Forbes and McHugh Break National Records on Day 3 of YMCA Nationals

2016 YMCA LONG COURSE NATIONALS

• June 27th-July 31st, 2016
• Indianapolis, Indiana (IUPUI Natatorium)
• Live and on-demand video
• Photos
• Results

(Note: Friday night full results can be found here in PDF).

YMCA star Grant House picked up his first win of the 2016 YMCA Long Course National Championships, dominating the men’s 200 free by over three seconds.

House, who didn’t swim at this meet in 2015 but was the 2014 champion in the event, swam a 1:50.84 to win ahead of Christopher Smith of the Red Bank Branch YMCA in New Jersey (1:54.27).

That swim for House is the third-best of his career and his best of the current season – and much better than the 1:54 he swam in his one swim at the U.S. Olympic Trials at the end of June.

That swim for House was .09 seconds away from Tim Phillips’ YMCA National Record. While House came up short, two other swimmers did break meet marks on Day 3 of the meet.

In the women’s 100 backstroke, Camryn Forbes from Butler, Pennsylvania swam 1:02.14 to break her own National Record, and defend her title, from the 1:02.54 that she did at this meet last season. Countryside YMCA’s Emma Otten was 2nd in 1:03.78 and Texas commit Kaitlin Harty of the North Shore YMCA in Massachusetts was 3rd in 1:03.94.

In the men’s 50 breaststroke, Max McHugh actually got the record in prelims with a 28.06, and while he didn’t improve that time in finals, he was again under the old record with a 28.37 in finals. Zack Warner was the former record holder with a 28.53 done in 2014.

That’s the second-straight event title for the 16-year old McHugh, though last year he came in just 9th in the 100 breaststroke to pair with that 50 speed. This year, swimming more than two seconds faster than anyone else in this 50, he’ll have a much better go at contending over the longer distance.

The men’s 400 IM had a near-miss of a record as well. Robby Giller from the Wilton YMCA in Connecticut won in 4:26.69 – only .12 seconds away from Mark Andrew’s record set a season ago. Wilton finished 1-2 in that race, as James Mostofi touched 9 seconds back of Giller in 4:35.80.

Other day 3 winners:

• Hank Siefert from the Coffman Family YMCA won the men’s 100 back in 58.02. Brian McKenrick was 2nd in 58.12 and Jake Kealy was 3rd in 58.22 – with all making improvements from their prelims swims.
• Cha O’Leary of the Montclair YMCA won the women’s 50 breaststroke in 33.00.
• Leah Braswell of the York County YMCA won the women’s 400 IM in 4:58.54. Like House, Braswell didn’t swim this meet in 2015, but also like House, she had a big meet the year before, winning the 400 free in record-setting fashion. She didn’t swim the 400 IM that year, when she was only 14.
• In the women’s 200 free, Braswell took 2nd in her second-consecutive event, beat out only by 15-year old Faith Hefner from the Hickory Foundation YMCA. Hefner swam 2:03.15 and Braswell was 2:04.53. Those were lifetime bests for both swimmers – and for Hefner, she improved by three-and-a-half seconds from her best time coming into the meet.
• The Butler YMCA won the girls’ 200 medley relay in 1:57.36, followed by Fanwood Scotch Plains (1:58.00). Butler was led off by the 100 back champion Forbes (29.55), and the relay included Brooke Zukowski (33.06 – breaststroke), Mallory Marzolf (28.81 – fly), and Taylor Petrak (25.94 – free).
• The Upper Main Line YMCA held off some hard-charging anchors from runners-up Countryside YMCA and third-place finishers Wilton to win the men’s 200 medley in 1:46.83. The winning team included Brendan Burns (27.42), Brian McKenrick (30.91), Billy Beard (24.84), and Sam Hawke (23.66).

Team Scores After Day 3 (top 5):

Men

1. Wilton Family YMCA – 250
2. Upper Main Line YMCA – 189
3. Red Bank Branch YMCA – 153
4. Cheshire YMCA – 139
5. Somerset Valley YMCA – 131

Women

1. Fanwood Scotch Plains YMCA – 163
2. North Shore Sterling MA YMCA – 158
3. Countryside Ralph Stolle YMCA – 152
4. Wilton Family YMCA – 148
5. Butler YMCA – 143