USA Swimming Grand Prix, Austin: Chloe Sutton Keeps Rolling, FAST Grabs a Few Titles. Natalie Coughlin Returns

AUSTIN, Texas, March 4. THE first night of long course meter swimming, after short course yard qualifying in the morning, at the USA Swimming Grand Prix held in Austin featured another strong outing by Mission Viejo's Chloe Sutton. Meanwhile, Sean Hutchison's elite swimmers from FAST put on a show. Additionally, Natalie Coughlin returned to the sport.

Women's 400 free
Mission Viejo's Chloe Sutton kept on marching towards the $20,000 overall Grand Prix prize with another gold medal, this time in the women's middle distance. Sutton checked in with a 4:07.41 for the win. Sutton went out fast, posting a 59.92 at the 100, and did not look back as she raced to victory. FAST's Katie Hoff earned second-place honors in 4:10.57, while Fort Lauderdale's Lauren Driscoll, 16, grabbed third overall in 4:13.66.

Women's 100 fly
California's Dana Vollmer posted the fastest final 50 meters to claim the title in 58.42. She dropped a 30.54 on the way home to track down both Christine Magnuson and Natalie Coughlin. Magnuson, representing Tucson Ford, finished second in 58.54, while Coughlin, swimming for California in her first meet back after the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a stint on Dancing With The Stars, took third in 58.94. Trojan's Jessica Hardy completed the sub-minute times with a 59.50 after going out in 27.79.

Men's 100 fly
Tucson Ford's Masayuki Kishida went out hard and had more than enough in the tank to win in 53.30. Kishida turned in 24.94, while teammate Matt Grevers posted a 24.90 at the turn before fading to third in 53.97. California's David Russell clinched second in 53.83, while Longhorn's Aaron Peirsol threw down a 54.57 for fourth.

Men's 400 free
Club Wolverine's Peter Vanderkaay cruised in the men's middle distance event with a 3:50.86 for the win. After falling behind Longhorn's Michael Klueh at the 100-meter mark, Vanderkaay flipped the switch and led from the 150-meter mark on. Klueh took second in 3:53.15, while Scenic City's Sean Ryan, 17, completed the podium in 3:56.50.

Women's 200 IM
FAST's Ariana Kukors raced to victory in the short medley with a strong time of 2:10.34. She eased through the event, well ahead of new FAST teammate Whitney Myers. Myers garnered second-place honors in 2:13.89, while SwimMAC's Justine Mueller touched third in 2:15.83. KING's Megan Jendrick placed fourth in 2:17.06.

Men's 200 IM
FAST's Robert Margalis gave his club a second-straight victory with a 2:03.06 in the men's short medley. Swim Ontario's Andrew Ford finished second in 2:05.72, while SwimMAC's Jay Cormier touched just behind with a third-place 2:05.92.

Women's 50 free
With the longer distance events out of the way, the always exciting splash-and-dash 50s took center stage. Trojan's Jessica Hardy dropped the hammer with a 25.09 to earn the title. Swim Atlanta's Amanda Weir touched second in 25.18, while California's Madison Kennedy earned third in 25.35. Kara Lynn Joyce, now representing FAST after training in Georgia, took fourth in 25.42.

Men's 50 free
Auburn's Cesar Cielo clocked a swift time of 22.13 to capture the men's sprint free crown, while Longhorn's Garrett Weber-Gale took second in 22.24. Tucson Ford's Matt Grevers placed third in 22.77.

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