follows a best time of 19.61 in the 50 yard free done less than a month ago.

Alexy, a Cal commit, will join a Golden Bears team next fall that is graduating the two-time defending 50 free champion Ryan Hoffer.

He also swam a best time in the 100 back for a 2nd-place finish, touching in 56.30. He’s scheuled to finish his meet on Sunday in the 100 free.

Josh Zuchowski won the 100 back in 56.12, just missing a lifetime best.

Other Day 3 Winners and Highlights:

• Sam Hoover of the North Carolina Aquatic Club showed off his range by finishing 2nd in the 50 free in 23.22 and winning the B final of the 400 free in 4:05.23. Those were both big time drops for him: he entered the meet with personal bests of 23.71 and 4:08.58, respectively. He also won the 200 free on Friday, though not in a best time. While neither his 50 nor his 400 on Saturday hit Olympic Trials standards (the 50 missed by .03), he already has a Wave II cut in the 100 free.
• The 400 free A-final winner was Joshua Brown of the Highland Aquatic Club, who finished in 3:59.81. Brown was originally committed to Villanova but recently announced that he’d go to Notre Dame instead.
• Mason Laur of T2 Aquatics dominated the boys’ 200 fly by more than two-and-a-half seconds, winning in 2:00.95. That swim clears the Olympic Trials cut, but he already had a Wave II cut of 1:59.25 from the 2019 Junior National Championships.
• Annika McEnroe of YSpartaquatics in South Carolina dominated the girls’ 200 fly by a similar margin, touching in 2:15.18. That’s a huge best time for her, undercutting her 2019 swim of 2:16.82 McEnroe has swum best times in a wide range of events over the last 6 months, including a 1:57.4 in the 200 yard fly in December.
• SoFlo Aquatics’ Olivia Dinehart won the 200 breaststroke in 2:37.22. That dropped .07 seconds off her previous best time in the event. Delaney Franklin placed 2nd in 2:38.27.

Team Scores, After Day 3

Top 5 girls:

1. Blue Dolfins – 206
2. Y-Spartaquatics – 170
3. Tampa Elite Aquatics – 96
4. Sarasota Tsunami – 73.5
5. (TIE) – SoFlo Aquatic Club/ATAC – 70

Top 5 boys:

1. North Carolina Aquatic Club – 192
2. Sarasota Tsunami – 114
3. T2 Aquatics – 108
4. YOTA – 90
5. Tampa Bay Aquatic Club – 78