MESA, Arizona, May 23. DARIAN Townsend had the strongest day of any competitor during day one prelims at the Speedo Arizona Invitational at Skyline High in Mesa.
Townsend first led the way in the men’s 200-meter free prelims with a 1:51.45. He had the top time by nearly double digits as Alec Lezcano touched second in 2:00.56 with Kyle Ewoldt third in 2:00.84.
Townsend then nearly took the top seed in the men’s 100-meter breast with a 1:07.60. Matthew Anderson put up the top time out of prelims in that event with a 1:07.51. Miles Dunn qualified third in 1:09.55.
Townsend rebounded in the men’s 100-meter back with a top-seeded 59.78 in the event. Alex Lezcano put up another second-seeded time behind him with a 1:00.98, while Daniel Lupro qualified third in 1:02.62.
In the one men’s event of the night that did not feature Townsend, Kyle Ewoldt posted the top 200-meter fly time in 2:09.97. Kevin Benavidez (2:14.71) and Alex Van Alstine (2:17.91) took second and third.
Noriko Inada, one of the top masters backstrokers in history, took the top seed in the women’s 100-meter back with a 1:04.36. Shelly Drozda placed second in 1:06.26, while Mattie Harrison qualified third in 1:06.48.
Paulina Watson put up the top time in the women’s 200-meter free prelims with a 2:08.99, while Shelly Drozda took second in 2:09.18. Janet Zhao claimed the top seed in the women’s 100-meter breast with a 1:15.77, while Olivia Heflin qualified second in 1:17.53. Riley Neal took home the top seed in the women’s 200-meter fly with a 2:27.15, while Cecina Babich Morrow qualified second in 2:27.57.