Texas All-America sophomore Jack Conger posted the world’s top time and a personal best en route to victory in the 100-meter butterfly Thursday evening at the USA Swimming Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin event.
In a race featuring Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte and Texas teammates Tripp Cooper, Matt Ellis and Will Glass, Conger led from start-to-finish and took the win in 51.64 seconds, good for the world’s top time early on in 2015.
Notably, three of the world’s top-10 swims in the 100m butterfly over the last year have come from current Longhorns. Freshman Joseph Schooling posted the world’s eighth-fastest time (51.69) last July at the Commonwealth Games, while UT junior Matt Ellis clocked the world’s ninth-fastest time (51.73) at the USA Swimming National Championships last August. Conger’s swim Thursday evening would have ranked him eighth in the world for 2014.
Cooper took second in the 100m butterfly final at 52.91 while Ellis placed sixth at 53.62. Sophomore Will Glass placed seventh overall at 53.76.
The aforementioned Schooling added a sixth-place mark of 50.14 in the 100m freestyle championship final while Texas-Ex Jimmy Feigen placed fifth in the same event at 50.01.
Texas-Ex Michael McBroom took third in the 400m freestyle championship final at 3:49.53 while Texas-Ex Michael Klueh placed sixth in 3:54.39. McBroom and Klueh were former NCAA runners-up in the 500-yard freestyle during their respective senior seasons at Texas.
UT junior Sam Lewis placed second in the 400m freestyle consolation final while freshman Jonathan Roberts took seventh at 3:57.90.
The USA Swimming Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin event continues Friday at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Texas A&M
In the Arena Pro Swim Series, which is contested in long course meters, junior Meredith Oliver took second place in the consolation final of the 100-meter freestyle with a U.S. Olympic Trials cut time of 56.46, while senior Lili Ibanez finished sixth in the race in a time of 56.84. Senior Sammie Bosma won the 100 free “C” final in a time of 57.00, and sophomore Sarah Gibson was sixth in 57.74. Senior Kelli Benjamin posted a third place finish in the “D” final in a time of 57.05.
In the 200-meter breaststroke, 2014 senior Breeja Larson took third place in a time of 2:26.82 and she was trailed by her old teammates junior Ashley McGregor (5th, 2:30.07) and senior Sarah Henry (6th, 2:30.67). Sophomores Sycerika McMahon (2:32.17) and Franko Jonker (2:32.21) took second and third place, respectively, in the consolation final, while freshmen Esther Gonzales and Bethany Galat placed third and fourth in the “C” final. All seven Aggies in the 200 breast finals achieved their Olympic Trials cuts.
Henry also shined in the 400-meter free with a fourth place finish in the Championship final in a time of 4:13.47. Gibson won the consolation final with a time of 4:16.54, while junior Colleen Konetzke was sixth in the race in 4:19.93. Henry and Gibson both hit their Trials cuts. Freshman Nancy Schuchhardt and Jessica Sloan placed fourth and sixth in the “D” final.
Last week’s SEC Freshman of the Week Béryl Gastaldello grabbed fourth in the 100 butterfly in a Trials cut time of 59.89. In the consolation final, senior Emily Neubert placed fifth in 1:01.49, while 2014 senior Cammile Adams was sixth in 1:01.84. In the “C” final, freshman Laura Norman was second in 1:01.63, while Bosma was fourth in 1:02.10.
Finishing out the evening session, the Aggies took second and third place honors in the 400 free relay. The foursome of Benjamin, freshman Kristin Malone, Neubert and Gastaldello was second in 3:49.16 and the relay of Bosma, Gibson, Ibanez and Oliver was third in 3:49.69.
