Sogar, McBroom, and Berens Take Wins on Night 1 of College Station Texas Senior Circuit

Night one of the 2013 Texas Senior Circuit 2 meet at the Texas A&M University campus in College Station is in the books, and while three victories went to Olympians, the best swim of the night belonged to Texas post-grad Laura Sogar from the 200 breaststroke.

Lined up against 100 meter Olympian Breeja Larson from A&M, Sogar knocked out a 2:26.60 to win the women’s 200 breaststroke, with Larson coming in 2nd in 2:28.38.

Perhaps a bit against expectation, Sogar made up the majority of that difference in the first 100 meters; she split 1:10/1:16 whereas Larson, who’s generally viewed as the sprinter of the two, split 1:12.4/1:15.9.

This is how Sogar swims her 200, though, and she’s got the endurance to do it. She went out a bit harder here than in Santa Clara last week, but the time was almost identical. She also now has the two fastest times by Americans in 2013 (and by a significant margin.)

The top finishing junior was 13-year old Vanessa Pearl from Metroplex Aquatics in Dallas/Ft. Worth. That’s the 3rd-best time by a 13-year old in the country this year.

After that, Ricky Berens, who said in an interview on SwimVortex this week that he wasn’t thrilled with his performance at the Charlotte Grand Prix in his last big outing, won the men’s 50 free in 49.55. That’s as compared to a 49.99 in Charlotte, so a better swim.

He finished ahead of fellow Longhorns Dax Hill (with whom he drove down to the meet from Austin with) and Garrett Weber-Gale in 50.69. Future Longhorn Clark Smith took 4th in 51.42 – just a few tenths off of his lifetime best, and Canadian/Aggie Kyle Troskot was the highest-placing non Longhorn in 52.33.

Mexican Olympian and National Record holder Lili Ibanez won a pair of sprint races on the day. First she took the 50 fly in 28.40 ahead of her fellow Aggie Caroline McElhany. 16-year old Raena Eldridge was impressively not far behind in 28.54 – which is by far the best time by a 16-year old in the race, and the third-best time in the last decade in the United States to boot.

Ibanez also won the 100 free in 55.84, which just misses her Mexican National Record. Texas’ Sarah Denninghoff took 2nd in 56.32, which is a solid follow-up on a very strong Santa Clara meet.

Other notable winners included Arizona commit Reid Elliott, who won the 50 fly ahead of two Dad’s Club swimmers Michael Miller (26.92) and Jason Bo (26.94).

The women’s 200 backstroke title went to Olympic Trials semifinalist Quinn Carrozza in 2:14.47, well ahead of her Longhorn Aquatics teammate Victoria Cassidy in 2:18.69. Regan Barney was 3rd in 2:20.41, though she was a much quicker 2:18.7 in prelims (which puts her in the top 5 among 14-year olds in the country this year.)

Texas A&M National Teamer Sarah Henry won the women’s 400 free in 4:19.52 ahead of Sammie Hashbarger, another junior from Metroplex Aquatics, in 4:19.73. Henry ended the 2012-2013 season with the fastest time in the country in the equivalent 500 yard free, though she didn’t win the NCAA Championship.

Another recently-graduated Longhorn, Michael McBroom, won the men’s 400 free in 3:50.78. That’s just a second off of the time he went at the Olympic Trials last year.

Another Mexican Olympian, Christian Schurr, won the men’s 200 breaststroke in 2:18.88. Minnesota’s Chris Johnson won the men’s 200 backstroke in 2:06.60.