Luca Urlando Blasts 52.04 at Mel Zajac, Second-Fastest in 17-18 Age Group History
The 2019 Mel Zajac Jr. International continued on Saturday night in Vancouver, with some more fast performances — led by Luca Urlando.
Another full slate of events brought out some strong performances by some of the top junior swimmers in North America.
Urlando continued his dominating performance in the meet, winning the 100 fly in 52.04. It was the second-fastest time in the 17-18 age group in history.
Here is a look at what happened on Day 2:
Women’s 100 Fly
A trio of USA juniors finished atop the field in the women’s 100 fly to start the second night of finals.
Torri Huske won the event in 59.33, followed by Olivia Bray (59.48) and Charlotte Hook (1:00.24).
Haley Black finished fourth in 1:00.35, followed by Danielle Hanus (1:00.61), Genevieve Sasseville (1:00.81), Coleen Gillilan (1:00.88) and Jade Hannah (1:01.07).
Men’s 100 Fly
Luca Urlando continued his dominating performance in the meet, winning the 100 fly in 52.04. It was the second-fastest time in the 17-18 age group in history.
Josiah Binnema was second in 53.92, followed by Kyle Robrock (54.65), River Wright (54.87), Ethan Heasley (55.13), Carson Olafson (55.54), Graham Walker (56.11) and James Richardson (56.19).
Women’s 400 Free
Danica Ludlow edged Emma O’Croinin in an extremely close 400 free. Ludlow finished in 4:12.69 to win, while O’Croinin was second in 4:12.80.
The duo was nearly five seconds ahead of the field.
Isabel Gormley finished third in 4:17.42, followed by Katrina Bellio (4:19.03), Sarah DiMeco (4:20.46), Brooklyn Douthwright (4:21.19), Megan Dalke (4:21.53) and Emily Overholt (4:21.83).
Men’s 400 Free
British Columbia’s Jeremy Bagshaw won the men’s 400 free in 3:55.99 in a race that wasn’t nearly as close as the women’s event.
Tristan Cole finished second in 3:57.09, followed by Alexander Pratt (3:57.38).
Connor Daniels took fourth place in 3:58.32, followed by Colin Gilbert (3:58.46), Nathan Beaudin-Bolduc (3:59.57), Cale Murdock (4:00.12) and Peter Brothers (4:00.15).
Women’s 50 Back
Jade Hannah won the 50 back in 28.24 to hold off Ingrid Wilm (28.66).
Caitlin Brooks (28.92) and Annabel Crush (28.92) tied for third place in the event.
Fifth place went to Danielle Hanus (29.09), followed by Ekaterina Avramova (29.49), Alexandra Crisera (29.71) and Regan Rathwell (29.76).
Men’s 50 Back
Markus Thormeyer dropped three tenths from his seed time to win the 50 back in 25.56.
Thormeyer held off Cameron Auchinachie, who finished in 25.62.
Tim Zeng was third in 26.00, followed by Sebastian Somerset (26.57), David Curtiss (26.73), Kyle Robrock (26.76), Tyler Wall (26.87) and Ian Grum (26.88).
Women’s 200 IM
Another close race for the women’s side as Kelsey Wog won in 2:13.34 to hold off a charging Charlotte Hook (2:13.67).
Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson took third in 2:15.78, followed by Janelle Rudolph (2:17.31), Bailey Herbert (2:17.64), Kathryn Ackerman (2:18.67), Hillary Metcalfe (2:19.52) and Danielle Hanus (2:19.89).
Men’s 200 IM
Finlay Knox dropped more than three seconds from his prelims time to win the 200 IM in 2:02.19.
Markus Thormeyer, who had just won the 50 back minutes earlier, finished second in 2:04.73.
Robert Hill was third (2:04.87), followed by Cole Pratt (2:06.17), Josh Zakala (2:06.63), Patrick Groters (2:06.73), Jacob Gallant (2:07.08) and River Wright (2:08.06).
Women’s 50 Free
Torri Huske won her second event of the night, but this time, she wasn’t alone.
Huske and Sarah Fournier tied for the win in the 50 free in 25.45.
Hoi Lam Tam finished third in 25.73, followed by Amy Tang (25.94), Kaitlyn Dobler (25.99), Janelle Rudolph (26.25), Emma Wheal (26.31) and Eleanor Beers (26.49).
Men’s 50 Free
Cameron Auchinachie was close to victory earlier in the session, but was able to come away with a win in the 50 free, winning in 22.73.
David Curtiss was a close second in 22.78.
Spencer Bougie finished third in 23.02, followed by Mehdi Ayoubi (23.12), Alex Loginov (23.14), Kyle Robrock (23.18), James LeBuke (23.51) and Matt King (23.55).
Women’s 200 Breast
Kelsey Wog won her second event of the night, claiming victory in the 200 breast in 2:29.21.
Rachel Nicol finished second in 2:31.02, followed by Avery Wiseman (2:31.22), Anna Keating (2:31.26), Bailey Herbert (2:31.29), Abby Arens (2:32.31), Emma Spence (2:36.47) and Janessa Mathews (2:36.88).
Men’s 200 Breast
Caspar Corbeau closed the session with a strong performance in the 200 breast, winning in 2:15.34, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of the pack.
Josh Matheny finished second in 2:18.22, followed by Ethan Dang (2:19.45), Jaren LeFranc (2:20.07), Tristan Cote (2:20.26), Ben Blackmon (2:21.19), Jason Lauser (2:21.68) and Kevin Houseman (2:21.70).
This photo shows why you should never be flat and low in the water