By Alan Karickhoff, Swimming World College Intern
The 2016 Speedo Sectional Series continues this Thursday, July 14, in Greensboro, North Carolina at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The STAR Aquatics host eight sessions in four days. The swimmer counts for warm-ups range from 154 to 302 swimmers indicating a high representation of talent from the Eastern Section of the Southern Zone.
Disclaimer: This preview is based off a psych sheet that includes times listed in SCY, SCM, and LCM so these rankings may not be consistent with converted time rankings.
In the girls’ 800 free, we might see a close race in the top three, as Monica McGrath and Bryn Handley of Lakeside, and Kendal Casey of Kentucky Aquatics are within two seconds of each other. Monica is placed with an 8:52.61, Bryn is at an 8:53.16, and Kendal is seeded with an 8:54.53. These times are in LCM.
There is another close seeding in the boys’ 200 butterfly. Jacob Smith and Matthew Beach, both from Kentucky Aquatics, are seeded first and third with a 2:01.42 SCM and 2:01.81 SCM, respectively. Thomas Bilden from North Carolina Aquatic Club splits the two with a 2:01.60 SCM.
While close races are expected at this high caliber meet, the girls 400 freestyle might have a clear winner. Lotte Friis is seeded nearly 10 seconds faster than her competitors at 4:06.82 SCM. She is also seeded first in the 200 free with a 2:00.23 SCM.
In the 1500 LC meter free for girls, only 18 swimmers are listed. Hannah Moore, Bryn Handley, and Kendal Casey top the list at 17:00.09 SCY, 17:13.22 SCY, and 17:13.81, respectively. For the boys, 23 are listed. Anthon Ipsen, James Stevenson, and Andrew Aviotti lead the pack with 15:07.70 SCY, 15:50.72 SCY, and 15:51.22 SCY, respectively.
Kendra Crew from Kentucky Aquatics appears throughout the psych sheet, seeded first in the 100 breast, 1:10.01 SCY, and 200 breast, 2:33.15 SCM. Alexia Zevnik from North Carolina Swimming is another name that pops up frequently throughout the psych sheet. She is seeded first in the 100 backstroke, 1:00.72 SCM, and in the 100 freestyle, 54.53 SCM. She is also seeded third in the 50 freestyle at 26.26 SCM.
Georgia is represented strongly in the backstroke events as Christopher Thames, from Metro Atlanta Aquatic Club, is seeded first in the 200 back with 2:02.18 SCM, and second in the 100 back with 56.87 SCM.
In the relay portion of the meet, Lakeside takes the top seeds in the girls 400 freestyle relay, boys 400 freestyle relay, girls 800 freestyle relay, and boys 800 free relay. SwimMAC North Carolina slid in for the number two spots ahead of Lakeside’s B relays in the girls 400 free relay, boys 400 free relay, and girls 800 free relay. SwimMAC is seeded second and third in the boys 800 free relay. Dynamo Swim Club from Georgia takes the top seed in the girls 400 medley relay by a significant margin, nearly 24 seconds. SwimMAC and Lakeside secure the top two seeds in the boys 400 medley relay, respectively.
The full psych sheet is available here.
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