After a wild second day of competition at the 2013 Winter Junior National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, day 3 is on deck with a final patch of National Age Group Records to be awarded.
While it’s unlikely that Michael Andrew will have another three-record run, it’s entirely possible that he’ll bring down more records, for example in the 100 free, the 200 back, or the 200 breast. Also on tap will be the 1650 freestyles, in the afternoon; the 200 fly; and the 400 free relay.
And for those who missed it, Caeleb Dressel says he’s fine and will be back swimming in the 100 free this morning. See the interview here.
Live results are available here.
Live streaming is available here.
Day 1 recap here.
Day 2 recap here.
We’ll be recapping events below as they happen, so check back frequently for updates.
200 Backstroke – Women
Clara Smiddy has been on fire all weekend! She will be the top seed going into finals tonight in the backstroke, touching the wall at 1:52.40. Smiddy broke Courtney Bartholomew’s meet record from 2010 of 1:53.16. Joining her in the final heat will be Kylie Stewart (1:54.50), Hannah Moore (1:55.76), Claire Adams (1:56.03), Cameron McHugh (1:56.52), Emma Schanz (1:56.73), Emma Schanz (1:57.05), and Amy Bilquist (1:57.44).
Schanz improved almost 5 seconds from her seed time. She is the only swimmer in the top 8 that was seeded above two minutes coming into the meet.
Ally Howe, the number two seed entering the meet was 10th this morning, and will be swimming in the B Final. We expect to see a great race tonight between Smiddy and Stewart. Kylie Stewart has been 1:50.66 before and should be able to push the back half of the race.
200 Backstroke – Men
Hennessey Stuart took the top seed in the men’s 200 backstroke with a time of 1:43.94. Stuart committed to swim at NC State earlier this fall. Joining Stuart in the A final will be Tristan Sanders (1:45.41), Justin McArthur (1:45.43), Brock Turner (1:45.54), Aidan Burns (1:45.66), Ryan Dudzinski (1:45.94), Ethan Young (1:45.96), and Curtis Ogren (1:45.98).
In the B final, several swimmers made large drops to secure their spot in the final, but John Thorne dropped over four seconds to earn the 13th position at 1:46.68.
100 Freestyle – Women
Abbigail Weitzeil earned the top seen in the women’s 100 freestyle with a time of 48.45. Joining her in the A Final tonight will be Lindsey Engel (49.58), Alexandra Clevland (49.72), Clara Smiddy (49.85), Mary Schneider, Constanze Moseley (49.99), Nora McCullagh (50.01), and Ketherine Drabot (50.02).
This will be a very exciting and young final. Out of the top 10 qualifiers, none are 18 yet, and four of them are younger than 17. It took a 50.02 t0 qualify for the A final and a 55.22 to make the B final. Weitzeil will have the fastest time going into finals, but Engel has been 48 before , and she could be a factor when they dive in the pool tonight.
It will be exciting to see this final, and we will most likely see the entire final heat under 50 seconds.
100 Freestyle – Men
Caeleb Dressel will sit in the middle of the pool tonight during the A final of the 100 freestyle. Dressel touched the wall at 43.50 this morning, and it appeared he shut it down the last 10 yards or so. The field will be chasing the record of last years NCAA star, Vlad Morozov. Morozov’s record time stands at 43.27, but with a field this loaded, I would be surprised to see his record still standing at the end of the session tonight. Joining Dressel in the A Final will be Dylan Carter (43.73), Ryan Hoffer (44.04), Joshua Romany (44.15), Blake Pieroni (44.34), Kyle Gornay (44.38), Kyle Coan (44.41), and Edward Kim (44.48).
15 year-old Hoffer will also be chasing Dressel’s 15-16 NAG record time that he set last year. Hoffer already broke Dressel’s 50 freestyle NAG record and therefore Dressel’s 43.29 has to be on his mind.
200 Breaststroke – Women
Lillia King was the top qualifier in the women’s 200 breaststroke. She posted the top time of 2:13.79, dropping almost three seconds from her best time. Maija Roses, the second place qualifier, dropped just over three seconds, touching the wall at 2:13.97. Joining the two of them in the A final this evening will be Kennedy Lohman (2:14.27), Miranda Tucker (2:14.31), Kirsten Vose (2:14.40), Heidi Pope (2:14.61), Lindsey Horejsi (2:14.61), and Vivian Tafuto (2:14.72).There were several large 3-5 seconds drops to make it into finals.
One swimmer to watch out for tonight is Miranda Tucker. She is seeded fourth with her time of 2:14.31, but we know she has been 2:10.53 in the past.
200 Breaststroke – Men
Four swimmers were under the two minute mark this morning during the prelims of the men’s 200 breaststroke. Matthew Whittle earned the top seed with his time of 1:58.18. Rio Kurihara was second at 1:59.57, Jonathan Rutter was third at 1:59.57, and Thomas Brewer touched with the fourth fastest time at 1:59.75. Joining that group in the A final tonight will be Todd Owen (2:00.18), Ross Palazzo (2:00.29), Destin Hall (2:00.47), and Curtis Ogren (2:00.83)
Gunnar Bentz was several seconds off his best, and just missed out on the A final with a 2:01.35. He has been 1:56.56, so he should take control of the B Final tonight.
And I don’t forget that the goal of the boys in the 1650 free tonight is to swim faster than the 15.15.17 of Katie Ledecky. 🙂
Clara Smiddy alone in the backstroke races this week. She has transformed since last summer. 1.50 in final?
If Mr Dressel is alright, the race should be a great show. He’s fresh and I expect a 42 low. 17/18 NAG record is 42.34 by David Nolan. We’ll see.
Also interesting to see if the young Hoffer can swim close to the 15/16 NAG record of 43.29 by Caeleb Dressel.
Michael Andrew struggles a little bit with his freestyle for a few weeks. 45.39 in the prelims. Can he break the NAG record of 44.81 by Ryan Hoffer. I doubt but why not?
On the women’s side, Abbigail Weitzeil looks unbeatable. A sub 48 would be fantastic.
Smiddy’s time would have gotten her 5th in prelims at NCAA’s last year, although she would have been 8th in finals.
I think Dressel was affected by his emergency room visit yesterday. Still, I like the lineup of Andrews, Hoffer, and Dressel breaking records and edging each other on.
Not important but why do they not finish the meet with the 100 free races?
The 4×100 free relay is usually on the same night so I suspect it is to give a little more time for rest to the people who will be doing that relay
7th place in the 200 yard back is Missouri bound Hannah Stevens with a time of 1:57.05
It could just be an “off” meet, but Gunnar Bentz really doesn’t look himself. I hope he’s feeling alright.
I think he was on that Junior Team trip to Asia where they were expected to be somewhat rested.
Curtis Ogren was also on that trip, and he is swimming well. So there may be something else going on.
Ella Eastin and Townley Hass as well.
Haas.
This Young 15 Year old Hoffer is a special one it seems so far . I have looked at one of his Pictures and amazingly he truly has some kind of Maturity on his face at age 15 !!!!!!! that translates very well in the pool his pretty fast times at his age . Impressive and good for the future of Us sprint .