USA Swimming Grand Prix, Minneapolis: Missy Franklin Up to Four Wins; Ous Mellouli on Fire

By David Rieder

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, November 13. THE first stop of the 2010-2011 Grand Prix series continued Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On the third night, Ous Mellouli posted a stellar effort in the 500 free, while Missy Franklin maintained her unbeaten streak at the meet, adding two more victories on night 2. Superstar Ryan Lochte also won an event tonight (100 back), as did defending Grand Prix circuit champion Chloe Sutton (500 free).

Mixed 100 Back Multi-Disability
Ames Cyclone's Caleb Utesch dominated the night's opening race, posting a top time of 1:00.95. The other two men in the race, Joe Wise and Thomas Miagza went 2-3, with respective times of 1:04.30 and 1:06.82. Multi-time World Champion Mallory Weggemann completed the field as the only woman, and recorded a time of 1:23.33.

Women's 200 Fly
Nittany Lion's Kelly Nelson build a commanding lead in this event and held on for a big win. Nelson posted a 1:56.14, almost a second and a half ahead of Minnesota's Molly Belk, who earned second-place honors with her 1:57.49, rounding out the sub-2:00 swimmers. Belk's teammate Kaela Anderson grabbed third in 2:00.31.

Men's 200 Fly
Longhorn's Ricky Berens overtook North Baltimore's Todd Patrick over the final 25 yards to earn his third win of the meet. Berens unleashed a powerful final underwater kickout, just as he did on Friday, to pass Patrick. Berens clocked 1:45.13, a few tenths ahead of Patrick's 1:45.52. City of Plano's Seth Stubblefield posted a 1:46.67 to earn third.

Women's 50 Free
In a battle of young superstars, Colorado Stars' Missy Franklin beat out Asphalt Green's Lia Neal by about three tenths. Franklin took control from the start, winning in 22.28, to Neal's 22.56. With the win, Franklin matched Berens with her third win of the meet. T2's Erika Erndl came home third in 22.81, completing the sub-23 swims. Notably, Olympian Christine Magnuson finished eighth in the field in 23.95, but she swam the entire race butterfly, recording a solid time for that stroke.

Men's 50 Free
Tucson Ford's Simon Burnett showed off outstanding speed in the men's splash-and-dash, winning in a fast time of 19.52. Burnett jumped in front early in the race and held off charges from Club Wolverine's Bobby Savulich and superstar Ryan Lochte. Savulich took second in 19.85, edging Lochte's third-place time of 19.94.

Women's 100 Back
Colorado Stars' Missy Franklin made it four-for-four in wins for this meet, pulling away from North Baltimore's Elizabeth Pelton in the 100 back. Franklin gained a measure of revenge on Pelton, who beat Franklin by one one-hundredth of a second at this summer's Pan Pacific Championships to gain a spot on the World Championships team in this event. Franklin clocked a strong 52.47, well ahead of Pelton's 53.87. Mission Viejo's Melanie Klaren rounded out the top three with her 54.27.

Men's 100 Back
Ryan Lochte exploded on the third 25 to overtake Minnetonka's David Plummer, this year's long course national champion. Lochte, swimming unattached for Gator Swim Club, posted a time of 46.42 to earn his first win of the weekend. His time fell well short of his 2006 American record of 44.60. Plummer, meanwhile, posted a 46.72, a few hundredths shy of his lifetime best of 46.65. Longhorn's Ricky Berens' streak of wins at this meet came to an end, but he used a strong final length to pull away from the pack and earn third in 47.34.

Women's 500 Free
Mission Viejo's Chloe Sutton faced a challenge from Minnesota's Hannah Whitehead in the early stages of the race. Whitehead led at the first 50 and stayed with Sutton throughout the first half of the race, but Sutton, the reigning Grand Prix series champion, pulled away to capture the win in 4:38.79. Meanwhile, Minnesota's Ashley Steenvoorden passed her teammate Whitehead to take second in 4:41.16, the fastest time in college swimming this season. Whitehead ended up third in 4:43.88.

Men's 500 Free
Trojan's Ous Mellouli blew away the field and posted a time of 4:11.15, becoming the ninth-fastest performer of all-time in the event. Mellouli, the Tunisian who won the Olympic gold in 2008 in the 1500 free, added this win to his win in the 400 IM on Friday as he prepares for the World Short Course Championships next month in Dubai. Mads Glaesner, who hails from Denmark, made it a Trojan 1-2 with his second-place time of 4:16.73. Longhorn's Michael Klueh, in second most of the race, settled for third in 4:17.42.

Women's 200 Breast
Minnesota teammates Jillian Tyler and Haley Spencer went head-to-head, but Tyler, who blazed to a 58.22 in Friday's 100 breast, completed the breaststroke sweep at this meet, holding off a charging Spencer by a fingertip at the finish. Tyler posted a 2:08.24, to Spencer's 2:08.43. These times are the top two recorded in collegiate swimming for the 2010-2011. Nittany Lions' Corrie Clark finished third in 2:11.82. The top three finished in the same order in the 100 breast.

Men's 200 Breast
Tucson Ford's Mike Alexandrov had no competition in the 200 breast, winning by six seconds. The former Bulgarian Olympian and now-U.S. National Teamer clocked a time of 1:54.37, about two and a half seconds off his personal best of 1:51.96, which makes him the third-fastest all-time performer in history in the event. City of Plano's William Licon grabbed second in 2:00.43, while Minnesota's Ivan Gutsea ended up third in 2:02.03.

800 Free Relays
After winning both 400 free relays on night one, the University of Minnesota women returned to dominate the 800 free relay. Hannah Whitehead, Ashley Steenvoorden, Lauren Weiss, and Marissa Davies wrapped up first place, posting a time of 7:15.25. Of note, Missy Franklin recorded a 1:46.47 split as the third leg of the Colorado Stars' third-place relay, well off her winning 200 free time of 1:43.90 on Friday. Meanwhile, the Michigan men closed out the night with an 800 free relay victory of their own, swimming a time of 6:39.27, with Daniel Madwed, Ryan Feeley, Michael Wynalda, and Kyle Whitaker.

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