Wednesday Finals
Men’s 500 Freestyle
Paul-Marc Schweitzer started off the racing for Texas A&M with a 4th place finish in the “C” final in a time of 4:22.55. Omar Enriquez, our school record holder, ended up 8th in the “B” final with a time of 4:24.39, almost two seconds slower than he had been this morning. He really went out after it in the beginning, which was a chance worth taking, but it really hurt him in the last 100 yards of the race. I definitely commend this kind of guts though, because sometimes the only way to move up is to take a big risk, and that risk can sometimes land you on the rocks. Unfortunately for Omar, he slid down one place and added a bit of time from his morning swim. Last year’s NCAA champion in the 500 freestyle failed to qualify for the “A” final this morning: he won the “B” final but that just is a perfect example of how deep this SEC field really is.
Women’s 500 Freestyle
In the “C” final, our girls went 6th and 7th. Melanie McClure, our second transfer from Texas in three years, was a bit slower tonight in 4:49.74 and slid down a few spots. Senior Liz Nelson was faster and moved up from 24th to 23rd place with a best time of 4:49.79, almost a three second improvement on her morning swim. Liz was a freshman when I was a senior and is a tough and dedicated trainer. It’s awesome to see her swimming fast! The “A” final was incredibly exciting, and was incredibly close until about the 300 yard mark when Sarah Henry of Texas A&M made a move away from the pack. What always impresses me about the 500 is the amount of strategy involved: break away too early and you won’t be able to finish well. Break away too late and, well, it’s simply too late. Henry secured the first ever SEC win for the Aggies with a time of 4:35.25. Her Aggie teammates Cammile Adams (4:37.04) and Maureen McLaine (4:39.21) were 4th and 6th respectively. This was huge for us both in terms of points and team mentality. Fast swimming breeds fast swimming.
Men’s 200 IM
John Wagner won the “C” final for the Aggies in a time of 1:46.54. I talked to him after and, although happy with his race, was aghast at how fast the meet is: “everyone is swimming out of their minds!” In the “B” final, Simon Frank scored 15 points for the Aggies placing 12th in a time of 1:45.82. Freshman Chase Kalisz won the event for Georgia in a time of 1:43.04, the fastest time in the nation so far this year.
Women’s 200 IM
This was another big point scoring event for the women. In the “C” final, freshman Ashley McGregor came roaring back on the breaststroke leg to put her into second place (for a final placing of 18th). We also had a runner-up finish in the “B” final, with a personal best 1:58.56 from senior Jordan King. Fellow Aggie teammate Meredith Oliver was 14th. In the “A” final, Junior Caroline McElhany posted a podium performance: she was 3rd in 1:55.97 thanks to an incredible freestyle split of 26.10. The next fastest freestyle split in the field was 27.00! With a bit more rest and the excitement of the NCAA meet, she will definitely be able to make a run for my school record of 1:54.45. But our points didn’t stop there: Mexican Olympian Erica Dittmer was 5th in 1:57.24 and junior Paige Miller was 7th in 1:58.03.
Men’s 50 Freestyle
In the “C” final, freshman Cory Bolleter scored 3 points for the Aggies with a 22nd place finish and time of 20.19. Kyle Troskot was 12th in 20.03, a tad slower than his swim in prelims. In the “A” final, Texas A&M was the only team with two swimmers, and the Aggies were led by John Dalton who finished 3rd in 19.56, just off his school record but the fifth-fastest time in the nation this year nonetheless! Henrik Lindau tied for 5th in a time of 19.76.
Women’s 50 Freestyle
On the women’s side, the 50 freestyle started off with a 1-2 punch for the Aggies in the “C” final. Freshman Claire Brandt was 17th in 22.74 followed by U.S. Olympic breaststroker Breeja Larson in 22.85. In the “B” final, Sammie Bosma moved up her ranking by placing 14th in 22.66. And Lili Ibanez was 6th in the “A” final, two tenths faster than this morning. Our sprint freestyle is definitely moving in the right direction, and having sprint freestylers is imperative to winning a national championship because of the importance of relays (they are worth double the points).
Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay
The Aggie men had a great relay, placing third in 1:17.95, an NCAA cut and only three-tenths off the 12-year-old school record of 1:17.63. John Dalton had a great split of 19.16, and Kyle Troskot redeemed himself from his individual 50 freestyle earlier in the night by anchoring in 19.29. Auburn took the title, with Marcelo Chierighini leading off in 18.85, posting the fastest time in the nation yet again here in Aggieland. He will definitely be a favorite to win the national title in the 50 yard freestyle.
Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay
This was a historic race tonight. The Georgia Bulldogs won their second relay of the weekend, broke the SEC record, but even more impressive was the split by anchor leg Megan Romano: 20.99. Only two other women in NCAA history have ever split under 21 seconds on a relay. The Texas A&M Aggies were 4th in 1:29.04 behind Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, with a great third leg split of 21.96 by Junior Caroline McElhany.
Here are the scores after Day 2:
Men:
1. Auburn 417
2. Florida 412.5
3. Georgia 372
4. Tennessee 300.5
5. Texas A&M 288.5
6. LSU 272.5
7. Missouri 252
8. South Carolina 201
9. Alabama 187
10. Kentucky 153
Women:
1. Georgia 500
2. Texas A&M 464
3. Florida 443
4. Tennessee 429
5. LSU 277
6. Missouri 274
7. Auburn 263
8. Arkansas 234
9. Kentucky 194
10. Alabama 161
11. South Carolina 129
12. Vanderbilt 92
So, as I mentioned earlier, 6th after Day 1 for the women was nothing to fret about. We are now in second, still have three days to go, and although Georgia is swimming very, very well, so are we. And, we still haven’t even had our American record holder (Breeja Larson) swim her events yet! We are definitely in this race for the SEC title, so stay tuned.