CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 8. THE assembled distance freestyle talent registered some sparkling times at the Charlotte UltraSwim held at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday. Overall, the marathon corps clocked five Olympic cuts, two meet records, six National times and 24 Junior National marks during the second stop of the USA Swimming Grand Prix series.
800-meter freestyle
North Baltimore’s Katie Hoff rolled to an Olympic cut and meet–record time of 8:31.50 to grab gold in the 800-meter freestyle. The Towson, Md., native erased the previous standard of 8:34.52 set by Costa Rica’s Claudia Poll in 1994. Additionally, Club Wolverine’s Hayley Piersol snared second in an Olympic cut time of 8:45.29.
Meanwhile, a quartet of distance specialists cleared the National cut threshold. Club Wolverine’s Katie Carroll picked up third in 8:50.87, while Lakeside’s Rachel Komisarz placed fourth in 8:51.37. Moreover, Club Wolverine’s Emily Brunemann finished fifth in 8:55.47, while Swim Macon’s Laura Conway took sixth in 8:56.00. Furthermore, 13 other swimmers eclipsed the Junior National mark.
1,500-meter freestyle
Club Wolverine’s Peter Vanderkaay continued his distance dominance with gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle. The Rochester, Mich., product touched first in an Olympic cut time of 15:18.78 that also eclipsed the meet record previously set by Artur Wojdat of Mission Viejo in 1988.
Meanwhile, Gator Swim Club’s Ricardo Monasterio clocked an Olympic cut of his own with a second-place 15:43.26, while Club Wolverine’s Alex Vanderkaay also scored an Olympic cut with a third-place 15:50.36.
A pair of swimmers cleared the National cut as Cincy Marlins’ David Mosko finished fourth in 15:57.25, while Cape Cod’s Tobias Work took fifth in 16:02.79. Notably, the sixth through 16th-place performers all posted times lower than the Junior National mark.
The UltraSwim is the latest tune-up for this summer’s United States Nationals in Irvine, Calif. That meet will serve as the selection competition for the Pan Pacific Championships and also will influence the selection of the U.S. squad for the 2007 World Champs in Melbourne.