Grant House, Jillian Cox Win Third Event Each to Wrap Up Irvine Meet
Six individual events and two relays concluded the Speedo Summer Championships Saturday evening in Irvine, Calif., with Grant House and Jillian Cox each winning their third individual events of the meet.
House, already the top finisher in the 100 and 200 freestyle, overcame a difficult backstroke leg to take the win in a furious finish. Turning marginally ahead of Trenton Julian and Owen McDonald heading into freestyle, House came home in 28.22 for a victory in 1:58.29, just eight hundredths off his best time. McDonald touched out Julian for second, 1:59.03 to 1:59.06.
Cox completed the distance freestyle triple with an 11-second personal best in the 1500 free, dropping to 16:07.29 to win the event by more than six-and-a-half seconds. Scarlet Aquatics’ Kate Hurst took second in 16:13.97, followed by Georgia swimmers Rachel Stege (16:19.58) and Abby McCulloh (16:30.66).
Bella Sims followed up her win in the 200 free Friday with a strong 2:12.79 in the 200 IM. Sims used stellar backstroke (32.30) and freestyle (30.87) legs to pull away from the field. SwimMAC’s Elle Scott (2:13.61) and Trojan’s Isabelle Odgers (2:15.08) took second and third, respectively.
Also winning for the second time this week was Ohio State’s Charlie Clark, whose mark of 7:52.83 out-paced the field in the 800 free. Silas Beth took second (7:56.97) ahead of Shawmut’s William Mulgrew (7:57.71), with talented 15-year-old Luka Mijatovic swimming a best time by almost two seconds to take fourth (7:57.94).
In the 50 free, Fishers Area’s Julie Mishler won the women’s race in 25.14 ahead of Indiana’s Kristina Paegle (25.23) and Foxjets’ Caroline Larsen (25.25). The men’s event went to Michigan’s Bence Szabados (22.48) ahead of Vlad Dubinin (22.58) and Indiana’s Finn Brooks (22.65).
Indiana’s Mya Dweitt, Mackenna Lieske, Avery Spade and Paegle won the women’s 400 medley relay in 4:07.59, and the men’s event went to the Hoosiers’ McDonald, Harry Herrera, Brooks and Dylan Smiley in 3:37.95.