2024 Cavalier Invitational
- February 6-8, 2025
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
- Day 1 Results
Sisters Alex Walsh and Gretchen Walsh battled to the wire in the 100 breaststroke final on Friday at the Cavalier Invite, and it was the older sister Alex who came out at the touch.
Both swimmers will walk away with a feather in their caps – Alex swam a best time in 56.85, and Gretchen landed .01 back in 56.86 in an event that I don’t think most of us knew she had in her (but in hindsight, of course she did).
Virginia has posted video of the race – which reveals that the official split margin that had Gretchen nine-tenths ahead at the turn is probably not quite right. The two appeared to touch almost at the exact same moment. Though Gretchen came up from the turn well ahead of her sister there, Alex had a much better last turn, and that was enough to push her to the end.
any word on what she swam in prelims this morning?
Neither raced today. Grimes went 15:53 in the mile.
was wondering about the typical stroke rates so i checked how many strokes each of the top 11 performers (excluding molly hannis cuz i couldn’t find a video) did in their personal best swims, sorted from most to fewest strokes. Also checked Douglass because i was curious even though her PB is more than a second slower than anyone else
7-9-9-9 Lilly King (34 total)
6-8-9-10 Mona McSharry (33 total)
6-8-9-10 Anna Elendt (33 total)
6-8-8-8 Lydia Jacoby (30 total)
5-8-8-9 Kaitlyn Dobler (30 total)
6-7-8-8 Alexis Wenger (29 total)
5-7-8-8 Sophie Hansson (28 total)
5-7-7-9 Jasmine Nocentini (28 total)
5-7-7-8 Alex Walsh (27 total)
5-7-7-7 Gretchen Walsh (26 total)
5-6-7-7 Kate Douglass (25 total)
Wow this is awesome thanks for looking
Gretchen should train for 200 IM. she can beat Summer McIntosh if she does.
Long corse? No.
Let’s not get carried away, Ginny.
Love them ✨✨
I think the craziest thing about this is that Alex was actually beating Gretchen on the pullouts, and yet Gretchen was only 0.01 behind when all was said and done. So her breastroke above water is actually insane
Alex might have the best female pull outs period, Kate is probably the best of your major international competitors (she killed everyone at the olympics with her turns/walls/pull outs) and I feel like every time they go head to head at trials or smaller meets AW beats her on the pull outs
This is actually the most “surface swimming” that Gretchen has had to do in any of her short course 100’s (because she can’t pull out to 15m). She has a really impressive breaststroke!
Good point. I really would like to know what her times would be in a 200 IM, for all courses!!
Most exciting thing coming up are the entries for the ACCs! Let’s go!
Give Gretchen a couple tenths credit for a flying start and the first 50 of her 100 breast beats 75% of teams breast leg of the 200 medley relay at last years NCAA’s
75% seems really low. I’m thinking she would be top 3