By Cathleen Pruden, Swimming World College Intern
After the third night of Speedo Sectionals in Ithaca, Nation’s Capital has 372.5 points to lead the women, ahead of 757Swim’s 312.5 points. The Eastern Express men have 383.5 points, well ahead of second place Matchpoint NYC with 207. One more day of racing begins tomorrow morning.
Weston Swimming Inc. started the evening with a win in the women’s 200 medley relay. Claire Kerns, Sophie Angus, Allis Pocsik, and Charlotte Proceller posted a time of 1:44.79. Charlotte Fieeiki, Julia Moser, Savannah Nash, and Maya Fischer teamed up to swim a 1:45.19 to grab second place points for Nation’s Capital. Third place went to 757Swim’s Joelle Vereb, Caroline Dejager, Sofia Long, and Abigail Larson in a time of 1:45.23.
Eastern Express’ Connor Doyle, Jack Donnelly, Jacob Lubinski, and Collin Hanlon were first to the wall in the men’s 200 medley relay in 1:33.62. Second place went to Laguardia’s Timothy Ho, Evan Zhang, Connor Mullin, and Delano Townsend with a 1:34.39. The Jersey Flyers finished third in 1:34.41 with the team of Jason Arthur, Ean Renaud, Jin Roh, and Tristan Highet.
The top three finishers in the women’s 200 butterfly were separated by a mere three tenths of a second. X-Cel’s Melinda Tang touched first in 2:03.51. Twelve year old Joy Jiang of Westchester Aquatic Club finished second in 2:03.73 while Omni Swim Club’s Sona Pinela was just behind in 2:03.86.
Jersey Flyers’ Arthur topped the podium in the men’s 200 fly with a final time of 1:50.26. Hugh Robey of Nation’s Capital and Matthew Zugibe of Phoenix Aquatic Club were just behind, finishing in 1:50.75 and 1:50.96. Arthur later won the 100 backstroke in a time of 49.04. In that event, Blue Waves’ Stephen Clendenin was second in 49.91 while Eastern Express’ Connor Doyle finished third with a 50.07.
The Championship final of the women’s 50 freestyle had only two swimmers older than 15. Westchester’s 14 year old Katherine Douglass led the young heat, touching in 22.48 to win by over a second. Trinity Ward of Mount Lebanon Aquatic Club finished second in 23.59. 757Swim’s Vereb was third with a 23.69.
Douglass was back again, winning the 200 breaststroke by a slimmer margin of victory than in the 50 freestyle. She touched in 2:13.33, ahead of Weston Swimming’s Angus in 2:14.03. Grace Baumer of the Golden Comets finished third in 2:16.65.
The top three men were all under 21 seconds in the 50 freestyle, but 757Swim’s Colin Wright was first to the wall in 20.73 seconds, only .01 ahead of Central Connecticut’s Scott Romeyn (20.74). Jersey Gators’ David Shakhnazarov finished third in 20.84.
In the men’s 200 breaststroke Zhang out touched Matchpoint’s Oleksandr Bezuglyy 2:02.08 to 2:02.37. Weston’s Stefan Garbee finished third in 2:03.40.
Jersey Gators’ Shayna Hollander claimed a close women’s 100 backstroke, stopping the clock in 55.85, just ahead of Nutmeg’s Caitlin McNary who finished in 55.98. Schenectady’s Yufan Dong rounded out the podium with a final time of 56.04.
Mary Folz, swimming unattached, won the women’s 500 freestyle in 4:54.71. Less than a second separated the podium finishers, as 757Swim’s Colby Hurt touched second in 4:55.06 and Portland Porpoises’ Emily Ecker was third in a 4:55.63.
Eastern Express’ Jack McIntyre won the men’s 500 in 4:30.86 while his teammate Connor Doyle finished third in 4:34.31. Swim Ithaca’s Kevin Miller was runner up with a 4:32.78.
Mount Lebanon won the women’s 400 freestyle relay as Ward, Alison Shapiro, Brittany Byer, and Hannah Bumgarner touched in 3:27.29. Golden Ram Aquatics’ Ann Carozza, Olivia Miller, Maura McManus, and Abby Kosic were second in a 3:28.20. Third went to 757Swim’s Long, Larson, Vereb, and Hurt with a final time of 3:28.24.
Hanlon, Lubinski, McIntyre, and Doyle won the men’s 400 freestyle relay for Eastern Express in 3:06.21. Matchpoint posted a 3:07.49 for second with Bezuglyy, Daniel Adayev, Veniamin Konovalov, and Ariel Okhtenberg. The Jersey Flyers’ Arthur, Highet, Jacob Baltaytis, and Roh were third in 3:08.73.
Full results available on Meet Mobile.
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