Katie Ledecky was at it again. Just a week after crushing the NCAA record in the 1000-yard free in dual meet action, she took down her American record in the 500-yard free at the Ohio State Invitational.
Ledecky clocked a 4:26.46 in finals of the 500-yard free, lowering her previous record of 4:26.58 set last year during prelims in Maryland.
That time was swifter than the 4:27.54 she posted this morning in prelims that broke an NCAA record of 4:30.37 set by Leah Smith in 2015.
Ledecky now holds the eight fastest times in the event.
More to come.
Pitt Press Release
COLUMBUS—Pitt produced eight top-10 finishes on the opening day of the Ohio State Fall Invitational as the Panthers competed against some of college swimming’s top talent in Columbus, Ohio.
Facing the likes of five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky and Stanford, along with the hosting Buckeyes, Kentucky, Yale, Penn State, Iowa, Utah and others, the Panthers finished the day in sixth place in the men’s team standings with 105 points and in eighth place in the women’s team race with 52 points.
The Pitt men’s team saw Aaron Sett, Samy Helmbacher, Zach Lierley, Henrique Machado and the 400 medley relay squad of Machado, Haden Calegan, Jake Tovey and Brian Lovasik and the 200 free relay group of Machado, Calegan, Lovasik and Tommy Cestare finish in the top-10 of their respective events with very impressive times.
Sett took seventh in the 500 free in 4:26.43 after he posted a personal record time of 4:25.69 in the preliminaries on Friday morning. Helmbacher (seventh, 1:49.37) and Lierley (10th, 1:50.18) both competed in the finals of the 200 IM and after quality qualifying races below the 1:50.00 threshold, with the freshman Helmbacher setting a new PR by several seconds. Machado placed eighth in the 50 free with a time of 20.36 after racing the prelims in a PR of 20.23 to advance to the finals. And in the relays, the 400 medley relay team took ninth with by far a season-best time of 3:16.85, while the 200 free relay team also placed ninth with another season-best mark of 1:21.77.
The Pitt women were led by the top-10 efforts of junior Amanda Richey and the 200 free relay team of Lina Rathsack, Emily Murphy, Melissa Pocsai and Rachel Brown.
Competing against Ledecky, Richey took seventh in the 500 free with an NCAA B standard time of 4:44.96, by far her best time of the season and less than a second off her personal record. The Panthers’ 200 free relay team also produced a sixth-place swim in 1:31.83, just tenths of a second off the Pitt school record.
Several other Pitt swimmers also produced quality times to advance to secondary final races Friday evening as the Panthers continued to show the improvement that first-year head coach John Hargis has been looking for in each meet early in the season.
Penn State Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio. – Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) won the 50 freestyle on the men’s side and Katie Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.) and Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y.) both reached ‘A’ finals on the women’s side to lead Penn State swimming & diving on the first day of the Ohio State Fall Invitational Friday in the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
The men currently sit fifth with 116 points, while the women are seventh with 61 points. No. 25 Ohio State leads on the men’s side, while No. 1 Stanford leads on the women’s side.
Individually, the Lions totaled 16 best-times and five NCAA ‘B’-cut times.
“It was a good first night,” said Penn State head coach Tim Murphy. “Through the rest of the weekend we’ll be looking to continue to find our groove, and my challenge to the team is to keep putting in the good work and come in tomorrow morning ready to go again. It was a good start to the weekend, but we want to raise the bar as a group as we look towards the rest of the meet and the second half of the season.”
Ryan won the 50 freestyle, touching in 19.68 in the preliminaries and 19.77 in the finals. The season-best 19.68 time ranks him fourth in the event in the NCAA so far this season. Tomer Zamir (Gesher Haziv, Israel) also had success in the event, reaching the ‘B’ final and placing 15th in 20.45 seconds.
Ryan also led the 400 medley relay to a bronze to cap the evening, swimming an opening split of 45.95 in the backstroke. Kaelan Freund (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada), Sterg Dikos (Mohnton, Pa.) and Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) completed the effort in 3:12.98.
Saloky set a personal best in the 50 free preliminaries of 22.57 seconds, surpassing the NCAA ‘B’ standard, and placed 10th overall in the finals in 23.00. Additionally, Niki Price (Manchester, Pa.) and Siena Salvaggio (Allentown, Pa.) both reached the ‘B’ final in the event, placing 16th (23.13) and 20th (23.50), respectively.
Francis led Penn State in the women’s 500 freestyle reaching the ‘A’ final with a preliminary time of 4:46.09 and ultimately placing ninth in 4:48.51. Stanford freshman and U.S. gold medalist Katie Ledecky won the event in an American record 4:26.46. Francis led a contingent of six Nittany Lions in the finals of the event, as Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.) both reached the ‘B’ final, placing 15th (4:48.99) and 19th (4:52.20), respectively.
JP Cervone (Sao Paulo, Brazil) led the Lions in the men’s 500 freestyle with an NCAA ‘B’ cut of 4:24.83 to win the ‘B’ final and place 11th overall.
Two men’s divers reached the finals in the 1-meter led by Hector Garcia Boissier (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain), who was second with a score of 371.65 after the preliminaries and ended up in fifth place after scoring 326.40 in the finals. Connor Scanlon (Laurel, Md.) followed in sixth with a finals score of 314.95.
Junior Emily Harris (Downington, Pa.) swam her first NCAA ‘B’ cut to lead four Nittany Lion finalists in the 200 IM, placing second in the ‘C’ final in a personal-best 2:01.52.
Ohio State Press Release
Columbus, Ohio— Friday was day one of the 2016 OSU Invite and after the day’s events Ohio State finds itself in first place by a comfortable margin.
The Buckeyes started and ended the night session the same way: winning a relay event. The evening kicked off with the 200 freestyle relay which was won by OSU’s foursome of Josh Fleagle, Mossimo Chavez, Andrew Appleby, and Matt McHugh (1:18.84), and it ended when McHugh, Michael Eaton, Michael Salazar, and Fleagle outpaced the field in the 400 medley relay (3:10.06). Ohio State actually took second place in that event as well; Mark Belanger, Jack Barone, Noah Lense, and Chavez (3:12.80) narrowly edged out Penn State’s top relay team to finish behind their fellow Buckeyes.
Individually, Ohio State had eight swimmers advance to the evening session in the 500 freestyle, including four in the A finals: Brayden Seal, Joey Long, Ryan Vander Meulen, and Austin Mortimer. They would all turn in good performances in their second swims of the day, with Long leading the way at 4:23.83, then Seal at 4:24.31, followed by the freshman Vander Meulen at 4:26.49 and Mortimer at 4:29.04.
The 200 IM was even better, with 10 total Buckeyes earning spots in the finals session. Again, four advanced to the A finals for Ohio State: Ching Lim, Appleby, Andrew Loy, and Daniel Gloude. Every swimmer in the final heat swam within a second of their prelim time, except for Lim. The junior shaved off over two seconds off his time in the morning, ending up at 1:46.41 and winning the event. Appleby (1:48.18), Loy (1:48.45), and Gloude (1:49.56) all swam fast times as well in the top 200 IM heat this evening.
For the final individual event- 50 freestyle- of the day, once again, Ohio State placed four swimmers in the A finals, including three of 200 free relay winners from earlier: Chavez, Fleagle, and McHugh were joined by Thomas Trace in the fastest heat for the 50 free. Chavez placed second and was one of two swimmers to break 20 seconds (19.95). McHugh was right behind him at 20.03, while Fleagle (20.19) and Trace (20.52) also put up good marks. Overall Ohio State put 14 swimmers into finals heats in this event, the best total of the night for them.
On 1-meter, Colin Zeng remained undefeated on the season with a score of 381.25 in the finals; he posted an even higher mark during prelims (424.30), the only diver to score at least 400. Clay White also advanced to the final eight, earning a score of 286.95 during the evening session.
Columbus, Ohio— Day one of the OSU Invite is in the books and several swimmers across the board broke all kinds of records at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Most notably for Ohio State, Liz Li set a new meet record in the 50 freestyle (21.70), earning a spot at the 2017 NCAA Championships. She bested her time of 21.72 from last weekend at the USA College Challenge, in the process setting a new high watermark for the 50 free in the NCAA this season. Tonight in the A finals she beat out 2016 Olympic silver medalist and Stanford sophomore Simone Manuel (21.82).
The evening session started off with a bang, courtesy of the Cardinal. Their top relay foursome set a new meet record in the 200 freestyle relay (1:27.72) while posting an NCAA A time to kick off the events, and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky broke her own American record in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:26.46. During the prelim session in the morning, she broke the previous NCAA record with her mark of 4:27.54 before besting herself in the first individual finals event.
For the Buckeyes, Kathrin Demler advanced to the A finals in the 500 free and posted a time of 4:48.73, while fellow freshman Molly Kowal earned an NCAA provisional time at 4:47.05. Seven Buckeyes overall advanced to the evening portion in the 500 free: Demler, Kowal, Mikayla Murphy, Zulal Zeren, Kaitlyn Ferrara, Kathleen Cook, and Kerrigan Vargo.
Prior to that in the 200 freestyle relay it was Macie McNichols, Li, Cheyenne Meek, and Chantel Wynn who placed second overall with a time of 1:30.02.
The 200 IM was the third event of the night and Ohio State placed two swimmers in the Top 6: Meg Bailey (3rd, 1:57.20) and Lindsey Clary (6th, 1:58.33) both earned NCAA B times for their performances. Taylor Vargo and Maria Coy also advanced to finals heats in the 200 IM, giving OSU four total. Ella Eastin of Stanford won the event with a meet record time of 1:54.06.
Li’s performance in the 50 free was next, and she was joined in the A finals by Macie McNichols; she would finish fifth with a time of 22.73. Also competing in finals heats for OSU were Wynn (23.36), Meek (23.47), and Coy (23.16). Closing out the swimming portion was the 400 medley relay, and the Buckeye team of Zeren, Vargo, Li, and McNichols finished fourth with a time of 3:36.02. Stanford won the event, setting a new meet record (3:29.63) in the process.
On the diving boards, Haley Allen placed first one 3-meter with a score of 298.45. The sophomore came out on top by a narrow margin, with Utah’s Amanda Casillas coming in second with 294.45.
Utah Press Release
Columbus, OH- University of Utah swimming and diving completed day one at the Ohio State Invitational.
Ethan Dillard was second in the 200 IM, coming away with a time of 1:46.74. Teammate Austin Phillips was fourth in the event (1:48.43). Brendan Nguyen, Nolan Rogers, Cole Avery and Evan Indahl all finished in the top 15. On the women’s side, Darby Wayner was 30th with a time of 2:03.22.
Rahiti De Vos took fourth in the 500 free with a time of 4:23.22 and Matteo Sogne was eighth in the event (4:26.20). Jordan Anderson took 23rd for the women with a time of 4:49.91.
In the men’s 50 free, McKay King was fifth touching in at 20.17 and Paul Unger was 13th in the event (20.37). On the other side, Gillian St.John took 13th coming away with a time of 23.20 and Kristine Pataray was 22nd (23.36).
In the 200 free relay, the team of Unger, King, Adam Shelton and Colten Montgomery took fifth with a time of 1:20.41. The women’s team of Jenna Marsh, Nicole Ford, Shayla Archer and Sarah Lott took ninth touching in at 1:32.72.
A team of King, Keanu Interone, Ben Scott and Tommy Baker took fifth in the 400 medley relay. They came away with a time of 3:16.08. Archer, Stina Colleou, Wayner and St.John took ninth in the relay with a time of 3:41.20.
On the boards, Josiah Purss was second in the one-meter tallying a score of 356.15. Amanda Casillas also took second on the three-meter with a total score of 294.45 and Lauren Hall was sixth (268.00).
Washington State Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Washington State swim team tallied 68 points on Friday, during the first day of the Ohio State Invitational at the McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion. The Cougars are currently in sixth place.
In addition to Washington State and host Ohio State, the invite is comprised of teams from Stanford, Utah, Iowa, Kentucky, Kenyon, Pittsburgh, Penn State and Yale.
“The Cougs swam very well today,” WSU Head Coach Tom Jager said. “(Hannah) Bruggman had a great 50, and the whole sprint group swam great. The distance lane swam well too. Kendra (Griffin) and Jasmine (Margetts) led the day there. We had a very good first day of swimming and we are looking forward to swimming again tomorrow. Go Cougs!”
Washington State opened the Friday finals with a seventh-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay. The team of Bruggman, Haley Rose Love, Anna Rosen and Hailey Johnson notched a time of 1:32.09. The team of Addisynn Bursch, Anna Brolin, Penny Nichols and Ciera Kelly finished 11th in the 200 free relay with a 1:33.58.
In the 200 IM, Griffin, a senior, garnered an eighth-place finish touching in 4:51.41, a season best. Margetts placed 29th with a 4:52.79, a career best and the sixth-fastest time in school history. Freshman Ryan Falk finished in 36th place, with a time of 4:53.60, good for the ninth-fastest time in school history and a personal best time.
In the 50 free, Bruggman notched the Cougars highest finish of the individual finals with an eighth-place finish after clocking a 22.86, a season best. Rosen touched the wall in 23.41, placing her in a three-way tie for 23rd, a career best time. Four other Cougars posted season best times in the 50 free. Love finished at 23.62 (30th), Kelly clocked a time of 23.71 (35th), Brolin touched in 23.77 (37th) and Johnson finished in 23.88 (38th).
In the final event of the day, Washington State’s team of Margetts, Angela Mavrantza, Brolin and Bruggman gathered a 10th place in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:41.23, a season best for the team. The team of Love, Linnea Lindberg, Elise Locke and Nichols picked up a 19th place finish for WSU, touching the wall in 3:47.62.
Iowa Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Competing against a field rich in talent, the University of Iowa swimming and diving program notched 10 top-10 finishes on the opening day of competition at the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.
Facing the likes of five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky and Stanford, along with meet host Ohio State, Kentucky, Yale, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Utah, Washington State, and Kenyon College, the Hawkeyes finished the day in fourth place in the men’s team standings with 134 points and in fifth place in the women’s team race with 84 points.
Individually, the Hawkeyes totaled five NCAA ‘B’-cut times.
The Hawkeye women notched two top-10 finishes in the 200-free relay led by the quartet of senior Emma Sougstad, freshman Hannah Burvill, junior Mekenna Scheitlin, and freshman Allyssa Fluit. The relay swam to a fifth-place finish, touching in a time of 1:31.73 -- the fourth-fastest time in program history.
The men posted two top-10 finishes in the 200-free relay as well. The quartet of freshman Will Scott, sophomores Jack Smith and Matt Kamin, and senior Jackson Halsmer sprinted to a time of 1:19.63 -- Iowa’s fastest relay time of the year.
Three Hawkeyes finished in the top 10 of the men’s 50 free, led by Smith, who took fourth place with a NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time of 20:04. Scott (20:30) and Kamin (20:54) each swam season bests in the event, finishing seventh and 10th, respectively.
Iowa’s final two top-10 finishes in the pool came in the 400-medley relay. Both the men and women swam to sixth-place finishes in their fields. The men’s quartet of sophomore Kenneth Mende, freshman Weston Credit, junior Jerzy Twarowski, and Smith touched in 3:16.11. The women’s relay, featuring junior Meghan Lavelle, Sougstad, junior Tereysa Lehnertz, and Burvill touched in 3:37.91.
Sophomore Will Brenner led the Hawkeye divers with a ninth place performance in the 1-meter (304.95).
Fluit, Iowa’s only finalist in the 500 free, placed eighth in the ‘D’ final with a time of 4:55.07 -- the 10th-fastest time in school history.
Burvill swam to her third NCAA ‘B’ cut, leading five Hawkeye finalists in the 50 free and placing first in the ‘B’ final with a team-best 22.84. Scheitlin followed right behind Burvill to capture second place in the ‘B’ final with a career-best 23.01.
Sougstad placed fourth in the ‘B’ final of the 200 IM and 14th overall, touching in a NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 2:00.38.
