Grant House, Paige Madden Post Strong Performances at TYR Pro Championships
During the first full day of racing at the TYR Pro Championships in Irvine, Calif., the top performance of the day came courtesy of Sun Devil Swimming’s Grant House, who posted a 200 IM effort much quicker than he achieved at U.S. Nationals one month ago.
House won the men’s 200 IM in 1:58.21, knocking eight tenths off his best time. House was the B-final winner in the event at Nationals, but this performance would have been good enough for sixth place, so it bodes well for his freestyle swims to come. Dallas Mustangs’ Collin Feehery placed second in 1:59.49, with Australia’s William Petric placing third in 1:59.57, with American veterans Trenton Julian (1:59.83) and Will Licon (1:59.91) also breaking 2:00.
In the women’s 400 freestyle, Paige Madden earned her second win of the meet, adding a wire-to-wire triumph to her previous win in the 800 free. Madden, representing New York Athletic Club, swam a time of 4:07.97, about one second back of the 4:06.83 she swam to finish fourth at Nationals. Athens Bulldog’s Rachel Stege (4:10.14) and Alto’s Aurora Roghair (4:11.89) took second and third, respectively.
Just like Madden, Australia’s Matthew Galea completed the 400-800 double as he held off a charging Jake Magahey over the final 150 meters. Galea swam a time of 3:47.54, with Athens Bulldog’s Magahey coming in at 3:47.67. Sun Devil’s Daniel Matheson placed third in 3:48.94. In the following event, Australia’s Ella Ramsay pulled away to win the 200 IM in 2:11.07, with Mission Viejo’s Alicia Wilson placing second in 2:12.32 ahead of a tight pack that included Wisconsin teammates Beata Nelson (2:12.40) and Phoebe Bacon (2:12.40), Gator’s Isabel Ivey (2:12.57) and Longhorn’s Kelly Pash (2:12.67).
NYAC’s Catie Deloof edged Longhorn’s Grace Cooper in the women’s 50 freestyle, 24.68 to 24.77, while the American-record holder took third in the race. Simone Manuel, who skipped U.S. Nationals to continue her comeback as she targets next year’s Paris Olympics, swam a time of 25.05, her best time so far in her comeback. The men’s sprint went to Australia’s Thomas Nowakowski in 21.81 ahead of LSU’s Brooks Curry and Texas Ford’s Santo Condorelli, with the two veterans tying in 22.04.
The women’s 400 medley relay went to Cal Aquatics’ Isabelle Stadden, Alicia Henry, Lizzy Cook and Eloise Riley in 4:02.18, with Stadden (59.56) and Wisconsin’s Bacon (59.79) each leading off with sub-1:00 performances. On the men’s side, Australia’s Ty Hartwell, Haig Buckingham, Jesse Coleman and Jezze Gorman won in 3:36.00 while Indiana Swim Club finished second as Blake Pieroni surged home with a 48.61 split. Pieroni, a two-time Olympian for the U.S. who swam the second leg on the Americans’ gold-medal-winning 400 free relay in 2021, is making a comeback to the sport after a brief retirement.