2016 GEORGIA FALL INVITATIONAL
- Friday, December 2nd-Sunday, December 4th
- Hosted by University of Georgia
- 25 yards
- Invite format
- Live results
Day 1 finals of the 2016 Georgia Fall Invitational are now complete, with several swimmers clocking times that rank #1 in the nation this year. Georgia’s Chase Kalisz topped a 200 IM field that was packed with Olympians. Cal freshman Pawel Sendyk had a big swim in the 50 free. Also highlighting the session was Georgia’s Olivia Smoliga, who won the women’s 50 free.
WOMEN’S 200 FREE RELAY
- Cal, 1:26.31
- Georgia, 1:26.79
- Virginia, 1:28.74
The Cal women were just .11 shy of the NCAA Record tonight, with Abbey Weitzeil (21.8), Amy Bilquist (21.8), Valerie Hull (21.4), and Farida Osman (21.28) combining for a new school record of 1:26.31. Weitzeil holds the American Record with a 21.24 in the 50 free, so we could definitely see them breaking that NCAA Record during championship season when Weitzeil is at her peak.
The Georgia women put together a fast 1:26.79 for 2nd place. Olivia Smoliga turned in a 21.68 leadoff, while Chantal Van Landeghem swam the fastest split of the field with her 21.14 on the anchor leg.
MEN’S 200 FREE RELAY
- Cal, 1:16.94
- Florida State, 1:17.33
- Auburn, 1:17.88
Cal outpaced the field in the men’s 200 free relay, winning the race in a quick 1:16.94. Freshman Michael Jensen was a key player for the Bears, swimming a blazing 19.01 on the 2nd leg. Senior Ryan Murphy was also 19-low with his 19.10 on the 2nd leg.
The Florida State men finished in 1:17.33 for 2nd place ahead of Auburn (1:17.88), with Chad Mylin posting an 18.86 on the 3rd leg for the fastest split of the field.
WOMEN’S 500 FREE
Michigan’s G Ryan had a breakthrough swim tonight, going a best time in the 500 free for the first time since 2013. Their previous best was a 4:36.99 from high school, but tonight they tore it up with a 4:34.28 to win the final over teammate Rose Bi (4:34.63). At the 400 yard mark, Bi was holding the lead, but Ryan roared home with a 52.81 on the final 100 yards.
MEN’S 500 FREE
- Kevin Litherland, Georgia, 4:15.33
- Walker Higgins, Georgia, 4:16.91
- Ryan Kao, Cal, 4:18.97
The Georgia men pulled in a 1-2 finish in the 500 free, with Kevin Litherland winning the race in 4:15.33. Litherland battled closely with teammate Walker Higgins through the first half of the race, but was able to pull ahead in the end. Higgins held on for 2nd in 4:16.91, while Cal’s Ryan Kao closed out the top 3 with a 4:18.97.
WOMEN’S 200 IM
- Kathleen Baker, Cal, 1:53.41
- Kaitlyn Jones, Virginia, 1:54.05
- Jenn Marrkand, Virginia, 1:55.90
Cal’s Kathleen Baker, who was the runner-up at 2016 NCAAs, topped the field in tonight’s 200 IM. Baker was within tenths of her best time, winning tonight’s race in 1:53.41. A pair of Cavaliers followed, with Kaitlyn Jones and Jenn Marrkand picking up 2nd and 3rd. Jones, the reigning ACC champ, dropped a full second for a personal best 1:54.05. Marrkand also swam a new best, taking 3rd in 1:55.90.
MEN’S 200 IM
- Chase Kalisz, Georgia, 1:41.26
- Andrew Seliskar, Cal, 1:42.41
- Ryan Murphy, Cal, 1:42.53
Chase Kalisz is back. After a somewhat disappointing conclusion to the 2014-15 NCAA season and an Olympic redshirt for 2015-16, he’s returned to top form in the short course yards pool. Kalisz, who won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics this summer, was just hundredths shy of his personal best time in the 200 IM tonight. He took down a stacked field with his 1:41.26 for 1st place.
That time put him nearly a second ahead of anyone else. Rounding out the top 3 were Cal teammates Andrew Seliskar and Ryan Murphy. Seliskar was slightly faster, picking up 2nd in 1:42.41. Murphy, who took 3rd in this race at 2016 NCAAs, finished in 1:42.53 for 3rd.
WOMEN’S 50 FREE
- Olivia Smoliga, Georgia, 21.58
- Chantal Van Landeghem, Georgia, 21.76
- Abbey Weitzeil, Cal, 21.81
Georgia went 1-2 in the 50 free with Senior sprinters Olivia Smoliga and Chantal Van Landeghem. Smoliga, the reigning NCAA champ, ripped a 21.58 for the victory. Van Landeghem was right on her best time, taking 2nd in 21.76. Both women were able to outswim American Record holder Abbey Weitzeil, who took 3rd in 21.81. Weitzeil’s Cal teammate Farida Osman was also sub-22, taking 4th with a 21.96.
MEN’S 50 FREE
- Pawel Sendyk, Cal, 19.10
- Michael Jensen, Cal, 19.49
- Chad Mylin, Florida State, 19.54
The sprint outlook is good for the Cal Bears, as freshmen Pawel Sendyk and Michael Jensen had big swims tonight. Sendyk, who represents Poland internationally, blasted a 19.10 to win the race tonight. That’s a very fast swim for his first rest meet in the yards pool. Jensen secured the 1-2 for the Bears, putting up a personal best 19.49 for 2nd place.
Florida State’s Chad Mylin joined them in the top 3. Mylin, an ACC finalist in this race, touched in 19.54 to out-touch teammate Jason McCormick (19.57) for 3rd.
WOMEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY
- Cal, 3:28.33
- Virginia, 3:29.97
- Georgia, 3:30.34
Cal’s Amy Bilquist fired off a 50.85 backstroke split to help the Bears run away with the 400 medley relay. She combined with Marina Garcia (1:00.40), Noemie Thomas (50.25), and Abbey Weitzeil (46.83) for a winning time of 3:28.33. With Bilquist’s 50.85 back, Thomas’ 50.25 fly, and Weitzeil’s 46.83 free, the Bears had the fastest splits in 3 of the 4 strokes. The exception came on the breaststroke leg, where Florida State’s Natalie Pierce dropped a 57.91.
Fastest splits:
- Backstroke- Amy Bilquist, Cal, 50.85
- Breaststroke- Natalie Pierce, Florida State, 57.91
- Butterfly- Noemie Thomas, Cal, 50.25
- Freestyle- Abbey Weitzeil, Cal, 46.83
MEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY
- Cal, 3:03.82
- Georgia, 3:04.84
- Auburn, 3:08.73
Olympic champ Ryan Murphy blasted a nation-leading 44.79 backstroke split to help the Cal men win the 400 medley relay. Connor Hoppe (51.93), Justin Lynch (45.36), and Michael Jensen followed for an overall time of 3:03.82. Jensen is shaping up to be a huge asset for Cal, as his 41.65 freestyle split was the fastest of the field. Interestingly, Andrew Seliskar was the fastest breaststroker tonight, turning in a 51.68 on the B-relay.
Georgia (3:04.94) also had a freshman step up, with Javier Acevedo anchoring for them in 41.92. Pace Clark swam a 45.27 on the butterfly leg, which was faster than anybody else in the field.
Fastest splits:
- Backstroke- Ryan Murphy, Cal, 44.79
- Breaststroke- Andrew Seliskar, Cal ‘B’, 51.68
- Butterfly- Pace Clark, Georgia, 45.27
- Freestyle- Michael Jensen, Cal, 41.65
Good swims for Murphy at this point. If Licon gets healthy that 200 IM final at NCAAs will definitely be a bit more than interesting. Who do we have… Licon (hopefully), Kalisz, Litherland, Bentz, Murphy, Seliskar, Dressel (maybe) and some longer shots as well.
Take out Dressel. No way he swims it at NCAAs. Even SECs is a stretch.
But you can easily replace him with Switkowski who was 1:41 mid last year. Szaranek, also from Florida, was also 1:41 mid last year.
Yeah, Dressel is a stretch. It’s just that 1:42 from the last meet got me too excited.
I think people tend to forget, that if not for Ryan Murphy, the NCAA record would still be Lochte’s 44.60. Not only has he surpassed that mark by over a second, the next fastest NCAA swimmers EVER are David Nolan and Shane Ryan at 44.78.
People think 44.79 is a slouch time for Murphy, but forget to put it in context of the previous record holder’s time.
Are people saying that? Granted, I haven’t read every single article on the site, but I have not seen anything like that.
Top splits of the night in no particular order:
Noemie Thomas 50.25 on the fly leg on the 400 medley relay
Chantal Van Landeghem splits on both free relays
Bilquist on the backstroke leadoff
Both Michigan girls in the 500 (the 500 is gonna be so fast at NCAA’s)
Weitzeil split on the 400 medley
…all girls
*top splits and swims
19.10 for a freshman is pretty damn good, especially at Cal since they don’t tend to show too much at midseason.
Acevado the sprint leg they’ve always needed. And Jensen is doing a good job of replacing Messerschmidt
They had Michael Trice who was top 8 last year but he graduated.
I don’t understand why they don’t put Kathleen Baker over Marina Garcia on the breaststroke leg on 400 medley relays.
Probably a good idea to at least try it right?
Agreed, it worth a shot. Has she swam breaststroke at all since shes been at Cal? She came in with like a 59 low. On the other hand…they tried that strategy with Celina Li but then eventually reverted back to Marina Garcia
Not bat breaststroke depth for the Cal Men’s medley relay…51.9 for the C relay split. 51.68, 51.90, 51.93…for their three relays…wow!