2018 Atlanta Classic: Magahey Tops Rooney and Lochte, Brown Swims 100 Fly PB on Night 1

2018 ATLANTA CLASSIC

• May 18th-20th, 2018
• Georgia Tech Aquatic Center (co-hosted by Swim Atlanta and Southern Crescent Aquatics Team)
• LCM (50m) pool
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• Psych Sheet

The first finals session of the 2018 Atlanta Classic will see Olympic champions Ryan Lochte and Caeleb Dressel competing for the Gators. This morning, Lochte qualified for the finals of the 200 free, 100 fly, and 400 IM. Dressel is set to compete in the B final of the 200 free and 100 breast. Erika Brown, who had huge breakouts during the NCAA season, is already improving in the long course pool after her best time in the 100 fly this morning. Another one to watch on the women’s side is Tennessee’s Molly Hannis, who has already had some big performances in the long course breaststrokes this year.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE:

1. Jordan Stout- 2:01.93
2. Samantha Porter- 2:02.36
3. Stanzi Moseley- 2:02.79

Athens Bulldogs’ Jordan Stout outsplit Samantha Porter by a full second down the final stretch to out-touch Porter at the finish. That time for Stout was just a tenth shy of her lifetime best, which stands at a 2:01.83 from the 2017 U.S. Open. Missouri’s Porter, a freshman, broke 2:03 for the first time as she held off Tennessee’s Stanzi Moseley for 2nd.

Moseley’s teammate Erika Brown was a couple of seconds off her prelims time here, taking 8th in 2:04.38. She was a 2:02.42 in the prelim heats. Her best ever is a 2:00.42 from 2014. Brown will be competing in the 100 fly next.

MEN’S 200 FREE:

1. Jake Magahey– 1:49.65
2. Maxime Rooney– 1:49.80
3. Javier Acevedo– 1:50.76

Local junior standout Jake Magahey battled closely with Florida’s Maxime Rooney the whole way through, with the 16-your-old Atlanta native out-touching Rooney at the finish. That was a lifetime best for Magahey by nearly a second, smashing the 1:50.51 he put up at the Pro Swim Series stop in Atlanta this March.

Ryan Lochte just missed out on 3rd as Javier Acevedo outsplit him by a couple of tenths on the last 50. Lochte’s swim wasa just a few tenths shy of his time from March. Fellow Gator pro Caeleb Dressel won the B final in 1:51.96. That was a significant improvement from this morning, when Dressel played with his back-half speed, and would’ve placed 7th in the final just behind NCAA standout Dean Farris (1:51.54) of Harvard.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST:

1. Molly Hannis– 1:07.25
2. Micah Sumrall– 1:08.37
3. Rachel Bernhardt- 1:08.70

Olympic breaststrokers Molly Hannis and Micah Sumrall topped the podium, with Hannis winning by a second. That was about a second shy of Hannis’ best, which is a 1:06.09 that she swam at this pool in March for the Pro Swim Series. Sumrall was also close to a second off her season best. She put up a 1:07.54 at the Atlanta PSS stop. However, it was a tad faster than she swam in Mesa last month when she finished 2nd to Hannis again.

MEN’S 100 BREAST:

1. Michael Andrew, 59.98
2. Miguel De Lara, 1:01.99
3. James Guest, 1:02.97

Michael Andrew blew away the field by 2 seconds, breaking 1:00 for the first time this year in 59.98. That took a tenth off his former season best: a 1:00.07 from the Atlanta Pro Swim Series in March. That broke his own former Meet Record of 1:00.15 from prelims. Andrew’s time was his 4th fastest performance ever, and the first time he’s swum sub-1:00 since the 2016 Olympic Trials. He was just over a tenth shy of his best.

Caeleb Dressel made another big drop from prelims to finals, bringing his 1:06.91 from this morning down to a 1:03.28 to win the B heat. Dressel, the former owner of the 100 yard breast American Record, was a second from his best time in the event.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY

1. Erika Brown– 1:00.30
2. Haley Black– 1:00.51
3. Penny Oleksiak– 1:00.92

Tennessee’s Erika Brown really burst on the the fly scene this year with her sub-50 performance in the yards pool. She knocked almost 2 seconds off her lifetime best in prelims, posting a 1:00.51. She was even faster tonight with another best time in 1:00.30. Brown chased down Auburn school record holder Haley Black to win by 2 tenths at the finish.

Black was just over 2 tenths off her lifetime best, a 1:00.26 from 2017 Georgia sectionals. Candian Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak was 3rd, just edging out Abby Harter (1:00.98).

MEN’S 100 FLY

1. Luis Martinez- 52.55
2. Michael Andrew– 53.41
3. Maxime Rooney– 53.68

Auburn’s Luis Martinez got the Tigers on top this time as he beat Michael Andrew by nearly a second. Both Andrew and Maxime Rooney earned their 2nd top 3 finishes of the night, while Ryan Lochte was once again just shy of the top 3. Andrew, who swam his lifetime best 52.57 at this pool in March, just clipped Rooney at the finish.

Lochte touched in 54.32. For comparison, he swam a 53.7 100 fly in his 200 free/100 fly double in March, but the Gators are likely in heavy training and this was Lochte’s 5th swim of the day after a very tough triple this morning (including the 400 IM). Behind him, incoming Gator Will Davis finished 4th in 54.56.

WOMEN’S 400 IM

1. Vanessa Pearl- 4:45.81
2. Savanna Faulconer- 4:46.00
3. Emma Barksdale- 4:48.90

Future teammates Vanessa Pearl and Savanna Faulconer had a very close race in the 400 IM. Pearl, an incoming Gator freshman, had a big lead through the breast leg, but Faulconer, a rising junior at Florida, closed the gap on the free leg to make it a tight finish. Pearl hit the wall slightly ahead in 4:45.81. That’s about 2 seconds shy of Pearl’s personal best 4:43.60 from 2017 summer nationals.

MEN’S 400 IM

1. Mark Szaranek– 4:24.11
2. James Guest– 4:27.54
3. Zach Brown- 4:31.91

Though he was the top qualifier in this race, Lochte decided to call it a night after the 100 fly. Another Gator took over, however, as Mark Szaranek dominated the field ahead of Georgia’s James Guest. They were the only swimmers to break 4:30 tonight, with Guest earning his 2nd top-3 finish of the session. 200 free champ Jake Magahey made a huge drop here. Magahey finished 5th overall in 4:32.58, taking 3 seconds off his lifetime best from prelims. Throughout the day, he’s taken 11 seconds off his best.