I’ll Have the Baker’s Dozen: 13 Records Fall on Day 3 of US Masters Nationals

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, May 11. AFTER a barrage of national records on the second day of short course yards competition at the U.S. Masters Swimming national championships, the tempo picked up a bit today, as 13 records fell today at the IU Natatorium.

After a drought of records in the men's 500 free and the men's and women's 100 free, Clarke Mitchell set the first record of the day in the men's 50 butterfly, swimming a 33.73 to break his own national record of 34.33 in the 80-84 age group. This is Mitchell's second record of the meet, setting the national record in the 50 backstroke yesterday. A few heats later, James Elder posted a 28.67 in the 70-74 age group to erase David Costill's record of 29.17.

Like Mitchell, Leslie Livingston set her second record of the meet, swimming a 25.70 in the women's 50 fly to lower her own record of 25.90. Livingston also broke her record in the 50 back yesterday. Traci Granger eradicated Laura Val's record of 28.20 in the 50 fly in the 55-59 age group, posting a speedy 27.45.

In the 60-64 age group, Laura Val owned all the short course yards records in the non-breaststroke events — until today. With Val opting out of the women's 50 butterfly today, Charlotte Davis took down Val's 50 fly record of 29.38 with a 29.14.

Rick Colella collected his third record of the meet with a blazing 1:02.97 in the men's 100 breast for the 60-64 age group. The previous record previously belonged to Colella with a 1:04.70. Bob Strand also took down one of his own national records, posting a 1:07.35 to take down his 1:07.63 from 2011. The time, while fast, is notable also because Strand, 67 years old, was able to post a time equal to his age in the event.

Two swimmers came within hundredths of taking down national records in the men's 100 breast. David Guthrie, a longtime standout in the breaststroke events with many national and world records, chased his national mark of 59.04 in the 50-54 age group, winning the race with a 59.09. In the 18-24 age group, 2012 Olympic Trials finalist Elliott Keefer put up a stellar time of 54.49, just missing former SwimMAC Carolina teammate Nelson Westby's record of 54.45.

Andrew Elliott, who trains with Buckeye Masters at Ohio State University with Keefer and other former OSU swimmers, was equally impressive in the men's 200 backstroke, posting a 1:44.18 in the 18-24 age group to break Nelson Silva's two-year-old mark of 1:48.10. Elliott's lifetime best is 1:41.22 from 2012.

Hugh Wilder also set a record in the men's 200 back, swimming a 2:16.72 in the 65-69 age group to take down Richard Burns' mark of 2:18.14 from 2009. And in the 95-99 age group, Russ Witte, 96 years old, eradicated the national record of 10:05.22 posted by Donald Pope in 2010 with an amazing 6:19.69. This marked Witte's first time swimming the 200 backstroke in Masters competition, adding to the nine short course yards national records he already owns in the 95-99 age group.

Although she saw two of her records fall earlier in the meet, Val took down one her marks in the women's 200 backstroke, her 2:21.44 taking down the 2:23.94 she swam last year. Diann Uustal also erased one of her records in the 200 back, swimming a 2:41.18 in the 65-69 age group to take out the 2:42.67 she swam this past January.

The final records of the day fell in the men's 100 IM. David Sims posted a 54.28 in the 50-54 age group, breaking Clay Britt's national record of 54.42. After his national record in the 100 breast, Colella was back to set his fourth record of the meet with a 57.23 in the 60-64 age group, his previous record being a 58.69 from 2012. James Elder rounded out the record setting in the men's 100 IM with a 1:06.55 in the 70-74 age group. Jeff Farrell's five-year-old record of 1:06.94 went by the wayside with the swim.

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