Georgia Fall Invite: Josh Liendo Throws Down Blistering 40.90 to Win 100 Freestyle
The 2023 Georgia Fall Invitational continued with Day 3 from Athens, Georgia.
The Day 3 events are the women’s and men’s 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 free relay.
Florida’s Josh Liendo continued his dominance this week, stunning the field with a 40.90 in the 100 freestyle.
Florida won the men’s meet with 1,169 points, followed by Auburn (715.5), Georgia (682), Florida State (603), Michigan (495.5), Georgia Tech (346).
The Gators also won the women’s meet with 1,146 points. Auburn was second with 789, followed by Michigan (724.5), Georgia (673), Florida State (424.5) and Georgia Tech (268).
Women’s 200 Backstroke
Florida went 1-2 in the women’s 200 backstroke to kick off the final session of the meet.
Catherine Choate earned the win in 1:51.94, well ahead of the field. Teammate Jo Jo Ramey took second in 1:54.62.
Auburn went 3-4 behind Ellie Waldrep (1:54.72) and Maggie McGuire (1:54.85).
Men’s 200 Backstroke
Florida’s Jonny Marshall made it two in a row for the Gators with a win in 1:38.52.
Auburn’s Aiden Stoffle was just five hundredths behind in 1:38.57 to finish second.
Georgia’s Bradley Dunham finished in third place in 1:38.57.
Women’s 100 Free
Michigan’s Stephanie Balduccini outdueled Florida’s Isabel Ivey to claim victory in the women’s 100 freestyle.
Balduccini won the race in 47.26, just ahead of Ivey (47.54).
Florida’s Micayla Cronk was third in 47.77, while Michigan’s Lindsay Flynn was also under 48 seconds at 47.86.
Men’s 100 Free
Florida’s Josh Liendo continued his meet of blistering speed this week with a stunning race in the 100 free.
Liendo threw down a 40.90, which puts him at the top of the season list, at least for the time being.
Teammate Macguire McDuff took second in 41.86, while Adam Chaney was fourth in 42.17.
Georgia’s Reese Branzell finished third in 41.92.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
Florida’s Molly Mayne continued the Gators winning ways with a top time in the 200 breaststroke. She got to the wall in 2:07.89.
Georgia’s Zoie Hartman took second in 2:08.02.
Georgia Tech’s Sabyne Brisson finished third in 2:08.34.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Florida’s Aleksas Savickas claimed the top spot in the 200 breaststroke on the men’s side in dominating fashion.
He got to the wall in 1:51.57, nearly five seconds ahead of the field.
Auburn’s Jacquest Rathie was second in 1:56.31.
Florida State’s Tomaasso Baravelli was third in 1:56.31.
Women’s 200 Butterfly
Michigan’s Hannah Bellard won the 200 butterfly in 1:53.21, finishing two seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
Auburn’s Meghan Lee got to the wall second in 1:55.28.
Florida’s Lainy Kruger took third in 1:55.41.
Men’s 200 Butterfly
Michigan made it a butterfly sweep with Gal Groumi taking the men’s 200 title in 1:40.54.
The Wolverines went 1-2-4 with Tyler Ray (1:43.13) and Colin Geer (1:43.61).
Florida’s Mason Laur finished third in 1:43.53.
Women’s 400 Free Relay
Michigan won the final women’s race of the meet with Stephanie Balduccini, Claire Newman, Lindsay Flynn and Christy Liang finishing in 3:10.30.
Florida’s Ekaterina Nikonova, Micayla Cronk, Olivia Peoples and Isabel Ivey took second in 3:11.70.
Georgia’s Helena Jones, Sloane Reinstein, Bri Robertson and Zoie Hartman finished third in 3:13.77.
Men’s 400 Free Relay
Florida’s Josh Liendo led off the 100 free relay in a 41.38 and the Gators raced to victory in 2:46.60.
Adam Chaney, Julian Smith and Macguire McDuff rounded out the stellar relay.
Auburn’s Aidan Stoffle, Kalle Makinen, Logan Tirheimer and Ryan Husband took second in 2:49.90.
Georgia’s Reese Branzell, Zach Hils, Tomas Koski and Bradley Dunham finished third in 2:50.06.