California, Georgia Capture Handful of A Cuts, Golden Bears Demonstrate Incredible Backstroke Depth

ATHENS, Georgia, December 1. PLENTY more NCAA automatic qualifying times were turned in during the second day of activity at the Georgia Invitational held in Athens.

California's Rachel Bootsma (23.51), Caitlin Leverenz (27.32), Cindy Tran (23.22) and Rachael Acker (22.24) turned in a sizzling swim to win the women's 200 medley relay in 1:36.29 and beat the NCAA A cut of 1:38.42. Auburn's Emily Bos (24.97), Micah Lawrence (27.70), Olivia Scott (23.49) and Hannah Riordan (21.85) joined them under the A cut with a second-place 1:38.01.

Auburn's Kyle Owens (20.98), Stuart Ferguson (24.37), Marcelo Chierighini (20.53) and James Disney-May (19.30) raced to victory in the men's 200 medley relay with a 1:25.18, while California's Marcin Tarczynski (22.14), Trevor Hoyt (23.67), Seth Stubblefield (21.38) and Shayne Fleming (19.13) touched second in 1:26.32 as both teams beat the NCAA A cutoff 1:26.38.

California's Caitlin Leverenz cruised in the women's 400 IM with a winning time of 4:03.07, while Georgia's Melanie Margalis touched second in 4:05.26. Both swims beat the NCAA A cut of 4:05.98. Penn State's Gabi Shishkoff placed third in 4:09.92. California's Josh Prenot dominated the men's 400 IM in 3:41.36 for an NCAA A cut, while Georgia's Ty Stewart took second in 3:45.41. Georgia's Martin Grodzki wound up third in 3:45.41.

Auburn's Olivia Scott blazed the women's 100 fly with a 51.83 to best the NCAA A cut of 52.11, while California's Rachel Bootsma just missed with a second-place 52.16. California's Cindy Tran earned third-place honors in 52.41. Penn State's Sean Grier topped the men's 100 fly in 46.79, while California's Marcin Tarczynski (46.89) and Will Hamilton (47.26) took second and third.

Olympians Allison Schmitt (1:42.25) of Georgia and Lauren Perdue (1:43.62) of Virginia both eclipsed the NCAA A cut of 1:43.99 in the women's 200 free, while California's Elizabeth Pelton wound up third in with a 1:44.04. Georgia's Matias Koski (1:35.25) and Jameson Hill (1:36.29) took first and second in the men's 200 free, while Califronia's Trent Williams placed third in 1:36.76.

Georgia's Melanie Margalis earned her second A cut of the night with a winning time of 59.34 in the women's 100 breast. Auburn's Micah Lawrence touched second in 59.69, while Auburn's Lauren Norberg earned third in 1:00.67. Harvard's Chuck Katis punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships with a 52.49 to win the men's 100 breast. California's Trevor Hoyt just missed the cut with a second-place 52.65, while Georgia's Nic Fink wound up third in 53.53.

California reminded the world just how ridiculously deep it is in the women's 100 backstroke as Cindy Tran (50.42), Rachel Bootsma (50.54) and Elizabeth Pelton (51.26) each cleared the NCAA A cut of 52.13 in a 1-2-3 finish. Virginia's Courtney Bartholomew just missed the cut with a fourth-place 52.28. Penn State's Sean Grier won his second title of the night with a 46.38 in the men's 100 back. Auburn's Kyle Owens (46.90) and PSU's Shane Ryan (47.07) finished second and third.

Georgia's Shannon Vreeland (1:44.71), Megan Romano (1:45.38), Jordan Mattern (1:46.41) and Allison Schmitt (1:42.75) smoked the women's 800 free relay with a 6:59.25, while California's Caroline Piehl (1:46.44), Rachel Bootsma (1:46.34), Elizabeth Pelton (1:43.28) and Melanie Klaren (1:46.72) placed second in an NCAA A cut time of 7:02.78.

Georgia's Jameson Hil (1:38.41), Nic Fink (1:35.73), Martin Grodzki (1:36.15) and Matias Koski (1:34.50) captured the men's 800 free relay in 6:24.79 to be the only team qualifying for NCAAs with an automatic standard.

In diving, Virginia Tech's Kaylea Arnet won the women's one-meter with 311.00 points, while teammate Logan Shinholser topped the men's three-meter with 376.45 points.

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