Cal’s Reece Whitley Notches No. 3 Time in History of 200-Yard Breaststroke

Reece Whitley; Photo Courtesy: Connor Trimble

Reece Whitley Notches No. 3 Time in History of 200-Yard Breaststroke

Reece Whitley and Trenton Julian picked up NCAA A cuts Saturday at an unscored meet between California and Stanford at the Speiker Aquatics Complex, among more than 60 B cuts at the meet.

Whitley was quickest in the 200 breaststroke, blasting a time of 1:48.53. It’s way ahead of the A cut of 1:52.61 and quicker than his best time of 1:49.85 from the 2019-20 season. It’s also one of seven Spieker Aquatics Complex records set by the Bears.

Julian went 1:39.93 in the 200 butterfly to win the event. It’s clear of the A cut by eight tenths of a second. Julian was sixth in the nation in 2019-20 with a best time of 1:40.78.

“We’re thankful for the approval from public health authorities to compete in an official capacity against Stanford today,” said Cal head coach David Durden. “Our program has diligently followed the COVID-19 protocols that have been put in place, and we recognize the fragile nature of what it takes to compete in any sport during these challenging times.”

Among the other B cuts in the men’s race were: Notre Dame transfer Zach Yeadon, who went 4:14.90 in the 500 free, a B cut along with Stanford’s Preston Forst (who also got B cuts in the 200 fly and 200 free) and Grant Shoults; Daniel Roy and Ethan Dang of Stanford in both the 100 and 200 breast; Cal’s Luke Maurer in the 100 free and 200 free; 200 IM winner Jonathan Affeld of Stanford earned B cuts in both that event and the 200 fly; and Stanford’s Alex Liang in the 200 IM and 200 fly.

Yeadon’s time is a pool record, as is the time of 3:42.69 set by Sean Grieshop in the 400 IM. Ryan Hoffer cracked 19 seconds with an 18.97 in the 50 free for a pool record. Destin Lasco (45.21 in the 100 back) and Daniel Carr (1:40.28 in the 200 back) also set pool marks.

In the women’s meet, Stanford’s Brooke Forde won the 500 free and a 200 breaststroke time trial in B cut times each, clocking in at 4:39.58 in the former and 2:09.83 in the latter. Cal’s Emily Gantriis won the 50 free and was second in the 100 free, both B cuts, spots that were reversed by teammate Eloise Riley in the same events. Isabel Ivey won the 100 fly and 100 back, both in B cuts.

Stanford’s Emma Wheal (50 free, 100 fly), Alex Crisera (100 back, 200 back), Grace Zhao (100 breast, 200 breast) and Zoe Bartel (100 breast, 200 breast) picked up two B cuts each, as did Cal’s Rachel Klinker (500 free, 200 fly), Alicia Wilson (200 IM, 200 back), Elise Garcia (100 fly, 100 free) and Isabelle Stadden (100 back, 200 back).

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