2019 U.S. Nationals: World Juniors Showdowns/Effective Swim-Offs on Night 1

2019 PHILLIPS 66 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 31 – August 4, 2019
• Prelims 9:00 AM (Pacific)/Finals 5:00 PM (Pacific)
• Avery Aquatics Center
• Stanford, CA
• Meet Site
• Psych Sheet
• Omega Results

With USA Swimming selecting its 2019 World Junior Championships roster from the finish order of U.S. Nationals, a few World Juniors roster spots are already mostly locked in, barring DQs from junior athletes in the A or B finals. A handful of other spots are already set up to come down to head-to-head showdowns within heats tonight, setting up what are effectively swim-offs for the World Juniors roster.

Here’s our look at tonight’s battles. Bear in mind that some athletes will decline their roster spots, so these showdowns aren’t final or official – just what the team would look like if everyone (except those who we have reason to believe have already declined roster spots) accepts their roster position. (This Mitch Dalton tweet says it factors out those who have already declined spots, including world champ Regan Smith).

Girls 200 Fly

• Mostly locked in: Lillie Nordmann (1st entry)
• Roster battle:
  • B final – Charlotte Hook vs Grace Sheble (2nd entry)

With Smith appearing to decline her spot, fellow A finalist Lillie Nordmann would be locked in to the priority 1 spot. The second U.S. entry would come down to the two eligible swimmers in the B final: 15-year-old Charlotte Hook and 16-year-old Grace Sheble. Hook went a lifetime-best 2:10.36 this morning, dropping a tenth from her previous best in May. She ranks #15 in USA Swimming history in the 15-16 age group. Sheble was a career-best 2:11.89, dropping almost a full second from her best, previously done in January.

Boys 200 Fly

• Mostly locked in: Luca Urlando (1st entry)
• Roster battle:
  • B final – Brendan Burns vs Blake Manoff (2nd entry)

The top qualifier this morning, Luca Urlando should be locked in, barring a DQ. The second entry will again come down to the B final. 18-year-old Brendan Burns made his first foray under two minutes this morning, going 1:58.52 and qualifying 13th. He’ll have to beat 18-year-old Blake Manoff, who also cracked two minutes for the first time with a 1:59.12. Both boys dropped about two seconds from their previous best times.

Girls 100 Free

• Mostly locked in: Gretchen Walsh (1st individual entry), Grace Cooper (relay-only entry)
• Roster battle:
  • B final – Torri Huske vs Amy Tang (2nd individual entry)
  • D final – Maxine Parker vs Micayla Cronk vs Erin Gemmell vs Janelle Rudolph vs Claire Curzan (1 relay alternate)

The 100 frees will take up to five swimmers: two individual entrants, two more for the 4×100 free relay, and in the unlikely event that the roster isn’t filled by priorities 1 and 2, the fifth-best qualifier will make the team as a relay alternate.

Gretchen Walsh should be the first individual entrant as the only A finalist eligible for World Juniors. The B final will set up 16-year-old Torri Huske against 16-year-old Amy Tang. The winner should get the second individual entry, the loser the first of the relay-only spots.

The fourth swimmer selected should be Grace Cooper, who is the only eligible junior in the C final. After that, the fifth swimmer selected would be the top eligible swimmer from the D final. Only juniors are allowed to swim in the D final, but that doesn’t mean all swimmers in that heat are eligible for World Juniors. In fact, three of the eight in that heat are still juniors, but too old to swim World Juniors, which calculates ages differently and also only includes girls between 14 and 17.

Boys 100 Free

• Mostly locked in: Destin Lasco (1st individual entry), Adam Chaney (2nd individual entry)
• Roster battle:
  • D final – Jake Magahey vs. Matt Brownstead vs. Hunter Tapp vs. Jack Alexy vs. Hunter Armstrong vs. Jack Armstrong (2 relay-only entries, 1 relay alternate)

Destin Lasco is the only eligible swimmer in the B final, and Adam Chaney the only one in the C, so they should fill the two individual spots if they can stay legal. That leaves the two relay-only spots (selected via priority #1) and the one relay alternate (selected in priority #3) up for grabs among six eligible boys in the D final. Only the top two are likely to be selected, as the fifth-place relay alternate is the very last priority added to the roster if it doesn’t fill up first.