Carl Mickelson, Patrick Mulcare and Mark Jurek Break Records at Austin Sectionals

Photo Courtesy: Angus Smith

AUSTIN – Carl Mickelson, Patrick Mulcare and Mark Jurek each set individual Western Sectional records, while the Scottsdale women and Arizona Gold men maintained their leads in the team standings during the second night of finals at the Austin Sectionals meet at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

Tualatin Hills’ Keaton Blovad got the meet off to a fast start with a quick 49.01 in the women’s 100 free final, a full second under her prelim effort of 50.02. Teammate Sara Metzsch also dropped a chunk from prelims, moving up two spots to second with a 49.64. Denver Swim Academy’s Ann Ochitwa also broke 50 in finals with a third place effort of 49.76.

In the men’s 100 free, former University of Arizona standout and Olympic gold medalist Darian Townsend stopped the clock at 43.83 for the win, ahead of Tualatin Hills’ Patrick Mulcare (44.48). Mulcare’s teammate, Liam Metzsch, claimed third with a 44.90.

South Davis Aquatics’ Mariah Gassaway chopped more than four seconds off her prelim swim to win the women’s 200 breast final in 2:15.18. Mesa Aquatics’ Grace Horvath hung with her the whole way and nearly made up the difference, but wound up second in 2:15.56. Kendall Crawford of the DU Hilltoppers, the top seed after prelims, finished third in 2:16.01.

Another former Arizona Wildcat, Scottsdale’s Carl Mickelson, put on a show in the men’s 200 breast final with a new Western Sectional record of 1:54.33. That took exactly two seconds off Eetu Karvonen’s 2011 record of 1:56.33. Matthew Anderson of Phoenix Swim Club was also under the record with a 1:55.27 in finals. Arizona Gold’s Mark Jurek just snuck in under the 2:00 barrier with a 1:59.99.

Tualatin Hills’ Patrick Mulcare lowered the second sectional record of the night with a resounding win in the men’s 200 back. Mulcare stopped the clock at 1:42.21 to knock off his own record of 1:42.99 from last year. Cheyenne Mountain Aquatics’ Daniel Carr touched second in 1:44.97, while Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics’ Matthew Lujan rounded out the top three in 1:47.90.

Boulder Swimming’s Julia Box led the way in the women’s 200 fly final with the only sub-2:00 swim of the day at 1:59.18. Boulder had a great showing in the final, winning three of the four finals heats and finishing 1-2 in both the B and C finals. Scottsdale’s Kelly Huffer nearly broke 2:00 but settled for second in 2:00.26, while teammate Jocelyn Wang picked up third in 2:01.88.

Mark Jurek of Arizona Gold downed the sectional record in the men’s 200 fly with a 1:43.72, more than three seconds ahead of 35-year-old teammate Brent Creager (1:46.87). The previous record had stood at 1:45.08, set by King Aquatic Club’s Mathias Oh last year. Mesa Aquatics’ Kyle Ewoldt swam a 1:48.13 to finish third.

Scottsdale’s foursome of Emma Broome, Alyson Yancey, Emma Segneri and Samantha Fazio took home the 200 medley relay title in 1:42.34, just ahead of Tualatin Hills’ Cassidy Brennan, Keaton Blovad, Emily Cook and Sara Metzsch (1:42.69). Denver Swim Academy placed third, with Ann Ochitwa, Morgan Rosas, Amy Lenderink and Lindsay Painton posting a 1:44.11.

Patrick Mulcare, Anthony Nosack, Andres La Rosa and Liam Metzsch led Tualatin Hills to the men’s 200 medley relay win with a 1:32.18. Phoenix Swim Club finished right behind, with Calvin Higgins, Matthew Anderson, Jared Norton and Grady Ottomeyer coming in at 1:32.56. Scottsdale’s Kaleb Gould, Carl Mickelson, Jack Blake and David Brown rounded out the top three in 1:33.04.

Scottsdale leads the women’s team standings with 265 points, followed by Tualatin Hills (220) and Denver Swim Academy (135). Arizona Gold is ahead in the men’s race with 213 points, with Tualatin Hills (192) and Scottsdale (168) right on their heels.

2015 Speedo Sectionals – Austin, Day Two – 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