Four More National Records Fall as YMCA Short Course Nationals Conclude in Greensboro

Photo Courtesy: Griffin Scott

GREENSBORO – Courtney Harnish, Katrina Konopka, Meghan Small and Drew Clark each set individual YMCA national records, while the Middle Tyger women and Sarasota men took home the team titles as the YMCA Short Course Nationals meet came to a close tonight at Greensboro Aquatic Center.

A pair of swimmers dipped under the YMCA national record in the women’s 200 fly final to start the night, with York’s Courtney Harnish leading the way in 1:54.37. Harnish chopped more than two seconds off Courtney Weaver’s 1:56.51 from last year in her fourth win of the meet. She finished comfortably in front of Waynesboro’s Remedy Rule, who came in at 1:55.92. Edwardsville’s Kate May got to the wall third in 1:58.98.

Kishwaukee’s Daniel Hein held onto his lead to win the men’s 200 fly final, cruising to a 1:46.33. Cheshire’s David May made up some ground on the final 100 but couldn’t close the gap, taking second in 1:47.42. Wilton’s Oscar Ike rounded out the top three in 1:49.63.

After smashing her own 50 free record last night, Middle Tyger’s Katrina Konopka cleared another national record tonight in the 100 free with a swift 48.50 in finals. That lowered Margo Geer’s 2010 record of 48.89 by just under four tenths. Northwest’s Rachel Brown took a chunk off her prelim time to finish second in 49.26, just ahead of Wilton’s Ky-lee Perry (49.38).

Somerset Hills’ Sebastian Lutz dominated the men’s 100 free final, winning by nearly a second in 43.65. Somerset Valley’s Brad Zdroik hung on for second in 44.53, followed closely by Rock Hill’s Zachary Piedt in 44.60.

York’s Meghan Small eclipsed her fourth YMCA national record of the meet and won her fourth individual event with a dominating swim in the women’s 200 IM. Small crushed the field with a 1:54.25, cutting nearly two seconds off her own record of 1:56.16 from last year and finishing over five seconds ahead of Sarasota’s Sophie Cattermole (1:59.40). Middle Tyger’s Savanna Faulconer placed third in 2:00.07.

Westport/Weston’s Bryce Keblish just held off Eau Claire’s Paul DeLakis for the men’s IM title, 1:47.33 to 1:47.55, after DeLakis nearly erased an eight tenth deficit on the final 50. Countryside’s Grant House out-split both Keblish and DeLakis on the freestyle leg to finish third in 1:47.99.

York’s Courtney Harnish, Cami Cook, Emily Ilgenfritz and Meghan Small overtook Middle Tyger’s Ali Galyer, Maegan Rudolph, Ariana Schneider and Katrina Konopka for the women’s 400 free relay title, 3:20.40 to 3:20.69. Triangle Area’s Haley Bishop, Olivia Ontjes, Kelsey Lawton and Christine Kerr placed third in 3:22.79.

On the men’s side, the Countryside foursome of Matt Slabe, Kevin George, Jack German and Grant House topped the field in 3:00.96, only three tenths off Triangle Area’s national record of 3:00.63. Triangle Area finished second, with Alex Carson, Chris Kohut, Tom Gordon and Seth Maslowski touching in 3:02.66. Westport/Weston’s John Whiteside, Tommy Gannon, Justin Summers and Bryce Keblish grabbed third in 3:03.26.

In distance freestyle action, Schroeder’s Cassy Jernberg raced to a win in the women’s 1650 free with a time of 16:12.89, just off her seed time of 16:09.55. York’s Leah Braswell dropped more than 25 seconds to finish second in 16:23.56, followed by Downtown Boise’s Abbey Erwin in third at 16:25.58.

Sarasota’s Drew Clark ended his meet with a bang, clearing the national record in the men’s 1650 free with a 15:07.83. Sarasota’s Nicholas Caldwell had set the previous record of 15:10.16 back in 2011. Sarasota finished 1-2-3 in the race, as Carter Page (15:15.62) and Daniel Erlenmeyer (15:16.88) joined Clark on the podium.

Middle Tyger held off York for the women’s team title, 399 points to 361. Sarasota finished third with 322 points. On the men’s side, Sarasota dominated the meet with 454 points, well ahead of Somerset Valley’s 209.5 points and Westport/Weston’s 187.

2015 YMCA Short Course Nationals, Day Five – Results

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PJ Martin

9 years ago

Way to go York YMCA Competitive Swimming Program!

Twitter Swimr

9 years ago

Congrats to Middle Tyger’s Women’s Team in back to back wins!