Kieran Smith Swims US #4 Time in the 800 Free at Gainesville Sectionals

2019 Speedo Champions Series- Gainesville

• Southern Zone South Sectionals
• July 11-14, 2019
• O’Connell Center Pool, University of Florida
• Gainesville, FL
• 50m (LCM)
• Meet Site
• Meet Info
• Psych Sheets
• Meet Mobile: “Southern Zone South Sectional Championships”

The Speedo Champions Series in Gainesville kicked off with the first session featuring the timed finals of the women’s 1500 free and men’s 800 free.

In the men’s 800 free, Florida Gator Kieran Smith broke the 2002 sectional meet record with a new lifetime best of 8:00.20. The last time Smith swam the event was in 2017 at the CT Senior Championships, where he posted a 8:14.44. This season, Smith is the 4th-fastest American in the event behind Nick Norman, Jordan Wilimovsky, and Zane Grothe.

Rounding out the top 3 in the event were Brendan Driscoll (8:14.98) and Matthew Anderson (8:15.19).

For the women’s 1500 free, 17-year-old Emma Weyant of Sarasota Sharks won the event with a 16:37.65, knocking nearly 20 seconds off her former lifetime best. Her time now ranks 18th in the nation this year and cracks the all-time top 100 times for the 17-18 age group.

Using the Swimulator Real-Time Converter, Weyant’s 1500 time converts to a 16:14.47 for the SCY 1650 free. At the 2019 ACC Championships, Weyant would have scored 7th in the event for Virginia, where she will swim this coming fall.

Taking second in the event was 14-year-old Sarasota Sharks training mate Michaela Mattes, who cracked the 17 minute barrier for the first time with a 16:51.78. She is now the fastest 13-14 swimmer in the nation this year, taking over Claire Tuggle‘s 16:55.82 from the Richmond PSS. Mattes also ranks #62 in the 13-14 age group all-time.

Snagging third in the event was Gator Swim Club’s Georgia Darwent, also breaking 17 minutes with a 16:58.52.

The timed finals session also featured the men’s and women’s 200 medley and free relays along with the mixed medley and free relays.

Women’s 200 Medley Relay

1. Blue Dolfins 1:58.96
2. Gator Swim Club 1:59.29
3. Planet Swim Aquatics 2:02.09

Men’s 200 Medley Relay

1. Gator Swim Club 1:46.75
2. South Florida Aquatic Club 1:48.17
3. Saint Andrew’s Aquatics 1:50.56

Women’s 200 Free Relay

1. Blue Dolfins A 1:48.01
2. Blue Dolfins B 1:48.85
3. Saint Andrew’s Aquatics 1:49.90

Men’s 200 Free Relay

1. Saint Andrew’s Aquatics 1:37.77
2. Gator Swim Club 1:37.99
3. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami 1:38.75

Mixed 200 Medley Relay

1. South Florida Aquatic Club 1:54.15
2. Saint Andrew’s Aquatics 1:56.32
3. Gator Swim Club 1:57.86

Mixed 200 Free Relay

1. Gator Swim Club 1:41.54
2. Saint Andrew’s Aquatic 1:43.01
3. Berkeley Aquatics 1:43.27

Team Scores After Day 1

Top 3 Men’s Teams

1. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami- 172 points
2. South Florida Aquatic Club- 165 points
3. Gator Swim Club- 147 points

Top 3 Women’s Teams

1. Sarasota Sharks- 276 points
2. Blue Dolfins- 241 points
3. Gator Swim Club- 127 points