Stanford Relay Record Highlights Day Two Prelims at Women’s NCAA Champs

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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During the day two prelims session at the women’s NCAA championships, the Stanford women broke the American record in the 4×50 free relay and also secured the most individual swims for the A-finals, with four, and most total finals swims, with seven.

Katie Ledecky cruised to the top seed in the 500 free, and the Cardinal will also have individual title contenders in the day’s other two individual events, the 200 IM (Ella Eastin) and 50 free (Simone Manuel).

Read below for event-by-event full coverage from prelims.

Full results

Ups and Downs:

Individual:
Stanford: 4/3
Texas A&M: 3/1
Cal: 2/3
Virginia: 2/2
Tennessee: 2/1
Michigan: 1/3
Arizona: 1/2
Purdue: 1/0
Texas: 1/1
NC State: 1/0
Wisconsin: 1/0
Denver: 1/0
Kentucky: 1/0
Ohio State: 1/0
North Carolina: 1/0
Auburn: 1/0
Louisville: 0/3
Georgia: 0/1
Penn State: 0/1
Missouri: 0/1
South Carolina: 0/1
Indiana: 0/1

Relay:
Stanford: 2/0
Tennessee: 2/0
Cal: 2/0
Louisville: 2/0
Texas: 2/0
Ohio State: 1/0
Virginia: 1/0
Michigan: 1/0
Indiana: 1/0
Minnesota: 1/0
Texas A&M: 1/0
Georgia: 0/2
Wisconsin: 0/2
USC: 0/2
NC State: 0/1
Arizona: 0/1
North Carolina: 0/1
Missouri: 0/1
Alabama: 0/1
Kentucky: 0/1
Michigan: 0/1
Auburn: 0/1
Florida State: 0/1
Virginia Tech: 0/1

4×50 Free Relay

The Stanford women got off to a hot start during the first prelims session of the women’s NCAA championships, breaking the American record in the 4×50 free relay. The team of Janet Hu (21.74), Simone Manuel (21.42), Lauren Pitzer (21.45) and Ally Howe (21.07) recorded a time of 1:25.68, under the previous American mark of 1:25.87 set by Cal last month.

Cal also holds the NCAA and U.S. Open record at 1:25.59, set at last year’s NCAA championships. Stanford might be able to chase that mark in the final with Manuel alone capable of a split several tenths faster.

Tennessee’s Maddy Banic, Stanzi Moseley, Bailey Grinter and Erika Brown qualified second in 1:26.85. Brown split 21.42 on the anchor leg despite jamming her turn.

The Golden Bears qualified third for the final with their team of Abbey Weitzeil, Maddie Murphy, Valerie Hull and Katie McLaughlin posting a time of 1:26.93. Amy Bilquist, who swam on the relays that holds the NCAA record and previously held the American record, figures to replace Hull in the final.

Louisville (1:27.11), Ohio State (1:27.38), Virginia (1:27.60), Michigan (1:27.87) and Texas (1:28.03) also made the final. Mallory Comerford split 21.11 for the Cardinals, and Liz Li was 21.00 for OSU. Caitlin Cooper anchored for UVA in 21.29.

Event 2  Women 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
====================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:25.59  3/16/2017 California
                          A Weitzeil, M Murphy, A Bilquist, F Osman
     American: A 1:25.68  3/15/2018 Stanford, Stanford-PC
                          J Hu, S Manuel, L Pitzer, A Howe
    U.S. Open: O 1:25.59  3/16/2017 California
                          A Weitzeil, M Murphy, A Bilquist, F Osman
         Meet: C 1:25.59  3/16/2017 California
                          A Weitzeil, M Murphy, A Bilquist, F Osman
         Pool: P 1:26.90  3/16/2008 Arizona
                          L Jackson, Lacey Nymeyer, A Turner, T Baughman
                 1:28.71  AUTO NCAA A Standard
                 1:29.57  CONS NCAA B Standard
    School                           Seed    Prelims              
====================================================================
                       === Preliminaries ===                        
 
  1 Stanford                      1:26.81    1:25.68Aq      
     1) Janet Hu SR                   2) r:0.29 Simone Manuel SR      
     3) r:0.21 Lauren Pitzer FR       4) r:0.13 Ally Howe SR          
    r:+0.59  10.63        21.74 (21.74)
          32.00 (10.26)       43.16 (21.42)
          53.31 (10.15)     1:04.61 (21.45)
         1:14.51 (9.90)     1:25.68 (21.07)
  2 Tennessee                     1:27.26    1:26.85Pq      
     1) Maddie Banic JR               2) r:0.17 Stanzi Moseley SO     
     3) r:0.18 Bailey Grinter FR      4) r:0.18 Erika Brown SO        
    r:+0.70  10.73        21.97 (21.97)
          32.36 (10.39)       43.84 (21.87)
          54.12 (10.28)     1:05.43 (21.59)
        1:15.46 (10.03)     1:26.85 (21.42)
  3 California                    1:25.87    1:26.93 q      
     1) Abbey Weitzeil SO             2) r:0.32 Maddie Murphy SO      
     3) r:0.21 *Valerie Hull SR       4) r:0.19 Katie McLaughlin JR   
    r:+0.64  10.33        21.54 (21.54)
          31.84 (10.30)       43.32 (21.78)
          53.74 (10.42)     1:05.26 (21.94)
        1:15.55 (10.29)     1:26.93 (21.67)
  4 Louisville                    1:26.92    1:27.11 q      
     1) Lainey Visscher SO            2) r:0.07 Mallory Comerford JR  
     3) r:0.29 Avery Braunecker SO    4) r:0.07 Casey Fanz SO         
    r:+0.62  10.76        22.13 (22.13)
           32.06 (9.93)       43.24 (21.11)
          53.63 (10.39)     1:05.17 (21.93)
        1:15.47 (10.30)     1:27.11 (21.94)
  5 OSU                           1:27.08    1:27.38 q      
     1) Freya Rayner FR               2) r:-0.01 *Liz Li SR           
     3) r:0.12 Macie McNichols SR     4) r:0.37 Maria Coy JR          
    r:+0.68  10.96        22.41 (22.41)
           32.29 (9.88)       43.41 (21.00)
          53.80 (10.39)     1:05.37 (21.96)
        1:15.81 (10.44)     1:27.38 (22.01)
  6 Virginia                      1:26.67    1:27.60 q      
     1) Morgan Hill SO                2) r:0.28 Dina Rommel SR        
     3) r:0.08 Laine Reed SR          4) r:0.23 Caitlin Cooper SR     
    r:+0.70  10.88        22.28 (22.28)
          32.92 (10.64)       44.56 (22.28)
          54.97 (10.41)     1:06.31 (21.75)
        1:16.48 (10.17)     1:27.60 (21.29)
  7 Michigan                      1:28.00    1:27.87 q      
     1) Catie Deloof JR               2) r:0.10 Gabby Deloof SR       
     3) r:0.25 *Siobhan Haughey JR    4) r:0.32 Daria Pyshnenko FR    
    r:+0.66  10.96        22.34 (22.34)
          32.94 (10.60)       44.25 (21.91)
          54.71 (10.46)     1:06.00 (21.75)
        1:16.41 (10.41)     1:27.87 (21.87)
  8 Texas                         1:28.31    1:28.03 q      
     1) Rebecca Millard SR            2) r:0.33 Claire Adams SO       
     3) r:0.17 Brooke Hansen JR       4) r:0.20 Remedy Rule JR        
    r:+0.69  10.68        22.01 (22.01)
          32.38 (10.37)       43.72 (21.71)
          54.27 (10.55)     1:05.98 (22.26)
        1:16.40 (10.42)     1:28.03 (22.05)

500 Free

Stanford’s Katie Ledecky cruised to the top seed in an event where her best time is almost five seconds faster than anyone else in history. Ledecky won her heat in 4:29.73, more than 5.5 seconds off her American record but still almost six seconds ahead of anyone else in the event.

Virginia’s Jen Marrkand, who did not even swim in a circle-seeded heat, qualified second in 4:35.53, and Purdue’s Kaersten Meitz took third in 4:35.82. Arizona’s Kirsten Jacobsen took fourth in 4:36.07.

Michigan’s G Ryan was fifth in 4:36.42, and Ledecky’s Stanford teammate Katie Drabot took sixth in 4:36.68. Also getting into the final were Texas’ Evie Pfeifer (4:37.12) and NC State’s Hannah Moore (4:37.25).

Stanford’s Brooke Forde was the first swimmer out of the A-final, finishing ninth at 4:37.40. Her teammate Megan Byrnes tied with Georgia’s Courtney Harnish for 16th in 4:38.87, setting up a potential swim-off. Harnish ended up taking a tight win in the swim-off.

The final is almost more notable for who did not qualify. Michigan’s Rose Bi, the second seed coming into the meet, was 11th at 4:37.94, while Louisville’s Mallory Comerford finished a stunning 27th in 4:41.25. Other big misses included Indiana’s Kennedy Goss (30th, 4:41.82) and Texas’ Joanna Evans (35th, 4:42.98).

Event 3  Women 500 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 4:24.06  3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky, Stanford
     American: A 4:24.06  3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky, Stanford
    U.S. Open: O 4:24.06  3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky, Stanford
         Meet: C 4:24.06  3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky, Stanford
         Pool: P 4:26.46  11/18/2016Katie Ledecky, Stanford
                 4:36.30  AUTO NCAA A Standard
                 4:47.79  CONS NCAA B Standard
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Katie Ledecky    SO Stanford          4:26.09    4:29.73 q      
    r:+0.67  24.96        51.57 (26.61)
        1:18.87 (27.30)     1:46.35 (27.48)
        2:13.83 (27.48)     2:40.99 (27.16)
        3:08.52 (27.53)     3:35.97 (27.45)
        4:03.38 (27.41)     4:29.73 (26.35)
  2 Jen Marrkand     SR Virginia          4:39.52    4:35.53 q      
    r:+0.66  25.28        52.91 (27.63)
        1:20.77 (27.86)     1:48.57 (27.80)
        2:16.30 (27.73)     2:43.66 (27.36)
        3:11.41 (27.75)     3:39.31 (27.90)
        4:07.61 (28.30)     4:35.53 (27.92)
  3 Kaersten Meitz   SR Purdue            4:36.59    4:35.82 q      
    r:+0.80  26.03        53.62 (27.59)
        1:21.38 (27.76)     1:49.19 (27.81)
        2:17.10 (27.91)     2:44.89 (27.79)
        3:12.56 (27.67)     3:40.49 (27.93)
        4:08.52 (28.03)     4:35.82 (27.30)
  4 Kirsten Jacobse  SO Arizona           4:37.47    4:36.07 q      
    r:+0.83  25.75        53.39 (27.64)
        1:21.17 (27.78)     1:49.29 (28.12)
        2:17.38 (28.09)     2:45.41 (28.03)
        3:13.45 (28.04)     3:41.22 (27.77)
        4:08.99 (27.77)     4:36.07 (27.08)
  5 G Ryan           SR Michigan          4:37.37    4:36.42 q      
    r:+0.72  26.43        54.60 (28.17)
        1:22.74 (28.14)     1:50.88 (28.14)
        2:18.79 (27.91)     2:46.97 (28.18)
        3:15.17 (28.20)     3:42.85 (27.68)
        4:10.12 (27.27)     4:36.42 (26.30)
  6 Katie Drabot     SO Stanford          4:37.51    4:36.68 q      
    r:+0.73  25.61        53.47 (27.86)
        1:21.61 (28.14)     1:49.92 (28.31)
        2:18.39 (28.47)     2:46.09 (27.70)
        3:13.92 (27.83)     3:41.76 (27.84)
        4:09.46 (27.70)     4:36.68 (27.22)
  7 Evie Pfeifer     FR Texas             4:37.81    4:37.12 q      
    r:+0.78  26.17        54.20 (28.03)
        1:22.69 (28.49)     1:50.89 (28.20)
        2:18.76 (27.87)     2:46.70 (27.94)
        3:14.84 (28.14)     3:42.71 (27.87)
        4:10.37 (27.66)     4:37.12 (26.75)
  8 Hannah Moore     SR NCState           4:37.51    4:37.25 q      
    r:+0.69  25.26        52.59 (27.33)
        1:20.32 (27.73)     1:48.38 (28.06)
        2:16.59 (28.21)     2:44.88 (28.29)
        3:13.10 (28.22)     3:41.38 (28.28)
        4:09.56 (28.18)     4:37.25 (27.69)

200 IM

Texas A&M’s Sydney Pickrem held the top seed in the 200 IM entering the meet, and she maintained the No. 1 spot out of prelims with her time of 1:53.48. That was enough to top Stanford’s Ella Eastin, the American record-holder, who qualified second in 1:53.74.

Wisconsin’s Beata Nelson took third in 1:53.82. Tennessee’s Meghan Small (1:54.04) and Texas A&M’s Bethany Galat (1:54.20) were the next two qualifiers.

Cal’s Kathleen Baker, the defending champion in the event, qualified sixth in 1:54.22. Claiming the outside lanes for the final were Denver’s Bailey Andison (1:54.44) and Kentucky’s Asia Seidt (1:54.78).

Event 4  Women 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:51.65  3/17/2016 Ella Eastin, Stanford
     American: A 1:51.65  3/17/2016 Ella Easton, Stanford
    U.S. Open: O 1:51.65  3/17/2016 Ella Eastin, Stanford
         Meet: C 1:51.65  3/17/2016 Ella Eastin, Stanford
         Pool: P 1:52.63  11/30/2017Melanie Margalis, Saint Petersburg
                 1:55.00  AUTO NCAA A Standard
                 2:01.59  CONS NCAA B Standard
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 *Sydney Pickrem  JR TAMU              1:52.69    1:53.48 q      
    r:+0.74  25.18        53.32 (28.14)
        1:25.98 (32.66)     1:53.48 (27.50)
  2 Ella Eastin      JR Stanford          1:53.24    1:53.74 q      
    r:+0.71  24.91        53.02 (28.11)
        1:26.22 (33.20)     1:53.74 (27.52)
  3 Beata Nelson     SO Wisconsin         1:53.85    1:53.82 q      
    r:+0.74  24.61        53.02 (28.41)
        1:26.63 (33.61)     1:53.82 (27.19)
  4 Meghan Small     SO Tennessee         1:53.05    1:54.04 q      
    r:+0.78  24.92        53.26 (28.34)
        1:26.23 (32.97)     1:54.04 (27.81)
  5 Bethany Galat    SR TAMU              1:55.16    1:54.20 q      
    r:+0.62  24.91        54.58 (29.67)
        1:26.46 (31.88)     1:54.20 (27.74)
  6 Kathleen Baker   JR California        1:52.70    1:54.22 q      
    r:+0.66  24.90        53.23 (28.33)
        1:26.05 (32.82)     1:54.22 (28.17)
  7 *Bailey Andison  JR Denver            1:54.38    1:54.44 q      
    r:+0.64  24.77        53.93 (29.16)
        1:27.15 (33.22)     1:54.44 (27.29)
  8 Asia Seidt       SO Kentucky          1:53.04    1:54.78 q      
    r:+0.72  24.98        52.45 (27.47)
        1:27.15 (34.70)     1:54.78 (27.63)

50 Free

Ohio State’s Liz Li picked up the top spot in the splash-and-dash by one hundredth, posting a time of 21.48, while Cal’s Abbey Weitzeil came in second at 21.49. Weitzeil holds the American record in the event at 21.12.

Defending champion Simone Manuel tied with Tennessee’s Erika Brown for third in 21.60. Texas A&M’s Beryl Gastadello took fifth in 21.63.

UNC’s Caroline Baldwin (21.80), Auburn’s Aly Tetzloff (21.85) and Virginia’s Caitlin Cooper (21.95) were the others to get into the A-final, while the Cal duo of Maddie Murphy (21.96) and Amy Bilquist (21.97) just missed and will occupy the top two spots in the B-final.

Event 5  Women 50 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 21.17  3/16/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
     American: A 21.12  3/5/2016  Abbey Weitzeil, Canyons Aquatics
    U.S. Open: O 21.12  3/5/2016  Abbey Weitzeil, Canyons Aquatics
         Meet: C 21.17  3/16/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
         Pool: P 21.69  3/16/2008 Lara Jackson, Arizona
                 21.80  AUTO NCAA A Standard
                 22.99  CONS NCAA B Standard
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 *Liz Li          SR OSU                 21.28      21.46Pq      
    r:+0.66  10.37        21.46 (11.09)
  2 Abbey Weitzeil   SO California          21.41      21.49Pq      
    r:+0.63  10.36        21.49 (11.13)
  3 Erika Brown      SO Tennessee           21.39      21.60Pq      
    r:+0.65  10.59        21.60 (11.01)
  3 Simone Manuel    SR Stanford            21.20      21.60Pq      
    r:+0.70  10.53        21.60 (11.07)
  5 *Beryl Gastalde  SR TAMU                21.69      21.63Pq      
    r:+0.62  10.47        21.63 (11.16)
  6 Caroline Baldwi  SR UNC                 21.48      21.80 q      
    r:+0.68  10.55        21.80 (11.25)
  7 Alyssa Tetzloff  JR Auburn              21.83      21.85 q      
    r:+0.62  10.46        21.85 (11.39)
  8 Caitlin Cooper   SR Virginia            21.54      21.95 q      
    r:+0.67  10.73        21.95 (11.22)

4×100 Medley Relay

Stanford qualified first in the medley relay in 3:27.58. Janet Hu (51.21), Grace Zhao (58.69), Lindsey Engel (50.98) and Simone Manuel (46.70) swam for the Cardinal, while the finals team will likely consist of Ally Howe on backstroke, Zhao or Kim Williams on breast, Hu on fly and Manuel on free.

Indiana’s Ally Rockett, Lilly King, Christie Jensen and Kennedy Goss qualified second in 3:28.19. King provided the hammer with a 56.59 breaststroke split. Tennessee’s Meghan Small, Katie Armitage, Maddy Banic and Stanzi Moseley took third in 3:28.49, with Erika Brown a possibility to join that team in finals.

Louisville finished fourth in 3:28.50 after Mallory Comerford’s 46.13 anchor split, and Minnesota was fifth in 3:28.81. Lindsey Kozelsky split 57.74 on breast for the Golden Gophers. Texas A&M (3:28.92), Cal (3:30.25) and Texas (3:30.60) also made the championship final.

The Golden Bears swam without both Kathleen Baker (back) and Abbey Weitzeil (free) in prelims and should move up considerably in finals.

Event 7  Women 400 Yard Medley Relay
====================================================================
         NCAA: N 3:25.15  2/24/2018 Stanford
                          A Howe, K Williams, J Hu, S Manuel
     American: A 3:25.15  2/24/2018 Stanford
                          A Howe, K Williams, J Hu, S Manuel
    U.S. Open: O 3:25.15  2/24/2018 Stanford
                          A Howe, K Williams, J Hu, S Manuel
         Meet: C 3:26.14  3/17/2016 Stanford
                          A Howe, S Haase, J Hu, L Neal
         Pool: P 3:27.81  2/15/2018 Indiana University
                          A Rockett, L King, C Jensen, G Haskett
                 3:32.67  AUTO NCAA A Standard
                 3:34.48  CONS NCAA B Standard
    School                           Seed    Prelims              
====================================================================
                       === Preliminaries ===                        
 
  1 Stanford                      3:25.15    3:27.58Pq      
     1) Janet Hu SR                   2) r:0.11 Grace Zhao FR         
     3) r:0.12 Lindsey Engel SR       4) r:0.23 Simone Manuel SR      
    r:+0.59  24.67        51.21 (51.21)
        1:18.43 (27.22)     1:49.90 (58.69)
        2:13.39 (23.49)     2:40.88 (50.98)
        3:03.26 (22.38)     3:27.58 (46.70)
  2 Indiana                       3:27.81    3:28.19 q      
     1) Ally Rockett SR               2) r:0.27 Lilly King JR         
     3) r:0.19 Christie Jensen JR     4) r:0.18 *Kennedy Goss SR      
    r:+0.72  24.84        51.94 (51.94)
        1:18.32 (26.38)     1:48.53 (56.59)
        2:12.18 (23.65)     2:40.00 (51.47)
        3:03.10 (23.10)     3:28.19 (48.19)
  3 Tennessee                     3:29.26    3:28.49 q      
     1) Meghan Small SO               2) r:0.38 Katie Armitage SR     
     3) r:0.22 Maddie Banic JR        4) r:0.04 Stanzi Moseley SO     
    r:+0.74  25.06        51.46 (51.46)
        1:19.01 (27.55)     1:50.28 (58.82)
        2:13.52 (23.24)     2:41.67 (51.39)
        3:03.94 (22.27)     3:28.49 (46.82)
  4 Louisville                    3:29.63    3:28.50 q      
     1) *Alina Kendzior JR            2) r:0.07 *Mariia Astashkina FR 
     3) r:0.28 Grace Oglesby SO       4) r:0.25 Mallory Comerford JR  
    r:+0.67  25.28        52.33 (52.33)
        1:19.65 (27.32)     1:51.27 (58.94)
        2:15.06 (23.79)     2:42.37 (51.10)
        3:04.46 (22.09)     3:28.50 (46.13)
  5 Minnesota                     3:28.96    3:28.81 q      
     1) Tevyn Waddell SO              2) r:0.08 Lindsey Kozelsky SO   
     3) r:0.42 Danielle Nack SR       4) r:0.32 Zoe Avestruz JR       
    r:+0.63  25.26        51.99 (51.99)
        1:18.65 (26.66)     1:49.73 (57.74)
        2:13.15 (23.42)     2:41.20 (51.47)
        3:03.90 (22.70)     3:28.81 (47.61)
  6 TAMU                          3:29.02    3:28.92 q      
     1) Lisa Bratton SR               2) r:0.21 Jorie Caneta SR       
     3) r:0.11 *Jing Quah FR          4) r:0.34 *Beryl Gastaldello SR 
    r:+0.71  25.44        51.65 (51.65)
        1:18.86 (27.21)     1:49.60 (57.95)
        2:13.40 (23.80)     2:41.39 (51.79)
        3:04.28 (22.89)     3:28.92 (47.53)
  7 California                    3:25.50    3:30.25 q      
     1) Keaton Blovad SO              2) r:0.09 Ali Harrison FR       
     3) r:0.23 *Noemie Thomas SR      4) r:0.26 Katie McLaughlin JR   
    r:+0.62  25.65        52.58 (52.58)
        1:20.30 (27.72)     1:52.29 (59.71)
        2:15.69 (23.40)     2:43.10 (50.81)
        3:05.32 (22.22)     3:30.25 (47.15)
  8 Texas                         3:29.51    3:30.60 q      
     1) Claire Adams SO               2) r:0.21 Kennedy Lohman SO     
     3) r:0.02 Lauren Case SO         4) r:0.25 Rebecca Millard SR    
    r:+0.64  25.14        51.63 (51.63)
        1:19.18 (27.55)     1:50.88 (59.25)
        2:15.01 (24.13)     2:42.81 (51.93)
        3:05.50 (22.69)     3:30.60 (47.79)

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