Aidan Burns and Molly Gowans had their chance to shine tonight at the Southwest Classic. Matt Grevers, Margo Geer and other highly-touted swimmers are gathered in Tuscon for the long course meet, but it was the two distance swimmers who reigned supreme tonight.
The heavily-favored future Georgia Bulldog Aidan Burns won the men’s 1500 free in 15:51.56. Despite a nearly 22-second add, Burns conquered the next closest finisher by more than ten seconds. Nick Hogsed trailed Burns throughout the race and ended up second in 16:01.89. Michael Messner wasn’t too far behind in third with a 16:05.92.
Molly Gowans overcame a huge drop from Claire Lockridge to win the women’s 800-meter free. Gowans clocked a 9:00.55, while Lockridge dropped 20 seconds to finish second with a 9:04.39. Megan Dalke wound up third in 9:07.85.
The Southwest Classic continues through Sunday.
Meet results available on Meet Mobile.