The 2018 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship pre-selection psych sheets are out, with Stanford’s Brooke Forde opting out of the 200 IM and instead pursuing a swim in the 500 free.
Forde, one of the top freshmen in a highly-touted Stanford freshman class, is incredibly versatile, but is best suited for mid-distance freestyle, IM, and breaststroke. She will do the 500 free, 400 IM, and 200 breast at NCAAs next month.
Looking at this year’s top times list in Division I, Forde’s 1:54.98 in the 200 IM from the Pac-12 Championships ranks 11th in the country. Meanwhile, she’s been 18th in the 500 free with a 4:37.85.
It’s an interesting move, considering she’s the 2nd-fastest 200 IMer on the Stanford roster this season, compared to the 6th-fastest 500 freestyler (though Ella Eastin will do the 200 IM and not the 500 free at NCAAs despite going the 2nd-fastest 500 free in the country last weekend at Pac-12s).
STANFORD IN 500 FREE
- #1 Katie Ledecky 4:26.09
- #7 Lauren Pitzer 4:36.61
- #11 Leah Stevens 4:37.44
- #14 Katie Drabot 4:37.51
- #17 Brooke Forde 4:37.85
- #25 Megan Byrnes 4:39.05
- #39 Erin Voss 4:40.70
- #71 Katie Glavinovich 4:43.61
- #79 Hannah Kukurugya 4:44.33
STANFORD IN 200 IM
- #5 Ella Eastin 1:53.24
- #12 Ally Howe 1:55.12
- #22 Kim Williams 1:55.74
- #41 Allie Szekely 1:56.85
Stanford is definitely stacked up in the 500 free, but without Forde in the 200 IM, there’s a better chance someone like Ally Howe, Kim Williams, or Allie Szekely might score in her stead.
Stanford could potentially score 6 swimmers in the 500. Wowza.
I think this is a smart move on Meehan’s part. The distance events are traditionally pretty soft at NCAAs, with many swimmers adding time. Last year, the 18th seed in the 500 (4:39.22), and she swum her seed would have gotten 12th in Prelims and Finals has she just swum to her entry time.
Meanwhile the 11th seeded 200 IM (1:55.49) actually would have fallen all the way to 15th had she swum her entry time in Finals.
Can we all just be honest here? It looks like a coaching mistake
i’d like you to be wrong here. we shall see.
Me too. If they are going for the most points possible it makes very little sense on paper. The only acceptable reasoning that I can think of is that Meehan thinks Stanford has enough points and he just let Forde choose between the 200 IM and the 500
It can be very right what you are saying. Since she isn’t the decisive factor in either event then the choice was left up to swimmer. No hidden secret plan of coach Meehan.
I don’t know. Ledecky certainly will, Hosszu will probably not.
It’s true Forde is ranked lower in the 500 but if she drops a second she’s in the top 8. She dropped a lot of time from her midseason invite swims at Pac 12s, so it would make sense for her to drop in the 500 free. For her to A final in the 200 IM she needs to drop at least half a second and go that time in prelims which seems unlikely.
She must believe she can go 4:34 or better. 2nd place is up for grabs and that has to be the logic while 2IM I dont think she had a chance for a top 5 finish
A lot of Stanford swimmers swam “off events” or events they are not planning to swim at NCAA’s at Pac-12. Katie Ledecky swam the 200 free in place of the mile. Ella Eastin swam the 500 free in place of the 200 IM. Ally Howe swam the 100 fly in place of the 100 back. Janet Hu swam the 50 free in place of the 100 fly. Katie Drabot swam the 200 IM in place of the 500 free. Brooke Forde swam the 200 IM in place of the 500 free. Basically, almost everyone who was versitle enought to swim an “off” event did so. All of them had amazing swims in these events, and their other events, and yet… Read more »
Forde is going to be a beast After a couple of years in the Stanford system
Megyn Byrnes also has a lifetime best of a 437ish in the 500.
Also, I expect Allie Szekely to have a great meet for some reason.