By Taylor Covington, Swimming World College Intern.
On Day Two of the 2019 American Athletic Conference Championships in Indiana, the Houston Cougars saw more uncontested women’s victories, maintaining their relay sweep and conceding only one event in the meet thus far. The 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, and 200 free relay gave spectators an exciting array of events in which each respective team was able to showcase its strengths. With multiple NCAA B-cuts across the board, the first day of individual competition proved to be a fast one, with the East Carolina Pirates building throughout the session to a climactic 200 free relay win and an equally impressive showing on the diving boards.
Cincinnati continued to impress, filling up the championship heats to sneakily pull away in overall points, as Connecticut and ECU continued to trade points in a battle for second place. With impressive performances from Houston standout Zarena Brown and Cincinnati’s Dominic Polling, the AAC is proving itself as a conference to be reckoned with even on a national stage.
Combined Team Scores - Through Event 15 1. Cincinnati, University of 539.5 2. Connecticut, University of 480.5 3. East Carolina University 439 4. Southern Methodist University 415 5. Houston, University of 303 6. Tulane University 170
Women’s 500 Free
Two women nabbed NCAA B-cuts in the first event of the evening, with Zarena Brown tallying another win for the Cougars with a time of 4:45.58. Tulane’s Olivia Johnson put the Green Wave back in the game, dropping an impressive 4:47.18 to clinch silver. Connecticut sophomore Ryan Dulaney proved resilient in a field of talented and experienced upperclassmen, staying within striking distance of Johnson throughout the race to secure her spot on the podium with a time of 4:49.05. Cincinnati’s Sarah Laabs (4:51.31) finished fourth followed by teammate Katelyn Qualls (4:52.89), Houston’s Monique Rae (4:53.12) and Samantha Medlin (4:53.25), and East Carolina’s Mariana Lippert (4:55.50).
Event 8 Women 500 Yard Freestyle
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Meet Record: M 4:42.68 2/19/2015 Jacqueline Keire, Cincinnati-OH
4:36.30 D1-A D1-A Standard
4:47.20 D1-B D1-B Standard
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Zarena Brown JR Houston-GU 4:47.20 4:45.58 20
26.37 54.95 (28.58)
1:24.13 (29.18) 1:53.28 (29.15)
2:22.14 (28.86) 2:51.29 (29.15)
3:19.88 (28.59) 3:48.58 (28.70)
4:17.12 (28.54) 4:45.58 (28.46)
2 Olivia Johnson JR Tulane-LA 4:48.46 4:47.18 17
26.85 55.35 (28.50)
1:24.34 (28.99) 1:53.43 (29.09)
2:22.39 (28.96) 2:51.46 (29.07)
3:20.33 (28.87) 3:49.30 (28.97)
4:18.39 (29.09) 4:47.18 (28.79)
3 Ryan Dulaney SO Connecticut-CT 4:50.92 4:49.05 16
26.47 54.99 (28.52)
1:23.85 (28.86) 1:52.82 (28.97)
2:22.02 (29.20) 2:51.66 (29.64)
3:21.11 (29.45) 3:50.74 (29.63)
4:20.10 (29.36) 4:49.05 (28.95)
4 Sarah Laabs JR Cincinnati-OH 4:48.50 4:51.31 15
26.81 55.28 (28.47)
1:24.52 (29.24) 1:54.07 (29.55)
2:23.80 (29.73) 2:53.59 (29.79)
3:23.24 (29.65) 3:52.95 (29.71)
4:22.37 (29.42) 4:51.31 (28.94)
5 Katelyn Qualls SO Cincinnati-OH 4:51.73 4:52.89 14
27.45 56.62 (29.17)
1:26.08 (29.46) 1:55.76 (29.68)
2:25.37 (29.61) 2:54.94 (29.57)
3:24.76 (29.82) 3:54.51 (29.75)
4:24.16 (29.65) 4:52.89 (28.73)
6 Monique Rae SO Houston-GU 4:51.75 4:53.12 13
26.87 56.28 (29.41)
1:25.69 (29.41) 1:55.34 (29.65)
2:25.25 (29.91) 2:55.13 (29.88)
3:25.01 (29.88) 3:55.10 (30.09)
4:24.67 (29.57) 4:53.12 (28.45)
7 Samantha Medlin SO Houston-GU 4:52.56 4:53.25 12
27.29 56.25 (28.96)
1:25.40 (29.15) 1:54.77 (29.37)
2:24.05 (29.28) 2:53.52 (29.47)
3:23.49 (29.97) 3:53.78 (30.29)
4:24.12 (30.34) 4:53.25 (29.13)
8 Mariana Lippert FR East Carolina-NC 4:52.59 4:55.50 11
26.77 56.00 (29.23)
1:25.59 (29.59) 1:55.38 (29.79)
2:25.41 (30.03) 2:55.27 (29.86)
3:25.51 (30.24) 3:55.82 (30.31)
4:26.19 (30.37) 4:55.50 (29.31)
Men’s 500 Free
Cincinnati swept the first men’s individual event of the night, showcasing their lethal abilities in mid-distance freestyle. Din Selmanovic ran away from the pack with a near perfectly split race, dropping a 4:18.55, a time that would have landed him in the NCAA Championships last year. His teammate, Tobias Van Dyke, cruised in second place with a time of 4:22.09, a narrow victory over yet another Bearcat, Justin Crew (4:22.71). In a single swim, the Bearcats tacked on a healthy 53 points to their overall team score, harnessing the lead. Connecticut’s Karl Bishop (4:22.86) came in at fourth followed by East Carolina’s Grega Popovic (4:25.56), Connecticut’s Joshua Wroblews (4:25.89), Connecticut’s Alfred Hansen (4:27.56), and Cincinnati’s Tyler Jones (4:29.04).
Event 9 Men 500 Yard Freestyle
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Meet Record: M 4:17.68 2/16/2017 Jonathan Gomez, SMU-NT
4:12.22 D1-A D1-A Standard
4:23.34 D1-B D1-B Standard
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Din Selmanovic JR Cincinnati-OH 4:21.58 4:18.55 20
23.24 48.64 (25.40)
1:14.68 (26.04) 1:40.84 (26.16)
2:07.22 (26.38) 2:33.64 (26.42)
3:00.09 (26.45) 3:26.52 (26.43)
3:52.80 (26.28) 4:18.55 (25.75)
2 Tobias Van Dyke SO Cincinnati-OH 4:24.24 4:22.09 17
23.80 49.55 (25.75)
1:15.59 (26.04) 1:41.95 (26.36)
2:08.81 (26.86) 2:35.50 (26.69)
3:02.04 (26.54) 3:28.90 (26.86)
3:55.83 (26.93) 4:22.09 (26.26)
3 Justin Crew SR Cincinnati-OH 4:24.62 4:22.71 16
23.60 49.41 (25.81)
1:15.75 (26.34) 1:42.42 (26.67)
2:09.25 (26.83) 2:36.05 (26.80)
3:02.91 (26.86) 3:29.75 (26.84)
3:56.61 (26.86) 4:22.71 (26.10)
4 Karl Bishop JR Connecticut-CT 4:25.13 4:22.86 15
23.84 49.72 (25.88)
1:16.07 (26.35) 1:42.63 (26.56)
2:09.22 (26.59) 2:35.92 (26.70)
3:02.46 (26.54) 3:29.41 (26.95)
3:56.59 (27.18) 4:22.86 (26.27)
5 Grega Popovic JR East Carolina-NC 4:26.91 4:25.56 14
23.94 49.99 (26.05)
1:16.29 (26.30) 1:43.20 (26.91)
2:10.41 (27.21) 2:37.71 (27.30)
3:05.15 (27.44) 3:32.57 (27.42)
3:59.70 (27.13) 4:25.56 (25.86)
6 Joshua Wroblews SO Connecticut-CT 4:24.76 4:25.89 13
23.75 49.82 (26.07)
1:16.23 (26.41) 1:43.18 (26.95)
2:10.24 (27.06) 2:37.59 (27.35)
3:04.86 (27.27) 3:32.01 (27.15)
3:59.28 (27.27) 4:25.89 (26.61)
7 Alfred Hansen FR Connecticut-CT 4:27.60 4:27.56 12
24.82 51.74 (26.92)
1:18.65 (26.91) 1:45.62 (26.97)
2:12.91 (27.29) 2:40.28 (27.37)
3:07.34 (27.06) 3:33.98 (26.64)
4:00.77 (26.79) 4:27.56 (26.79)
8 Tyler Jones JR Cincinnati-OH 4:26.90 4:29.04 11
24.70 51.18 (26.48)
1:18.21 (27.03) 1:45.32 (27.11)
2:12.43 (27.11) 2:39.73 (27.30)
3:07.29 (27.56) 3:34.97 (27.68)
4:02.35 (27.38) 4:29.04 (26.69)
Women’s 200 IM
Undefeated in every women’s swimming event to this point, Houston claimed another conference win with a brilliant finish from Laura Laderoute (1:59.20), who held off Tulane’s Michelle Zinc (1:59.34) just enough to secure the victory. Peyton Kondis swam in with a NCAA B-cut of 1:59.50 to take the last spot on the podium, despite a loaded heat where five women went sub-2:00. SMU’s Andrea Podmanik (1:59.79) swam in at fourth, followed by Tulane’s Katherine Mcdon (1:59.86), Houston’s Eleanna Koutsou (2:00.27), Houston’s Ioanna Sacha (2:00.36), and SMU’s Gabriella Grobler (2:00.82).
Event 10 Women 200 Yard IM
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Meet Record: M 1:56.34 2/20/2014 Tanja Kylliainen, Louisville
1:54.31 D1-A D1-A Standard
1:59.94 D1-B D1-B Standard
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Laura Laderoute JR Houston-GU 2:00.10 1:59.20 20
26.21 55.26 (29.05)
1:30.60 (35.34) 1:59.20 (28.60)
2 Michelle Zelnic SR Tulane-LA 2:00.02 1:59.34 17
26.52 56.30 (29.78)
1:31.00 (34.70) 1:59.34 (28.34)
3 Peyton Kondis JR Houston-GU 2:00.24 1:59.50 16
26.52 57.75 (31.23)
1:30.83 (33.08) 1:59.50 (28.67)
4 Andrea Podmanik SO SMU-NT 2:01.10 1:59.79 15
25.99 57.10 (31.11)
1:30.73 (33.63) 1:59.79 (29.06)
5 Katherine McDon SO Tulane-LA 2:01.46 1:59.86 14
26.87 57.14 (30.27)
1:31.07 (33.93) 1:59.86 (28.79)
6 Eleanna Koutsou SR Houston-GU 2:01.60 2:00.27 13
26.65 55.29 (28.64)
1:31.57 (36.28) 2:00.27 (28.70)
7 Ioanna Sacha SO Houston-GU 2:00.17 2:00.36 12
26.99 56.50 (29.51)
1:31.06 (34.56) 2:00.36 (29.30)
8 Gabriella Grobl SO SMU-NT 2:01.89 2:00.82 11
26.07 56.74 (30.67)
1:31.93 (35.19) 2:00.82 (28.89)
Men’s 200 IM
Cincinnati continued to flex its muscle with another first place finish from underclassman Polling (1:45.43), while freshman Marek Osina (1:45.96) posted ECU’s first top-three swim of the night. The two completely left the field, switching leads throughout the race to build to a climactic final 50, where Osina narrowly out-split Polling but found himself unable to recover from the Bearcat’s 29.31 breaststroke leg. Connecticut’s Cooper Knapp slid in at third with a time of 1:47.99, nearly a second faster than his preliminary swim that morning. Connecticut’s Emils Gustav (1:48.13) came in at fourth, followed by Cincinnati’s Robert Oland (1:48.44), Dalton Lillibri (1:48.48), and Connor Blatt (1:50.09), and East Carolina’s Tristan Taylor (1:51.15).
Event 11 Men 200 Yard IM
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Meet Record: M 1:45.30 2/20/2014 Nolan Tesone, Louisville
1:41.34 D1-A D1-A Standard
1:46.77 D1-B D1-B Standard
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Dominic Polling SO Cincinnati-OH 1:46.00 1:45.43 20
23.35 50.55 (27.20)
1:19.86 (29.31) 1:45.43 (25.57)
2 Marek Osina FR East Carolina-NC 1:48.45 1:45.96 17
23.29 50.05 (26.76)
1:20.51 (30.46) 1:45.96 (25.45)
3 Cooper Knapp JR Connecticut-CT 1:48.89 1:47.99 16
22.98 49.49 (26.51)
1:21.47 (31.98) 1:47.99 (26.52)
4 Emils Gustav Ju FR Connecticut-CT 1:49.85 1:48.13 15
23.47 50.64 (27.17)
1:23.10 (32.46) 1:48.13 (25.03)
5 Robert Oland SO Cincinnati-OH 1:49.60 1:48.44 14
24.19 50.86 (26.67)
1:22.34 (31.48) 1:48.44 (26.10)
6 Dalton Lillibri FR Cincinnati-OH 1:49.23 1:48.48 13
23.67 51.72 (28.05)
1:21.48 (29.76) 1:48.48 (27.00)
7 Connor Blatt FR Cincinnati-OH 1:49.28 1:50.09 12
23.88 50.61 (26.73)
1:23.14 (32.53) 1:50.09 (26.95)
8 Tristan Taylor SR East Carolina-NC 1:49.36 1:51.15 11
23.25 50.29 (27.04)
1:22.74 (32.45) 1:51.15 (28.41)
Women’s 50 Free
In true form, SMU wasted no time in proving their stellar sprint capabilities, with Erin Trahan dropping a 22.53 to claim first over Houston’s top sprinter, Mykenzie Leehy (22.76). Olivia Schmelze pulled out her first conference championship hat trick, as the Cincinnati freshmen dropped nearly half a second from her prelim swim to snatch third place with a time of 22.89. East Carolina’s Catherine Johns (22.91) came in at fourth, followed by Houston’s Kathryn Power (23.16), Cincinnati’s Anhelina Kutsko (23.28) and Madeline Exton (23.43), and SMU’s Samantha Smith (23.56).
Event 12 Women 50 Yard Freestyle
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Meet Record: M 22.19 2/16/2017 Jacqueline Keire, Cincinnati-OH
21.74 D1-A D1-A Standard
22.76 D1-B D1-B Standard
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Erin Trahan JR SMU-NT 22.87 22.53 20
10.85 22.53 (11.68)
2 Mykenzie Leehy SO Houston-GU 22.89 22.76 17
11.20 22.76 (11.56)
3 Olivia Schmelze FR Cincinnati-OH 23.31 22.89 16
11.07 22.89 (11.82)
4 Catherine Johns JR East Carolina-NC 23.07 22.91 15
5 Kathryn Power SO Houston-GU 23.25 23.16 14
11.24 23.16 (11.92)
6 Anhelina Kutsko SO Cincinnati-OH 23.29 23.28 13
11.39 23.28 (11.89)
7 Madeline Exton SO Cincinnati-OH 23.34 23.43 12
11.40 23.43 (12.03)
8 Samantha Smith SO SMU-NT 23.36 23.56 11
11.30 23.56 (12.26)
Men’s 50 Free
Two men annihilated the 20-second mark, while the Pirates landed two on the medal stand in an exciting men’s sprint. Connecticut’s William Kearsey harnessed the win with an impressive 19.78, barely out-touching ECU junior Gustavo Santos who clocked in at a 19.85. Gavin Erdmann (20.02)was close behind, eclipsing the sub-20 trend by two-hundredths of a second to earn third. East Carolina’s Eric Hinderup (20.07) came in fourth, followed by SMU’s Ralph Koo (20.21), Cincinnati’s Alexander Fortman (20.30), East Carolina’s Victor Martins (20.37), and Cincinnati’s Kevin McCaffrey (20.43).
Event 13 Men 50 Yard Freestyle
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Meet Record: M 19.58 2/20/2014 Joao De Lucca, Louisville
19.00 D1-A D1-A Standard
19.96 D1-B D1-B Standard
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 William Kearsey JR Connecticut-CT 19.95 19.78 20
9.50 19.78 (10.28)
2 Gustavo Santos JR East Carolina-NC 20.07 19.85 17
3 Gavin Erdmann SR East Carolina-NC 20.00 20.02 16
9.66 20.02 (10.36)
4 Eric Hinderup FR East Carolina-NC 20.15 20.07 15
9.72 20.07 (10.35)
5 Ralph Koo JR SMU-NT 20.31 20.21 14
9.84 20.21 (10.37)
6 Alexander Fortm JR Cincinnati-OH 20.29 20.30 13
9.91 20.30 (10.39)
7 Victor Martins SR East Carolina-NC 20.33 20.37 12
9.73 20.37 (10.64)
8 Kevin McCaffrey SR Cincinnati-OH 20.55 20.43 11
9.93 20.43 (10.50)
Men’s 1m Diving
SMU proved relentless on the boards once again, with Parker Hardigree crushing the competition to earn a 324.00. ECU made its presence known, climbing its way up the leaderboard with an impressive showing from two underclassmen. Luke Stivers was unfazed by the grandeur of his first conference championship, earning a 288.20 ahead of his teammate, Devin Nugent, who also put forth a strong performance to obtain a 281.65. Connecticut’s Kyle Kennedy came in at fourth, followed by teammate Torry Wagner, Cincinnati’s Dylan Porter (259.55), William Staubit (249.70), and Louie Hunt (247.80).
Event 7 Men 1 mtr Diving
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Meet Record: M 386.80 2/19/2014 Devin Burnett, SMU
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Parker Hardigre FR SMU-NT 296.60 324.00 20
2 Luke Stivers FR East Carolina-NC 289.30 288.20 17
3 Devin Nugent SO East Carolina-NC 257.15 281.65 16
4 Kyle Kennedy JR Connecticut-CT 270.50 273.60 15
5 Torry Wagner SO Connecticut-CT 244.75 267.95 14
6 Dylan Porter Cincinnati-OH 267.35 259.55 13
7 William Staubit SO Cincinnati-OH 239.25 249.70 12
8 Louie Hunt SR Cincinnati-OH 286.00 247.80 11
Women’s 200 Free Relay
Houston’s relay rounded out the women’s session with strong swims from Brown, Laderoute, Leehy,and Kathryn Power, all splitting well under 23 seconds to complete the Cougars’ relay sweep with a time of 1:30.59. Despite another strong swim from Trahan, SMU was forced to concede the victory, but still managed to piece together an impressive time of 1:31.56 as the result of a cohesive effort from Passon, Trahan, Samantha Smith, and Andrea Podmanikova. Tulane (1:32.23) and Connecticut (1:32.44) finished third and fourth respectively, with the Green Wave managing to slide into its second top-three finish of the night.
Event 14 Women 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
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Meet Record: M 1:29.83 2/20/2014 SMU
M Erasmus, I Arcila, M Babok, N Lindborg
1:28.61 D1-A D1-A Standard
1:29.36 D1-B D1-B Standard
School Seed Finals Points
==================================================================================
1 Houston-GU 'A' 1:31.23 1:30.59 40
1) Zarena Brown JR 2) r:0.29 Laura Laderoute JR
3) r:0.29 Kathryn Power SO 4) r:0.18 Mykenzie Leehy SO
22.98 45.68 (22.70)
1:08.45 (22.77) 1:30.59 (22.14)
2 SMU-NT 'A' 1:33.21 1:31.56 34
1) Erin Trahan JR 2) r:0.43 Felicity Passon SO
3) r:0.43 Samantha Smith SO 4) r:0.30 Andrea Podmanikova SO
22.82 45.61 (22.79)
1:08.89 (23.28) 1:31.56 (22.67)
3 Tulane-LA 'A' 1:32.56 1:32.23 32
1) Judith Desforges FR 2) r:0.28 Wei Zhang SR
3) r:0.31 Michelle Zelnick SR 4) r:0.21 Lillian Morgan SR
23.71 46.90 (23.19)
1:09.52 (22.62) 1:32.23 (22.71)
4 Connecticut-CT 'A' 1:32.63 1:32.44 30
1) Brazil Rule JR 2) r:0.42 Jacklyn Van Lew SR
3) r:0.09 Linnea Anderson FR 4) r:0.25 Madeline Blair SR
23.25 46.61 (23.36)
1:09.52 (22.91) 1:32.44 (22.92)
5 Cincinnati-OH 'A' 1:32.48 1:32.82 28
1) Olivia Schmelzer FR 2) r:0.51 Anhelina Kutsko SO
3) r:0.39 Abigail Johnston SO 4) r:0.34 Madeline Exton SO
23.33 46.39 (23.06)
1:09.69 (23.30) 1:32.82 (23.13)
6 East Carolina-NC 'A' 1:35.06 1:34.19 26
1) Catherine Johnson JR 2) r:0.05 Mary Dupree FR
3) r:0.20 Sophie McNeill JR 4) r:0.30 Morgan Despres FR
23.07 46.98 (23.91)
1:10.23 (23.25) 1:34.19 (23.96)
Men’s 200 Free Relay
Building to a climactic end of the session, the Pirates ran away with the victory in the final event of the night, with the combined forces of Erdmann, Eric Hinderup, Santos, and Victor Martins leading to a stellar time of 1:19.76. The Huskies proved unable to attain the lead afforded by Kearsey’s 19.69 first leg, ultimately settling for the silver with an impressive time of 1:20.35, enough to establish an overall second-place standing by the end of the evening. SMU (1:20.58) and Cincinnati (1:20.61) rounded out the heat with an exciting fight to the finish, crushing their seeds and sending off the second finals session on a high.
Event 15 Men 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
==================================================================================
Meet Record: M 1:18.34 2/20/2014 Louisville
C Blondell, J De Lucca, T Dahlia, T Carroll
1:17.41 D1-A D1-A Standard
1:18.11 D1-B D1-B Standard
School Seed Finals Points
==================================================================================
1 East Carolina-NC 'A' 1:19.76 1:19.27 40
1) Gavin Erdmann SR 2) r:0.22 Eric Hinderup FR
3) r:0.24 Gustavo Santos JR 4) r:0.34 Victor Martins ntos SR
19.97 39.73 (19.76)
59.46 (19.73) 1:19.27 (19.81)
2 Connecticut-CT 'A' 1:23.10 1:20.35 34
1) William Kearsey JR 2) r:0.26 Emils Gustav Jurcik FR
3) r:0.15 Luke Martin SR 4) r:0.38 Kyle Dunlap SO
19.69 40.16 (20.47)
1:00.42 (20.26) 1:20.35 (19.93)
3 SMU-NT 'A' 1:23.48 1:20.58 32
1) Ralph Koo JR 2) r:0.15 Carson Klein
3) r:0.32 Matthew Nutter SO 4) r:0.20 Lucas Schenke SR
20.43 40.47 (20.04)
1:00.59 (20.12) 1:20.58 (19.99)
4 Cincinnati-OH 'A' 1:21.45 1:20.61 30
1) Dominic Polling SO 2) r:0.35 Kevin McCaffrey SR
3) r:0.37 Alberto Garcia FR 4) r:0.49 Alexander Fortman JR
20.42 40.47 (20.05)
1:00.75 (20.28) 1:20.61 (19.86)