2021 CENTRAL ZONE SPEEDO SECTIONALS
- July 15-18, 2021
- SPIRE Institute, Geneva, OH
- Hosted by Blazing Barracudas and Hudson HEAT
- Meet Site
- Psych Sheet
- Live Stream
- Results via Meet Mobile: “2021 Speedo Sectional Meet”
- Day One Recap
- Day Two Recap
- Day Three Recap
On the final day of the 2021 Geneva Sectionals meet, two OSU Buckeyes threw down impressive 50 breast swims to close out the four-day affair. At the end of the meet, the OSU Buckeye men and women topped the team standings, earning 1,779 and 1,334.50 points respectively. Both men’s and women’s teams of Firestone Akron also placed second in both genders’ standings while the Hudson Explorer Aquatics (HEAT) men and New Albany Aquatic Club women placed third in their respective categories.
In the women’s 50 breast, Olympic Trials semifinalist Hannah Bach of OSU improved from her lifetime best of 31.69, which came from her opening 50 during Trials prelims (1:07.89), touching the wall at 31.41. Bach entered sectionals with a 32.03 entry, following up with a 31.76 morning effort before her finals winning time. Cleveland Swim Institute’s Catherine O’Haimhirgin placed second behind Bach at 33.08, edging out OSU’s Leah Baker (33.17).
Peering at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials results, Bach’s 50 breast time would rank 7th if swum as her first 50 at any point during Trials.
U.S. Women’s 50 Breast Rankings – 2021 Olympic Trials
- Lilly King, 30.19
- Bethany Galat, 30.69
- Annie Lazor, 30.75
- Kaitlyn Dolber, 30.83
- Lydia Jacoby, 30.94
- Molly Hannis, 31.29
- Hannah Bach, 31.41**
On the men’s side, OSU’s Hudson McDaniel swam 27.76 in the AM/27.72 in the PM to crush the 28-second barrier, taking down his former personal best of 28.09 from 2019 Cleveland Sectionals. OSU teammate Ian Mikesell placed second at 29.06, holding off HEAT 17-year-old Rylan McDaniel (29.19).
Pitting McDaniel against the opening 50s of the men’s 100 breaststrokers from Trials, he would rank a narrow 6th.
U.S. Men’s 50 Breast Rankings – 2021 Olympic Trials
- Michael Andrew, 26.83
- Nic Fink, 27.53
- Max McHugh, 27.64
- Andrew Wilson, 27.69
- Kevin Cordes, 27.70
- Hudson McDaniel, 27.72**
Canadian Sarah Watson of FAST took her third win of the weekend after topping the 50/100 fly by winning the 200 IM final with a near-lifetime best of 2:18.58, just two-tenths off her 2019 personal best of 2:18.33. Taking a tight second place finish was OSU’s Josie Panitz (2:18.87), who improved from her 2:20.13 personal best.
Winning the men’s 200 IM B-final was 17-year-old Alexander Davis of Dublin Community, who started the day with a 1.33s drop from his seed in prelims (2:12.86) before smashing another 3.23s to break 2:10 at 2:09.63. However, the fastest 18&U teen in the event was 17-year-old Eli Stoll of Greater Columbus, who swam 2:07.93 to place fourth in the A-final. Taking the win in the men’s 200 IM A-final was Thomas Watkins at 2:05.32, taking more than a second off his May personal best of 2:06.45.
More Session Highlights
- OSU’s Semuede Andreis picked up his fourth win in Geneva with his sub-50 winning effort in the men’s 100 free at 49.46. On the women’s side, OSU teammates Katherine Zenick took the win at 56.04, holding off Amy Fulmer‘s 56.55.
- In the distance events, the winners won by substantial margins. OSU’s Maya Geringer took the women’s 1500 free title (16:55.24) by 39.28 seconds while fellow Buckeye Charlie Clark won the men’s 800 free title (8:04.09) by a 16.42-second margin.
- Onto the 400 medley relays, the OSU women’s B-relay defeated the A-relay, 4:19.66 to 4:20.71. Placing third for the women were the Lake Erie Silver Dolphins at 4:25.70. On the men’s side, the A OSU relay took first at 3:50.07 while Firestone Akron (FAST) took second at 3:52.51, with the B OSU relay settling for third at 3:54.10.