By Madeline Ladd, Swimming World Intern.
The 2019 USA Swimming Futures Championships kicked off today in Greensboro North Carolina. This is one out of the four Futures meets across the country, with other locations including Mt. Hood, Oregon; Geneva, Ohio; and Des Moines, Iowa. Competition will take place at the Greensboro Aquatic Center from August 1-4. The distance session kicked things off for the meet, with events including the women’s 800 free, men’s 1500 free, and the men’s/women’s 800 free relay. Fast Lane Aquatics’ Madison Murtagh, unattached Lance Norris, the Sarasota Sharks, and the Sarasota Tsunami Swim Team claimed some of the very first victories of the meet on night one.
Women 800 Free
Claiming victory in the very first event of the meet was Fast Lane Aquatics’ Madison Murtagh. Dropping over twelve seconds, Murtagh clocked in at an 8:55.06. Right behind her was Area Tallahassee’s sixteen-year-old Stella Grace Watts, finishing with an 8:55.86. Third place went to thirteen-year-old Addison Suickle of Sarasota, with an 8:56.73.
Rounding out the top eight was Blue Dolfins’ Carlie Rose (8:58.73), Marlins of Raleigh’s Adrianna Cera (8:59.76), Treasure Coast Aquatics’ Blair Stoneburg (9:02.75), Atomic City Aquatic Club’s Emily Aycock (9:05.09), and Tac Titans’ Keelan Cotter (9:05.44).
Men 1500 Free
The longest distance event of the meet had some of the youngest podium winners; all top three finishers in the men’s 1500 free were sixteen years old or younger. Touching the wall first was sixteen-year-old Lance Norris (unattached) with a time of 15:45.60 – over an eleven second drop. Fellow sixteen-year old Grant Davis of Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club placed second with a 15:47.81. City of Mobile Swim Association’s fifteen-year-old Andrew Jordan finished third in a 15:52.72.
Cale Russell, unattached, (15:53.75), Central Florida Marlins’ Noah Smith (16:02.95), Performance Elite Aquatics’ Landon Peeples (16:03.53), Marlins of Raleigh’s Joshua Legge (16:08.01), and Central Florida Marlins’ Riley Sampson (16:10.56) completed the men’s top eight in the event.
Women 800 Free Relay
In the first relay event of the meet, the Sarasota Sharks quartet of Christina Cianciolo, Addison Sauickie, Savannah Barr, and Mercedes Traba won the gold with a time of 8:28.63, tying their seed exactly. In second place was Blue Dolfins’ Lockett Bowley, Julia Mauter, Kaylin Herbert, and Carlie Rose with an 8:29.45. Third place went to Tac Titans’ Sydney Morgan, Elena Dry, Taylor Morris, and Keelan Cotter in a 8:31.98.
Dynamo Swim Club (8:32.38), Laker Swim (8:36.26), Blue Dolfins (B) (8:37.11), Marlins of Raleigh (8:39.55), and Swac Swim Team (8:40.77) rounded out the top eight women’s relays.
Men 800 Free Relay
Sarasota Tsunami Swim Team’s Rene Strezenicky Franko, Ian Brann, Jason Brzozowski, and Dimiter Zafirov touched the wall first in the final event of the night with a 7:43.72. The quartet’s almost three-second drop had them sweeping the next closest team in the field by three seconds. Coming in second place was Tac Titans’ Michael Cotter, Jack Benton, Mitchell Stroud, and Braeden Haughey in a 7:46.16. Right behind them in third place was Marlins of Raleigh’s Samuel Roche, Joshua Legge, Sean Quinn, and Connor Dalbo with a 7:46.96.
Completing the top eight men’s relays was Tampa Bay Aquatic Club (7:50.25), Academy Aquatic Club (7:51.41), Sarasota Sharks (7:55.66), Avon Community Swim Team (7:56.19), Episcopal Amberjax (7:57.18).
Competition will continue tomorrow with the 200 free, 100 breast, 100 fly, 400 IM, and 400 free relay. Prelims will begin at 9 a.m., with finals swims beginning at 5:00 p.m.
