Cullen Jones Wins 100 Free in First Race Since 2018 at Schroeder A+ Meet

35TH ANNUAL SCHROEDER A+ SWIM MEET

• January 31st-February 2nd, 2020
• Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center, Brown Deer, Wisconsin
• SCY (25y) pool
• Psych Sheets
• Meet Page (with results)
• Results will also be available on Meet Mobile

Boys’ Meet, Featuring Cullen Jones

2-time Olympic gold medalist and 2-time World Champion Cullen Jones swam his first races in almost 2 years on Saturday at the Annual Schroeder A+ Swim Meet in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, and he came away from the day with a win.

The 35-year old Jones last raced in April of 2018. On Saturday, he swam a 44.66 in the 100 yard freestyle to win his first and only event of the 2020 meet, where he’s also making an ambassador appearance on behalf of meet sponsor Speedo.

In the process, he beat out 2 of Wisconsin’s top junior swimmers Kaiser Neverman (45.56) and Michael Linnihan (45.71). Those two, both 17-years old, will have an ongoing battle throughout the meet. For both swimmers, those are landmark results. Neverman has never been that fast this early in the season, and it’s the second-best time of his career. For Linnihan this is also easily his best time out of a major championship meet by just over a second.

Later, in the boys’ 100 yard fly, Neverman and Linnihan went 1-2, with Neverman taking victory in 48.68 and Linnihan placing 2nd in 50.15. For Neverman that’s another in-season best by more than a second.

Girls’ Meet, Featuring Isabelle Stadden

In the girls’ meet, 17-year old Isabelle Stadden, a U.S. National Team member and swimmer for the Aquajets in Minneapolis, won the 100 yard backstroke for the 2nd straight season. She was a bit slower than she was last year, however, when she broke the Meet Record. This year, she swam 52.69, off her own record of 51.84.

The 100 back was one of the best finals of the day, with Wisconsin commit Kaylyn Schoof placing 2nd in 53.84 and Virginia commit Reilly Tiltmann placing 3rd in 53.99.

That swim was part of a busy day 1 schedule for Stadden. She started the evening session with a lifetime best of 49.48 in the 100 free, though that was only good for 2nd place behind Carly Novelline from NASA Wildcat Aquatics. Novelline swam a 49.31, which was only .03 seconds from her lifetime best done at last March’s NCSA Spring Junior National Championships. That ranks her as the 6th-fastest 15-16 in the U.S. so far this season. The win was earned on the second half of the race after Novelline and Stadden flipped in a dead heat at 50 yards.

Stadden also won the 200 IM on Saturday in 1:59.65, which is about 3 seconds slower than the best time she swam at Winter Juniors in December. She’s scheduled to swim the 50 free, 200 back, and 200 breast on Sunday.

Other Winners and Highlights from Saturday

• 24-year old Conner McHugh, a former All-American at Minnesota and older brother of 2020 NCAA title contender Max McHugh, won the boys’ 100 breast in 55.24. That’s his first yards swim since this meet last year and his 2nd since his last NCAA Championship meet in 2018.
• 17-year old Annika Wagner won the girls’ 100 breaststroke in 1:02.68, giving NASA Wildcat Aquatics another win in the open women’s events. That’s the fastest she’s been since last March’s NCSA Junior Nationals.
• 16-year old Sam Bork from Mid Wisconsin Wave Makers took a big double on Saturday. That started with a win in the 100 backstroke in 50.29, which is a best time by half-a-second.
• Bork then won the boys’ 200 IM in 1:53.11. That’s the second-best time of his career, and his fastest time since March of 2018 when he swam 1;51 at only 14-years old. 15-year old Jake Regenwetter set a new best time to place 2nd in 1:54.92. Will Melsha, who was the hero on Friday winning both boys’ open events, was 3rd in this 200 IM in 1:56.40. He was also 4th in the 100 back on Saturday.
• 13-year old Bridget McGann from Delta Aquatics in Illinois won the girls’ 13-14 200 IM in 2:03.16, the girls’ 13-14 100 fly in 55.39, and placed 2nd in the girls’ 13-14 100 breast in 1:02.46. Those are all lifetime bests for her by at least 9-tenths of a second. Her 100 breaststroke time also broke the Meet Record set by Katie Kubiak in 2017 at 1:03.16.

Team Scores after Day 2:

Combined Top 5

1. Aquajets Swim Team – 398
2. Elmbrook Swim Club – 296
3. Schroeder YMCA – 273.5
4. NASA Wildcat Aquatics – 209.5
5. Badger Aquatics Club – 163.5

Boys’ Top 5

1. Aquajets – 220
2. Schroeder YMCA – 127.5
3. NASA Wildcat Aquatics – 115.5
4. Ozaukee Aquatics – 97
5. Edina Swim Club – 94

Girls’ Top 5

1. Elbrook Swim Club – 236
2. Aquajest Swim Team -178
3. Schroeder YMCA – 146
4. NASA Wilcat Aquatics – 94
5. Badger Aquatics Club – 81.5