Battle in 50 Free Punctuates Fast Day 1 of USC Invitational

Kaitlyn Dobler; Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Battle in 50 Free Punctuates Fast Day 1 of USC Invitational

A battle in the men’s 50 freestyle decided by one-hundredth of a second capped the first day of the USC Invitational Friday.

The final race of the day was also the best. USC’s Artem Selin got the win in 19.70 seconds, .01 ahead of Kalle Makinen of Auburn. Third was Auburn’s Logan Tirheimer, who also got under 20 seconds at 19.91.

Auburn and USC, the two big participants out of four schools, traded blows all day on the men’s side. Auburn scored a 1-2-3 finish in the 500 free, led by Mason Mathias’ time of 4:18.73. Michael Bonson and Mikkel Gadgaard followed him to the wall.

USC countered by sweeping the 200 individual medley podium. Chris O’Grady led the way in 1:45.85, with Harry Homans and Henry Blaul following.

Auburn started with a win in the 400 medley relay, the squad of Nathaniel Stoffle, Reid Mikuta, Aidan Stoffle and Makinen going 3:07.26. Makinen brought it home in 42.54. Nathaniel Stoffle won the 100 back in 46.67, three tenths up on teammate Lleyton Smith.

The women’s meet started with a decisive win by the Trojans’ 400 medley relay. The foursome of Hanna Henderson, Kaitlyn Dobler, Anicka Delgado and Elise Garcia went 3:31.91. Dobler won the 50 free to cap the session in 22.30, .12 ahead of third-place Delgado. In between was Auburn’s Lexie Mulvihill in 22.36.

The women’s race of the day came in the 500 free. Justina Kozan used a furious final 50 to win in 4:41.09. She brought it in 27.33, gaining 1.09 seconds on the final 50 on runner-up Emily Hetzer of Auburn. Isabelle Odgers won the 200 IM in 1:56.88.

Auburn swept the top three spots in the 100 back, led by Meghan Lee’s time of 52.28. Daily Platts and Ellie Waldrep followed her to the wall. Hannah Ownbey was second in the 200 IM. Tina Reuter of UC San Diego finished third in the IM.

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