USA Short Course National Championships: Day Two Finals, Club Wolverine Blasts American, U.S. Open Relay Record

ATLANTA, Georgia, November 30. WITH day one of the USA Short Course National Championships in the bag, including a pair of American records, the second night of action featured a third American record – this time of the relay variety.

Women's 400 IM
Swim Atlanta's Kathleen Hersey dropped a sizzling time of 4:04.19, just two seconds off Summer Sanders' American record time of 4:02.28, with the fifth-fastest performance in history.

"I didn't know I was going that fast, but I felt pretty good," said Hersey. "I think about getting to the walls as fast as possible, so I can get to the freestyle!"

"Kathleen's primary event is the 200 fly, but I train her in the 400 IM," said head coach Mark Minier. "She can do a lot of things, so I try to exploit that."

Meanwhile, Club Wolverine's Kaitlin Sandeno checked in with a 4:06.12 for a lifetime best, while Auburn's Ava Ohlgren posted a quality time of 4:09.50 for third place.

In the B Final, El Dorado's Caitlin Leverenz cruised to victory in 4:08.61, while Jessica Schmitt took second in 4:14.21. Leverenz chopped three seconds from her personal-best time previously standing at 4:11.18 en route to becoming the 22nd-fastest swimmer of all time.

In the C Final, Cammile Adams of Cypress Fairbanks claimed the heat win in a personal-best time of 4:18.35, while Penelope Yamauchi of Neptune placed second in 4:18.63.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Men's 400 IM
Ryan Lochte gave Michael Phelps' American record of 3:36.26 a serious shot, but came up just short with a 3:37.88 as he dipped below 3:38 for the first time as his previous lifetime best stood at a 3:38.15.

Lochte's splits throughout the race stood as follows 22.64, 49.42, 1:16.13, 1:43.05, 2:13.87, 2:46.16 and 3:12.62. Lochte remained under the pace up until the 350-yard mark.

"I pushed it up front," said Lochte. "[Clear water] gives me a confidence and energy boost."

Lochte has recently been training with Mike Alexandrov, and cites that as a contributing factor to his speedy performances at this meet.

Eric Shanteau snagged second place with a swift time of 3:43.30, while Robert Margalis took third in 3:43.72.

In the B Final, Dallas Mustang Matt Thompson used a strong final 50 to win in 3:52.97, while Florida's Bradley Ally watched Thompson go by for second in 3:53.02.

In the C Final, Mission Viejo's Charlie Rimkus won in 3:54.31, while Jay Kim of the Colorado Stars finished second in 3:55.31.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Women's 100 butterfly
Rachel Komisarz pulled off the biggest upset of the meet so far after tracking down Natalie Coughlin in the championship heat with a scintillating time of 50.10 to become the second-fastest swimmer in the event.

"I only rested 3 days for this meet," said Komisarz. "Everyone is reminding me that I'll be 31 next week … but I didn't start swimming until I was 17."

"Whenever you go against Natalie, the pressure is on," said Komisarz when asked about swimming against Coughlin. "This is my best event … and you're only as good as your best competition."

Coughlin, even after clocking a 23.34 at the halfway mark to be under her American record pace that ended with a 50.01 in 2002, dropped to second with a blistering time of 50.23.

Dana Vollmer had the best seat in the house for an incredible head-to-head battle as she took third in 51.69, just a second off her personal-best time of 50.69 at this year's NCAA Championships.

In the B Final, Margaret Hoelzer claimed the heat in 52.20, while a tired Kathleen Hersey picked up second in 52.72 after winning the 400 IM.

In the C Final, Hannah Wilson captured the title in 53.26, while backstroke specialist Leila Vaziri finished second in 53.44.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Men's 100 butterfly
Matt Grevers moved all the way up to the top 10 all time in the event by the end of the day after tearing through the race with a lifetime-best effort of 45.80.

"I was in the mood for something different," said Grever in characteristically laid-back fashion when asked about his recent training move to Tucson, Ariz.

Meanwhile, Davis Tarwater placed second in 46.35, while Jayme Cramer took third in 46.85.

In the B Final, Fred Bousquet blasted a time of 46.82 to win, while Stefan Ghergel touched second in 46.93.

In the C Final, Michael Smit touched first in 47.86, while Eddie Erazo took second in 48.16.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Women's 200 freestyle
Kara Lynn Joyce countered Kim Vandenberg's quick first 100 with a swift final 100 of her own to win a come-from-behind victory in 1:44.14. Vandenberg, however, settled for second in 1:44.37, while Caitlin Geary touched in a quick 1:44.85 for third.

"I just wanted to pace myself – I know I have early speed, but I train middle-distance," said Joyce when asked about her perspective on a strategic race.

In the B Final, Katie Carroll backhalfed the race en route to winning the heat in 1:46.67. She nipped Allison Schmitt, who finished second in 1:46.94.

In the C Final, Madi Kennedy won in 1:48.02, while Shara Stafford, heading to Florida next year, took second in 1:48.17.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Men's 200 freestyle
Michael Phelps nearly backhalfed his way to lowering his American record of 1:32.08 as he missed by just a mere margin of .05 seconds with a winning effort of 1:32.13. His teammate pushed him the whole way as Peter Vanderkaay clocked a second-place time of 1:32.26. Another Club Wolverine, Chris DeJong, rounded out the top three in 1:33.22.

Phelps and Vanderkaay battled back-and-forth as they traded the lead throughout the race. Here are the splits for each swim:

Phelps
21.68, 45.36, 1:09.34, 1:32.13

Vanderkaay
21.65, 45.45, 1:09.02, 1:32.26

Vanderkaay's time improved upon his previous personal-best effort of 1:33.31 to move into being the third-fastest ever in the race ahead of rare air of Matt Biondi (1:33.03). DeJong also moved up into the top 10 right behind Ryan Lochte's 1:33.07.

In the B Final, Noah Copeland provided some outside smoke with a win from lane eight when he touched in 1:36.06. Andrei Radzionau placed second in 1:36.55.

In the C Final, Kyle Young hit the wall first in 1:37.89, while Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or placed second in 1:38.00.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Women's 100 breaststroke
Jessica Hardy clocked the sixth-fastest time ever with a blazing fast effort of 58.74 to improve upon her lifetime best of 59.20. She went out in 27.72 as no one ever came close.

Elizabeth Tinnon wound up placing second and missed sub-1:00 by the slimmest of margins with a time of 1:00.01, while Elle Weberg clocked a third-place time of 1:00.26.

In the B Final, Rosanna Delurgio pipped Lindsay Rogers, 1:01.80 to 1:01.82, to take the consolation title.

In the C Final, Lindsay Payne topped the heat with a time of 1:02.04, while Julie Stupp finished second in 1:02.33.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Men's 100 breaststroke
In another case where a relegation due to international status wound up with a quicker B final swim, Mark Gangloff touched first with a time of 53.05 in the event, with Ryan Lochte taking second in 53.27. David Maras rounded out the top three with a time of 53.71.

"It's unbelievable. I never thought it would happen," Gangloff said as he was clearly elated with the national title. "All these years, I've been waiting and waiting … I feel like David [Marsh] is the best coach in the world. This is just a stepping stone and confidence builder for me."

In the B Final, Mike Alexandrov clocked the second-fastest time ever with a blistering time of 51.80. The performance stood just off Alexandrov's American record time of 51.56 and is Alexandrov's second time under Jeremy Linn's old standard of 51.86.

Vlad Polyakov also smoked in the B Final with a second-place time of 52.90, a bit off his personal-best readout of 52.25. Polyakov has been training at Coral Springs Swim Club in Florida, also the training home of Dara Torres.

In the C Final, Jonathan Hiett stopped the clock first in a personal-best time of 55.71, while Brandon Fischer placed second in 55.91.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Women's 100 backstroke
Natalie Coughlin crushed the field in the women's 100 back with the third-fastest time ever when she hit the wall in 50.64. While not below 50 like her American record 49.97, the time still dominated second and third-place finishers Margaret Hoelzer (52.30) and Leila Vaziri (53.13).

In the B Final, Rachel Goh, last year's NCAA champion in the event, touched first in 53.01, while Sherry Tsai took second in 53.40.

In the C Final, Jenny Connolly grabbed a win with a time of 54.37, while Shara Stafford notched a second-place tally of 55.09.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Men's 100 backstroke
After winning 21 straight backstroke events during the FINA World Cup, Randall Bal tasted defeat for the first time in months as Peter Marshall hit the wall first in 45.09 out of lane eight. Bal, meanwhile, finished in second with a time of 45.62, while Doug Van Wie took third in 45.86. Marshall's performance proved to be a personal best previously a 45.21, a performance he partially credits to his recent coaching change and move from Northern to Southern California.

"I'm training with Salo now," he said. "I've always had some success with short course, so [I hope to] translate that to long course."

In the B Final, Alex Righi topped the heat in 47.82, while Jonathon Berrettini finished second in 48.28.

In the C Final, Stefan Ghergel touched in 49.04 to win the heat, while Brady Fox placed second in 49.13.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Women's 800 freestyle relay
California's team of Dana Vollmer, Lauren Boyle, Madi Kennedy and Emily Silver won in 7:06.50, while Club Wolverine's foursome of Allison Schmitt, Katie Carroll, Kristyne Cole and Kaitlin Sandeno took second in 7:07.93. Auburn's squad of Ava Ohlgren, Caitlin Geary, Kara Denby and Emily Kukors placed third in 7:09.19.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Men's 800 freestyle relay
Club Wolverine returned the American and U.S. Open records to Michigan as the quartet of Michael Phelps (1:32.43), Peter Vanderkaay (1:33.54), Davis Tarwater (1:33.83) and Chris DeJong (1:32.63) blistered the event with a record-breaking time of 6:12.43. That performance eclipsed Arizona's U.S. Open standard of 6:14.14 and Stanford's American record of 6:17.92 set at the 2007 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis.

Mecklenburg's team of Doug Van Wie, Michael Smit, Thomas Santoli and Tim Liebhold finished second in 6:28.50, while Auburn's contingent of Tyler McGill, Alexei Puninski, William Dove and Robert Looney took third in 6:39.07.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x