Kaitlyn Dobler Wins 2 at Mt. Hood Sectionals; Picks up OT Cut in 100 Fly

2019 Speedo Sectionals – Mt. Hood

• July 18-21, 2019
• Hood Aquatics Center, Mt. Hood, OR
• Meet information
• Psych sheet
• Results (Meet Mobile): ‘2019 Speedo Sectionals – Mt Hood’

Kaitlyn Dobler of The Dolphins Portland Swimming and a verbal commit to USC’s class of 2024 had a couple of big performances on Day 3 of Mt. Hood Sectionals. She won back-to-back events, claiming the 100 breast title in 1:08.20 and the 100 fly title in 1:00.44. In the breaststroke, Dobler dropped .70 from her previous PB of 1:08.90 that she went to win the event at Speedo Junior Nationals last summer. Her butterfly time was a PB by .36 and took her under the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying mark of 1:00.69 for the first time. Dobler also won the 100 free on Thursday night.

Coming to the wall behind Dobler in the 100 breaststroke were Lauren Burckel, a rising sophomore at Washington State who won the 200 breast on Thursday with a 2020 Trials cut, and Arizona-bound Eleanor Jew of Lake Oswego Swim Club. Burckel dropped 3.87 seconds from her entry time of 1:13.82 to add another Olympic Trials cut with 1:09.95. Jew was .44 faster than her seed time; she, too, scored an invite to 2020 Olympic Trials with her time of 1:10.84.

It was quite a battle for second place in the 100 fly. Elizabeth Cook of Tualatin Hills went 1:01.23 to edge Phoenix Swim Club’s Katie Higgins (1:01.37) and Morgan Brophy (1:01.49). Cook dropped .29 and came within .54 of the Trials standard in the 100 fly.

Phoenix Swim Club’s Meguru Hotta won his second event of the meet with a 2:03.20 in the 200 back. He had won the 100 back on Friday with a PB of 56.84. In the 200 back, he held off a fast-charging Gavin Olson of Foothills Swim Team (2:03.42) and dropped 4.35 seconds en route to the victory.

Daniel Chang, Lukas Miller, and Kevin Jackson all won events with PBs that just missed the qualifying standards for 2020 Olympic Trials. Chang added the 100 breast title to the 200 breast he’d won on Thursday. He went a best time of 1:03.34, just edging Andrew Britton and Anthony Nosack (both 1:03.72) but fell .05 short of the OT cut. Miller (Elevation Aquatics) won the 100 fly with a PB of 54.67; the OT cut is 54.19. Miller also earned a new PB in the 200 free leading off the winning 800 free relay; his 1:51.41 was .62 shy of the Trials standard of 1:50.79. Jackson (King Aquatic Club) won the 400 free with 3:57.64. He dropped 2.87 seconds but missed the standard by .35.

Other event winners:

• NC State commit Katharine Berkoff of Missoula Aquatic Club won the 200 back with 2:10.56, just 7/10 off her PB of 2:09.84. Lake Oswego’s Mara Newman, who won the 100 back on Friday, was runner-up with 2:17.47.
• Lucia Davis, a rising sophomore at Boise State, added the 400 free crown (4:20.17, a PB by 2 seconds) after having won the 800 free on Thursday night. Bronco Swim Club’s Hayley Hill turned with exactly the same time as Davis at the 350 wall but finished second in 4:20.39. It was her best time by .36.
• Tualatin Hills Swim Club went 1-2 in the women’s 800 free relay. The B team came in first with 8:24.42 while the A team stopped the clock at 8:31.74. Lily Gardner (2:05.10), Fay Marie Lustria (2:08.54), Jessica Maeda (2:06.65), and Elizabeth Cook (2:04.13) contributed to the win.
• Elevation Athletics won the men’s 800 free relay. After Miller’s leadoff of 1:51.41, Nathan Rock (1:55.03), Pierce Bigelow (1:57.98), and Harrison Lierz (1:54.21) combined to give EA the win with 7:38.63, an improvement of 8.14 seconds over their seed time.

Team Scores

Women

1. Tualatin Hills Swim Club – 878
2. University of Denver Hilltoppers – 714
3. Phoenix Swim Club – 576
4. Scottsdale Aquatic Club – 566
5. Elevation Athletics – 497
6. Bronco Swim Club – 363
7. The Dolphins Portland Swimming – 305
8. Foothills Swim Team – 285
9. Lakes Oswego Swim Club – 245
10. Bainbridge Island Swim Club – 236

Men

1. University of Denver Hilltoppers – 831
2. Phoenix Swim Club – 694
3. Elevation Athletics – 538
4. Tualatin Hills Swim Club – 485.5
5. Charger Aquatics – 461
6. Swim Utah – 448.5
7. Mesa Aquatics Club – 409
8. Scottsdale Aquatic Club – 343
9. Fort Collins Area Swim Team – 256
10. Boise YMCA Swim Team – 217