Garrett McCaffrey talks with Townley Haas of NOVA of Virginia after his win and meet record in the 400 Free at Junior Nationals. They discuss Townley’s race strategy, his warm up, and his nicknames.
Full recap of the 4Men’s 400m Freestyle, as reported by Amanda Smith:
Townley Haas (NOVA) had a commanding control in the men’s 400m freestyle. He led wire-to-wire to set a new meet record here tonight in 3:51.99, breaking Nicholas Caldwell’s 2010 record of 3:52.32. He was a 3:54 at the NCSA Junior Nationals last week in Indy, and that was a very good time. Three-seconds faster, he now sits at 3rd on the all-time 15-16 list behind only Evan Pinion and the great Larsen Jensen.
Haas was challenged on the 3rd one hundred meters by a charging Aidan Burns (SCSC). It looked like Burns would over take Haas as they turned just about even at the 350m mark. But Townley responded to Burns, hammering home his last 50 to finish with the win. Burns was 2nd in 3:53.51, and Sarasota YMCA’s Alex Katz was 3rd in 3:53.78.
This event has been a weakness for the Americans for a while, but with six swimmers in the A-Final, plus two in the B-Final, going 3:55 or better, there’s some health developing at the junior levels. Brock Turner of the Dayton Raiders was 4th in the 400 in 3:55.22, followed by Liam Egan of Crimson Aquatics in 3:55.57.
Kevin Litherland was 6th in 3:55.68, followed by his brother Jay Lithlerland in 3:57.29.
The second-fastest time overall came from Jonathan Roberts of the North Texas Nadadores, who won the B Final in 3:53.50.
Love your interviews Garret, even with the slightly camera shy Townley, you managed to make it entertaining and informative.