2023 Texas Invitational: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2023 TEXAS HALL OF FAME INVITATIONAL

• November 15-18, 2023 (10 am/6 pm CT)
• Austin, Texas
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Prelims: 10 am (CT) / 6 pm (CT)
• Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Finals Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Recap
• Results

The final night of the 2023 Texas Invitational brings some exciting matchups such as Stanford freshman Rex Maurer vs. Texas freshman Will Modglin in the men’s 200 back, USC senior Kaitlyn Dobler vs. Stanford freshman Caroline Bricker in the women’s 200 breast, and Texas teammates Emma Sticklen vs. Kelly Pash in the women’s 200 fly.

Stay tuned for live updates below:

WOMEN’S 1650 FREE – TIMED FINAL

• NCAA Record: 15:03.31 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 15:52.41
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 16:13.73

Top 8:

1. Aurora Roghair, Stanford – 15:52.83
2. Paige McKenna, Wisconsin – 15:54.95
3. Erica Sullivan, Texas – 16:02.42
4. Maddie Waggoner, Wisconsin – 16:03.52
5. Blair Stoneburg, Wisconsin – 16:07.46
6. Alivia Lindorfe, Wisconsin – 16:10.08
7. Elle Braun, Wisconsin – 16:19.31
8. Abby Pfeifer, Texas – 16:2932

In her junior season for the Stanford Cardinal, Aurora Roghair is blooming from a very good swimmer into a bona fide star after winning the women’s mile to open Saturday evening’s session.

Her time of 15:52.83 is a new lifetime best by almost nine seconds, improving on the swim she did at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships.

Already the defending Pac-12 Champion in this event, and with a 15th-place finish from her freshman season in 2022, her time on Saturday would have placed 8th at last year’s NCAA Championship meet – though that threshold is expected to be tougher this season.

She also won the 500 free earlier in the meet in 4:37, dropping two seconds there.

That swim gave her a victory over Wisconsin’s Paige McKenna, the 2022 NCAA Champion and 2023 NCAA bronze medalist in the event, and Erica Sullivan, the 2021 Olympic silver medalist in the equivalent 1500 free in long course.

Sullivan was the aggressor early in the race, opening in 1:53 at the 200. McKenna wasn’t far behind her and by the 500 yard mark had caught and surpassed her.

But it was the eventual winner Roghair who really bided her time. She over 3 seconds behind McKenna at the 900-yard mark, but then began closing that gap (just as Sullivan began to fall off the pace). Over the next 300 yards, she closed the race to a dead-heat with McKenna, and then overtook and slowly began pulling away.

MEN’S 1650 FREE – TIMED FINAL

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08 – Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 14:37.31
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 14:53.84

Top 8:

1. Krzysztof Chmielewski, USC – 14:37.74
2. Liam Custer, Stanford – 14:59.62
3. Yigit Aslan, Wisconsin – 15:02.20
4. Alec Enyeart, Texas – 15:02.38
5. Gabe Machado, Stanford – 15:03.53
6. Sasha Lyubavski, Texas – 15:14.43
7. Jude Williams, Wisconsin – 15:25.12
8. Salvador Goya, USC – 15:28.35

Krzysztof Chmielewski came to USC as a 200 butterflier, but one of the joys of the collegiate system is that being a one-event wonder isn’t good enough, and he’s really developing into a strong distance freestyler as well.

He is now the third-fastest performer in USC history behind only Olympic medalists and NCAA Champions Larsen Jensen and Erik Vendt. USC hasn’t had a First Team All-American in the men’s 1650 free (top 8 finisher) since Jensen won the 2007 title.

He dominated Saturday’s race with a nation-leading time of 14:37.74, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the runner-up Liam Custer of Stanford.

WOMEN’S 200 BACK – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:47.24 – Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2019)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:50.50
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:53.34

Top 8:

1. Phoebe Bacon, Wisconsin – 1:50.36
2. Natalie Mannion, Stanford – 1:52.42
3. Olivia Bray, Texas – 1:52.68
4. Berit Berglund, Texas – 1:52.92
5. Macky Hodges, USC – 1:53.75
6. Alicia Wilson, Texas – 1:54.41
7. MacKenzie McConogha, Wisconsin – 1:55.62
8. Alice Waldow, USC – 1:56.15

Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon had her best swim of the meet in her best event on Saturday, winning the 200 back in an NCAA Automatic Qualifying standard of 1:50.36. While not a best time, that’s a big mid-season number by her standards, almost a second better than she was last year and 2.5 seconds better than she was in 2021.

Already the favorite to take the NCAA title as the top returning swimmer in this event (or maybe co-favorite, depending on what Florida’s Bella Sims enters), this swim will send her into the second semester with designs on affirming that status.

In a very fast final, the top four swimmers were all well under the time that earned invites to last year’s NCAA Championship meet. Another boon for the Stanford women in what has been a good meet for them, Natalie Mannion was 2nd in 1:52.42, knocking about six-tenths off her previous best time.

Olivia Bray of Texas, 7th at NCAAs last year, finished 3rd in 1:52.68, while the 100 back winner Berit Berglund swam 1:52.92 – just off yet another personal best of 1:52.80 she swam in prelims.

More best times came from Macky Hodges of USC in 5th (1:53.75), and her teammate Alice Waldow in 1:56.19 for 8th. Continuing the trend for the Trojans, Caroline Famous won the B-Final in a best time of 1:56.04 and Lindsay Barnes finished 10th in a best time of 1:56.17, making USC swimmers four-for-four in best times in this event.

MEN’S 200 BACK – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:39.13
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:40.62

Top 8:

1. Will Modglin, Texas – 1:38.99
2. Rex Maurer, Stanford – 1:39.75
3. Chris O’Connor, Texas – 1:40.42
4. Aaron Sequeira, Stanford – 1:40.99
5. Henry McFadden, Stanford – 1:42.36
6. Josh Zuchowski, Stanford – 1:42.45
7. Hayden Kwan, Stanford – 1:43.52
8. Nate Germonprez, Texas – 1:45.72

In a battle between two of the country’s top freshman backstrokers, Texas’ Will Modglin won the 200 in 1:38.99, beating out Stanford’s Rex Maurer in 1:39.75.

Maurer, one of the best middle-distance freestylers in high school history, has been shifting to a very different lineup this week, focusing on backstroke races and the 400 IM more than the freestyle events. But Modglin, one of the best backstrokers in high school history, had the leg-up on home turf on Saturday.

While Modglin’s swim doesn’t make him the fastest freshman in history like his 100 back on Friday did, he is the 7th-best freshman in NCAA history in the race. That is a best time by 1.5 seconds. Maurer’s swim was also a best time by 2.5 seconds.

Texas’ Chris O’Connor was 3rd in 1:40.42, about two-tenths of a second slower than his previous best. Stanford’s Aaron Sequeira was 4th in 1:40.99, Henry McFadden was 5th in 1:42.36, Josh Zuchowski was 6th in 1:42.45, and Hayden Kwan was 7th in 1:43.52. Of those, only the freshman McFadden (half-a-second) was a best time.

WOMEN’S 100 FREE – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 45.56 – Simone Manuel, Stanford (2017)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 47.18
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 48.37

Top 8:

1. Vasilissa Buinaia, USC – 47.40
2. Grace Cooper, Texas – 47.49
3. Erin Gemmell, Texas – 48.17
4. Ava Longi, Texas – 48.25
5. Emma Davidson, Texas – 48.34
6. Minna Abraham, USC – 48.36
7. Anicka Delgado, USC – 48.44
8. Kayla Wilson, Stanford – 48.46

The USC women got more big swims from freshmen Vasilissa Buinaia and Minna Abraham, both of whom posted new best times for 1st (47.40) and 6th (48.36), respectively.

That sets up a big showdown with Texas in the meet-closing 400 free relay after Texas went 2-3-4-5 in the event. That included a 47.49 for Grace Cooper, a massive personal best, clearing the 48.43 that she swam at NCAAs last year. If she can repeat the swim at NCAAs, it puts her in individual scoring territory.

Given that Texas’ two best 100 freestylers from last season (Kelly Pash and Olivia Bray) didn’t swim this individual event, Cooper’s breakthrough and some progress by Gemmell (best time by .02 seconds), plus a lot of depth to choose the hot hands, puts Texas in the driver’s seat for a top two finish at NCAAs – behind the overwhelming favorites from Virginia.

MEN’S 100 FREE – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 41.50
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 42.32

Top 8:

1. Rafael Gu, Stanford – 42.40
2. Andres Dupont, Stanford – 42.66
3. Georgia Ratiu, UNLV – 42.68
4. Jonathan Tan, Stanford – 42.87
5. Tie: Artem Selin, USC – 42.94 / Luke Maurer, Stanford – 42.94
6. —
7. Tie: Andrew Benson, Wisconsin – 43.10 / Luke Hobson, Texas – 43.10

Stanford sophomore Rafael Gu lowered his lifetime best in the 100 free for the second time today, beating classmate Andres Dupont (42.66) by a couple tenths in the final. Gu came into today with a personal-best 42.83 from March that he brought down to 42.67 in prelims before knocking another couple tenths off tonight.

UNLV senior George Ratiu placed 3rd with a personal-best 42.68, getting under his previous-best 42.84 from February of 2022.

Jonathan Tan, a Stanford freshman from Singapore, took 4th place in 42.87. He is the Singaporean national record holder in the 50-meter free at 21.91 from the Southeast Asian Games this past May.

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 2:01.29 – Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 2:05.73
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 2:09.68

Top 8:

1. Kaitlyn Dobler, USC – 2:06.28
2. Caroline Bricker, Stanford – 2:06.85
3. Hazal Ozkan, Wisconsin – 2:09.37
4. Channing Hanley, Texas – 2:09.64
5. Samantha Tadder, Stanford – 2:12.52
6. Katherine Adams, USC – 2:13.07
7. Lucy Thomas, Stanford – 2:13.77
8. Callahan Dunn, Wisconsin – 2:14.41

USC senior Kaitlyn Dobler (2:06.28) outdueled Stanford freshman Caroline Bricker (2:06.85) in a thrilling 200 breast final. Dobler ranks 3rd in the NCAA this season behind Virginia senior Alex Walsh (2:04.22) and fifth-year Ella Nelson (2:06.10) while Bricker ranks 5th behind Tennessee senior Mona McSharry (2:06.64). It was a new lifetime best for Bricker, bettering her 2:07.15 from last month, while Dobler has been as fast as 2:05.66 in February.

Wisconsin sophomore Hazal Ozkan placed 3rd in 2:09.37, her second time today under 2:10 after never before clearing the mark in her career. The Turkey native came into the day with a best time of 2:10.50 before posting a 2:09.80 in prelims.

MEN’S 200 BREAST – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:46.91 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:51.09
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:52.94

Top 8:

1. Chris O’Grady, USC – 1:52.86
2. Ben Dillard, USC – 1:53.87
3. Brayden Taivassalo, Texas – 1:53.89
4. Danny Beji, UNLV – 1:54.16
5. Will Scholtz, Texas – 1:54.35
6. Ethan Dang, Stanford – 1:56.26
7. Hayden Zheng, Stanford – 1:56.79
8. Alex Turney, Texas – 1:57.58

USC senior Ben Dillard‘s time of 1:52.50 from prelims this morning would have won the final tonight, but junior teammate Chris O’Grady rose to the occasion with a victory in 1:52.86.

Texas freshmen Brayden Taivassalo (1:53.89) and Will Scholtz (1:54.35) lowered their lifetime bests for the second time today en route to 3rd and 5th place, respectively.

UNLV junior Danny Beji knocked more than a second off his previous-best 1:55.71 from 2021 with his 4th-place finish in 1:54.16.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:49.51 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:52.86
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:55.92

Top 8:

1. Emma Sticklen, Texas – 1:50.31
2. Kelly Pash, Texas – 1:52.17
3. Lillie Nordmann, Stanford – 1:53.12
4. Charlotte Hook, Stanford – 1:53.96
5. Lucy Bell, Stanford – 1:54.26
6. Campbell Stoll, Texas – 1:56.83
7. Justina Kozan, USC – 1:56.90
8. Olivia Lindorfer, Wisconsin – 2:00.88

Texas senior Emma Sticklen, the reigning NCAA champion in the 200 fly, lowered her nation-leading time to 1:50.31, beating Texas teammate Kelly Pash (1:52.17) by nearly two seconds.

Sticklen’s best time is 1:49.95 from her NCAA title win last season while Pash was within a second of her personal-best 1:51.45 from February.

Stanford went 3-4-5 in the final, just as the Cardinal did in prelims this morning, albeit in a different order. Stanford junior Lillie Nordmann snuck under her best time (1:53.20 from last March) with a personal-best 1:53.12 for 3rd place. Sophomore Charlotte Hook went more than a second faster than prelims with a 4th-place finish in 1:53.96, still a second off her personal-best 1:52.48 from last year. Sophomore Lucy Bell placed 5th in 1:54.26, slightly off her personal-best 1:53.63 from this morning’s prelims.

MEN’S 200 FLY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, Texas (2017)
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 1:40.16
• 2023 NCAA Invited Time: 1:42.57

Top 8:

1. Krzysztof Chmielewski, USC – 1:41.61
2. Dominik Mark Torok, Wisconsin – 1:41.76
3. Michal Chmielewski, USC – 1:42.17
4. Cole Crane, Texas – 1:43.14
5. Matt Fenlon, Stanford – 1:44.58
6. Ryan Branon, Texas – 1:45.40
7. Holden Smith, Texas – 1:45.66
8. Logan Walker, Texas – 1:45.68

After blazing a nation-leading 1650 free time of 14:37.74 this afternoon, USC freshman Krzysztof Chmielewski was slightly slower in the 200 fly tonight (1:41.61) than this morning’s prelims (1:41.59). Still, it was enough to reach the wall first .15 seconds ahead of Wisconsin sophomore Dominik Mark Torok, who dropped almost a second with a personal-best 1:41.76, marking a new Badgers program record.

Krzysztof Chmielewski‘s twin brother, Michal Chmielewski, placed 3rd in 1:42.17, shaving more than a second off his previous-best 1:43.43 from last month.

WOMEN’S 400 FREE RELAY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 3:05.84 – Virginia (Douglass, A. Walsh, Parker, G. Walsh) – 2023
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 3:14.10
• 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 3:16.25

Top 8:

1. USC – 3:10.37
2. Texas – 3:10.46
3. Texas ‘B’ – 3:12.97
4. Stanford – 3:13.28
5. Wisconsin – 3:13.79
6. Stanford ‘B’ – 3:15.45
7. USC ‘B’ – 3:16.38
8. Wisconsin ‘B’ – 3:17.75

Trailing by a few tenths heading into the last leg of the women’s 4×100 free relay, USC freshman Minna Abraham anchored with a 47.23 split — the fastest in the field — to carry the Trojans (3:10.37) past Texas (3:10.46) in an exciting showdown.

Abraham was joined by Vasilissa Buinaia (47.49), Anicka Delgado (47.79), and Hannah Kuechler (47.86) on USC’s quartet. The Longhorns were led by Kelly Pash (47.44), Erin Gemmell (47.52), Ava Longi (47.86), and Grace Cooper (47.64).

Stanford (3:13.28) and Wisconsin (3:13.79) also hit NCAA ‘A’ cuts with their results.

The Cardinal were represented by Lillie Nordmann (48.22), Kayla Wilson (47.64), Natalie Mannion (48.64), and Aurora Roghair (48.78).

Wisconsin’s team was made up of Hailey Tierney (48.60), Phoebe Bacon (48.23), Abby Wanezek (48.80), and Sophie Fiske (48.16).

MEN’S 400 FREE RELAY – FINAL

• NCAA Record: 2:44.07 – Florida (Liendo, Chaney, Smith, McDuff) – 2023
• 2024 NCAA ‘A’ Standard: 2:50.44
• 2024 NCAA ‘B’ Standard: 2:51.86

Top 8:

1. Stanford – 2:48.54
2. Texas – 2:49.98
3. UNLV – 2:51.76
4. Stanford ‘B’ – 2:53.40
5. Wisconsin – 2:53.57
6. USC – 2:54.69
7. Texas ‘B’ – 2:54.74
8. USC ‘B’ – 2:56.63

Stanford cruised to victory over Texas by more than a second as both squads earned NCAA ‘A’ cuts under the standard of 2:50.44. Andres Dupont (42.66), Rafael Gu (41.86), Jonathan Tan (42.18), and Luke Maurer (41.84) booked the Cardinal’s 400 free relay a spot at NCAAs this season.

The Longhorns were led by Will Modglin (42.49), Luke Hobson (42.65), Coby Carrozza (42.29), and Nate Germonprez (42.55). Modglin set a new lifetime best with his leadoff, shaving almost a second off his previous-best 43.27 from March.