2015 USA Swimming Summer Junior Nationals: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

Photo Courtesy: Donna Nelson

Everything you need to follow along with finals live during the 2015 USA Swimming Summer Junior Nationals. Hit refresh for the latest coverage.

Scheduled events:

Women’s 200 back
Men’s 200 back
Women’s 100 free
Men’s 100 free
Women’s 400 IM
Men’s 400 IM
Women’s 400 free relay
Men’s 400 free relay

Women’s 200 back

13-year-old Alex Walsh started off the night winning the 200 backstroke in 2:10.55. This is a two-second drop from her prelim swim and best time, and puts her as the third fastest ever 13-14 year old in this event. Missy Franklin’s National Age Group Record of 2:09.16 still stands, but Walsh still has one more full year in this age group. Grace Ariola was second in 2:11.14, with Emma Seiberlich closely behind in 2:11.59. All three women beat their prelim swims. Kyra Sarazen (2:13.50), Remedy Rule (2:14.56), Ali Gayer (2:15.38), Regan Smith (2:15.52) and Karling Hemstreet (2:16.14) rounded out the A final, as all eight women swam faster than the Olympic Trials cut of 2:16.59.

Carmel Swim Club’s Sammie Burchill went 2:15.43 to win the B final. Callie Dickingson of Tide Swimming went 2:15.85 to get second and Buenaventura’s Solie Laughlin was third in 2:16.11. Amanda Smith from Northern Kentucky won the C final in 2:14.79. Sara Metzch was second in 2:15.39 while Abi Wilder took third in 2:16.19

Men’s 200 back

Sarasota YMCA’s Austin Katz was victorious in the men’s 200 backstroke with a time of 1:59.14, just off the 1:58.83 meet record. His swim puts him fourth in the all-time rankings in this event for 15-16 year olds. He was the only swimmer to break the 2:00 barrier, as Josh Artmann (2:01.23) got the silver and David Crossland (2:01.52) got the bronze. Sam Stewart (2:01.88), Jordan Ross (2:02.40), Taylor Delk (2:02.53), Sean Grieshop (2:03.80) and Jason Ewart (2:04.62) carried out the rest of the A final.

North Baltimore’s Cole Buese took the B final in 2:01.73 dropping a second and a half from his best and securing an Olympic Trials cut. Brennan Balogh of Lincoln Select claimed the men’s C final with a time of 2:02.65, giving him an Olympic Trials cut in the event. His finals time was two seconds off of his top-seeded meet entry time (2:00.78).

Women’s 100 free

Caroline McTaggart crushed the second 50 of her race to get the win with a time of 54.89. She was the only swimmer to break 55 seconds, as only two other swimmers broke the 56 second mark. Katrina Konopka (55.05) went out strong and ended up taking the silver, while Kenisha Liu (55.98) was third. Isabel Ivey (56.28), Brooke Hansen (56.29), Melissa Pish (56.44), Lauren Heller (56.53) and Krista Duffield (56.81) placed fourth through eighth in the A final.

Allie Wooden (56.29) and Mary Pelton (56.39) had a close race down to the finish in the B final. Both women caught Kasey Schmidt who was out first at the 50 in lane 1. Marta Ciesla of Pine Crest took the C final in 56.20, which would have won the B final and would have placed third in the A final.

Men’s 100 free

Maxime Rooney had the edge over Michael Andrew in the men’s 100 free, dropping even more time going 49.35. Andrew was second in 50.21. Michael Jenson got third with a 50.28, followed by Daniel Krueger (50.59), Cameron Craig (50.70), Tate Jackson (50.87), Tyler Harper (51.02) and ‘Aukai Lileikis (51.12) in the A final.

Parks Jones of Tuscon Ford claimed the B final in 50.99, just dipping under the 51 second mark for the first time. Thomas Dillinger took the C final in 51.39.

Women’s 400 IM

The meet record holder in this event, Ella Eastin, claimed the A final with a time of 4:42.52. Regan Barney challenged Eastin for the first 250, but could not hang on. Barney (4:48.55) finished in second, followed closely by Kay Sargent (4:49.26). Christin Rockway (4:51.46), Isabel Ivey (4:51.77), Kelly Fertel (4:52.52), Dannie Dilsaver (4:57.15) and Nora McCullagh (4:58.27) rounded out the A final.

The B final went to Camryn Toney of Texas Ford with a time of 4:54.36. Taylor Ruck (4:50.33) took the C final from lane 1, battling right from the start. Evie Pfeifer (4:51.33) had an outstanding second half, but could not hold off Ruck.

Men’s 400 IM

Mark Andrew got his hand on the wall first in the A final winning he event in 4:22.10. Cody Bekemeyer gave him a close race the whole way, finishing second in 4:23.57. Arizona Gold’s Antonio Ramirez was also in the mix in 4:25.11. Four other swimmers swam under the Olympic Trial cut in the A final as well: Noah Cairns (4:25.67), Sean Lee (4:26.26), Stephen Holmquist (4:26.48) and Joe Molinari (4:26.57).

Mark Jurek continued his successful weekend by winning the B final and making an Olympic Trials cut with a time of 4:23.49. Alex Liang of Plo Alto took the men’s C final in 4:26.51, bumping him into the all-time top 30 of this event for 15-16 years olds.

Women’s 400 free relay

The team from SwimMAC Carolina of Jessica Merritt, Erika Brown, Becca Postoll and Nora McCullagh took home the gold with a time of 3:47.98. Santa Clara Swim Club had clean water in heat one and ended up placing second. The team of Cathy Teng, Sarah Shimomura, Sophie Krivokapic-Zhou and Cat Ladd finished with a time of 3:49.32. Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics was not far behind with a time of 3:49.79.

Men’s 400 free relay

A strong 49.98 anchor leg from Upper Dublin’s Michael Jensen lead his team to victory in this event. He teammed up with Jake Sannem, Wyatt Amdor and Michael Thomas to swim a 3:25.27. Jensen was the only swimmer in the entire event to break the 50 second barrier. The Bolles School Sharks were second in 3:26.24, and the Walnut Creek Aquabears placed third in 3:26.85.

2015 USA Swimming Summer Junior Nationals: Day 2 Finals – Results

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