Arena Grand Prix Santa Clara: Michael Phelps Leads 200 IM Qualifying

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SANTA CLARA, California, June 22. THE Arena Grand Prix series is quickly coming to an end, but that didn’t stop a plethora of top swims from going up on the scoreboard during prelims this morning.

The top swim of the morning in terms of star power came from Michael Phelps as he wound up following through on his pre-meet schedule and swam the 200 IM. And, he made it look easy with a top-seeded time of 2:00.89. That’s his first competition IM since the 2012 London Olympics.

– LIVE STREAM

– RESULTS

Results from A flight

Women’s 200 fly
Gators’ Andreina Pinto nearly posted an in-season best with a 2:12.18 to lead the way this morning. That swim finished just a bit off her in-season best of 2:11.93 from the 2012 version of the Santa Clara International meet.

NBAC’s Becca Mann and Nova’s Emma Nunn tied for the second seed with matching 2:13.20s, while Bruins’ Noelle Tarazona raced her way to fourth in 2:13.54. Bulldogs’ Lauren Harrington (2:13.70) rounded out the sub-2:14 swimmers with a fifth-place performance, while California’s Caitlin Leverenz claimed sixth in 2:14.59.

SSTY’s Hannah Saiz (2:14.71), Dynamo’s Kylie Stewart (2:14.79) and Bruins’ Katie Kinnear (2:15.31) also made their way into the championship heat.

Men’s 200 fly
Stanford’s Bobby Bollier provided the only sub-2:00 swim of the morning with a 1:59.59 out of the first circle-seeded heat. NBAC’s Chase Kalisz, who has been on fire including an epic 400-meter IM win last night, is going to be tired by the end of the day as he and SwimMAC’s Tyler Clary are both swimming triples today. Kalisz qualified second in 2:00.10, while Clary took seventh in 2:01.09.

Gators’ Sebastien Rousseau (2:00.70), NCAC’s Ben Colley (2:00.78), Aquazot’s Corey Okubo (2:00.80) and John Martens (2:00.80) all cleared 2:01 to make up the top six, while Bulldogs’ Pace Clark (2:01.88) and Stanford’s Tom Kremer (2:02.09) also made the championship heat.

Continuing the trend of Sunday being a bit of a Get-Away Day, eight swimmers scratched including 100-meter fly winner Tom Shields and Club Wolverine’s Kyle Whitaker.

Women’s 100 breast
Herndon’s Jenna Van Camp blasted her way to a lifetime best to lead the 100 breast as she clocked a 1:10.15. That swim cut a second off her previous best of 1:11.66 from the 2011 U.S. Nationals. That’s a huge swim for Van Camp as she moves into a busy summer. Canada’s Tera Van Beilen was the second of five 1:10s this morning with a 1:10.22, while WCAB’s Kasey Carlson checked in third with a 1:10.36.

UCSC’s Fiona Doyle (1:10.54) and BlueFish’s Laura Sogar (1:10.71) also made their way into the championship nine with 1:10s, while Tucson Ford’s Emma Schoettmer led a host of 1:11s this morning with a sixth-place 1:11.08.

Stanford’s Sarah Haase (1:11.11), UCSC’s Tianna Rissling (1:11.22) and Missouri’s Abby Duncan (1:11.29) also made the top nine to likely advance to the A final depending on results of the B flight.

Men’s 100 breast
Always a Grand Prix gamer, Mike Alexandrov posted the top time in prelims with a 1:01.69, while Felipe Lima paced a group of six swimmers to clock 1:02s to make the A final. Lima hit the wall in 1:02.19 with Club Wolverine’s Richard Funk taking third in 1:02.20.

Tucson Ford’s Kevin Cordes (1:02.39), Bulldogs’ Nicolas fink (1:02.54), Trojan’s Azad Al-Barazi (1:02.80), and NCAP’s Chuck Katis (1:02.99) also clocked in with 1:02s, while Portugal’s Carlos Almeida (1:03.26) and PASA’s BJ Johnson (1:03.33) are also looking at swims in the A final tonight.

Women’s 100 back
California’s Elizabeth Pelton produced the only 1:00 of the morning with a 1:00.87 to lead the way. That type of speed in the morning indicates there’s a high likelihood that she could be moving into the 59-second range tonight. Her in-season best, in fact, is a 59.88 from last year’s Santa Clara stop.

Carmel’s Amy Bilquist turned on the heat from lane 9 in the final circle-seeded heat with a 1:01.58. That swim is a lifetime best, clearing the 1:01.75 from Sectionals earlier this year. She also can now claim to have beat superstar Missy Franklin head-to-head in a race as Franklin took fourth overall with a 1:01.99 with a second-place time in heat seven.

The winner of the 50 free, Fresno’s Cheyenne Coffman, won heat six with a 1:01.70 to round out the 1:01s for the morning.

Canada’s Hilary Caldwell (1:02.19), Ellen Williamson (1:02.34), Canada’s Dominique Bouchard (1:02.38), Crow’s Madison White (1:02.43) and California’s Rachel Bootsma (1:02.60) also made their way into the championship heat.

Men’s 100 back
Russian Olympian Arkady Vyatchanin, who stands ninth in the world with a 53.81 from the Charlotte stop of the Arena Grand Prix, chased down the top seed today with a 55.10 as five swimmers managed to put up 55s this morning.

Gators’ Corey Main touched second overall in 55.59 with Tucson Ford’s Matt Grevers taking third in 55.62. SSTY’s Adam Manie (55.75) and Stanford’s Eugene Godsoe (55.78) also surpassed 56 seconds to comprise the top five times of the morning.

UCSC’s Russell Wood (56.84), Hong Kong’s Geoff Cheah (56.92), Wisconsin’s Drew teDuits (56.97) and BGSC’s Jack Blyzinskyj (57.10) also made the top nine. Keeping up with the Kalisz triple, Chase finished 21st with a 58.56. That’s the second-fastest time of his career behind a 57.57 at the 2012 NBAC Mid-Summer Classic. Tyler Clary ended his bid at a triple by scratching the backstroke event.

Women’s 200 IM
California’s Caitlin Leverenz paced prelims with a time of 2:15.82 this morning, and could be looking at a big drop this evening as she vies for a top 20 time in the world currently anchored by Maya DiRado with a 2:12.52.

A&M’s Sarah Henry raced into second with a 2:16.17, while Theresa Michalak took third overall in 2:16.25. PASA’s Karlee Bispo, Pleasanton’s Celina Li (2:16.63) and Bulldogs’ Shannon Vreeland (2:16.98) also posted 2:16s.

Canada’s Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, who already ranks 17th in the world with a 2:12.26 from Canadian Nationals, posted a seventh-seeded 2:17.26, while Madisyn Cox took eighth in 2:17.38. NBAC’s Becca Mann will be busy tonight with another A final after clocking a ninth-place 2:18.43.

First Colony’s Simone Manuel must have made future coach Greg Meehan of Stanford a happy guy with a 10th-place 2:18.47 as she nearly made the A final from heat 3. Manuel will undoubtedly make an impact for Stanford next year in the 50 and 100 free, but there’s always an illusive third NCAA event to find for any collegiate swimmer.

Men’s 200 IM
In his first competitive IM since the 2012 London Olympics, the sensational Michael Phelps put up the top time in the morning with a 2:00.89. That’s a pretty significant time considering how easy he made it look in the final heat of the A flight. He lead a trio of NBAC swimmers at the top of prelims. Chase Kalisz, on the backend of a terrific triple, qualified second in 2:01.69. Conor Dwyer wrapped up the top three in 2:02.05.

Stanford’s Max Williamson (2:02.09), Dan Wallace (2:02.11), Dynamo’s Gunnar Bentz (2:02.49), Gators’ Sebastien Rousseau (2:20.59), Club Wolverine’s Kyle Whitaker (2:02.79) and NBAC’s Austin surhoff (2:03.01) tracked down the rest of the spots in the championship finale.

Complete results will be available after B flight swims.

Results: Arena Grand Prix Santa Clara: Day Four Prelims

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