2016 Arena Pro Series – Mesa: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

ARENA PRO SWIM SERIES AT MESA

• Thursday, April 14 – Saturday, April 16, 2016
• Skyline Aquatic Center
• Mesa, Arizona (same as Pacific Daylight Time, GMT -7 hours)
• Prelims 9AM / Finals 5PM (12PM/8PM Eastern Daylight Time)
• Psych Sheet
• Live Stream
• Live Results
• Meet Central
• Saturday AM Program

The 2016 Arena Pro Series stop at Mesa wraps up this evening with the 200 IM, 200 Back, 100 Free, and the fastest heats of the 800 Free (women) and 1500 Free (men).  Katinka Hosszu had the morning’s fastest time in the 200 IM, and she’ll be looking to hold off a strong USA college contigent, include NCAA championships star Ella Eastin.  The men’s 200 IM will feature a battle between Michael Phelps and his training partner Chase Kalisz; Ryan Lochte scratched the final.  Hosszu is also the top seed for the 200 back, while on the men’s side Lochte will swim in lane 4 after top-seeded Sean Lehane scratched.  The women’s 100 free looks like a preview of the A-final at the upcoming Olympic Trials, with Simone Manuel in lane 4 surrounded by a lot of sprint veterans.  Nathan Adrian threw down a 48.06 this morning, just off his season-best 48.05 from the Orlando Pro Series.  If Adrian can drop as little as a tenth of a second this evening, that’d give him the 2nd-fastest time in the world this year, behind Australia’s Cam McEvoy.  Adrian currently is tied for 7th-fastest in the world this year, with six men sitting between 47.97 and 46.05.

WOMEN’S 800 METER FREESTYLE – FASTEST HEAT

• FINA A: 8:33.97
• S. Olympic Trials: 8:49.99

Top Three (all heats):

1. Katie Ledecky, Nation’s Capital Swim Club, 8:13.20
2. Lotte Friis, North Baltimore Aquatic Club, 8:27.85
3. Cierra Runge, North Baltimore Aquatic Club, 8:32.21

Katie Ledecky stayed close to own world record pace for the first few hundred meters, but backed off the pace in the second half and ended up with “only” a 8:13.20, still a full 14 seconds than the 2nd-place finisher, Lotte Friis (8:27.85).  Sierra Schmidt was behind Ledecky and Friis through the 500m mark, but faded a bit down the stretch while Cierra Runge picked it up and finished 3rd in 8:32.21.  Kristel Kobrich took 4thth in 8:34.24, followed by Becca Mann in 8:35.35.  Schmidt ended up in 6th place, touching in 8:37.84.  Joanna Evans and Kaitlin Pawlowicz took the final two spots in 8:48.63 and 8:53.90, respectively.  No swimmer from the earlier heat finished in the top 8.

WOMEN’S 200 METER INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINAL

• FINA A: 2:14.26
• S. Olympic Trials: 2:18.69

Top Three:

1. Maya DiRado, Stanford Swimming, 2:11.09
2. Ella Eastin, Unattached, 2:11.35
3. Melanie Margalis, Saint Petersburg, 2:12.22

Only a few minutes separated two very different races, as this one was as close as the 800 was not.  Katinka Hosszu was in the lead after the fly leg, only to surender it briefly to Maya DiRado after the backstroke leg, then regain after breaststroker.  But DiRado outsplit Hosszu 30.23 to 31.80 over the final 50, during which it looked like any of four or five women could win the race, and DiRado took the win in 2:11.09.  Ella Eastin was in 2nd or 3rd the whole race, and touched just behind DiRado in 2:11.35.

The next three finishers were all bunched together, but it was Melanie Margalis who took 3rd in 2:12.22.  Madisyn Cox had the 2nd-fastest free split and nearly ran down Margalis, and settled for 4th in 2:12.35.  She just touched out Hosszu (2:12.37).  Caitlyn Leverenz was 2nd at the first wall, but quickly faded to 7th over the next two legs before moving up once spot to take 6th in 2:14.70, just ahead of Kirsty Coventry (2:14.76).  Sarah Henry placed 8th in 2:15.45.

MEN’S 200 METER INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINAL

• FINA A: 2:00.28
• S. Olympic Trials: 2:05.09

Top Three:

1. Michael Phelps, North Baltimore Aquatic Club, 1:57.90
2. Chase Kalisz, North Baltimore Aquatic Club, 1:59.05
3. David Nolan, North Baltimore Aquatic Club, 2:00.89

Michael Phelps led a NBAC sweep of the top three spots.  Phelps led wall-to-wall, holding off teammates David Nolan and Chase Kalisz.  Nolan was in 2nd place at the halfway mark, but Kalisz passed him on the breast leg and began to inch closer to Phelps, splitting 33.65 to Phelps’s 34.05.  It looked like Phelps may have intentionally pushed the breaststroke a little hard, as Kalisz continued to close during the final 50, but Phelps had more than enough of a lead and touched in 1:57.90 to Kalisz’s 1:59.05.  That’s not too far off the 1:57.60 Phelps swam in December, which remains the 3rd-fastest time in the world this year.  Nolan placed 3rd in 2:00.89.

Behind the NBAC trio, Max Williamson took 4th in 2:02.61.  Andrew Seliskar was in 3rd after the fly leg, but steadily lost ground from there, finishing in 2:02.86.  He had to hold off Gunnar Bentz, who had the fastest free split in the field at 28.32, but who couldn’t make up enough ground on Seliskar and touched 6th in 2:03.01.  Marko Blazebski (2:05.16) and day one 400 IM championship Sean Grieshop (2:07.23) placed 7th and 8th.

WOMEN’S 200 METER BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• FINA A: 2:10.60
• S. Olympic Trials: 2:16.59

Top Three:

1. Maya DiRado, Stanford Swimming, 2:08.61
2. Kirsty Coventry, SwimMAC Carolina, 2:10.04
3. Kaitlin Harty, YMCA of the North Shore, 2:10.23

We’ve gotten so used to seeing Hosszu swim faster at seemingly every meet, and often win multiple events in the same session, so it’s a bit unusual to not only see Hosszu not win either event in an evening, but to see her lose both events to the same swimmer.  Yet, tonight, it was DiRado who pulled off the double, leading from almost beginning to end and taking the win in 2:08.61.

It was Hosszu who was out first at the 50, with a 30.59, but DiRado was right being at 30.68, and quickly took the lead over the next length.  Hosszu stayed in 2nd place through the halfway point, but Kaitlyn Harty and Kirsty Coventry moved ahead over the third length, hitting the final turn almost simultaneously.  Coventry out split Harty over that final length to take 2nd in 2:10.04 to Harty’s 2:10.23.

Matea Samardzic was dead last at the first turn, but moved up on the rest of the field from that point on to touch 4th in 2:13.46.  Hosszu plaed 5th in 2:13.91, holding off Melanie Klaren who finished 6th in 2:14.24.  Erin Earley placed 7th in 2:15.98, followed by Ally Howe in 2:16.57.

MEN’S 200 METER BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• FINA A: 1:58.22
• S. Olympic Trials: 2:03.79

Top Three:

1. Ryan Lochte, SwimMAC Carolina, 2:01.04
2. Omar Pinzon, Trojan Swim Club, 2:01.65
3. Connor Green, Unattached, 2:02.03

After dropping the 200 IM final, Ryan Lochte swam 0.27 seconds faster than his prelim time from this morning to win the 200 back in 2:01.04.  While Lochte isn’t known for being fast in-season, it is a bit rough watching the former world record holder not being able to crack 2:00.  The next three swimmers finished in order of their post-scratches placings from this morning.  Omar Pinzon stayed close to Lochte the whole way, touching just behind in 2:01.65.  Connor Green took 3rd in 2:02.03, followed by Bryce Mefford in 2:03.20.

Johannes Colloni knocked a little over a second off his time from this morning to take 5th in 2:03.73, moving up from 7th over the final 50.  Nolan Tesone (2:04.10), Preston Jenkins (2:05.45), and Drew Cosagarea (2:05.61).

WOMEN’S 100 METER FREESTYLE – FINAL

• FINA A: 54.43
• S. Olympic Trials: 56.49

Top Three:

1. Simone Manuel, Unattached, 53.80
2. Abbey Weitzeil, Canyons Aquatic Club, 54.22
3. Dana Vollmer, California Aquatics, 54.54

Again, the top three seeds reprised their placings from this morning.  Simone Manuel knocked .13 off her time from this morning to take the win in 53.80.  That’s Manuel’s best time this season by a little over a tenth of a second.  The only two USA women who have been faster this season were also in the heat.  One of them, Abbey Weitzeil, turned just ahead of Manuel, but Manuel ran her down in the middle of the pool, and while it looked like Weitzeil may have closed the gap some toward the end, it wasn’t enough, and she settled for 2nd in 54.22.  Veteran Dana Vollmer took 3rd in 54.54 after going under 57 in the 100 fly last night.

Amanda Weir, the only 30-something in the field, tied Lia Neal for 5th in 54.70.  Katie Ledecky took 6th in 54.89 a little under an hour after swimming the 800 free.  She currently has the fastest time among US women this season, with a 53.70 from January’s Arena Pro Series meet in Austin.  Kelsi Worrell held off Margo Geer, 55.45 to 55.50, for 7th place.

MEN’S 100 METER FREESTYLE – FINAL

• FINA A: 48.99
• S. Olympic Trials: 50.69

Top Three:

1. Nathan Adrian, California Aquatics, 48.00
2. Cristian Quintero, Trojan Swim Club, 49.45
3. Jimmy Feigen, Unattached-SwimMAC Carolina, 49.80

Nathan Adrian quickly opened up a commanding lead on the rest of the field and was 22.79 to his feet.  He said in the post-race interview that he may have been a little fast, but his 25.21 backhalf was still good enough for an in-season 48.00, which puts him 5th in the world this year.

No one else was anywhere near the reigning Olympic gold medalist.  Christian Quintero was the next-closest competitor, at almost a second and a half behind Adrian, taking 2nd in 49.45.  USA teammates Jimmy Feigen and Conor Dwyer took the next two spots, which Feigen touching in 49.80 for 3rd and Dwyer in 49.89 for 4th.

Matias Koski and Michael Chadwick were the only other two men close to going under 50.0, but both came up just short. Koski went 50.04, with Chadwick going 50.12 after being 49-high this morning.  Daniel Ramirez took 7th in 50.43.  Ryan Lochte was almost a second slower than his time this morning, albeit quite understandably so after just swimming the 200 back final, and finished 8th in 50.69.

MEN’S 1500 METER FREESTYLE – FASTEST HEAT

• FINA A: 15:14.77
• S. Olympic Trials: 15:49.99

Top Three (all heats):

1. Jordan Wilimovsky, Team Santa Monica, 14:53.12
2. Michael McBroom, The Woodlands Swim Team, 15:11.62
3. Ous Mellouli, Mission Viejo Nadadores, 15:16.82

Jordan Wilimovsky did his best Katie Ledecky impression tonight, leading the final heat from the get-go, building his lead throughout the race, and winning by over 18 seconds against some very accomplished swimmers.  His time of 14:53.13 ranks him 5th in the world this year.

Michael McBroom is currently the 3rd-fastest US swimmer in this event this year, behind Wilimovsky and Connor Jaeger, and he took 2nd in 15:11.62, not a bad time for this point in the season.  Olympic gold medalist Ous Mellouli placed 3rd in 15:16.82.

Clark Smith had the fastest time from the early heats, and his 15:19.08 held up for 4th place.  According to the USA Swimming database, that’s first 1500m since the age of 15 for Smith, whose showed some dazzling times in the short course distance events, including an American Record in the 1000 yard freestyle.

Marecelo Acosta took 5th overall swimming out of the final heat, where he held off Taylor Abbott, who steadily gained on Acosta over the second half of the race, but could not quite overcome Acosta’s lead.  Acosta ended up touching in 15:27.39, Abbott in 15:28.60.  Christopher Yeager, also in the final heat, placed 7th with a time of 15:34.80.  Chris Wiser‘s time of 15:38.16 from earlier in the day gave him 8th overall.