2016 Longhorn Elite Invite: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2016 LONGHORN ELITE INVITE

• June 3rd-5th, 2016
• Austin, Texas (University of Texas Jamail Swim Center)
• Prelims start at 9:30 AM, Finals start at 6:30 PM, except Sunday, 5:30 PM (U.S. Central Time)
• Psych Sheets
• Meet Central
• Timeline
• Live Results 
• Finals Live Stream (Longhorn Network)

The first night of finals at the 2016 Longhorn Elite Invite will feature some exciting races, including the men’s 100 fly, men’s 400 free, and the men’s and women’s 100 free which all look to be exciting. David Nolan had a strong morning session taking the top seed in both the 100 free and 100 fly heading into tonight,  but will be in tough tonight with the likes of Michael Phelps, Jack Conger, and Joseph Schooling breathing down his neck.

The women’s 100 free features Margo Geer, Allison Schmitt and Missy Franklin all within 0.26 of each other from the morning, and the men’s 400 shapes up to be a good battle between Michael McBroom and Clark Smith, with 500 NCAA champ Townley Haas lurking in 5th.

Women’s 100 Free Finals

1. Allison Schmitt, North Baltimore, 54.30
2. Missy Franklin, Colorado Stars, 54.56
3. Margo Geer, Tucson Ford, 54.93

The top three women were all under 55 in the 100 free A final, with North Baltimore’s Allison Schmitt taking the win in 54.30. Schmitt was second at the 50 behind Margo Geer, but had a quick final 50m of 27.69 to take the win. Missy Franklin of the Colorado Stars touched just behind Schmitt in 2nd at 54.56, and Geer fell to 3rd. Rebecca Millard was the 4th place finisher, over a second off 3rd place in 56.04.

Men’s 100 Free Finals

1. Michael Phelps, North Baltimore, 49.49
2. Jack Conger, Nation’s Capital, 49.50
3. David Nolan, North Baltimore, 49.80

Michael Phelps edged out Jack Conger by one one-hundredth of a second to win the 100 free in 49.49 to Conger’s 49.50, while top seeded David Nolan equalled his prelim time to finish 3rd in 49.80. Phelps was 2nd at the 50 wall to only Matt Grevers in 23.98, and had the second fastest back half in 25.51. Only Conger (25.23) was faster coming back.

Clay Youngquist of Longhorn Aquatics was 4th in 50.09, and Grevers fell to 5th in 50.45.

Women’s 200 Breast Finals

1. Madisyn Cox, LSC, 2:28.31
2. Laura Sogar, ABF, 2:28.80
3. Annie Zhu, Athens Bulldogs, 2:29.65

Madisyn Cox of LSC clipped ABF’s Laura Sogar in the women’s 200 breaststroke by just under half a second to take the win, touching in 2:28.31. Sogar was 2:28.80 for 2nd, and Annie Zhu of the Athens Bulldogs was 3rd in 2:29.65. All three were very close at the 100m mark, but Cox made her move on the 3rd 50 and finished the job coming back.

Olivia Anderson went out fast and led through 100m in 1:10.93, but eventually fell to 4th in 2:32.03 with a back half of 1:21.10.

Men’s 200 Breast Finals

1. Will Licon, UN, 2:10.68
2. Chase Kalisz, North Baltimore, 2:12.57
3. Andrew Wilson, Longhorn Aquatics, 2:16.52

Two-time defending 200 breast NCAA champ Will Licon had a convincing win in the men’s 200 breast over Chase Kalisz, out-splitting him on every 50 to win in 2:10.68 over Kalisz’s 2:12.57. Licon was out in 1:03.07 and managed to keep his final two 50’s under 34 seconds to shut the door on Kalisz. Kalisz was out in 1:03.59 but tailed off a bit in the back half and Licon took advantage. Licon and Kalisz’s rivalry goes back to the 2015 NCAA Championships, where Licon upset Kalisz to win the 400 IM after Kalisz was the two-time defending champion and American record holder.

Andrew Wilson of Longhorn Aquatics was well back in 3rd in 2:16.52, and Hayden Henry of Tigershark was 4th in 2:17.59.

Women’s 400 Free Finals

1. Lotte Friis, North Baltimore, 4:06.82
2. Cierra Runge, North Baltimore, 4:08.04
3. Allison Schmitt, North Baltimore, 4:08.36

It was a North Baltimore sweep in the women’s 400 free, as the top-4 finishers were all representing NBAC. Lotte Friis, hailing from Denmark, won in 4:06.82, splitting fairly evenly out in 2:02.62 at the 200. Cierra Runge was 2nd in 4:08.04, and Allison Schmitt was 3rd in 4:08.36 not too long after winning the 100 freestyle at the beginning of the session.

Finishing 4th was North Baltimore’s Sierra Schmidt in 4:11.15, with Joanna Evans (4:12.39) and Quinn Carrozza (4:17.04), both of whom swim for the University of Texas during the collegiate season, finishing 5th and 6th respectively.

Men’s 400 Free Finals

1. Clark Smith, UN, 3:48.08
2. Michael McBroom, Woodlands, 3:51.17
3. Kei Hyogo, Yale, 3:51.60

Clark Smith had a very convincing win in the men’s 400 free, winning by over three seconds in 3:48.08. That swim makes Smith the 2nd fastest American in 2016 behind only Conor Dwyer, and is less than a second off his own best time of 3:47.10. Smith was out fast to the 200 in 1:51.82 and didn’t give runner-up Michael McBroom an inch coming home.

McBroom was 2nd in a very solid 3:51.17, just ahead of Yale’s Kei Hyogo (3:51.60) and NOVA’s Townley Haas (3:51.94). Smith and Haas’ Texas Longhorn teammate Jonathan Roberts was 5th in 3:53.94.

Women’s 100 Fly Finals

1. Victoria Edwards, Longhorn Aquatics, 1:00.32
2. Dakota Luther, Austin Swim Club, 1:00.98
3. Remedy Rule, UN, 1:01.32

The women’s 100 fly had a surprisingly very small field, with only eight women competing in the event in the morning. Victoria Edwards of Longhorn Aquatics booked the win tonight in 1:00.32, edging out Dakota Luther of the Austin Swim Club who was 2nd in 1:00.98. Remedy Rule, a Texas Longhorn during the NCAA season, finished 3rd in 1:01.32.

Men’s 100 Fly Finals

1. Joseph Schooling, UN, 51.58
2. Michael Phelps, North Baltimore, 51.65
3. Jack Conger, Nation’s Capital, 51.72

In the very tight, very exciting race everyone was hoping for, Joseph Schooling emerged victorious over Michael Phelps and Jack Conger, touching in 51.58 for the win. Phelps was back by just 0.07 for 2nd in 51.65, and Conger was another 0.07 behind him in 51.72. Schooling was first to the wall in 24.19, with Conger (24.42) and Phelps (24.55) 2nd and 3rd. Phelps had the best back 50 of anyone in 27.10, but it wasn’t enough to run down Schooling. Schooling is now the 7th fastest man in 2016, while Phelps and Conger are 9th and 12th, and the top two Americans.

Tripp Cooper of Woodlands was 4th in 53.03, with David Nolan (53.06) and Will Glass (53.25) 5th and 6th in what was a very fast final.