2016 ARENA PRO SWIM SERIES AT INDIANAPOLIS
- Friday, June 3 – Sunday, June 5, 2016
- IUPUI Natatorium / Indianapolis, IN
- Prelims 9AM / Finals 6PM (U.S. Central Time)
- Meet website
- Psych Sheet
- Live Results
- Day 3 Finals Heat Sheet
The final night of the Arena Pro Swim Series at Indianapolis is upon us.
Josh Schneider nearly hit a lifetime-best in the 100 free this morning, and leads Canada’s Santo Condorelli into the finals by two tenths.
On the women’s side, it’s NCAA champ Olivia Smoliga leading the way narrowly over Louisville’s Kelsi Worrell and Bahamian Olympian Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace of SwimMAC.
The women’s distance race (the 800) features Canadian Olympian Brittany MacLean.
We’ve also got the men’s 1500 free and the 200 IM and 200 back in both genders up on Sunday night.
Keep refreshing this page for live, event-by-event updates of all the action from Indy.
Women’s 800 Free – Timed Finals
Top 3 Finishers:
- Leah Smith, Virginia – 8:24.87
- Brittany MacLean, Canada – 8:27.32
- Andrea Pinto, Gator Swim Club – 8:28.68
Swimming out of the afternoon heats, Virginia’s Leah Smith dominated the women’s 800 free with an 8:24.87. Smith continued her strong run of swims this weekend, hitting a season-best and almost a lifetime-best in the event.
Smith’s only faster race ever was an 8:24.74 from last June. She jumps to 10th in the world for the season and 3rd among Americans – only Katie Ledecky and Becca Mann have been faster.
Canada’s Brittany MacLean was second in 8:27.32, winning the finals heat that featured the top 8 seeds. In that heat, MacLean beat out Andreina Pinto, who was 8:28.68 and just off her own Venezuelan record.
Taylor Ault (8:48.70) and Danielle Valley (8:53.85) also got inside the top 5.
Women’s 200 IM – Finals
Top 3 Finishers:
- Melanie Margalis, St. Petersburg – 2:11.25
- Kaitlyn Jones, Virginia – 2:14.50
- Vien Nguyen, Vietnam – 2:15.55
Athens Bulldog Melanie Margalis ran away with the 200 IM win, going 2:11.25 to win by more than three seconds.
Margalis trailed Virginia’s Kaitlyn Jones early, but took over on the breaststroke leg and never looked back. Jones would finish in 2:14.50 for second place. With MacLean and Margalis swimming as teammates at Georgia in years past, the first two races of tonight’s finals featured battles between Georgia Bulldogs and Virginia Cavaliers, with each school winning once.
Vietnamese swimmer Vien Nguyen was 2:15.55 for bronze, followed by yet another Georgia Bulldog (Emily Cameron in 2:16.06) and Finland/Louisville Cardinal swimmer Tanja Kylliainen (2:17.20).
Men’s 200 IM – Finals
Top 3 Finishers:
- Jay Litherland, Athens Bulldog – 1:59.93
- Gunnar Bentz, Athens Bulldog – 2:00.06
- Mark Szaranek, Scotland – 2:02.66
It was a pair of Athens Bulldogs sweeping the men’s 200 IM, with Jay Litherland picking up the win in 1:59.93. Litherland faces some stiff competition to make the Olympic team in the IM races (with Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte both expected to swim the 200 IM), but has been swimming great lately over both IM distances. Tonight’s race was a drop of about two seconds off his lifetime-best coming into the meet.
Gunnay Bentz was 2:00.06 for second, within a second of his lifetime-best.
Scotland’s Mark Szaranek was 2:02.66 for third place – he’s no stranger to the Georgia duo, having competed against them at SECs while swimming for Florida. Then a pair of Big Ten rivals rounded out the top 5. Wisconsin’s Michael Weiss was 2:02.80 and Michigan’s Evan White 2:02.90.
Women’s 200 Back – Finals
Top 3 Finishers:
- Erin Voss, Bluefish – 2:10.12
- Dominique Bouchard, Canada – 2:10.87
- Asia Seidt, Lakeside – 2:12.05
It was a pair of American youngsters surrounding Canada’s Dominique Bouchard in the women’s 200 back final. And Erin Voss, tied for the youngest swimmer in the A final at 17, picked up gold in 2:10.12.
That’s Voss’s second lifetime-best in a month in the event, beating the 2:10.37 she put up in Charlotte.
Bouchard was 2:10.87, with Asia Seidt (18) rolling in at 2:12.05 for third place.
Kennedy Goss, another Canadian, was 2:12.72 for fourth, with Kentucky’s NCAA champ Danielle Galyer giong 2:13.96 and taking 5th.
Men’s 200 Back – Finals
Top 3 Finishers:
- Arkady Vyatchanin, NYAC – 1:58.40
- Rex Tullius, St. Thomas – 2:00.27
- Aaron Greene, Unattached – 2:00.89
It’s been a month of tough news for Arkady Vyatchanin, who found out in May his request for Serbian sporting citizenship wouldn’t be official in time for the European Championships, then learned later in the month that FINA wouldn’t accept his request in time for the Rio Olympics, either. But the former Russian Olympian picked up another Pro Swim Series win this weekend, going 1:58.40 to blow out the 200 back field.
Vyatchanin beat out Rex Tullius, a former U.S. National Teamer who will be heading to Rio for the Virgin Islands. Tullius was 2:00.27.
Louisville Cardinal Aaron Greene was 2:00.89 for bronze, followed by Scotland’s Craig McNally (2:01.62) and New Zealand’s Corey Main (2:01.94).
Women’s 100 Free – Finals
Top 3 Finishers:
- Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, Bahamas – 54.18
- Olivia Smoliga, Athens Bulldog – 54.66
- Kelsi Worrell, Louisville – 54.96
SwimMAC’s Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace tore through the 100 free field, rising from the 3rd qualifying spot out of prelims to win the final by half a second. Her 54.18 is only four tenths off her best time, swim for the Bahamas at the 2012 Olympics.
NCAA champ Olivia Smoliga was second, going 54.66 for the Athens Bulldogs, and record-setting butterflyer Kelsi Worrell was 54.96 for Louisville.
Her teammate Mallory Comerford went 55.82 to nab fourth, and Wisconsin’s Ivy Martin was the last swimmer under 56, going 55.89 and taking 5th.
Men’s 100 Free – Finals
Top 3 Finishers:
- Santo Condorelli, Canada – 48.34
- Marcelo Chierighini, Brazil – 49.27
- Joao de Lucca, Brazil – 49.62
Canada’s new star Santo Condorelli blasted away at the men’s event, going 48.34 for the win. Condorelli will represent Canada in the Olympics, but trains at the Canyons Aquatic Club in California.
A pair of Brazilian teammates were second and third. Marcelo Chierighini went 49.27 and Joao de Lucca 49.62. The two, who competed for Auburn and Louisville, respectively, in college will swim as teammates on the Brazilian 4×100 free relay at this summer’s Olympics.
Top prelims qualifier Josh Schneider slipped to 4th with a somewhat rough back half at night, but was still a solid 49.69. Indiana’s Ali Khalafalla rounds out the top 5 in 50.15.
Men’s 1500 Free – Timed Finals
Top 3 Finishers:
- Connor Jaeger, Michigan – 15:28.34
- PJ Ransford, Michigan – 15:30.92
- Brad Gonzales, La Mirada – 15:41.94
Club Wolverine swimmers swept the top two spots in the men’s mile, with both men swimming in the afternoon heats. Connor Jaeger was 15:28.34 to win the race – that’s a ways off his sub-15-minute effort that won the event in Charlotte.
His teammate PJ Ransford was 15:30.92 for second place.
Only one swimmer from the evening heat made the top 5. Brad Gonzalez of La Mirada went 15:41.94, which took 3rd overall.
Also out of the afternoon heats, Wisconsin’s Matt Hutchins (a New Zealand native) and Cameron Stitt (also of Michigan) went 15:46.59 and 15:49.62, respectively.
Anyone know why it appears that Jaeger was only swimming an 800 fast, then the next 700 moderate? Too bad he can’t hold those 28 highs/ 29 lows for the whole 1500, we’d have the first american world record holder in the mile since Brian Goodell in 1976. If only…
For the 800m-850m he appears to have been 47sec
He took off his goggles to look at his 800 time, rested, then moved on to win the race anyway.
In the Women’s 200m Backstroke final, Erin Voss comes from 0.50 seconds back at the 150, passes Bouchard for the win with a 2:10.12. Bouchard 2:10.87.
AVW’s getting her back-half back– that was a nice swim. Thought Smoliga would be a bit faster. But I agree with folks that say she is a serious dark horse for trials. Her start and underwater are very, very good and she has the height– she could have a monster meet and upset some ladies in the 50.
She’s looking pretty good in the 100 back, I’ll say that. 50-100 free is a tougher sell but she’s had a great year, that’s for sure.
Best shot for Olivia will probably be the 100 back, 50 free competition is steep and 100 free field is deep with sprinters and 200 freers alike(lendecky will probably swim to get on the 4×100). 100 back has been consistent all year and with Coughlin and Franklin a bit shaky over the last few months you’d have to think Smoliga is more than a dark horse a month out
Talking about 100 free splits, are the splits of the live results for Dressel’s 48.74 in Tennessee confirmed because there was another version? 23.09/25.65 is officially correct?
And talking about Dressel, he swims a 50 free tonight. He has slept in prelims in 23.33.
Condorelli very easy to win the 100 free in 48.34.
22.58 at the half-race!
Jay Litherland with another monster last 50 on freestyle to win the 200 IM in 1.59.93.
I think he can beat Hagino in one in one at the end of a 400 IM if they are tied after breaststroke.
The hardest part for him is to be tied with Hagino after breaststroke. 🙂
Doesn’t Hagino close his 2IM in 26 at taper meets?
Nevermind. I had no idea where I got that idea from, apologies.
Margalis great all weekend. Time for her to go under 2.10. Her PB is 2.10.20 from 2014.
Again not for this time. “Only” 2.11.25.
She will have to be much more agressive on fly and back at trials to beat Ella Eastin.
Agreed. Eastin is a beast. That 2:10 in Atlanta where she kept DiRado at bay was a warning shot. Here’s a strange prediction– Margalis misses the team by one place in 200 IM but make the team in an upset in. . . . . .
200 BREAST!
Why not? Her breaststroke looks great right now. And behind Micah Lawrence it’s wide open for the second spot.
I would like to see Laura Sogar qualify but your suggestion is not so strange.
Micah won’t make the team…King, Margalis, Sogar, Lazor will be the four who will battle for top two.
And Meili, too.
Didn’t Sun scratch Santa Clara, not Indianapolis
Yes the sun set in Santa Clara well not quite yet it is still 3 pm !
Jared is excused with all these meets on the same weekend.
Ach, you’re right, everyone. My mistake! Fixed up now