Speedo Grand Challenge: Jessica Hardy, Eric Shanteau, Chad La Tourette, Jasmine Tosky Clock Top-20 Swims

By David Rieder

IRVINE, California, May 29. THE Speedo Grand Challenge concluded tonight at the William Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine. Most events at this meet were swum with four-swimmer finals and normal eight-swimmer consolation finals. The exceptions included the women's 800 and men's 1500 free, which consisted of single eight-swimmer finals.

Trojan's Jessica Hardy held off Stanford's Julia Smit for the win in the women's 100 free. Hardy clocked 54.67, off of her ninth-ranked 54.28 from the Maria Lenk Trophy meet earlier this month, while Smit came in at 55.11. Palo Alto's Jasmine Tosky finished third in 55.95, ahead of Stanford's Kate Dwelley (56.55). Meanwhile, Cal's Nathan Adrian moved into the top-30 in the world with his win in the men's 100 free. Adrian clocked 49.14 to move behind just Michael Phelps (48.89) as the second-fastest American this year. Rose Bowl's Jason Lezak grabbed second in 49.85, while Adrian's teammates Graeme Moore (49.97) and Will Copeland (50.01) placed third and fourth, respectively. Notably, American record-holder Dave Walters won the B-final in 50.32.

Trojan's Eric Shanteau dominated his competition in route to a win in the 200 breast. Shanteau clocked 2:11.71, well short of his eighth-ranked season best of 2:10.95 from the Charlotte UltraSwim two weeks ago. Meanwhile, Shanteau's teammate Andrew Bree grabbed second in 2:15.46, beating Cal's Sean Mahoney, who checked in at 2:16.70 to finish far off his 15th-ranked 2:11.47 recorded at the Indy Grand Prix in March. Mike Alexandrov, another Trojan, finished third at 2:20.37.

Mission Viejo's Chad La Tourette crushed the field in the men's 1500 by more than 30 seconds. La Tourette won in 15:14.52, the 17th-best time in the world this year. La Tourette moved ahead of Chip Peterson's 15:15.25 clocked at the Indy Grand Prix in March and also moved past Peterson as the top American in the event thus far this year. Davie Nadadores' Ricardo Monasterio came in second at 15:48.29, while Stanford's Michael Zoldos ended up third in 15:52.52.

Tosky jumped to 20th in the world with a 2:09.37 victory in the 200 fly. Tosky stands behind just Olympians Elaine Breeden (2:08.60) and Kathleen Hersey (2:09.12) as the third-fastest American this year. Club de Natacion's Katerine Savard, the winner of the 100 fly on Saturday, grabbed second in 2:12.12, while Taylor returned from the 800 free win to take third in 2:13.31. Tanya Krisman completed the final in 2:14.21. Notably, World Championships bronze medalist Hosszu continued what has been a disappointing meet, finishing second in the consolation final in 2:15.34.

Stanford's Andie Taylor cruised to a convincing victory in the women's 800 free. Taylor won in 8:40.81, more than ten seconds ahead of The Armada's Nicole Cheng, who checked in at 8:51.55. Trojan's Dawn Heckman finished third at 8:54.04. Santa Barbara's Katy Freeman beat the field in the women's 200 breast, clocking 2:28.06. Among Americans, only Rebecca Soni (2:23.27) and Amanda Beard (2:26.24) have been faster this year. Stanford's Elizabeth Smith earned second in 2:30.69, while Tosky (2:32.55) and Trojan's Hosszu (2:38.07) completed the heat.

Stanford swept the top three spots in the women's 100 back, as Smit won in 1:02.32. Smit had already won both the 400 IM and 200 back on Saturday and set meet records in both. Teammate Elizabeth Webb finished nine tenths behind Smit at 1:03.22, and Maya Dirado earned third in 1:03.61. Alexandra Henley clocked 1:05.05 to round out the final. New Zealand's Daniel Bell fell short of his 22nd-ranked time of 54.40 but still earned the win in the men's 100 back, clocking 55.34. Cal's Guy Barnea checked in for second at 56.48, edging Stanford's Matt Thompson (56.49) and Trojan's Alex Lendrum (56.93). Notably, Cal's David Russell clocked 56.05 for the win in the consolation final.

Azot's Corey Okubo touched first in the men's 200 fly. Okubo, 15, posted a 2:03.33 to beat Boulder City Henderson's Zane Grothe, who checked in at 2:03.96. Palo Alto's Young Tae Seo grabbed third in 2:04.54, and Team Rebel's Daniel Egly finished fourth in 2:04.67.

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