Kate Douglass Drops 1:45.1 to Lead Off CPAC 800 Relay at Ithaca Sectls

2019 SPEEDO SECTIONALS ITHACA

• March 28-31, 2019
• Ithaca, NY
• SCY
• Meet information
• Results on Meet Mobile
• Psych sheets

Only two distance events and the 800 free relays were on tap tonight in Ithaca. In the relays, as expected, Chelsea Piers Aquatic Club dominated on the women’s side. They had dynamite legs to start things off, as Kate Douglass led off with a 1:45.16 followed by Maxine Parker at 1:46.20.

For Douglass, that’s a huge drop, taking it down almost three seconds as her old best was a 1:48.10 from this same meet two years ago. Parker’s best is still a 1:46.20. Following them were Sophia Moore (1:52.00) and Bridget Semenuk (1:49.04), as they combined for a 7:12.40.

On the men’s side, it was the relay from Woodbridge Aquatic Club at 6:47.00 for the win. Their big split was on the anchor, as Arsenio Bustos split a 1:38.29 after going out in 45.83. The boys from CPAC were very close behind at 6:47.47.

The first individual race in the women’s mile, with 13-year-old Mary McKenna of Long Island Express battling 16-year-old Orla Egan of Laguardia Aquatic Club all the way to the finish. Egan split two 29’s and then a 27-low, but McKenna held her off, and the 13-year-old triumphed at 16:36.26 over Egan’s 16:36.95.

McKenna, who previously sat 29th in 13-year-old history in this event, moves to 17th all-time with that swim.

The men’s distance event was the 1000 free, and the race was incredibly tight there, too. 16-year-olds Connor Hunt of Ridgefield Aquatic Club and Matthew Styczen of New York Sharks charged to the wall together, with Hunt taking the win at 9:10.17 ahead of Styczen (9:10.82).