USA Swimming Grand Prix, Austin: Julia Smit Posts Quick 400 IM on Day One; Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps Each Win One

AUSTIN, Texas, January 14. THE first night of long course competition at the USA Swimming Austin Grand Prix is complete.

Women's 200 freestyle
The meet's first final featured a dominating swim by Katie Hoff of FAST, winning with a 1:58.69. Hoff did have a challenge in the final 15 meters, with 15-year-old Missy Franklin of Colorado Stars making a late charge. Franklin was second in the race with a 1:59.00, just off her lifetime best of 1:58.67 from the 2009 junior nationals. Elizabeth Pelton of North Baltimore was third, swimming a lifetime best time of 2:00.07. Pelton's previous best was 2:01.23 from the North Baltimore Mid-Summer Classic last July.

Men's 200 freestyle
Ryan Lochte of Daytona Beach Swimming barely made the final of the 200 free by three-hundredths of a second with a 1:53.81, but proved that his morning swim was done on cruise control as he won the event from lane eight with a 1:49.25. David Walters Of Longhorn Aquatics swam in the lane next to Lochte and rode the wave to a second place finish with a 1:50.63. Michael Klueh of Longhorn, the event's top seed after prelims, placed third with a 1:51.39. Ricky Berens, the seventh seed, paced Lochte for about 125 meters, but fell off the pace and touched fourth in 1:51.68.

One of the expected matchups of the meet did not materialize as Michael Phelps qualified in 16th place in prelims, putting him in the B final. He won that heat with a 1:49.90, leading a North Baltimore 1-2-3 finish in the consolation final. Todd Patrick (1:52.58) and Andrew Cosgarea (1:52.64) were second and third in the heat.

Women's 100 breaststroke
Haylee Johnson of the UBC Dolphins in Vancouver led from start to finish, posting a win in 1:10.60. Siri Eva Kristiansen, swimming unattached, made a run for the win but ran out of room, placing second in 1:11.07. In third was Romy Landeck of First Colony with a 1:12.17.

Men's 100 breaststroke
Eric Shanteau, swimming unattached and preparing to move to Los Angeles from Austin to train with the likes of Kosuke Kitajima, relied on his prowess in the 200 breaststroke to pull ahead of a close field in the final 10 meters to win the event in 1:02.35. Kevin Swander of SwimMAC-Carolina, the leader at 50 meters, placed second in 1:02.63. Scott Dickens of UBC Dolphins touched third in 1:02.70.

Women's 100 butterfly
Elaine Breeden had no equal in the 100 fly final, taking the lead at the start and building on it to the finish, winning with a 59.22. Rachel Bootsma of the Aquajets and Pelton battled to the wall, with Bootsma getting her hands on the wall ahead of Pelton with a 1:01.09. That's a lifetime best for Bootsma, who had swum a 1:01.29 last summer at the Charlotte UltraSwim. Pelton, who had competed in the 200 free final about 40 minutes earlier, took third in 1:01.13, another lifetime best time as she dropped more than a second from the 1:02.81 she posted at the Charlotte UltraSwim last year.

Men's 100 butterfly
Phelps made his patented charge off the turn and pulled away from challengers (and backstroke specialists) David Russell and Lochte to win the event in 52.55. Lochte got the better of Russell in the final 15 meters and touched second in 53.65, with Russell just a finger length back in 53.75.

Women's 400 individual medley
Julia Smit of Stanford Swimming showed why she is one of the top 400 IM swimmers in the world with a commanding performance tonight, winning by 15 meters with a sizzling 4:38.83. That time would have placed fourth at last summer's nationals, where Smit was suffering through illness and did not swim up to expectations.

Nicole Vernon of Delaware Swim Team, the reigning junior Pan Pacific champion in the event, trailed in seventh after butterfly and used the remaining three strokes to catch the field and touch second in 4:49.05. Kathleen Hersey, swimming unattached, placed third with a 4:50.63.

Men's 400 individual medley
Tyler Clary of FAST was just as dominant in the men's race as Smit, taking the race in 4:21.17. Jordan Hartney of UBC Dolphins was second with a 4:35.45. Andrew Cosgarea battled fatigue from his 200 freestyle race earlier in the session and a challenge from Andrew Gemmell of Delaware Swim Team for the entire race, with Cosgarea getting to the wall third in 4:26.63. Gemmell, known as a distance freestyler, couldn't match Cosgarea's closing speed and faded to fourth with a 4:27.49.

Women's 400 freestyle relay
Southern Methodist University's relay team won the event with a 3:51.90. First Colony Swim Team was a body length behind the Mustangs for the entire race, touching second with a 3:54.22. In the second heat of the timed final event, Washington State University posted the third-fastest overall time, touching in 3:54.86.

Men's 400 freestyle relay
SwiMAC-Carolina, using a talented foursome, won the event in 3:27.06. Nationals finalists Josh Schneider, Nick Brunelli and Eugene Godsoe gave anchor swimmer Joel Elber a boost to win the race handily. Alamo Area Aquatic Association was second in 3:35.36. Santa Clara was third in 3:35.58.

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