USA Swimming Grand Prix, Columbus: Cesar Cielo, Nick Thoman, Eric Shanteau Post Swift Times

By David Rieder

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 2.THE second night of action at the Columbus Grand Prix featured quality swims some of the best swimmers in the world, as Cesar Cielo, Nick Thoman, and Eric Shanteau all posted times that rank in the top five for 2010. In addition, Chloe Sutton added to her winning total in the Grand Prix series when she defeated a quality field in the 400 free. The meet is being held in long course meter format.

Women's 400 IM
SwimMAC's Justine Mueller used strong breaststroke and freestyle legs to overtake ASK's Dagny Knutson for the win. Mueller clocked a time of 4:43.67, ahead of Knutson's 4:44.90. Meanwhile, Palo Alto's Jasmine Tosky posted a time of 4:46.96 for third.

Men's 400 IM
Michigan's Tyler Clary jumped out to an early lead and held off a charging Todd Patrick of North Baltimore in the freestyle to claim the win. Clary, the NCAA champion, clocked a time of 4:21.72, ahead of Patrick's 4:22.27. The two out-distanced themselves from the rest of the field by a long way, as Patrick's NBAC teammate Brennan Morris posted a 4:28.28 for third.

Women's 50 Free
Puerto Rico's Vanessa Garcia won a convincing victory in the ladies' splash-and-dash. Garcia posted a time of 25.64, well ahead of Erika Erndl of Swim Florida, who came in at 26.00. Madeline Schaefer, unattached, claimed third in 26.06, while Palo Alto's Jasmine Tosky backed up from the 400 IM and posted a 26.27 for fourth.

Men's 50 Free
Auburn's Cesar Cielo, the world record-holder, dominated the race, posting a time of 22.14, just 0.01 off the 22.13 he posted at the Austin Grand Prix which ranks him third in the world. SwimMAC's Cullen Jones came in at 22.50 for second, the ninth-best time in the world, while Cielo's teammate George Bovell clocked 22.55 for third, which ties for tenth in the world.

Women's 200 Breast
Penn State's Corrie Clark completed the breaststroke sweep by taking the longer distance in 2:31.51. Clark blew away the field, as her closest competitor finished nearly four seconds away. That was Adrianna Marmolejo, who clocked 2:35.34 to finish second to Clark, just as she did in the 100 on Thursday. Lysistrati Halkides, unattached, was third in 2:35.86.

Men's 200 Breast
Longhorn's Eric Shanteau dominated the field in his signature event. Shanteau clocked a lightning-quick time of 2:10.84, improving second-ranked status in the world from the 2:11.17 he clocked at the Missouri Grand Prix. Ohio State's Elliot Keefer finished closest to Shanteau, at 2:13.90, while Auburn's Henrique Barbosa rounded out the top three with a time of 2:16.92, just ahead of Indiana's Aaron Opell (2:16.97).

Women's 100 Back
North Baltimore's Elizabeth Pelton posted her second win of the weekend, taking the 100 back with a time of 1:02.16 after touching first in the 200 IM on Thursday. Rockwood's Caroline Rodriguez took second in 1:02.69, while Southern Methodist's Therese Svendsen posted a 1:03.09 for third.

Men's 100 Back
SwimMAC's Nick Thoman put on a dominating performance in the sprint dorsal event, clocking a time of 53.95 to win. The time makes Thoman the fifth-fastest performer in the world this year. Meanwhile, California's Mathias Gydesen posted a Danish national record of 54.66 to take second, while his teammate Guy Barnea, the third-place finisher at NCAA's last week, was third in 55.16. Trojan's Markus Rogan, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, was third in a time of 55.59.

Women's 400 Free
Mission Viejo's Chloe Sutton added another Grand Prix win of the weekend, posting a time of 4:08.53 for the win. Sutton swam away from The Fish's Kate Ziegler early in the race and held on for a dominating win. Ziegler took second in 4:12.56, while ASK's Dagny Knutson, who posted another top-three finish while clocking 4:17.42. Open Water World Champs teamer Eva Fabien of Greenwood Memorial was fourth in 4:19.15.

Men's 400 Free
Club Wolverine's Peter Vanderkaay went out hard and held off Partizan's Djordje Markovic to win his second event of the weekend with a time of 3:53.46, off the 3:50.86 he clocked at the Austin Grand Prix which ranks him tenth in the world. Markovic, who also finished second to Vanderkaay in the 200 free on Thursday, was second in 3:54.18, while Vanderkaay's teammate Charlie Houchin posted a 3:54.50 for third.

400 Medley Relays
Southern Methodist's team of Therese Svendsen, Raminta Dvariskyte, Denisa Smolenova, and Justine Clark clocked a 4:17.91 for the win in the women's 400 medley relay, ahead of teams from Germantown Academy and Machine Aquatics Results from the men's 400 medley relay were not available at press time.

Universal Sports Coverage
Click here for live streaming and on-demand coverage of the meet from Universal Sports.

Name*

Email*

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