USC, Johns Hopkins Swimmers Post Multiple B Cuts Over the Weekend

By Emily Sampl

BOULDER, Colorado, October 27. ALTHOUGH it's still very early in the season, several teams showed this weekend that they'll be tough to beat come late March. Southern California dropped more than a dozen NCAA Division I B cuts at the SMU Classic, while Johns Hopkins made a statement of their own against Maryland.

Here are some of the top highlights of the weekend:

Division I
The SMU Classic, held Friday and Saturday in Dallas, proved to be the fastest meet of the weekend on the women's side. Seventeen NCAA B cuts were achieved, along with one A cut. USC freshman Katinka Hosszu led the way with three individual B cuts, bettering the standards in the 500 free (4:47.67), 200 fly (1:59.13), and 400 IM (4:11.74). Four other Trojans posted multiple B cuts on the weekend as well, including Kristen Lahey, Katy Houston, Tanya Krisman, and Rebecca Soni. Soni also provided the only A cut of the meet, dominating the field in the event in which she won Olympic gold, the 200 breast, in 2:09.12. SMU's Candace Blackman and UNC's Katura Harvey, Layne Brodie, and Laura Moriarty surpassed NCAA B cuts in one event apiece.

While no one at the SMU Invite posted a B cut in the 50 free, a pair of swimmers came very close at the Debbie Pipher Memorial Invitational. Washington State's Rugile Mileisyte and Notre Dame's Amywren Miller finished 1-2 in the event in times of 23.15 and 23.16, respectively, just off the ‘B' cut of 22.80.

In other action, the Penn State women's swim team won its 27th consecutive dual meet, over Richmond. The streak dates back to the 2005-2006 season. Additionally, Texas A&M's Steve Bultman became the winningest coach in school history with dual meet victories over Kansas and Missouri.

In men's Division I action this weekend, Florida and LSU squared off in an SEC battle, with Florida coming out on top. Clark Burckle swam an impressive 200 breast for the Gators, winning in 1:58.71. Top-ranked Texas showcased their depth at the Big XII Relays, capturing 14 events to win the meet.

Division II
North and South Dakota and South Dakota State faced Wyoming in a quadrangular meet and gave other top Division II schools reason to take notice. North Dakota continued its strong performances in the sprint free events as Carissa Gormally smoked the 50 free in 24.42 and Per Westergren blazed a 21.74, while South Dakota State's Nick Carter posted a quick 1:56.76 in the 200 back.

Several quick times came out of the UC Davis-UC Santa Cruz dual meet as well. Heidi Kucera of UC Davis won both the 200 breast (2:23.37) and 200 free (1:55.77), while Scott Weltz swam times of 50.98 in the 100 fly and 1:51.69 in the 200 fly.

Division III
Johns Hopkins was one of very few Division III teams to compete over the weekend, with both the men and women's teams dropping tough meets to a talented Maryland team. Several B cuts were made, however, as John Thomas finished the 100 back in 52.25, Caitlin Dennis swam a 1:07.47 in the 100 breast and 2:25.69 in the 200 breast, Margaret Spach touched in 2:08.85 in the 200 back and 2:08.73 in the 200 IM, and Katherine Arnett raced to a 58.21 in the 100 fly. With these performances, the Blue Jays are looking tough early in the season.

With only a few weeks remaining until most of the major fall invitationals, swimmers from all three Divisions look to be nearing peak form.

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