2016 AT&T Winter National Championships: Day 3 Finals Recap

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Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant

The third night of finals at the 2016 AT&T Winter National Championships featured an American record by Tom Shields in the men’s 100 fly as well as several impressive swims from youngsters Sean Grieshop, Isabel Ivey and Maxime Rooney.

Read below for a full recap events and to view race videos and interviews with top performers. Heat sheets and full results are also available.

Women’s 400 IM:

The women’s 400 IM began with a shy lead from youngster Emma Muzzy, but she was unable to hold onto the lead as Minnesota’s Brooke Zeiger delivered a powerful breaststroke leg to separate herself from the competition. Zeiger cruised through the freestyle to finish first with a 4:02.71, posting the third fastest time in the NCAA for the 2016-17 season.

Ohio State’s Lindsey Clary picked up second with a time of 4:06.10, just off her season best of 4:05.90. Teammate Meg Bailey grabbed the bronze medal with a time of 4:08.29.

Muzzy slipped to a close fourth with a final time of 4:08.37.

Regan Barney, representing Longhorn Aquatics, posted a fifth place finish of 4:11.43, just ahead of Minnesota’s Breanne Siwicki (4:11.66) and Metroplex’s Vanessa Pearl (4:11.94).

Indiana’s Sam Lisy completed the top eight with a time of 4:12.18.

Race video:

Men’s 400 IM:

The finalists of the men’s 400 IM exchanged the lead throughout the separate strokes of the race with Sean Grieshop of Nitro making the race his own in the final 125 yards. Nate Carr and FAST’s Omar Pinzon led throughout the first half of the race, but Grieshop closed the gap in the breaststroke leg before taking off in the freestyle. Grieshop stopped the clock at a 3:44.69 to improve upon his prelims time of 3:48.35.

Carr claimed the silver medal with a 3:47.79, while Pinzon slipped to third with a final time of 3:48.06.

Minnesota’s John Bushman picked up fourth with a time of 3:48.87, followed by Juan Sequera and his time of 3:49.87.

Sandpiper’s Carter Grimes (3:49.92), Virginia Gators’ Keith Myburgh (3:51.81), and Christopher Jhong (3:52.26) finished sixth through eighth respectively.

Race video:

Women’s 100 Fly:

Claire Donahue jumped to an early lead in the women’s 100 fly final, working her walls at both the 25-yard and 50-yard turns. However, Aliena Schmidtke, the top seed coming into tonight’s final, turned up the heat chasing Donahue down in the back half of the race to stop the clock first. Schmidtke finished with a 51.87 over Donahue’s 51.95.

University of North Carolina’s Sarah Koucheki grabbed the bronze medal with a 52.77 finish, just ahead of Indiana’s Gia Dalesandro (52.81).

The field continued to narrow from there as the fifth through eighth place finishers stopped the clock .17 seconds apart. Minnesota’s Danielle Nack picked up fifth with a 52.84, while Indiana’s Christie Jensen was sixth with a 52.93.

Olivia Bray of the Virginia Gators and Hannah Saiz of Schroeder YMCA were seventh and eighth with times of 52.96 and 53.01 respectively.

Race video:

Men’s 100 Fly:

Tom Shields became the first man to break 44 seconds in the men’s 100 SCY fly as he powered to a 43.84 in finals. Shields displayed his strong underwater dolphin kicks as he raced to gold, splitting 20.57 and 23.27. His time stands as the new American and U.S. Open record in the event, and was a new Championship Record.

Indiana’s Vini Lanza took second overall with a 45.56, shifting him to third in the NCAA rankings for the 2016-17 season.

Minnesota’s Daryl Turner posted a 46.53 for third, while Ryan McCoy picked up fourth with a 47.07.

Daniil Antipov of Grand Canyon University finished fifth overall with a 47.11, followed by Tuomas Pokkinen and his time of 47.53.

Club Mountaineer’s Bryce Bohman and Nation’s Capital’s Sam Pomajevich rounded out the top eight with times of 47.60 and 47.63 respectively.

Race video:

Women’s 200 Free:

Melanie Margalis picked up her second championship medal in the women’s 200 free, battling Isabel Ivey of Gator Swim Club and veteran Amanda Weir all the way to the finish. Margalis got her hand to the wall first, stopping the clock at a 1:43.72. Ivey and Weir were close behind with times of 1:43.96 and 1:43.98 respectively.

Chattahoochee Gold’s Emma Cole grabbed fourth with a final time of 1:46.03, followed by NC State’s Hannah Moore and her time of 1:46.22.

Georgia Tech’s Iris Wang (1:46.58), SMU’s Victoria Cunningham (1:46.71), and Nation’s Capital’s Sinead Eksteen (1:47.25) were sixth through eighth.

Race video:

Men’s 200 Free:

Florida freshman Maxime Rooney earned his first national championship medal today with a solid win in the finals of the men’s 200 free. Rooney led throughout the final 150-yards of the race to post a final time of 1:33.85, close to half a second ahead of the competition. That time moves him to fourth in the NCAA rankings for the 2016-17 season.

Jorden Merrilees of the University of North Carolina grabbed second, ahead of the Indiana trio of Anze Tavcar, Jackson Miller, and MArwan El Kamash. Tavcar earned the bronze medal with a 1:34.61, followed by Miller’s 1:35.51 and Kamash’s 1:35.64.

Minnesota’s Paul Fair picked up sixth with a 1:35.89, followed by 15-year-old Jack Dolan (1:37.24) and NCAP’s Sam Pomajevich (1:37.42).

Race video:

Women’s 100 Breast:

Breeja Larson of New York Athletic Club blasted to an early lead in the women’s 100 breaststroke final, but was overcome by Saint Petersburg’s Melanie Margalis in the final 15-yards. Margalis held on as Larson led the field, making her move to claim her third championship gold medal, and a new personal best, with a 58.09.

Larson slipped to second with a 58.21 finish, while Club Wolverine’s Miranda Tucker turned in a 58.95 for third.

Minnesota’s Lindsey Horejsi grabbed fourth with a 59.41, followed by Canyon Aquatics’ Nikol Popov and her time of 59.58.

Margaret Aroesty of Long Island Aquatic Club finished sixth overall with a 1:00.73 and Drexel University’s Rachel Bernhardt was seventh with a 1:00.99.

Clovis Swim Club’s Danielle Herrmann suffered a disqualification.

Race video:

Men’s 100 Breast:

Kevin Cordes, swimming unattached, powered to a dynamic win in finals of the men’s 100 breaststroke. Cordes controlled the race from start to finish, leading the ‘A’ final from wall-to-wall to finish with a 51.88.

Indiana’s Ian Finnerty grabbed second and the silver medal with a time of 52.68, moving him to third in the NCAA rankings for the 2016-17 season.

Rostyslav Fedyna, Minnesota’s Cnner McHugh, and Michigan State’s Alec Kandt finished within .05 seconds of one another to claim third through fifth place. Fedyna led the middle grouping with a 53.21 for the bronze, followed by McHugh’s 53.23 and Kandt’s 53.26.

University of North Carolina’s Craig Emslie turned in a 53.40 for sixth, followed by West’s Nick Zito (53.43) and New York Athletic Club’s Mike Alexandrov (53.45).

Women’s 100 Back:

Bridgette Alexander, swimming unattached, maintained her spot atop the competition with a top swim of 52.53. Alexander utilized strong underwaters off each turn to stay at the top of the pack and post a personal best time.

University of North Carolina’s Caroline Baldwin grabbed second with a time of 52.70, followed by the Indiana duo of Ally Rockett (52.91) and Marie Chamberlain (53.07). Chamberlain led the field after the first 50 yards, but faded to fourth in the second 50 yards.

Tevyn Waddell of Minnesota picked up fifth overall with a 53.13, just ahead of UNC’s Sarah Hitchens and her time of 53.14.

Darby Goodwin finished seventh with a 53.93, while Minnesota’s Zoe Avestruz was eighth with a 54.05.

Men’s 100 Back:

Despite being the last off the start, Tom Shields topped the competition in finals of the men’s 100 back. He posted a final time of 45.11 to overcome the competition and grab his second gold medal of the day.

Arkady Vyatchanin of New York Athletic Club posted a final time of 45.89 to win the silver medal, while Grand Canyon’s Mark Nikolaev was third with a 45.92.

Indiana’s Bob Glover led the field at the 50-yard mark, but faded to fourth in the second half with a final time of 46.08.

Jacob Molacek of Greater Omaha finished fifth overall with a 46.94, just ahead of Club Mountaineers’ Bryce Bohman (46.97).

FAST’s Omar Pinzon (47.15) and Minnesota’s Daryl Turner (47.99) completed the top eight.

Women’s 200 Free Relay:

The University of North Carolina women delivered a dynamic performance in the 200 freestyle relay, posting a combined time of 1:29.44 from the second heat. The relay team consisted of Brooke Bauer (22.96), Sarah Koucheki (22.44), Sarah Hitchens (22.27), and Caroline Baldwin (21.77). UNC is currently tied with Texas for the third fastest relay time of the 2016-17 season from mid-Novemember.

Minnesota’s Danielle Nack (22.54), Zoe Avestruz (22.43), Lindsey Horejsi (23.25), and Tevyn Waddell (22.80) finished second overall with a combined time of 1:31.02.

The bronze medal went to Canyons Aquatic Club and their relay squad consisting of Julia Wolf (22.91), Isabella Arcila (21.80), Nikol Popov (22.85), and Kaila Wong (23.66). The foursome stopped the clock at a 1:31.22.

Men’s 200 Free Relay:

Indiana added a third relay gold to their collection with a tight win in heat two of the men’s 200 freestyle relay. Sam Lorentz (19.61), Oliver Patrouch (19.85), Anze Tavcar (19.68), and Josh Romany (19.61) combined to stop the clock at a 1:18.75. That time moves Indiana into the top 20 NCAA rankings for the 2016-17 season.

Minnesota’s relay team of Bowen Becker (19.56), Paul Fair (19.52), Hunter Doerr (20.00), and Daryl Turner (19.79) picked up a close second with a final time of 1:18.87.

The ‘B’ relay for Indiana earned the bronze medal as Vini Lanza (19.65), Ian Finnerty (19.87), Wes Duke (19.95), and Max Irwin (19.88) delivered a final time of 1:19.35.

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