North Baltimore Christmas Invite: Elizabeth Pelton Streaking in 200 Back

By David Rieder

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, December 12. NORTH Baltimore’s Elizabeth Pelton wrapped up a solid weekend of short course yards racing at the U.S. Naval Academy with a stellar swim in the girls’ 200 back. Additionally, Pelton’s teammates Michael Phelps and Todd Patrick clocked swift times in the prelims before scratching finals swims.

Pelton won the girls’ 200 back by nearly eight seconds. In fact, her time beat all but the top two boys competing in that event. She clocked 1:50.51, the eighth-fastest time in history. In comparison, the top collegiate time this season is a full second slower, the 1:51.59 by Wisconsin’s Maggie Meyer. She improved her standing as the fifth-fastest performer ever in this race; only Gemma Spofforth, Natalie Coughlin, Kate Fesenko, and Kirsty Coventry have been faster, and only Coughlin has bested that time among Americans. Meanwhile, Pelton’s teammate Natalie Beale took second in 1:58.21, and PAAC’s Allison Roberts grabbed third in 1:59.52.

Phelps posted a 43.16 in the prelims of the boys’ 100 free, clocking 43.16. He scratched the final, in which teammate Jes Stephens won in 46.90. GPAC teammates Brett Pederson and Dillon McHugh took second and third, respectively, with times of 47.27 and 47.47. Similarly, Patrick blazed the boys’ 200 fly prelims in 1:43.34, before he pulled out of the finale. CCA’s Austin Criss won the race in 1:50.68, followed by NBAC’s Chase Kalisz (1:52.12) and Brennan Morris (1:52.46).

NBAC’s Camryne Morris wrapped up a sweep of the girls’ distance events, claiming the 1650 free in 16:19.30. Morris won both the 500 and 1000 free earlier this meet. PAAC’s Gillian Ryan wound up second in 16:21.43, while NBAC’s Willa Wang earned third in 16:35.44. Following up his victory in the 1000 free on Friday, Germantown’s Arthur Frayler posted another strong swim in the boys’ 1650 free. His time of 15:00.57 crushed NBAC’s Drew Cosgarea, who came in second at 15:18.23. QQD’s Gregory Stoffa completed the top three finishers in 15:45.91.

CCA’s Jacob Siar held off Brennan Morris for the win in the boys’ 200 back, 1:48.41 to 1:48.59, while Kalisz took third in 1:51.33. In a tight finish, Beale won the girls’ 100 free in 51.68, followed closely by MAC’s Hanne Borgersen (51.77) and Germantown’s Meagan Dollard (51.83). Naval Academy’s Katelyn Sowinski earned first in the girls’ 200 fly, posting a 2:00.39. Meanwhile, Germantown’s Bridget Casey touched out CCA’s Lauren Gray, 2:01.80 to 2:01.81, to complete the top three finishers.

The host team finished the meet with victories in both 400 free relays. Pelton, Stephanie O’Toole, Beale, and Camryne Morris won the girls’ relay in 3:26.12. Pelton provided an opening spark to the relay with her 48.97 lead-off split. Meanwhile, Stephens, Peyton Bailey, Cosgarea, and Kalisz snatched the win in the boys’ relay, posting a 3:09.88.

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