2019 Speedo Sectionals Greensboro Day 4: Neas, Wiltsey Post Impressive 1500’s, Legard Wins Big on Last Night of Meet

Geena Freriks; Photo Courtesy: Noah J. Richter/Kentucky Athletics

By Kate Walter, Swimming World Intern.

The swimmers on the last night of the 2019 Speedo Sectionals Greensboro truly left all they had in the pool. Through a series of close, and not so close, races, major time drops and personal victories, the final night of the meet certainly did not lack anticipation and intensity. Ashley Neas of Kentucky Aquatics won the Women’s 1500 free by 17 seconds and Curtis Wiltsey of Kentucky Aquatics won the Men’s 1500 by 27 seconds. Yusuke Legard cruised to victory in the Men’s 100 free, winning by over a second.

The 2019 Speedo Sectionals Greensboro are held in the Greensboro Aquatic Center from July 11-14. Tonight was the final evening of competition.

Full results can be found here.

Women’s 100 Free

Riley Gaines of Kentucky Aquatics kicked of the evening in a big way, narrowly out-touching Unattached Melissa Pish (56.81) to secure first place in the Women’s 100 free final with a time of 56.78. Annabel Crush of Lakeside Swim Team touched the wall next in 57.26. Fellow Kentucky Aquatics swimmer Isabella Gati took home fourth place (57.33), with Emma Cole of North Carolina Aquatics (57.48) and Janie Smith of SwimMAC Carolina (57.91) following closely.

Unattached Easop Lee (58.40) and Lauren Medlin (59.32) of YMCA of the Triangle Area rounded out tonight’s final.

Men’s 100 Free

Yusuke Legard of Pinnacle Racing won the Men’s 100 free ‘A’ final by over a second, cruising to a 50.22 to capture the title. Jason Head of Kentucky Aquatics (51.17) was next to finish, along with Zachary Hils of Lexington Dolphins (51.23) rounding out the podium. Unattached Skyler Cook-Weeks (51.26), Hunter Tapp of Lakeside Swim Team (51.54) and Allen Ross of Gamecock Aquatics (51.65) took fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively. William Cole of Lakeside Swim Team (51.82) and Robbie Epler of Gamecock Aquatics (52.10) completed the top eight for the night.

Women’s 1500 Free

Kentucky Aquatics proved their dominance in distance events as Ashley Neas of Kentucky Aquatics emerged victorious in the Women’s 1500 free. She touched the wall in 17:00.09, dropping 22 seconds off her seed time and finishing 17 seconds ahead of the second place swimmer, Madeline Morello of Wolfpack Elite (17:17.60). Neas’ teammates Bryn Handley (17:21.49) and Payton Neff 17:31.43 finished next. Kentucky Aquatics dominance didn’t stop there, with the following finishers Geena Freriks (17:36.83) and Caroline Szydlowski (17:44.28) coming from Kentucky’s team as well. Adrianna Cera (17:48.53) of Marlins of Raleigh and Emma Sullivan (17:49.06) of South Carolina rounded out the Women’s distance event of the night.

Men’s 200 Breast

Unattached Nils Wich-Glasen won the Men’s 200 breast ‘A’ Final, dropping time from his prelims swim to go a 2:18.92. William Brehm of Lakeside Swim Team (2:19.58) and Kyle Barker (2:23.97) of Kentucky Aquatics touched the wall next. Alexander Blom of Lakeside Swim Team finished in 2:24.40 and Bode Ringenbach of Marlins of Raleigh in 2:25.98. Jack Moranetz of Wolfpack Elite, Will Scholtz of Lakeside Swim Team and Jakob Kaminsky of Marlins of Raleigh were disqualified.

Women’s 200 Breast

Gillian Davey helped Central Iowa Aquaitcs secure their first win of the meet, going on 2:32.31 to win the ‘A’ Final of the Women’s 200 breast by over four seconds. Genevieve Joyce of Marlins of Raleigh touched next in a time of 2:36.61. Allyson Reiter of North Carolina Aquatics (2:37.93) Olivia Fisher of Wolfpack Elite (2:38.75) and Elizabeth Merriman of Kentucky Aquatics (2:38.91) followed. Claire Donan of Lakeside Swim Team (2:39.55) ,Unattached Jane Donahue (2:43.97) and Lauren Edelman of Kentucky Aquatics (2:47.10) rounded out tonight’s breaststroke final.

Men’s 1500 Free

Curtis Wiltsey of Wolfpack Elite held his own in the Men’s 1500 free, coming in first place by 27 seconds and posting an impressive time of 15:43.45. 16-year-old Jared Carter of YMCA of the Triangle Area touched next with a 16:12.62 and Unattached Enzo Kihara (16:21.43) finished later. Kentucky Aquatics Daniel Blake (16:22.49), Lakeside Swim Team’s John Anderson (16:37.19) and Kentucky Aquatics Trent Lake (16:39.76) took fourth, fifth and sixth place. Lawrence Fountain (16:39.89) of Gwinnett Aquatics and Hank Siefert (16:54.83) of Kentucky Aquatics completed the top eight for the night.

Women’s 200 Back

In the Women’s 200 back final, all of the competitors dropped time from their prelims swims. Emma Muzzy of Wolfpack Elite (2:12.28) narrowly outouched teammate Mackenzie Glover (2:12.39) to walk away with the victory in the Women’s 100 back. Sophia Sorenson of Kentucky Aquatics was next to follow with a 2:13.83, along with Emily Lenihan of Lakeside Swim Team (2:14.67). Madelyn Flickinger of SwimMAC Carolina went a 2:16.15, and Mariana Kraus of Gamecock Aquatics went a 2:16.80. Mackenzie Lanning of Lakeside Swim Team (2:17.49) and Parker Herren of Kentucky Aquatics (2:17.66) rounded up the Women’s 100 back final.

Men’s 200 Back

The final victor of the 2019 Speedo Sectionals Greensboro was John Healy of Marlins of Raleigh, winning the 200 back in a time of 2:00.66. Teammates Jacob Johnson (2:01.26) and Hennessey Stuart (2:02.29) of Wolfpack Elite took third and fourth. Zachary Hils of Lexington Dolphins (2:02.29), Michael Moore of Marlins of Raleigh (2:04.95) and Alexander Tyler of SwimAtlanta (2:06.85) followed. Jackson Mussler of Lakeside Swim Team (2:08.12) and Austin Carroll of YMCA of the Triangle Area (2:12.42) closed out the Men’s 200 back, concluding the 2019 Speedo Sectionals Greensboro.

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