(Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)
Links
• Thursday, Jan. 15 — prelims 10 a.m.; finals 7 p.m. Eastern
• Estimated preliminary timeline
• Live streaming
• Real time results
100 freestyle
Katie Ledecky started her weekend in Austin with an impressive 54.89 second swim in the women’s 100-meter freestyle, a lifetime best for the distance freestyler — her previous best stood at 54.96 from last summer’s U.S. nationals. Ledecky scratched the ‘B’ final in August after breaking 55 seconds for the first time.
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, a lane over from Ledecky in the final heat, finished second in 54.93; Longhorn Aquatics’ Megan Romano was third (55.27). Ledecky’s time ranks her 14th in the world for the 2014-15 season and is the fastest swam so far in 2015.
Cassidy Bayer, also of Nation’s Capital, finished 20th overall to reach the ‘C’ final with a new best of 57.29.
Olympian Matt Grevers topped the men’s heats with a strong, if not particularly fast, 49.70. He was followed by California’s Ryan Murphy (50.08) and host Texas’s freshman Joseph Schooling (50.12). Nathan Adrian qualified sixth overall (50.28); he should be the favorite to challenge Grevers for first-place points tonight.
James Jones of Nation’s Capital qualified fourth for the ‘D’ final in 51.70. Machine Aquatics’s James Murphy, a Robinson High School teammate of Jones’s, finished just outside the alternate spots in 35th (52.07)
200 breaststroke
Marina Garcia Urzainqui of California qualified first for the women’s 200 breaststroke ‘A’ final with a 2:28.76. Former Texas A&M star Breeja Larson and SwimMAC Carolina’s Micah Lawrence followed in 2:29.18 and 2:29.97, respectively.
Machine Aquatics’s Suzanne Dolan finished 39th overall in 2:43.47.
Andrew Seliskar, 17, surged out of lane 1 in the first circle-seeded heat to touch in 2:15.92. California’s Josh Prenot was the only swimmer in the morning to go faster, finished in 2:15.15. That was a best for Seliskar, a California recruit, who hasn’t swum the 200 breaststroke much in long course. His previous best of 2:17.62 came last year in Austin.
400 freestyle
Katie Ledecky, shortly after qualifying first for tonight’s ‘A’ final in the 100 freestyle, returned to the pool to take down a pool record and post the fastest time in the world this season by three seconds. The Stone Ridge senior finished in 4:04.36, a tenth of a second ahead of the previous record.
Katinka Hosszu claimed the second seed in 4:10.75, followed by Texas A&M’s Sarah Henry (4:13.67) and Gator Swim Club’s Elizabeth Beisel (4:13.79).
Ledecky’s Nation’s Capital training partner Isabella Rongione qualified sixth in 4:16.79, followed by club teammate and high school rival Megan Byrnes (4:16.84).
Connor Jaeger of Club Wolverine topped the men’s heats with a 3:52.06, edging Conor Dwyer, who left North Baltimore after this summer and is now training with Trojan Swim Club in Los Angeles. Dwyer touched in 3:52.48.
Club Wolverine’s Bobby Hurley, Woodlands’s Michael McBroom and Canadian Ryan Cochrane rounded out the top five.
Former Virginia standout and Potomac Falls alum Matt McLean finished sixth overall in 3:55.15, with a third Club Wolverine swimmer, Michael Klueh, slipping in at 3:55.16. Richmond native Townley Haas of NOVA of Virginia took the eighth spot.
(Note: While only Jaeger’s swim cracks the top 20 in the world, this field is a who’s who of 2016 hopefuls in this event. Stick around after Ledecky’s swim tonight for the men’s race to see if there is an early favorite.)
100 butterfly
California’s Noemie Thomas topped the morning’s preliminary heats in 58.70, followed by Mission Viejo swimmer and future Cal Bear Katie McLaughlin in 59.79.
Nation’s Capital’s Cassidy Bayer, 15, qualified third overall in 1:00.15, four-tenths of a second shy of her personal best. Teammate Kylie Jordan, 17, qualified 12th overall to reach the ‘B’ final (1:01.60). NCAP swimmers Andi Mack and Allison Goldblatt qualified for the ‘C’ final in 1:02.43 and 1:02.57, respectively. Jasmine Hellmer of NCAP, a Flint Hill freshman, qualified third for the ‘D’ final in 1:02.71.
The men’s 100 butterfly was topped by a pair of All-Met Swimmers of the Year. Jack Conger, the three-time winner from 2010-13, and Andrew Seliskar, winner in 2013-14, finished first and second in the heats with Conger touching in 52.64, followed by Seliskar in 53.09. (Note: Seliskar’s time is a new Potomac Valley 17-18 resident record, which breaks Sean Fletcher’s time of 54.03 from 2009.)
Two of Conger’s Texas teammates trailed the pair. Tripp Cooper qualified third in 53.46; Matt Ellis in 53.66.
Ryan Lochte, in his first event in Austin, qualified fifth (53.74).
Ryan Murphy of Cal qualified fourth for the ‘B’ final. (Round 1 of Murphy vs. Conger goes to Conger.)