Lindsey Clary Joins Big Brother Tyler As 400 IM National Champion

Photo by: Mike Comer/ProSwimVisuals.com

GREENSBORO – Lindsey and Tyler Clary joined an elite list of siblings to own national titles, as little sister Lindsey won the 400 IM today at the USA Swimming short course nationals with a 4:09.87. Tyler has won the 400 IM on numerous occasions, which marks the first time in recent history siblings have won the same event.

Perhaps it should be no surprise that Lindsey Clary was able to win the race, as she was even with the field after breaststroke. Clary specializes in distance swimming and is a rising star in open water racing. Her 4:09.87 marks a five-second drop in her lifetime best and gives the Ohio State sophomore some motivation heading into the second half of the season.

York YMCA wanted to make a statement that they are fast not just at the YMCA nationals, with Courtney Harnish and Meghan Small taking the race out hard in butterfly. But Harnish paid the price and was never in the race after backstroke. Small tried to keep pace through breaststroke but couldn’t hold onto Clary’s pace. Chelsie Miller fought hard and nearly took the title, but the Kansas Jayhawk settled for second with a 4:10.01. Small finished third with a 4:11.07.

Michigan’s Hannah Moore, who got as high as second through the race, finished fourth with a 4:11.45. Sophie Cattermole of Sarasota YMCA took fifth in 4:12.40 while Lakeside’s Leah Stevens was sixth in 4:12.88. Harnish faded to seventh with a 4:13.50 and Sonia Perez-Arau took eighth with a 4:14.18.

Louisville’s Abby Chin battled with Queens University of Charlotte’s Caroline Arakelian through the first 300 yards of the B final, and held on to win the heat with a 4:12.16. That’s just off her lifetime best of 4:11.96 but good enough for ninth overall in the event. A strong freestyle leg helped Danielle Valley sneak into second place with a 4:12.85 while Arakelian was third with a 4:13.20. For Arakelian, that is faster than the NCAA Division II record, which belonged to Casey Hurrell-Zitelman since 2011 with a 4:14.00. Look for Arakelian to take that time even lower in March at the NCAA Division II championships.

Indiana sophomore Bailey Pressey looked in control of the C final of the 400 IM through the backstroke leg, but Grand Canyon University sophomore Hannah Kastigar pulled even on breaststroke, as did 15-year-old Brooke Forde. But it was 14-year-old Madison Homovich who took the win by blazing a 56.07 on freestyle to post a lifetime best 4:14.17. Kastigar, the heat’s top seed going into the race, was second with a 4:14.60 while Forde held on for third with a 4:14.61. Pressey faded to fourth with a 4:15.06.

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