Texas Invite: Friday Prelims Recap

The second session of the 2014 Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame Invite was under way at 10 am this morning in Austin, Texas. Todays’s events are as follows: 200 Medley Relay (finals only), 400 IM, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, 200 Medley Relay (finals only). Here’s your recap of the Friday prelims session:

400 IM
Five women achieved the NCAA B standard of 4:19.39 in the 400 IM. This morning’s top finisher was Kaitlin Pawlowicz of Texas in a time of 4:12.57. Haley Anderson of the Trojan Swim Club claimed second in 4:14.61, followed by Arizona’s Tjasa Oder (4:15.47), USC’s Margaret D’Inno (4:17.79), and Harvard’s Geordie Enoch (4:19.03). In the men’s event, the top 18 swimmers clocked NCAA B cuts. Will Licon of Texas touched first in 3:43.69, followed by Michael Meyer of Arizona (3:44.12). Texas teammates John Martens (3:46.78) and Jonathan Roberts (3:48.03) took third and fourth, respectively.

200 Freestyle
Nine women achieved the 200 Freestyle NCAA B cut time this morning. Bonnie Brandon took first this morning in a time of 1:44.88. Margo Geer (unattached – Arizona) placed second in 1:45.68, followed by Megan Romano of the New York Athletic Club (1:46.24). In the men’s event, nineteen swimmers claimed the NCAA B cut time. Clay Youngquist of Texas led the way this morning in a time of 1:34.02. Just .02 seconds behind him was Dylan Carter of USC, who was closely trailed by Clark Smith of Texas (1:34.07), Jonathan Boffa of the Trojan Swim Club (1:34.89), and Dax Hill of Longhorn Aquatic Club (1:34.89). Needless to say, with the upcoming A final seated all within 2 seconds of each other, it is likely to be an exciting and close race this evening.

100 Breaststroke
Gretchen Jaques of Texas achieved the first NCAA A cut of the morning in the women’s 100 Breaststroke. Her time of 58.94 was two seconds faster than the rest of the competition. Andrea Kropp of USC touched second in 1:00.06, followed by Emma Schoettmer of Arizona in 1:00.86. The top 11 women achieved the NCAA B cut of 1:02.49. Marcus Titus (unattached Arizona) achieved the second NCAA A standard of the day in the men’s event. He finished first in a time of 51.96. Arizona’s Kevin Cordes, the 2014 NCAA champion in this event, took second in 52.79. Will Licon of Texas was third in 52.90, and Paulo Magahales dePaula of Hawaii took fourth in 53.27.

100 Backstroke
21 women achieved the 100 Backstroke NCAA B cut time in the 100 Backstroke prelims. Hannah Weiss of USC led the way, touching first in a time of 52.61. Megan Romano of the New York Athletic Club once again found herself in an event’s top three spots for finals, finishing second in 52.94.Sarah Denninghoff of Texas finished slightly after Romano, touching the wall in 53.03. In the men’s event, 13 swimmers achieved the NCAA B cut. Jake Taylor of BYU placed first in the prelims session with a time of 46.07 – that’s the fastest time in the country this year. Ralf Tribuntsov of USC (46.40), Jack Conger of Texas (47.00), and Kip Darmody of Texas (47.15) claimed second, third, and fourth, respectively.

Finals will begin tonight at 5:50 pm and will include the 200 Medley Relay and the 800 Freestyle Relay. Check back tonight for a recap of the finals session. Live results for the meet can be found here: http://sidearmstats.com/texas/swim/index.htm or by clicking on “Details” for the Texas Invitational and then “Live Stats” at http://www.texassports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mswim.