Arena Pro Swim Series at Orlando: Miller’s world-leading 200 breast highlights day 2 finals

Finals on the second night of the Orlando Arena Pro Swim Series start at 6 PM Eastern time. Keep refreshing this page for event-by-event updates from the YMCA Aquatic Center in Orlando.

ARENA PRO SWIM SERIES AT ORLANDO: DAY ONE PRELIMS LIVE RECAP

• Thursday, February 12 – Saturday, February 14
• YMCA Aquatic Center, Orlando FL
• Prelims 9AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
• Psych Sheets
• Live stream
• Live results

Women’s 200 Fly

Canada’s Audrey Lacroix will leave Orlando as the meet’s unquestioned top female butterflyer. The 31-year-old won the 200 fly one day after taking the 100. Lacroix was 2:10.37, winning handily over a field with some international experience.

Runner-up was Cal Aquatics’ Caitlin Leverenz, who’s been having a great meet so far. Leverenz was 2:11.98, nearly her own personal best. Leverenz is probably not going to compete in the 200 fly internationally, but that swim is a good sign for her IMs, as was a lifetime-best 200 free last night.

15-year-old Courtney Harnish of York YMCA continued to impress, taking third in 2:12.54. That beat Scottish star Hannah Miley, last night’s double winner, by about half a second.

Miley (2:12.96) was followed by 16-year-old Delaney Walz (2:14.34) and 15-year-old Brit Amelia Clynes (2:14.81).

Rounding out the A final were two more internationals, Mexico’s Diana Luna Sanchez (2:15.37) and Venezuela’s Andreina Pinto (2:16.15).

Men’s 200 Fly

Denmark’s Viktor Bromer picked up the men’s 200 fly win, though he couldn’t quite match his own prelims time of 1:57.00. Bromer was 1:57.32 for the win, and despite adding a little time, wasn’t really challenged by anyone in the field.

Phoenix Swim Club’s Alex Coci, a Romanian national and one of the top swimmers for the Arizona State Sun Devils, went 1:59.38 for second, the only other guy under two minutes.

Gator Swim Club’s Sebastien Rousseau kept the international theme going, taking third in 2:00.58, and Ireland’s Brendan Hyland was just behind with a 2:00.96. The top American finisher was back in fifth; that was Club Wolverine’s Kyle Whitaker (2:02.38).

Canadian Alec Page was 2:03.62 for Island Swimming, and also wrapping up the championship heat were Luiz Ribeiro Pereira (2:04.74) and Jose Martinez (2:05.85).

Women’s 50 Free

SwimMAC’s Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace cruised to a dominating 50 free win, smashing the field by over half a second. Her 24.85 topped second place by .6, and is just a half-second off of her lifetime-best, done at the Commonwealth Games over the summer.

Canada’s Victoria Poon was 25.48 for second, beating Seminole Aquatics’ Svetlana Khakhlova (25.66).

Vanderpool-Wallace’s SwimMAC training partner Katie Meili took fourth. Meili is mostly known as a breaststroker and IMer, but tends to turn up some big sprint free races at these Pro Swim Series events. She went 25.72, within half a second of her best.

Caroline Lapierre-Lemire (25.85) and Amanda Weir (25.91) also got under 26 seconds, and Hannah Riordan nearly joined them, going 26.00. Former college standout Lara Jackson, on the comeback trail this year, took 8th in 26.39.

Men’s 50 Free

An issue with the lane 5 starting block delayed the men’s splash-and-dash for a bit, but the break couldn’t hold back the speed of Brazil’s Bruno Fratus. Fratus, who trains at Auburn, tore through the 50 free in 22.34, holding off a tough challenge from young American Erik Risolvato.

Risolvato, who was once one of the nation’s best high school sprinters before dropping off the map for a few years, proved he’s back to full speed, hitting a lifetime-best 22.49 to nearly steal the win from Fratus. Risolvato trains out of Phoenix, Arizona.

Just behind the 21-year-old were Josh Schneider (22.54) and Geoff Cheah (22.58). Cheah’s Club Wolverine teammate Miguel Ortiz was 5th with SwimAtlanta’s Karl Krug 6th. Ortiz was 22.61, Krug 22.64.

Last night’s 200 free winner Joao de Lucca pulled out a 22.80 for 7th, and just behind him was Badger Swim Club’s Derek Toomey, a former college standout at Minnesota, who went 23.06.

Women’s 100 Back

Denmark’s Mie Nielsen is one of the world’s best young backstrokers and looked to be the favorite at the 50-meter mark, but Canada’s Dominique Bouchard stormed back from a deficit to tie her for the win in Orlando.

Nielsen flipped first at the 50 wall, but Bouchard closed in an excellent 30.69 as both women went 1:00.55. Nearly making things a triple tie was the Czech Republic’s Simona Baumrtova, who went 1:00.80.

Another internationally-dominated field featured just a single American. It was Great Britain’s Lauren Quigley who took fourth in 1:01.16, with Canada’s Hilary Caldwell (1:02.17) and Danielle Hanus (1:02.98) coming in before the lone domestic entry, 17-year-old Maddie Hess. Hess was 1:03.49, with Great Britain’s Charlotte Evans going 1:05.02 for 8th.

Men’s 100 Back

Club Wolverine’s Junya Koga pulled off a big 100 backstroke win, topping reigning Olympic champ Matt Grevers and last year’s series backstroke dominator Arkady Vyatchanin.

Koga, a Japanese speedster who excels in the 50 and is still a major threat in the 100, went 53.97, blasting to the win by a couple tenths over Vyatchanin. Vyatchanin, who is on the verge of joining Serbia for international competition after Olympic appearances with Russia in the past, went 54.23, just touching out Grevers’ 54.29.

Grevers looked a bit more tired than he did in Austin, when he was 53.3, though he was still right in the hunt for the win.

Louisville’s Grigory Tarasevich took fourth, going 54.81 before there was a bit of a dropoff. Australian Bobby Hurley led the next group with a 55.62, followed by Omar Pinzon (56.20), American 16-year-old Michael Taylor (56.68) and Club Wolverine’s Geoff Cheah (56.96).

Women’s 200 Breast

Tennessee’s Molly Hannis swam to a lifetime-best to win the 200 breaststroke, and this is only the kickoff to her senior collegiate season, which will continue with the SEC Championships next week.

Hannis rocked a 2:26.80, cutting almost a second off her best for the runaway win. The next closest swimmer was Melanie Margalis, who competed against Hannis last year in the SEC. Margalis was 2:29.07.

Great Britain’s Hannah Miley was 2:30.12, picking up a little more prize money after winning twice on day 1. Just behind her was her countrymate Chloe Tutton (2:31.03) and American Katie Hoff (2:32.13).

100 breast winner Alia Atkinson went 2:32.31 for sixth, with Raminta Dvariskyte (2:32.39) and Katie Meili (2:36.72) rounding out the A final.

Men’s 200 Breast

Cody Miller continued an explosive weekend by winning the 200 breast in yet another lifetime-best. Miller pulled the same feat in the 100 last night, and now moves to #1 in the world rankings for 2015 in this 200.

Miller, an Indiana grad swimming for Badger Swim Club, went 2:10.28, crushing the field by three seconds. Former Penn star Brendan McHugh was 2:13.27 for second place, also breaking his lifetime-best.

Sean Mahoney was third in 2:16.22. The former Cal standout was recently signed by BlueSeventy.

This was one of the first races of the night where Americans dominated the top few spots. The first international finisher was Calum Tait of Great Britain, who was fourth in 2:16.28. Japan’s Olympic hero Kosuke Kitajima went 2:17.30 for fith.

Women’s 400 Free

Elizabeth Beisel, swimming through an injury, made her Orlando Pro Swim debut and won the 400 free in 4:10.99.

Beisel has been dealing with a groin injury she suffered during the 400 IM at the Austin Pro Swim Series event, and did not compete with Team USA in Australia earlier this year. Stopping into the commentators booth on the USA Swimming live feed last night, Beisel said she’s been training almost entirely freestyle as she waits for the groin to heal, and that training certainly helped her take home the win here and maintain her series points lead.

She beat Great Britain’s Hannah Miley, who’s had a very busy night, swimming in three different A finals. Miley went 4:12.63 at the end of her triple, good for second overall.

Danica Ludlow out of Canada was third, going 4:13.78 and closing out a top 3 that left the rest of the field in their dust.

Fellow Canadian Sam Cheverton went 4:16.15, just missing the prize money in fourth. Just behind were Kristel Kobrich (4:17.29), Kristen Jacobsen (4:17.31) and Kendall Brent (4:19.58).

Men’s 400 Free

The race of the night had to be the men’s 400, as a pair of US National Teamers duked it out in a race that came down to the final inches. Conor Dwyer led early on, but Michael McBroom started to reel him in late. It looked like McBroom might run out of pool, but he completed the major comeback by touching out Dwyer 3:50.38 to 3:50.43.

Australian Bobby Hurley went 3:53.82 for third, leading a trio of Club Wolverine swimmers. Also in that pack: Michael Wynalda (3:54.27) and Michael Klueh (3:57.07).

Matteo de Angulo (3:57.71) and Dion Dreesens (3:58.22) also got under four, with Michael Weiss of Wisconsin rounding out the field in 4:00.41.

Women’s 800 Free Relay

Just like last night, the youngsters from York YMCA took home the girls 800 free relay title. Courtney Harnish led off with a quick 2:03.63 and the team went 8:20.88. Joining the 15-year-old Harnish on the squad were Emily Ilgenfritz (17), Leah Braswell (14) and Meghan Small (16).

Aalborg, a team of Danish swimmers, took second. 18-year-old national record-holder Mie Nielsen was their stud, splitting 2:02.57 on a relay that went 8:26.19.

Sarasota YMCA finished third, getting a 2:05.15 leadoff leg from 17-year-old Sophie Cattermole and going 8:28.90.

Men’s 800 Free Relay

Mexico took the night’s final event in a 7:43.48. Luis Campos Alpizar led off in 1:54.02 to give the team a nice start, and Jose Martinez, just 17 years old, was 1:54.56 on the third leg. Also on the winning relay were Ricardo David Vargas Jacobo and Julio Olvera Alejos.

Once again it was the Danish Aalborg team that took runner-up honors. 200 fly champ Viktor Bromer added to his good night with a 1:53.47 anchor leg as the crew went 7:47.86.

Canada’s Team Ontario took third place, with a consistent effort where three different legs split 1:56. 17-year-old Christian Ng was the team’s fastest leg at 1:56.33, as Ontario went 7:48.24.