The University of Florida’s weakness in breaststroke was evident tonight at the All-Florida Invite, as the Gators were unable to win the women’s or men’s 100 breast in Gainesville. Florida was dominant in the 400 IM and 200 free, however, on the second day of competition.
The meet format has historically followed the same schedule of events as the Division I championships. But with the new vote to move the 800 free relay to a separate day, the athletes swimming in the long relay tonight could take comfort in knowing they don’t have to replicate tonight’s swimming in March.
Katie Armitage of Florida Gulf Coast University and Nova Southeastern’s Anton Lobanov were the 100 breast winners. Armitage, part of Florida Gulf Coast’s big rise last season, won the 100 breast in 1:02.37 as Florida State’s Natalie Pierce (1:03.86) and Sami Pochowski (1:04.68) were well behind the leader.
Lobanov, who made history with a Division II record-setting 100 breast to put him in the top 10 all time with a 51.63 barely beat Florida’s Caeleb Dressel to the wall with a 55.30 to Dressel’s 55.34. Not far behind was NCAA top 16 finisher Jason Coombs from Florida State with a 55.47.
Dressel was a very busy man tonight, swimming on both relays and swimming two individual events. The sophomore blitzed through his breaststroke leg of the 200 medley relay with a 24.48 to help Florida post a 1:28.16. Jack Blyzinskyj (backstroke, 21.95), Emiro Goossen (butterfly, 22.13) and Corey Main (freestyle, 19.60) also were on the relay. Dressel took out the first 50 yards of the 100 fly hard, splitting 21.75 to help him beat Blyzinskyj to the wall, 47.24 to 48.57. After missing out on the 100 breast win, Dressel led off the winning 800 free relay with a 1:39.01, followed by Pawel Werner (1:38.39), Mitch D’Arrigo (1:39.48) and Main (1:40.32) for a combined time of 6:37.20.
Werner, D’Arrigo and Main went 1-2-3 for Florida in the 200 freestyle. Werner led from start to finish, posting a solid 1:37.45. D’Arrigo was also under 1:40 with a 1:38.33 for second, with Main claiming third with a 1:40.90.
Blyzinskyj and Main teamed up for a 1-2 finish in the 100 back, where Blyzinskyj dominated with a 47.23 to Main’s 49.30. Main is more primed for the 200 backstroke, so look for him to challenge for the win in that event tomorrow.
Another 1-2 finish for the Florida men took place in the 400 IM, led by Mark Szaranek’s 3:51.11. Alex Lebed dipped under 4:00 with a 3:59.05 after a 3:59.42 in prelims.
The Florida women were as dominant as the men. Thanks to a 1:12.29 breaststroke split, Hannah Burns was not going to be caught in the 400 IM, winning by nearly five seconds with a 4:19.03. Teammate Jessica Thielmann followed with a 4:23.98 for second, overtaking another Florida Gator, Sierra Kuhn on the freestyle leg. Kuhn placed third with a 4:24.24.
Amelia Maughan split 27.06 on the final 50 yards of the 200 free final, but it wasn’t enough to catch teammate Taylor Katz. A better third 50 than Maughan helped Katz win in 1:50.16 to Maughan’s 1:50.67. Towson University’s Macey Arnold was also in the mix at 150 yards, but faded to third with a 1:51.33.
Ashlee Lind and Natalie Hinds pulled away from the competition early to give Florida a 1-2 finish in the 100 back. Lind won with a 54.65, while Hinds was right behind in 54.91, the only two swims under 56 seconds in the final.
Earlier in the session, Hinds won the 100 fly with a 53.85, overpowering Miami’s Angela Algee on the second half of the race. Algee was a distant second with a 55.00.
Florida won the women’s 800 free relay handily with a 7:25.28. Starting with a 1:50.00 leadoff from Hinds, the Gators finished up with a 1:51.46 from Maughan, 1:52.16 from Georgia-Mae Hohmann and a 1:51.64 from Katz. Florida State finished second with a 7:32.60.
The win in the 800 free relay was a bit of redemption for Florida, who fell to Florida State in the 200 medley relay to begin the session by just six tenths of a second. Bianca Spinazzola (backstroke, 26.51), Pierce (breaststroke, 28.68), Gracie Redding (butterfly, 24.75) and Alexi Smith (freestyle, 22.92) posted a 1:42.86 to Florida’s 1:43.46.
Valentina Artemeva