2016 AT&T Winter National Championships: Day 4 Prelims Recap

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Read below for our full coverage from the final morning of preliminary action at the AT&T Winter National Championships. Heats of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast and 200 fly were contested Saturday morning.

Click here to view full results from the session.

Women’s 200 Back:

Bridgette Alexander swam ahead of the competition in heat six of the women’s 200 back prelims to grab the top seed for tonight’s final. Alexander stopped the clock at a 1:52.92.

NC State’s Hannah Moore turned in a 1:54.56 from heat four to grab the second place seed. Saint Petersburgs’ Melanie Margalis claimed a close third place seed with a 1:54.65.

Kristen Romano of Long Island Aquatic Club delivered a 1:55.10 for fourth, followed by close qualifying times from City of Mobile Paige Madden (1:55.30) and Hopkins Mariner’s Erin Earley (1:55.42).

Minnesota’s Tevyn Waddell and Phoenixville’s Emma Seiberlich finished seventh and eighth with times of 1:56.04 and 1:56.40.

Men’s 200 Back:

New York Athletic Club’s Arkady Vyatchanin delivered one of only two sub-1:44 finishes in prelims of the men’s 200 back to earn the top seed in tonight’s ‘A’ final. Vyatchanin touched with a final time of 1:43.12.

Joining Vyatchanin in the 1:43-range was FAST’s Omar Pinzon with a qualifying time of 1:43.93, good for the second place seed.

Club Mountaineers’ Bryce Bohman turned in a 1:44.21 to qualify third overall, followed closely by University of North Carolina’s Michael Meyer’s time of 1:44.41.

Bob Glover of Indiana, the top seed entering the event, settled for the fifth place seed and a time of 1:44.74.

Grand Canyons’ Mark Nikolaev (1:44.78), Florida’s Maxime Rooney (1:45.44), and Yuval Safra (1:45.70) complete the top eight qualifiers.

Women’s 100 Free:

Amanda Weir of SwimAtlanta powered to a top qualifying time of 47.84 in prelims of the women’s 100 free. Weir succeeded in chopping .35 seconds off her seed time of 48.19.

Gator Swim Club’s Isabel Ivey delivered a personal best time of 48.23 to pick up the second place seed, while Canyons Aquatic’s Isabella Arcila grabbed the third place seed with a 48.50.

Zoe AVestruz of Minnesota turned in a 49.24 to return as fourth, followed by Georgia Tech’s Iris Wang and her time of 49.25.

SMU’s Victoria Cunningham (49.37), UNC’s Caroline Baldwin (49.42), and SwimAtlanta’s Maddie Locus (49.44) rounded out the top eight.

Men’s 100 Free:

Jacob Molacek of Great Omaha Aquatics dashed to a top qualifying time of 43.10 in the third heat of the men’s 100 free prelims. Molacek slashed .19 seconds off his seed time of 43.29.

Dynamo Swim Club’s Matias Koski picked up the second place seed with a 43.28, followed by Indiana’s Anze Tavcar and his qualifying time of 43.38.

Jack Dolan, representing Rockwood Swim Club, continued to his upward trajectory on the All-Time lists as he posted the fourth fastest time by a 15-16 year old. Dolan stopped the clock at a 43.61 to bump Michael Andrew and his time of 43.62 to fifth All-Time.

Indiana’s Sam Lorentz grabbed the fifth place seed with a 43.63, followed by a tie for sixth between Minnesota teammates Bowen Becker and Paul Fair. The two Gophers delivered matching times of 43.69 from heats two and four respectively.

Josh Romany of Indiana completed the qualifiers list with a 43.76.

Women’s 200 Breast:

Breeja Larson of New York Athletic Club snagged the top seed for finals of the women’s 200 breaststroke with a qualifying time of 2:08.27.

Club Wolverine’s Miranda Tucker turned in a time of 2:09.46 for the second place seed, while Canyons Aquatic’s Nikol Popov posted a 2:10.67 for third.

Vanessa Pearl of Metroplex picked up the fourth place seed with a 2:10.70, followed closely by Minnesota’s Lindsey Horejsi and her time of 2:10.71.

Saint Petersburg’s Melanie Margalis (2:10.74), Kendra Crew (2:11.03), and Clovis’ Danielle Herrmann (2:11.83) finished sixth through eighth respectively.

Men’s 200 Breast:

Kevin Cordes continued to display his breaststroke dominance with the top qualifying time in prelims of the men’s 200 breaststroke. Cordes stopped the clock at a 1:54.47 to finish more than half a second ahead of the competition.

WEST’s Nick Zito picked up the second place seed from heat four with a 1:55.10, followed by the Minnesota duo of Conner McHugh (1:56.15) and John Bushman (1:56.74).

Tanner Olson of Canyons Aquatic turned in a 1:56.89 for fifth, while veteran Mike Alexandrov grabbed sixth with a 1:57.14.

Miguel De Lara and Juan Sequera, both swimming unattached, were seventh and eighth in prelims with times of 1:57.46 and 1:58.36.

Women’s 200 Fly:

The top seed in tonight’s final was earned by Hannah Saiz of Schroeder YMCA, who stopped the clock at a 1:56.37.

Joining her in the 1:56 range was University of North Carolina’s Sarah Koucheki and Ohio State’s Meg Bailey. Koucheki returns as the second place seed with a 1:56.51, while Bailey sits third with a 1:56.53.

Caty Hulsey, also of UNC, posted a fourth place qualifying time of 1:57.10, followed by Indiana’s Gia Dalesandro and her time of 1:57.73.

Minnesota’s Danielle Nack, Indiana’s Reagan Cook (1:58.12), and Tennessee’s Michelle Cefal (1:58.80) rounded out the top eight qualifiers.

Men’s 200 Fly:

Indiana delivered a 1-2 punch in prelims of the men’s 200 fly, grabbing the top two qualifying spots in tonight’s ‘A’ final. Vini Lanza set himself up for a chance at another championship medal with a qualifying time of 1:42.62, more than three seconds faster than teammate Max Irwin. Irwin claimed the second place seed with a 1:45.70 out of heat one.

Swim Pasadena’s Sean Lee turned in a 1:46.05 for the third place seed, followed closely by Nation’s Capital’s Sam Pomajevich’s 1:46.07.

Luis Soto Ramirez picked up the fifth place seed with a time of 1:47.49, just ahead of Sandpiper Nevada’s Carter Grimes and his time of 1:47.70.

Grand Canyon’s Daniil Antipov posted a 1:48.37 for seventh, while UNC’s Michael Meyer took eighth in prelims with a time of 1:48.48.

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Joanne Menard

7 years ago

Go Breeja Larson go!