2022 U.S. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS
Following a thrilling finals session last night, the top swimmers in the United States are back in the pool again this morning in Greensboro for day 2 prelims. On the schedule this morning is prelim races of the 200 free, 200 breast, 200 back and 50 fly.
Fresh off her scintillating performance in last night’s 800 free, Katie Ledecky returns as the top seed in the 200 free. Her Florida training partner Kieran Smith comes in as the top seed in the men’s 200 free. Indiana pro Lilly King is the top seed in the women’s 200 breast, but will be challenged by her training partner Annie Lazor and 100 breast Olympic champ Lydia Jacoby. Nic Fink holds the top seed in the men’s 200 breast, nearly a full second ahead of Texas pro Will Licon.
After making the Worlds team in the 200 fly last night, Stanford’s Regan Smith returns in the 200 back, but she comes in as the third seed behind Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon and Alabama’s Rhyan White. Cal pro Ryan Murphy is the top seed in the men’s 200 back by nearly 2 full seconds.
After winning the 100 free last night, Stanford’s Torri Huske comes in as the top seed in the 50 fly, just ahead of her future teammate Claire Curzan. Caeleb Dressel, the American Record holder, comes in as the top seed in the men’s 50 fly.
Women’s 200 free
- World Record: Federica Pellegrini (ITA): 1:52.98 (2009)
- American Record: Allison Schmitt: 1:53.61 (2012)
- US Open Record: Allison Schmitt: 1:54.40 (2012)
- Junior World Record: Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS): 1:55.11 (2021)
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Katie Ledecky (Unattached): 1:56.20
- Claire Weinstein (SAND): 1:57.71
- Alex Walsh (UVA): 1:57.89
- Erin Gemmell (NCAP): 1:57.93
- Leah Smith (TXLA): 1:57.96
- Hali Flickinger (SUN): 1:58.31
- Bella Sims (SAND): 1:58.39
- Katie Grimes (SAND): 1:58.67
Katie Ledecky took care of business this morning, cruising to a win in the final heat in 1:56.20, a second and a half clear of the field.
The Sandpipers of Nevada showed up big this morning, putting three high schoolers in the A final of the 200 free. Claire Weinstein, who joined the Sandpipers after the Tokyo Olympics, dropped a huge lifetime best of 1:57.71 to put the 15-year-old as the second qualifier. Her teammates Bella Sims and Katie Grimes, who both competed in Tokyo for the US last summer, finished 7th and 8th respectively.
A fourth high schooler, Erin Gemmell, also qualified for the A final by finishing fourth in 1:57.93.
UVA sophomore Alex Walsh, who came in with a yards seed, dropped a huge lifetime best to qualify 3rd in 1:57.89.
Second seed Paige Madden, who trains at the University of Virginia, added nearly two and a half seconds from her seed and missed the A final altogether, finishing 9th.
Men’s 200 free
- World Record: Paul Biedermann (GER): 1:42.00 (2009)
- American Record: Michael Phelps: 1:42.96 (2008)
- US Open Record: Michael Phelps (USA): 1:44.10 (2008)
- Junior World Record: Sunwoo Hwang (KOR): 1:44.62 (2021)
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Carson Foster (TEX): 1:45.57
- Drew Kibler (TEX): 1:46.25
- Trenton Julian (Unattached): 1:46.76
- Kieran Smith (FLOR): 1:46.78
- Coby Carrozza (TEX): 1:46.86
- Luke Hobson (TEX): 1:46.92
- Trey Freeman (FLOR): 1:46.98
- Luca Urlando (DART): 1:47.37
Texas sophomore Carson Foster blasted a new lifetime best of 1:45.57 to take the top seed out of the prelims by three quarters of a second. Qualifying second behind him was his teammate Drew Kibler, who finished in 1:46.25. Overall, Texas had four swimmers qualify for the A final, with Coby Carrozza and Luke Hobson finishing 5th and 6th, respectively.
Trenton Julian, fresh off of making the team in the 200 fly, dropped a new lifetime best of 1:46.76 to qualify third, while top seed Kieran Smith seemed to cruise the morning and qualify fourth in 1:46.78.
Women’s 200 breast
- World Record: Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA): 2:18.95 (2021)
- American Record: Rebecca Soni: 2:19.59 (2012)
- US Open Record: Rebecca Soni (USA): 2:20.38 (2009)
- Junior World Record: Viktoria Gunes (TUR): 2:19.64 (2015)
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Lilly King (ISC): 2:24.02
- Kate Douglass (UVA): 2:24.40
- Annie Lazor (ISC): 2:24.48
- Anna Keating (UVA): 2:25.20
- Ella Nelson (UVA): 2:29.10
- Josie Panitz (OSU): 2:29.13
- Lydia Jacoby (STSC): 2:29.28
- Mackenzie Looze (IU): 2:29.78
Top seed Lily King dominated the final heat, winning by over five seconds to take the top seed in 2:24.02. Her Olympic teammate and IU training partner Annie Lazor qualified 3rd in 2:24.48.
Virginia’s Kate Douglass, the NCAA champion in this event, qualified second by dominating the early heats with a 2:24.40 after coming in with a yards seed. Two of her Virginia teammates, Anna Keating and Ella Nelson, also qualified for the A final.
100 breast Olympic champ Lydia Jacoby of the Seward Tsunami qualified 7th in 2:29.28.
Men’s 200 breast
- World Record: Anton Chupkov (RUS): 2:06.12 (2019)
- American Record: Josh Prenot: 2:07.17 (2016)
- US Open Record: Josh Prenot (USA): 2:07.17 (2016)
- Junior World Record: Haiyang Qin (CHN): 2:09.39 (2017)
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Jake Foster (TEX): 2:09.79
- Charlie Swanson (NOVA): 2:10.07
- Nic Fink (MAAC): 2:10.25
- AJ Pouch (VT): 2:11.42
- Tommy Cope (ISC): 2:11.43
- Will Licon (TXLA): 2:11.50
- Maxwell Reich (IU): 2:12.88
- Josh Matheny (IU): 2:14.41
Texas junior Jake Foster swam a new lifetime best in the 200 breast to take the top seed into the finals as the only man in the field under 2:10. Charlie Swanson, who trains as a pro at Texas, was the second qualified in 2:10.07. Texas got a third swimmer into the A final with pro Will Licon qualifying 6th.
Nic Fink, the top seed who trains at Georgia Tech, qualified third in 2:10.25, two and a half seconds off of his seed.
Indiana also had three swimmers make the A final, with Tommy Cope, Maxwell Reich and Josh Matheny finishing 5th, 7th and 8th, respectively.
Women’s 200 back
- World Record: Regan Smith (USA): 2:03.35 (2019)
- American Record: Regan Smith: 2:03.35 (2019)
- US Open Record: Missy Franklin (USA): 2:05.68 (2013)
- Junior World Record: Regan Smith (USA): 2:03.35 (2019)
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Phoebe Bacon (Unattached): 2:06.78
- Rhyan White (Alabama): 2:08.11
- Regan Smith (Unattached): 2:08.74
- Reilly Tiltmann (UVA): 2:10.07
- Isaballe Stadden (Unattached): 2:10.57
- Natalie Mannion (CS): 2:10.88
- Jo Jo Ramey (FAST): 2:11.29
- Kate Grimes (SAND): 2:11.31
This morning’s prelims seem to be setting up for a thrilling final in the women’s 200 back, as the top three qualifiers all competed in Tokyo last summer for the US.
Wisconsin’s Phoebe Bacon took the top seed with a 2:06.78, just off of her seed. Top seed Rhyan White of Alabama qualified second in 2:08.11, while Stanford freshman and World Record holder Regan Smith cruised to victory in her heat to qualify third in 2:08.74.
Virginia’s Reilly Tiltmann had a strong swim, dropping 2.7 seconds to qualify 4th in 2:10.07. Sandpipers’ Katie Grimes qualified for her second A final of the day by finishing 8th with a 2:11.31, a new lifetime best.
Men’s 200 back
- World Record: Aaron Piersol (USA): 1:51.92 (2009)
- American Record: Aaron Piersol: 1:51.92 (2009)
- US Open Record: Aaron Piersol (USA): 1:53.08 (2009)
- Junior World Record: Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS): 1:55.14 (2017)
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Shaine Casas (Unattached): 1:55.57
- Jack Aikins (UVA): 1:56.84
- Ryan Murphy (CAL): 1:57.46
- Hunter Tapp (NCS): 1:57.60
- Destin Laco (Unattached): 1:58.02
- Keaton Jones (NEP): 1:58.30
- Sam Stewart (Unattached): 1:58.83
- Josh Zuchowski (FAST): 1:58.94
Texas pro Shaine Casas posted the top time in the world this year to qualify first in the 200 back with a new lifetime best of 1:55.57. UVA undergrad Jack Aikins also posted a new lifetime best of 1:56.84 to qualify second.
Cal veteran Ryan Murphy, who came in as the top seed, dominated the final heat to finish third in 1:57.46. His training partner, Cal undergrad Destin Lasco, qualified 5th.
A pair of high schoolers, Cal commit Keaton Jones and Stanford commit Josh Zuchowski, also qualified for the A final with new lifetime bests.
Women’s 50 fly
- World Record: Sarah Sjostrom (SWE): 24.43
- American Record: Kelsi Dahlia: 25.48 (2017)
- US Open Record: Rikako Ikee (JPN): 25.46
- Junior World Record: Rikako Ikee (JPN): 25.46
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Claire Curzan (TAC): 25.60
- Kelsi Dahlia (CARD): 25.65
- Sarah Thompson (UMIZ): 25.91
- Torri Huske (Unattached)/Gretchen Walsh (UVA): 25.98
- —-
- Natalie Hinds (Unattached): 26.07
- Beata Nelson (WA): 26.69
- Gabi Albiero (UOFL): 26.73
Claire Curzan took the top seed in 25.60, just ahead of American Record holder Kelsi Dahlia, who won the final heat in 25.65. Mizzou’s Sarah Thompson qualified third in 25.91.
Coming off the 200 free earlier in the session, top seed Torri Huske tied for fourth with UVA’s Gretchen Walsh in 25.98.
Men’s 50 fly
- World Record: Andri Govorov (UKR): 22.27 (2018)
- American Record: Caeleb Dressel: 22.35 (2019)
- US Open Record: Bryan Lundquist (USA): 22.91 (2009)
- Junior World Record: Andrei Minakov (RUS): 23.05
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Michael Andrew (MASA): 23.09
- Caeleb Dressel (GSC): 23.16
- Maxime Rooney (PLS): 23.65
- Zach Harting (CARD): 23.66
- Dalton Lowe (UOFL): 23.74
- Coleman Stewart (WOLF): 23.89
- Ilya Kharun (SAND): 24.05
- Carl Bloebaum (RAYS): 24.18
Michael Andrew took the top seed in the 50 fly, winning his heat in 23.09. He finished just ahead of top seed Caeleb Dressel, who won the final heat in 23.16.
Louisville got a pair of swimmers in the A final, with pro Zach Harting qualifying fourth and undergrad Dalton Lowe finishing fifth.
A pair of high schoolers also qualified for the A final, with Sandpipers’ Ilya Kharun finishing 7th and Mason Manta Rays’ Carl Bloebaum qualifying 8th.
