Erin Gemmell Remains 5th in US with 200 FR Season Best of 1:57.51 at Longhorn Elite Invite

2024 LONGHORN ELITE INVITE

• May 15-18, 2024
• University of Texas, Austin, Texas
• Long Course Meters (50 meters), Prelims/Finals
• Meet Site
• Live Results
• Day 1 & 2 Recap

Friday Finals Livestream Video

As many Florida and Georgia names are repping at the 2024 Atlanta Classic, many more Texas names are going in on the weekend racing action two time zones over at the 2024 Longhorn Elite Invite in Austin, TX. Friday’s finals session sounded off with a set of four more women’s and men’s event finals, the 200 free, 200 back, 400 IM, and 100 fly.

Texas freshman Erin Gemmell of Nation’s Capital easily won the women’s 200 free at 1:57.51, ahead of Texas redshirt Jillian Cox (2:00.96). This marks a season best for Gemmell, following her 1:57.98 from the San Antonio Pro Swim Series. For Cox, her finals time was just off her season best of 2:00.22 from the Knoxville Pro Swim Series.

Gemmell now affirms herself as the 5th-fastest American in this event this season after being tied with Addison Sauickie. Gemmell owns a lifetime best of 1:55.90 from the 2023 World Championships.

2023-2024 US Rankings- Women’s 200 FR LCM

1. Katie Ledecky, 1:54.97
2. Anna Peplowski, 1:56.99
3. Paige Madden, 1:57.25
4. Simone Manuel, 1:57.37
5. Erin Gemmell, 1:57.51**
6. Addison Sauickie, 1:57.98

Four Texas Longhorn women finished 1-2-3-4 on the women’s side of the 100 fly. Kelly Pash (58.16) took the four-tenths win over Emma Sticklen (58.57) while Dakota Luther touched out Olivia Bray by 0.07s for third, 59.01 to 59.08.

Pash’s 58.16 eclipses her 2024 calendar year best of 58.34 from the Knoxville Pro Swim Series. She remains the 7th-fastest American in 2024 in this event. At the October 2023 Pan American Games, Pash won silver with a time of 57.85, which still ranks 7th this season.

Meanwhile, Sticklen’s 58.57 is a small drop from her 58.81 year best and keeps her ranked 12th in the nation this year. Luther’s 59.01 was a hair off her 2024 best time of 58.84. In the same way, Bray’s 59.01 was just off her US No.11-ranked 58.42 year best.

2024 US Rankings- Women’s 100 FL LCM

1. Torri Huske, 55.68
2. Gretchen Walsh, 56.14
3. Regan Smith, 56.36
4. Claire Curzan, 56.61
5. Alex Shackell, 57.22
6. Alex Walsh, 57.59
7. Kelly Pash, 58.16**
8. Josephine Fuller, 58.37

TXLA’s Shaine Casas took out another win in Austin, topping the men’s 100 fly at 51.48, splitting 23.80/27.68. Casas’ season best rests at 51.03 from the 2023 US Open, but has a 2024 calendar year best of 51.40 from the January Knoxville Pro Swim Series. With his 51.03 season best, Casas sits in second in the US only behind Caeleb Dressel this season. Casas put up his lifetime best of 50.40 back at the 2022 US Nationals.

SMU transfer Danny Kovac was spotted exactly a second behind, in second place, at 52.48. Kovac remains 10th-ranked in the nation this season, dropping 0.03s from his 52.51 from a SMU time trial last month. This marks Kovac’s fastest 100 fly since the 2021 US Olympic Trials, where he swam 51.61 to rank 4th in semi-finals before dropping to 8th in the final.

Pro Carson Foster, representing the Mason Manta Rays, won the men’s 200 free by exactly two seconds at 1:47.10. That’s just tenths off his season best time of 1:46.58 from the San Antonio Pro Swim Series last month, which ranks 4th in the nation for the 2023-2024 season. Foster does own a lifetime best of 1:45.57 from the 2022 US Team Trials.

Austin trainee Rex Maurer narrowly took second at 1:49.10, ahead of Texas’ Luke Hobson of Lakeridge (1:49.35). Maurer put up a new season best, dropping from his 1:49.98 at last month’s Fran Crippen Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo. He owns a lifetime best of 1:47.63 from the 2023 US Nationals, which ranked 20th in the nation at the end of last season. Meanwhile, Hobson holds the top time in the nation this season at 1:45.26 from the outlandishly-scheduled February World Championships.

More Day 3 Event Winners

• Wisconsin commit Maggie Wanezek of Elmbrook handily took the women’s 200 back with a 2:11.99. Wanezek recently set her personal best of 2:10.33 at the March NCSA Spring Championships, ranking 12th in the nation this 2023-2024 season.
• Texas commit Cooper Lucas of Lakeside easily won the men’s 400 IM in 4:24.52, just off his 2024 year best of 4:23.54 from the Knoxville Pro Swim Series. Lucas owns a lifetime best of 4:18.76 from the September 2023 World Junior Championships, which puts him in 8th in the US this 2023-24 season.
• Texas’ Chris O’Connor easily won the men’s 200 back at 2:03.54, dropping just about a second from prelims (2:04.44). In February, O’Connor swam an unrested 2:12.28 at a TCU dual meet. He owns a lifetime best of 1:58.24 from 2023 US Nationals, which ranked 15th in the nation at the end of the 2022-23 season.
• After swimming the event for the first time since June 2022 in prelims, Texas’ Angie Coe dropped from a fresh 4:57.97 personal best to an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 4:48.76. She now adds this 400 IM cut to her 200 IM cut achieved in January.