Speedo Summer Champs: Trenton Julian Earns Third Win; Justina Kozan and David Johnston Each Win Second

trenton-julian-
Trenton Julian -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Speedo Summer Championships: Trenton Julian Earns Third Win in 100 Fly; Justina Kozan and David Johnston Each Win Second Event

On day three in Irvine, Calif., at the Speedo Summer Championships, Cal fifth-year-to-be Trenton Julian added a victory in the men’s 100 butterfly to his earlier triumphs in the 200 fly and 200 free, while Justina Kozan earned a convincing win in the event in which she qualified for the final at June’s Olympic Trials.

Julian, who tied for fourth in the 100 fly at Trials, recorded a 51.74 in Irvine to finish just off his season-best mark of 51.70. But that was enough for him to win by more than a second over a pair of his fellow California swimmers, Dare Rose (52.99) and Jarod Hatch (53.06).

In the women’s 400 IM, Mission Viejo’s Kozan added to her Wednesday 200 free win with a 4:41.53 in the 400 IM. Kozan has been about a second faster than that mark (4:40.57) as she qualified fifth in the event during prelims at Olympic Trials before ending up eighth in the final, but she didn’t need to be any quicker on this night. Kozan was in third place after backstroke as 14-year-old Teagan O’Dell, fresh off a 2:09 200 back one day earlier, was almost three seconds ahead, but Kozan pulled ahead on breaststroke and then swam away from Colorado Springs’ Caroline Bricker on freestyle. Bricker ended up taking second in 4:46.44, and O’Dell was third in 4:46.73.

Longhorn’s David Johnston, the winner of the 1500 free on day one, won his second event in the men’s 400 IM. After finishing sixth at Olympic Trials, he dropped two seconds from his lifetime best to win in 4:14.80, moving to sixth-fastest among Americans this year behind Carson FosterChase KaliszJay LitherlandBobby Finke and Jake Foster. 16-year-old Robert Bonilla Flores of The Woodlands took second in 4:23.66, barely holding off a furious final charge from Trojan’s Ivan Puskovitch (4:23.73).

Rancho San Diego’s Mia Kragh won the women’s 100 fly in 58.80, which would have been quick enough to qualify for the final at June’s Olympic Trials. Elmbrook’s Campbell Stoll took second in 59.55, and Patriot’s Annika Parkhe claimed third in 1:00.15.

The Irvine Novaquatics foursome of O’Dell (2:03.88), Ella Ristic (2:00.49), Maggie Schalow (2:07.04) and Lindsay Ervin capped off the evening with a women’s 800 free relay win in 8:16.23.

The Speedo Summer Championships are taking place as two meets taking place on opposite sides of the country. Half the swimmers are in Greensboro, N.C., while the other half are in Irvine, Calif. The meet replaces the standard end-of-summer championships for senior-level and junior-level athletes, with the two usual events combined due to typical low turnout when the meets are around the same time as the Olympic Games. Older swimmers and 18-and-under swimmers had different time standards required for qualification. Most of the top American swimmers either just finished competing at the Olympics or are taking the summer off after narrowly missing the Olympic team.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x