2018 Pro Series – Austin: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2018 PRO SWIM SERIES – AUSTIN

• Thursday, January 11 – Sunday, January 14, 2018
• Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center
• Austin, TX
• Prelims 9 AM (Th-Sat) / Finals 6 PM (Th), 5:40 (Fri-Sat) / Timed Finals 8 AM (Sun) – U.S. Central Time
• Links, Schedule & Points/Money Info
• Meet site
• Live Stream
• Meet info
• Psych Sheets
• Friday Heat Sheet

Day 2 will play host to the 100 back, 200 IM, 100 breast, 100 free, 200 IM, and 800 free. The fastest heats of the 800 will be swum in at the beginning of the finals session tonight, and will feature some awesome races, as all eyes will be on Zane Grothe on the men’s side, and Bingjie Li on the women’s. 32-year-old Kristel Kobrich will also be competing in the fastest heat of the women’s 800.

Chase Kalisz will look to follow up his 400 IM performance in the 200 IM today, where he is seeded 1st by nearly 2 seconds over Josh Prenot. Melanie Margalis will also look to back up her win in the 400 IM yesterday, and will have a battle on her hands with Sydney Pickrem and Madisyn Cox.

The dynamic of the women’s 100 free should be an interesting one, with a slew of junior swimmers going up against their collegiate and post grad counterparts. Olivia Smoliga, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, Alexia Zevnik, Arina Openysheva, and Rebecca Millard will be fighting for their spots in the ‘A’ final against 17-and-unders Taylor Ruck, Kayla Sanchez, Grace Ariola, Lucie Nordmann, Julia Cook, and Rebecca Smith.

Olivia Smoliga, Taylor Ruck, Alexia Zevnik, Grace Ariola, Lucie Nordmann, Kayla Sanchez, and Julia Cook will also be racing each other in the first event of prelims, the 100 back. Regan Smith, Claire Adams, Jade Hannah, and Lisa Bratton will also be joining the mix of this very stacked backstroke field.

Ryan Murphy, Matt Grevers, Jacob Pebley, and Justin Ress are seeded pretty tight in the 100 back.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK

• Meet Record – 58.96, Emily Seebohm (2016)
• Pool Record – 59.42, Kirsty Coventry

Top 8: (Completed)

1. Regan Smith – 1:00.26
2. Taylor Ruck – 1:00.48
3. Olivia Smoliga – 1:01.12
4. Jade Hannah – 1:01.17
5. Kayla Sanchez – 1:01.27
6. Isabelle Stadden – 1:01.29
7. Lisa Bratton – 1:01.44
8. Xuwei Peng – 1:01.46

Regan Smith and Taylor Ruck crushed the field this morninng, going the only 1:00s in the field. Smith and Ruck went out about the same as Smoliga, Sanchez, and Hannah on the first 50 (mid-29), but came back considerably stronger this morning. 6 of the 8 swimmers in the top 8 are age 17 or younger. Xuwei Peng, who got 8th with her time of 1:01.46 is just 14 years old. Isabelle Stadden, Jade Hannah, and Regan Smith are all 15 years old, Kayla Sanchez is 16, and Taylor Ruck is 17.

Rebecca Smith came in 9th (1:01.66).

MEN’S 100 BACK

• Meet Record – 52.40, David Plummer (2016)
• Pool Record – 53.05, Matt Grevers

Top 8: (Complete)

1. Justin Ress – 54.98
2. Ryan Murphy – 55.05
3. Jacob Pebley – 55.07
4. Matt Grevers – 55.12
5. Luke Greenbank – 55.57
6. Taylor Dale – 55.61
7. Nicholas Pyle – 55.67
8. Daniel Cross – 55.90

Justin Ress earned the top spot for finals tonight, swimming a very controlled race, evidenced by his splits of 27.06/27.92. Ress was out slower than Ryan Murphy, Jacob Pebley, and Matt Grevers, all of whom will most likely go out even faster tonight. Whether or not Justin Ress will be able to hold off some of the greatest backstrokers in the world tonight remains to be seen, but he definitely shouldn’t be counted out. 17 year old Nicholas Pyle punched his ticket to the A final tonight, making himself the only 18-and-under to do so.

Hennessey Stuart came in 9th, posting a 55.95, and Ryan Held, who we don’t see swim backstroke often if at all, got 22nd with his time of 57.29.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY

• Meet Record – 2:06.76, Cammille Adams (2012)
• Pool Record – 2:06.76, Cammille Adams

Top 8: (Completed)

1. Hali Flickinger – 2:10.55
2. Alys Thomas – 2:10.81
3. Regan Smith – 2:12.10
4. Ciara Schlosshan – 2:12.35
5. Dakota Luther – 2:13.15
6. Yufei Zhang – 2:13.26
7. Sarah Gibson – 2:13.92
8. Harriet Jones – 2:14.05

Hali Flickinger opened up on her heat in the back half of the race, gaining a lead of about 2 seconds going into the finish. Flickinger is the favorite going into tonight, but Alys Thomas was just .26 seconds behind her this morning, and could give her quite a battle tonight. Regan Smith was the only women to make the top 8 that dropped time this morning, shaving 8 tenths of a second off her seed time. If we’ve learned anything in recent history, it’s that Smith should never be counted out, even when performing a double like the 100 back/200 fly. Dakota Luther, Yufei Zhang, and Sarah Gibson were all a little off there times this morning, but all made it back to the A final, so the 200 fly should be one of the most exciting races to watch tonight.

MEN’S 200 FLY

• Meet Record – 1:55.29, Li Zhuhao (2017)
• Pool Record – 1:54.79, Michael Phelps

Top 8: (completed)

1. Masayuki Umemoto – 1:59.23
2. Chase Kalisz – 2:00.35
3. Jack Conger – 2:00.45
4. Sam Pomajevich – 2:00.70
5. Nicolas Albiero – 2:01.39
6. Mack Darragh – 2:01.92
7. Zach Harting – 2:02.00
8. Jacob Peters – 2:02.43

There were only 5 heats of the men’s 200 fly this morning, and Masayuki Umemoto came out on top, largely due to his aggressive first 100 (56.16). Every swimmer to make the top 8 has a best time well under 2:00, so tonight’s final could be explosive. Jack Conger and Chase Kalisz are probably the favorites, but Umemoto, Mack Darragh, and Zach Harting are right there too.

Daniel Sos from Louisville came in 9th (2:02.70), and Christian Ng came in 17th (2:06.28).

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST

• Meet Record – 1:05.57, Rebecca Soni (2011)
• Pool Record – 1:06.43, Rebecca Soni

Top 8: (Complete)

1. Katie Meili – 1:06.86
2. Rachel Nicol – 1:07.66
3. Molly Hannis – 1:08.44
4. Melanie Margalis – 1:08.74
5. Breeja Larson – 1:08.76
6. Jorie Caneta – 1:09.36
7. Madisyn Cox – 1:09.47Yan Zibei
8. Anna Belousova – 1:09.53

Katie Meili had control of this race from the start, she looked strong and smooth on her way to her high 1:06 this morning. While Meili is the clear favorite for tonight, the field gets pretty tight after her, with only 1.09 seconds separating 3rd from 8th.

MEN’S 100 BREAST

• Meet Record – 58.86, Adam Peaty (2017)
• Pool Record – 59.61, Brendan Hansen

Top 8: (completed)

1. Yan Zibei – 1:00.67
2. Andrew Wilson – 1:01.07
3. Nic Fink – 1:01.81
4. Will Licon – 1:02.17
5. Josh Prenot – 1:02.19
6. Carlos Claverie – 1:02.19
7. Reece Whitley – 1:02.64
8. Nick Zito – 1:03.13

Yan Zibei took the final heat and was the only swimmer to go 1:00 this morning. Zibei will likely get more of a race tonight between Andrew Wilson, Nic Fink, and Josh Prenot, all of whom are sub-1:00 100 breaststrokers. Reece Whitley and Will Licon are also in the mix, as they are low 1:00 in this event. Michael Andrew came in 9th, posting a 1:03.31, well off his best time of 59.82. Andrew would have also been in the mix for the win tonight had he made it into the A final.

WOMEN’S 100 FREE

• Meet Record – 53.12, Sarah Sjostrom, 2016
• Pool Record – 53.12, Sarah Sjostrom

Top 8: (completed)

1. Margo Geer – 53.76
2. Taylor Ruck – 53.97
3. Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace – 54.92
4. Kayla Sanchez – 54.95
5. Amanda Kendall – 55.36
6. Claire Rasmus – 55.48
7. Alexia Zevnik – 55.59
8. Rebecca Smith – 55.63

Margo Geer led the pack in prelims, posting a quick prelims time of 53.76. That time was a new lifetime best (previous best time 53.95). Right behind her was Taylor Ruck, who was just off her best time (52.96) this morning with her time of 53.97. Olivia Smoliga finished in 11th, Julia Cook finished in 16th, Arina Openysheva finished in 18th, Lucie Nordmann finished in 23rd, and Grace Ariola finished in 26th, all of whom had the potential to make the A final.

MEN’S 100 FREE

• Meet Record – 48.00, Nathan Adrian (2016)
• Pool Record – 48.26, Nathan Adrian

Top 8: (completed)

1. Nathan Adrian – 49.58
2. Daniel Krueger – 49.80
3. Ryan Held – 50.02
4. Matias Koski – 50.12
5. Justin Ress – 50.24
6. Andrej Barna – 50.78
7. Alexei Sancov – 51.01
8. Ryan Murphy – 51.11

It largely looked like many of the swimmers who made the top 8 were holding back this morning, setting up what should be a really great race tonight. Nathan Adrian remained on top, posting a 49.58, setting himself up nicely to go a 48 tonight. Daniel Krueger was the other sub-50 swimmer, posting a 49.80 Justin Ress made his 2nd A final of the day, setting himself up for 2 tough races tonight. Ryan Murphy joins Ress, as the 2 will be racing each other in both the 100 back and 100 free tonight.

WOMEN’S 200 IM

• Meet Record – 2:08.66, Katinka Hosszu (2015)
• Pool Record – 2:10.34, Ariana Kukors

Top 8: (completed)

1. Sydney Pickrem – 2:13.53
2. Melanie Margalis – 2:14.72
3. Evie Pfeifer – 2:15.28
4. Madisyn Cox – 2:15.85
5. Hali Flickinger – 2:16.34
6. Rachael Bradford-Feldman – 2:17.30
7. Bethay Galat/Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo – 2:17.50
8. –

Sydney Pickrem led a pretty controlled field this morning, taking the top seed for finals by over a second. Pickrem posted a speedy 37.85 breast split, the fastest in the field by nearly half a second. Hali Flickinger dropped almost 2 seconds this morning to secure a spot in the A final. With 2:13 being the fastest time posted this morning, this race is anyone’s for the taking tonight.

MEN’S 200 IM

• Meet Record – 1:56.32, Michael Phelps (2012)
• Pool Record – 1:57.39, Michael Phelps

Top 8: (with B Flight remaining)

1. Andreas Vazaios – 2:02.96
2. Daniel Sos – 2:03.24
3. Carson Foster – 2:03.52
4. Chase Kalisz – 2:03.74
5. Jake Foster/Will Licon – 2:04.50
6. –
7. Robert Hill – 2:04.80
8. Carlos Claverie – 2:04.94

If tie in 8th between Josh Prenot and Carlos Claverie remains after the B flight, there will have to be a swim-off to determine who will swim in the A final tonight. Andreas Vazaios looked strong this morning, swimming relaxed into the finish. Brothers Carson Foster and Jake Foster, who both had great performances at Winter Juniors about a month ago, both made the A final. Chase Kalisz was noticeably controlled this morning, pointing to the idea that he was holding back considerably. Reece Whitley finished in 19th this morning, posting a 2:06.48.

Update: Josh Prenot scratched the 200 IM for tonight.

WOMEN’S 800 FREE

• Meet Record – 8:06.68, Katie Ledecky, 2016
• Pool Record – 8:06.68, Katie Ledecky, 2016

Top 8: (excluding heat to be swum in finals)

1. Sophie Cattermole – 8:47.51
2. Kaitlynn Sims – 8:53.57
3. Haley Yelle – 8:54.03
4. Nicole Oliva – 8:58.44
5. Caitlynn Moon – 8:59.96
6. Maria Alvarez – 9:00.20
7. Octavia Lau – 9:02.49
8. Hayley Pike – 9:02.92

Sophie Cattermole blasted a new best time by 8.20 seconds to take the early heats of the 800 by over 6 seconds. She also negative split the race, 4:26.62/4:20.89.

Tonight’s final heat is set up as follows:

1. Holub – 8:36.21
2. Finke – 8:34.63
3. Field – 8:31.21
4. Moore – 8:27.58
5. Li – 8:30.00
6. Kobrich – 8:33.82
7. Neidigh – 8:34.71
8. Tuggle – 8:43.57

MEN’S 800 FREE

• Meet Record – 7:49.96, Michael McBroom (2014)
• Pool Record – 7:56.39, Chad Carvin

Top 8: (Excluding heat to be swum in finals)

1. Kohei Yamamoto – 8:02.39
2. Shingo Nakaya – 8:05.62
3. Trey Freeman – 8:11.45
4. T.C. Smith – 8:15.54
5. Eric Knowles – 8:16.14
6. Josh Zakala – 8:16.82
7. Jack McIntyre – 8:17.06
8. Peter Brothers – 8:17.93

Kohei Yamamoto held his pace steadily as he broke away from Shingo Nakaya around the halfway mark. Yamamoto’s time sits just 2 and a half seconds outside the 8th place seed for tonight (7:59.70), leaving the possibility he could remain in the top 8 after the final heat swims tonight.

Tonight’s final heat is set up as follows:

1. Brinegar – 7:57.22
2. Oerskov Ipsen – 7:53.37
3. Grothe – 7:50.97
4. Smith – 7:50.43
5. Takeda – 7:50.49
6. Qiu – 7:52.69
7. Acosta – 7:55.70
8. Kiesler – 7:59.70