2016 USA College Challenge: Day Two Recap

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

After an exciting day one of the 2016 USA College Challenge, Team USA and the Big Ten are back for day two! Competition begins at 11:30 a.m. EST with another 16 events on the docket. The two-day event is being live-streamed by the Big Ten Network and a live webcast is also available via USA Swimming.

Everything you need to follow along live with day two of the USA College Challenge. Hit refresh for the latest coverage.

Events:

1000 Free – Women
1000 Free – Men
200 Free – Women
200 Free – Men
100 Back – Women
100 Back – Men
100 Breast – Women
100 Breast – Men
200 Fly – Women
200 Fly – Men
50 Free – Women
50 Free – Men
200 IM – Women
200 IM – Men
400 Free Relay – Women
400 Free Relay – Men

1000 FREE – WOMEN:

Leah Smith kickstarted day two for Team USA with a dynamic win in the 1000 free, winning by close to seven full seconds with a time of 9:21.54. That time sits just off her personal best of 9:20.15, which was the previous NCAA record before Katie Ledecky downed it at the Stanford-Texas dual meet yesterday.

Ashley Twichell picked up second place and another four points for Team USA as she cruised to a 9:28.35 finish, while the Big Ten’s Rose Bi finished a shy .03 seconds behind her with a 9:28.38 for third.

The Big Ten added fourth and fifth place finishes from Lindsey Clary (9:37.99) and Kaersten Meitz (9:38.79).

Scores: Team USA flirts with the 200-mark as they move to 198 points over the Big Ten’s 117.

1000 FREE – MEN:

Zane Grothe of Team USA and Jordan Wilimovsky of the Big Ten battled for the title in the men’s 1000 free, finishing a shy .12 seconds apart. At the finish it was Grothe with a final time of 8:46.22, edging his personal best of 8:48.01.

Wilimovsky settled for second and a final time of 8:46.34.

PJ Ransford added a third place finish for the Big Ten to scoop up an additional three points as he touched in 8:55.40.

Team USA youngster Robert Finke (17) collected fourth with a final time of 8:58.53, while the Big Ten’s Matt Hutchins earned fifth with a 9:02.62.

Scores: Team USA bypasses the 200-mark with a total of 209 points over the Big Ten’s 125.

200 FREE – WOMEN:

From the start of the 200 free the race was between the Big Ten’s Siobhan Haughey and Team USA’s Mallory Comerford. Comerford stuck to Haughey’s feet but was unable to clear the gap as Haughey touched in a 1:42.93 to earn the Big Ten some much need first place points and set a personal best. Comerford settled for second and a 1:43.28.

Leah Smith, fresh off a victory in the 1000 free, powered to third with a 1:44.37.

The Big Ten scooped up the remaining three points with fourth and fifth place finishes from Gabby DeLoof (1:45.14) and Hannah Burvill (1:46.29).

Scores: Team USA moves to 216 points, while the Big Ten adds 12 to make it 137 total.

200 FREE – MEN:

The men’s 200 free was a race for second as Blake Pieroni jumped to an early lead, flipping almost a second ahead of the competition at the 50-yard mark. Pieroni continued to build upon his lead before finishing with a smooth 1:33.43, just off his personal best.

Zane Grothe pulled off a second place finish with a time of 1:34.83 after a tight race in the 1000 free.

Team USA added a third place finish with Drew Kibler’s 1:35.33, while the Big Ten’s Anze Tavcar picked up fourth with a 1:35.55.

Josh Fleagle, also of the Big Ten, was fifth with a 1:35.77.

Scores: The Big Ten is slowly picking away at Team USA’s 223 points, moving up to 149 after back-to-back wins in the 200 freestyles.

100 BACK – WOMEN:

Team USA delivered a 1-2-3 finish in the women’s 100 back led by a dominant Ali Deloof. Deloof worked her underwaters to build a body length lead, finishing with a time of 50.99.

Hannah Stevens added a second place finish of 52.02, while the young Eva Merrell, yesterday’s 200 back winner, grabbed third with a 52.26.

Kennedy Goss grabbed fourth with a time of 52.89 to earn the Big Ten two points, while Clara Smiddy earned the final point for the Big Ten with a sixth place finish of 54.03.

Fifteen-year-old Alex Walsh finished fifth but with only three athletes from each team able to earn points, her point was shifted to Smiddy.

Scores: Team USA furthers their lead with 239 points over the Big Ten’s 152.

200 BACK – MEN:

Shane Ryan of the Big Ten posted a much-needed first place finish in the men’s 100 back with a time of 45.75, currently the fastest in the NCAA for this season.

Team USA responded with a 2-3 finish from Jacob Pebley (46.14) and Sean Lehane (46.50).

Bob Glover and Luke Papendick gathered another three points for the Big Ten with fourth and fifth place finishes of 46.95 and 47.41 respectively.

Scores: Team USA holds the lead with 246 points, while the Big Ten gathered another 12 to move to 164 total.

100 BREAST – WOMEN:

Lilly King powered to an individual win for the Big Ten in the 100 breaststroke with a 57.30, which stands as the fastest time in the NCAA for the 2016-17 season and the fourth fastest in history.

Team USA finished second with a strong swim by Andrea Cottrell, who stopped the clock at a 58.85.

The Big Ten added third through fifth place finishes from Lindsey Horejsi, Emma Sougstad, and Kierra Smith. Horejsi earned another three points with a 59.50 finish, while Sougstad scooped up fourth place with a close 59.51. Smith finished fifth with a 1:00.14 but will not collect the last point as only three athletes from each team can score.

Kirsten Vose grabbed sixth and the final point with a 1:00.36 finish.

Scores: The Big Ten earned some much needed points to move to 178 total, while Team USA moves to 251.

100 BREAST – MEN:

The win in the men’s 100 breaststroke came down to the last couple of strokes as Cody Miller, Michael Andrew, and Nic Fink raced to the finish. A quick stroke rate from seventeen-year-old Andrew moved him past Miller in the last couple yards as he stopped the clock at a 51.90.

Team USA added second and third place finishes from Miller and Fink as the two delivered final times of 52.04 and 52.16 respectively.

Ian Finnerty and Conner McHugh collected fourth and fifth place for the Big Ten with times of 53.85 and 54.53.

Scores: Team USA soars to 267 points over the Big Ten’s 181.

200 FLY – WOMEN:

The Big Ten’s Gia Dalesandro got off to a quick lead in the women’s 200 fly, but was unable to hold off an experienced Kelsi Worrell who delivered some strong underwaters in the back half of the race to soar ahead of the competition. Worrell stopped the clock at a 1:53.45 to earn another first place finish for Team USA.

Dalesandro settled for second and a time of 1:55.77, followed closely by Team USA’s Hannah Saiz (1:55.86).

Kathleen Sowinski and Francesca Stoppa posted fourth and fifth with times of 1:57.83 and 1:57.97 to add to the Big Ten’s score.

Scores: Team USA extends lead to 279 points, while the Big Ten sits at 188.

200 FLY – MEN:

Tom Shields soared to a smooth finish in the men’s 200 fly, leading the race from start to finish. Shields stopped the clock at a 1:39.89 to near his personal best of 1:39.65.

The Big Ten swept second through fourth place with strong swims from Vini Lanza, Ching Lim, and Jerzy Twarowski. Lanza posted second with a time of 1:43.15, while Lim picked up third with a 1:45.86.

Twarowski turned in a 1:47.26 for fourth, followed by Team USA’s Samuel Pomajevich (1:49.29).

Scores: Team USA might have picked up first, but the Big Ten all but equaled their points with second through fourth. Team USA leads with 289 points, while the Big Ten nears the 200-mark with 197.

50 FREE – WOMEN:

The Big Ten’s Li Zhesi dashed to a decisive win with a 21.72 finish in the 50 free, posting the only sub-22 second swim against a field of experienced veterans. A strong underwater and breakout off the turn put Li ahead of the competition to earn some much needed points for the Big Ten.

Team USA swept the majority of the point options as they took second through fifth. Madison Kennedy turned in a 22.11, followed by Mallory Comerford (22.26) from the outside lane. Amanda Weir turned in a 22.53 for fourth.

Ali Deloof finished fifth overall with a 22.59, but the point will shift to the Big Ten’s Chase Kinney and her time of 22.74.

Scores: Team USA edges closer to the 300-mark with 298 points, while the Big Ten moves above 200 with a total of 207 points.

50 FREE – MEN:

Ali Khalafalla and Paul Powers combined for a strong 1-2 finish for the Big Ten in the men’s 50 free. Khalafalla nabbed secured first with a 19.42, while Powers grabbed second with a 19.79.

Team USA’s Dillon Virva secured the only other sub-20 second swim with a 19.84 for third place.

Drew Kibler and Cameron Craig added fourth and fifth place finishes for Team USA with times of 20.05 and 20.10.

Scores: With a total of 596 points available in the meet, the first team to 298.5 (just over half the points) wins the title. Having bypassed 298.5 points Team USA has secured the meet title with a current 304, while the Big Ten sits at 220.

200 IM – WOMEN:

The women’s 200 IM field was highlighted by some tight racing between the Big Ten’s Siobhan Haughey, Team USA’s Kirsten Vose and Alex Walsh. Walsh turned third at the 100-yard mark, but delivered a strong 50 breaststroke to clear the gap, before taking off in the final 50 yards.

Walsh, the youngest in the field by two years, got her hand to the wall first with a 1:55.89.

Rose picked up second place with a 1:56.19, just ahead of Haughey’s third place finish of 1:56.22.

Team USA’s Brooke Forde, who won the 400 iM, posted fourth with a 1:57.38, followed by Andrea Cottrell (1:59.20).

Cottrell will shift the point to the Big Ten’s Lilly King, however, who posted a final time of 1:59.28.

Scores: Team USA, who has already secured the title, moves to 319 points, while the Big Ten owns 224.

200 IM – MEN:

Michael Andrew of Team USA uncorked a 1:44.20 to grab a decisive win in the men’s 200 IM, adding a second win to his day after collecting the 100 breaststroke win. Andrew blasted ahead of the competition in the first 150-yards to build a safe distance between him and the rest of the field for the final 50 yards.

Fellow Team USA member Jacob Pebley picked up second from lane one with a 1:45.63, while the Big Ten’s Evan White posted third with a 1:46.63.

Team USA finished fourth and fifth as Nic Fink and Cody Miller posted times of 1:47.74 and 1:48.37 respectively. Miller’s swim will count as exhibition as Fink becomes the third scorer for Team USA in this event, leaving Brett Pinfold to scoop up the final point with a final time of 1:48.45.

Scores: Team USA blasts to 334 points over the Big Ten’s 228.

400 FREE RELAY – WOMEN:

Team USA added another 13 points to their score as they finished 1-3 in the women’s 400 free relay, but not without a strong fight from the Big Ten’s ‘A’ relay.

Li Zhesi got the relay off to a dynamic start for the Big Ten as she delivered a 48.39 opening split over Team USA’s Ali Deloof’s 48.81.

Kelsi Worrell (47.41) closed the gap for Team USA as she quickly overtook the Big Ten’s Chase Kinney (48.54) to set Amanda Weir (48.39) up for a strong third leg.

Gabby DeLoof (48.36) challenged Weir throughout the third leg but Weir was able to hold her off, giving Mallory Comerford a slight advantage going into the final leg.

Comerford brought the race home in a dynamic 47.03, turning the small gap into a body length difference before stopping the clock at a dominant 3:11.64. The Big Ten’s Siobhan Haughey brought it home with a 48.36 split to earn second for the Big Ten with a 3:13.29.

Team USA’s ‘B’ relay of Madison Kennedy (48.79), Kirsten Vose (48.45), Eva Merrell (48.29), and Leah Smith (49.01) finished third with a 3:14.54.

Scores: Team USA continues to sweep the relays with a total of 347 points over the Big Ten’s 232.

400 FREE RELAY – MEN:

The Big Ten pulled off a major upset in the men’s 400 relay earning a 1-2 finish to end the inaugural USA College Challenge with a bang.

Blake Pieroni of the Big Ten’s ‘A’ relay and Tom Shields of Team USA’s ‘A’ relay got things off to a quick start, swimming stroke-for-stroke in the first 100 yards. Pieroni posted a split of 42.57 just behind Shields’ 42.53.

Cameron Craig posted a strong second leg for Team USA as he created a body length lead with a 42.67 split over the Big Ten’s Anze Tavcar (43.79) and Ali Khalafalla (42.49).

Cannon Clifton picked up the third leg from Tavcar, quickly making up ground on the lead Craig had built for Team USA’s Michael Andrew (45.15). Clifton posted a split of 42.73, while the Big Ten’s ‘B’ relay’s Matt McHugh moved ahead of Andrew with a 43.65 split of his own.

Shane Ryan brought the Big Ten ‘A’ relay home with a sizzling 41.72 split, leaving the race for second to the Big Ten ‘B’ anchor Paul Powers (43.74) and Team USA’s Drew Kibler (43.49).

Ryan stopped the clock at a decisive 2:50.81, while Powers held off a charging Kibler to claim second with a 2:53.28, earning the Big Ten a 1-2 finish in the final event of the meet.

Team USA settled for third with a 2:53.84.

Scores: The meet concludes with a total of 349 points for Team USA over the Big Ten’s 247.

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Ger

7 years ago

No live feed.

Ger

7 years ago

Reply to Ger

working now

Swim junkie

7 years ago

Would have liked to see Shane Ryan swim the 100 Free on the 1st day. He only swam the Medlay Relay. He is listed 1st in the country for College swimming in that event. Why wouldn’t the Big10 Coaches put him in that event? Especially now that he smoked a 41 in the relay.