Georgia Fall Invitational, Day 3: Josh Liendo Sets 200 Fly Mark with 1:39.14
As a 100 butterfly specialist, it’s long been wondered whether Josh Liendo comes at the race from the butterfly perspective or a sprinter’s. Answer is probably both.
Liendo, the reining 100 fly NCAA champ, eschewed the 100 free on Friday at the Georgia Fall Invitational to take on the 200 fly, where he set a Florida record and earn an NCAA A cut of 1:39.14.
The swims capped a stellar week for Florida, which won both team competitions. The men collected 1,157.5 points, well ahead of host Georgia’s 796, followed by Alabama (649.5), LSU (593) and Missouri (524).
The Gators’ women’s team wracked up 1,156.5 to narrow lose some in-house bragging rights. The same order followed: Georgia with 764.5, Alabama with 669, LSU on 574 and Missouri with 492.5.
Action at the Gabrielsen Natatorium:
Women’s 200 backstroke
Another night, another Bella Sims A cut win to start the session. Sims has been magnificent in Athens, and she added to that Friday with a time of 1:49.43. That’s 1.1 seconds off her best time from the winter of 2022. It’s also an A cut by more than a second. Sims opted for the 200 back final after leading prelims of the 200 fly in the morning in 1:53.67, a B cut that is 1.2 seconds off the auto standard.
Florida teammate JoJo Ramey followed Sims in 1:53.10 for second, with Zoe Dixon third in 1:53.23. The Gators took home the top five spots, Mabel Zavaros and Katelyn Schroeder following.
Men’s 200 backstroke
Johnny Marshall impressed as a freshman by finishing fourth in this event at NCAAs last year and is prepped for more this time around. He went 1:38.46, an NCAA A cut, though 1.8 seconds slower than the school record he set at SECs last year. Teammate Aiden Norman was second in 1:40.02.
Georgia was third and fourth, with Sam Powe going 1:40.24 and Ruard van Renen 1:40.37. Tommy Hagar (1:40.47) and Caleb Maldari (1:40.82) followed.
Women’s 100 freestyle
Against not the deepest sprint field, Cadence Vincent nonetheless picked up a second win, by .01 over Helena Jones of Georgia. The Alabama sophomore Vincent had been 48.16 in prelims, then 48.26 in finals. That’s well shy of the A cut of 47.10.
Mizzou’s double-Z star Zara Zallen finished third in 48.58, with Micayla Cronk of Florida and Bri Robertson of Georgia also breaking 49 seconds.
Men’s 100 freestyle
With Josh Liendo branching out to the 200 fly, Julian Smith was left to take care of business in the 100 free. Smith went 41.71, just off the A cut of 41.34, to notch the win. LSU’s Jere Hribar was second in 41.95.
Third place went to Alabama’s Kaique Alves in 42.17, with Stepan Goncharov beating a trio of 42-lows to fourth in 42.22.
Women’s 200 breaststroke
Alabama notched another win via Avery Wiseman, who went 2:08.18 to claim the 200 breast. That’s 2.45 seconds off the A cut.
Florida’s Molly Mayne finished second in 2:09.15, followed by five teammates. Grace Rainey was third in 2:09.87, ahead of 100 breast champ Anita Bottazza fourth in 2:10.48.
Men’s 200 breaststroke
Florida switched it up but still took home two breaststroke titles, Aleksas Savickas taking the longer race in 1:51.59. He was nearly 2.5 seconds ahead of teammate Peter Bretzmann’s 1:54.02. Georgia’s Arie Voloschin finished third.
Women’s 200 butterfly
With Bella Sims scratching, Lainy Kruger took full advantage to win a thrilling race in 1:55.22. The Florida sophomore outtouched Georgia’s Ieva Maluka by .13 seconds. Mabel Zavaros, who did go for the 200 double, finished third in 1:56.20 with Alabama’s Victoria Raymond fourth.
Men’s 200 butterfly
Josh Liendo showed his butterfly prowess in a big way with a time of 1:39.14 to win. That’s an NCAA A cut by nearly a full second. It’s his best time, having only swum it once, in a dual meet with Georgia earlier this month in 1:43.51. And it downs the Gators record 1:39.55, set in 2018 by Jan Switkowski.
Liendo bested Georgia’s Jake Magahey, who went 1:40.07 to finish .02 shy of the A cut. Jan Zubik of Missouri was third in 1:41.65.
Women’s 400 freestyle relay
The Gators put an emphatic stamp on the meet with an A cut in the 400 free relay, the quartet of Bella Sims, Lainy Kruger, Addison Reese and Micayla Cronk going 3:11.79, nearly two seconds under the auto qualifying standard. Sims had the fastest leg of the meet in 47.36 off the front, and Cronk’s 47.55 was the only other 47.
Georgia summoned four 48s for second place in in 3:12.95, also an A cut. Helena Jones was out in 48.27. All four splits were clustered between Eboni McCarty’s 48.16 and the 48.28 of Bri Roberson, with Ieva Maluka anchoring. Alabama finished third in 3:13.93, .21 off the A cut.
Men’s 400 freestyle relay
Josh Liendo got to flex his sprint muscles with a 40.53 anchor split to bring the Gators home in style and a time of 2:46.81, nearly three seconds under the A cut. Alex Painter led off in 42.67, followed by Paul Dardis (42.48) and Julian Smith (41.13).
Alabama booked an NCAA swim in 2:48.03 for second place. Charlie Hawke’s second-leg split of 41.25 was the standout there. LSU made the time standard in third in 2:49.00, Jere Hribar supplying a 41.48 on the second leg. Georgia was just outside the A cut by .02 in fourth in 2:49.81.
