FLORIDA VIRTUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – SITE 3 (CLEARWATER)
- December 11-13, 2020
- Clearwater FL
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- Results
- Day 1 Recap / Day 2 Recap
Tyler Hanley closed out the 2020 Florida Virtual Championships with two event wins. Hanley topped the podium in both the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke. In the former, he swam to a 1:48.76 to take 2 seconds off his 1:50.70 PB. He got under 1:50 later in the session with his 1:49.11 200 back victory. That wasn’t the fastest he’s been in the event, however, trailing his PB of 1:47.77 by just over a second. Mason Williams (1:49.20) and Sean Rogers (1:49.21) picked up silver in the 200 fly and 200 back respectively, with Luigi Franco (1:51.66/1:49.74) taking bronze in both events.
Hanley who currently swims for the Blue Dolfins will stay in Florida for his collegiate career, having signed with the Florida State Seminoles for the 2021 NCAA season.
Virginia commit Ella Bathurst, currently swimming for Tampa Elite Aquatics (TEAM) also secured another 2 victories at the final session of the meet. Her first-place finishes in the 100 freestyle and 200 backstroke gave her a total of 6 wins at the meet, having already picked up gold in the 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 200 freestyle, and 200 IM.
Bathurst’s first swim of the night was the 100 freestyle which she won in a 49.21 to notch a new best time. Her previous PB was a 49.47 which she swam almost exactly a year ago. She won the event as the only sub-50 swim in the heat as Micayla Cronk hit a 50.43 for second place and Megan Hansen followed in 50.89.
In the 200 back, Bathurst posted another best time with a 1:56.74 to shave nearly a second and a half of her 1:58.09 from March of 2019. Bathurst’s 200 back swim was even more decisive than the 100 free as she finished almost 4 seconds ahead of silver medalist Bella Answeeney who touched with a 2:00.55. 100 free silver medalist Micayla Cronk also hit the podium in the 200 back, swimming a 2:02.37 for bronze.
Taylor Grabenhorst and Thomas Nagle won the women’s and men’s 200 breaststrokes, respectively with times of 2:14.44 and 2:04.46. That’s a decent best time for Nagle, improving upon his 2:01.01 from December 2019. Grabenforst on the other hand was just short of her 2:12.89 best from February of this year. Two more winners on the last night of racing were Lexi Mulvihill in the 200 fly and Dawson Joyce in the 100 free, hitting times of 1:57.93 and 44.53, respectively. The meet wrapped up with the men’s and women’s 1650 freestyle race in which Marin Rose (16:48.97) claimed the victory for the women with Zachary Kopel (16:18.56) taking gold for the men.
