Reported by Jared Anderson.
400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – PRELIMS
- NCAA record: Chase Kalisz, 3:33.42, 2017
- American record: Chase Kalisz, 3:33.42, 2017
- U.S. Open record: Chase Kalisz, 3:33.42, 2017
- 2017 NCAA Champion: Chase Kalisz (Georgia)
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Andrew Seliskar, Cal – 3:37.84
- Jonathan Roberts, Texas – 3:38.64
- Gunnar Bentz, Georgia – 3:38.90
- Jay Litherland, Georgia – 3:38.92
- Abrahm Devine, Stanford – 3:39.29
- Nick Thorne, Arizona – 3:39.39
- Charlie Swanson, Michigan – 3:39.41
- Brandonn Almeida, South Carolina – 3:39.52
It was a lightning-fast 400 IM this morning. Last year, 7 of the top 8 qualifiers broke 3:40. This year, a dozen swimmers broke that barrier as it took a 3:39.52 just to make the championship heat.
Cal’s Andrew Seliskar took the top spot as he did in the 200 IM yesterday. His 3:37.84 is the top time by eight tenths of a second. Three of the next four times actually came out of the last heat before the circle seeds. Texas’s Jonathan Roberts was 3:38.64, Georgia’s Gunnar Bentz 3:38.90 and Stanford’s Abrahm Devine 3:39.29. It took until the last heat for Georgia’s Jay Litherland to split that trio with a 3:38.92.
A brutally tight finish in the middle circle-seeded heat saw Arizona’s Nick Thorne rocket from 4th to 1st over the final 50 – he now sits 6th. Michigan’s Charlie Swanson also got in from that heat, but Stanford’s Curtis Ogren and Florida’s Mark Szaranek both missed the top 8.
South Carolina’s Brandonn Almeida, a long course junior world champ and former junior world record-holder for Brazil, rounds out a stellar A final in 3:39.52.
Top-seeded Hugo Gonzalez of Auburn added ten seconds and missed scoring entirely, fading to 30th in 3:46.19.
He was also a part of 4 straight 6A High School State Championships at Southlake Carroll in Texas. So for the past 8 years his teams have been on top. Now that’s mazing.
I have known his name for years – but couldn’t have picked him out of a crowd of two. But he’s notorious for throwing down big and surprising prelim swims early in the sessions (500 or 2IM on day 1, 4IM day 2, 2back on day 3) that get the TX team fired up. Roberts has been a HUGE part of the 4-year run by TX. Very impressed by this guy and his interview. I hope he stays in the sport.