Futures Meets Conclude With Big Win By Connor Kalisz

The final day of competition at the USA Swimming Futures meets took place Sunday night, ending the inaugural competitions for this year. The three meets which took place in Lafayetta, Indiana, Greensboro, North Carolina, and Mt. Hood, Oregon were put into place as a championship meet for those who hadn’t qualified for Jr. Nationals.

Red represents swims that are under the 2015 Speedo Junior National time standards.

100m FREESTYLE

Girls winners 

• Indiana – Geena Freriks 56.70
• Oregon – Lauren Moden 57.05
• North Carolina – Claire O’mara 56.97

All three winners from the different meets swam in a similar time range. The fastest was Geena Freriks from Indiana who was the closest to a 56-mid with her time of 56.70. She had to fight off Kaitlin Schorr in order to take home gold.

Schorr finished second behind her in 56.84, which was the second fastest time from any swimmer from any of the three meets. The race in North Carolina was decently close as well. Hannah Baker finished second to Lauren Moden with a time of 57.32. Moden won in 56.97.

Boys winners 

• Indiana – Michael Dugan 51.45
• Oregon – Simon Pheasant 51.39
• North Carolina – Brian Lovasik 51.19

All of the men’s freestyle races proved to be very close. In oregon, Simon Pheasant managed to hold off a close group of boys with his time of 51.39. Right behind him were Liam O’Haimhirgin and Dillon Williams in 51.54 and 51.59 respectively.

The Indiana race wasn’t as close as Michael Dugan managed to put some distance between himself and Christopher Kearney who finished second in 51.90.Things were kept close in North Carolina was well. Brent Benedict was second in 51.84 to Lovasik’s 51.19.

200m BACKSTROKE

Girls winners 

• Indiana – Kelly Leonard 2:16.99
• Oregon – Erica Litteken 2:18.54
• North Carolina – Chloe Hicks 2:16.71

Chloe Hicks and sixteen-year-old Kelly Leonard both managed to win their respective races and post a 2:16-high. That was faster than what it took Erica Litteken to win in Oregon. Litteken touched in at 2:18.54 to win there.

Boys winners 

• Indiana – Jacob Thomas 2:03.81
• Oregon – Brandon Barry 2:05.66
• North Carolina  – Connor Kalisz 2:03.76

The men’s 200m backstroke was one of the fastest events overall at all three meets. NBAC’s Connor Kalisz managed to drop the fastest 200 backstroke of the three meets with a swift time of 2:03.76. He won by a land slide, taking down Kieran smith who finished second with a solid 2:07.01.

Things were fast in Indiana as well. There, Jacob Thomas claimed gold in 2:03.81. Just like Kalisz did, he won by a large margin; his closest competitor, Samuel Marlow, finished in 2:06.17.

200m IM

Girls winners 

• Indiana – Kathleen Golding 2:18.67
• Oregon – Jordan Anderson 2:20.98 
• North Carolina – Miku Takabayashi – 2:19.79

Kathleen Golding posted the fastest swim of the night from any of the three meets, and the most impressive part of that swim is the fact that she’s just 14.

With that time Golding managed to grab a Jr. Nationals cut.

Boys winners 

• Indiana –  Sam Lida – 2:06.04
• Oregon – Bradley Cline 2:04.67 
• North Carolina – Michael Craddock 2:05.46

The closest race of the night happened in Oregon where Bradley Cline managed to get his hands on the wall for the win over Keltan Lawler. Dropping over three seconds, Cline rocked a 2:04.67 at the touch to beat out Lawler’s 2:04.83.