Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr
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MINNESOTA – Kierra Smith and BJ Johnson won the 200 breast at the Arena Grand Prix in Minnesota. Here are the race videos courtesy of USA Swimming.
Women’s 200 breast
Minnesota’s Kierra Smith smashed her lifetime best of 2:06.43 from the Grand Prix last year with a sterling time of 2:05.12 this evening. That moved her to sixth all time in the event’s history.
| Name | Time |
|---|---|
| Emma Reaney | 2:04.06 |
| Breeja Larson | 2:04.48 |
| Rebecca Soni | 2:04.75 |
| Caitlin Leverenz | 2:04.76 |
| Laura Sogar | 2:05.04 |
| Kierra Smith | 2:05.12 |
That’s a pretty stacked list to be part of now for Smith as she continues the long tradition of amazing 200-yard breaststrokers in Minnesota.
Saint Petersburg’s Melanie Margalis took second tonight in 2:07.97 with California’s Caitlin Leverenz, the fourth-fastest ever, took third in 2:07.99.
Gator’s Hilda Luthersdottir (2:09.69), Badger’s Bronwyn Pasloski (2:10.43), Minnesota’s Haley Spencer (2:10.54), T2′s Justine Bowker (2:14.39) and Badger’s Emily McClellan (2:14.67) also competed in the finale.
Golden West 15-year-old Nora Deleske topped the B final in 2:14.68 with AGUA’s Anna Belousova touching just behind in 2:15.02. Frisco’s Destiny Nelson also wasn’t far behind with a 2:15.22.
Rachel Cunningham (2:15.89), Madison Preiss (2:16.21), Olivia Anderson (2:17.11), Jenny Ma (2:17.34) and Madeleine Vonderhaar (2:18.31) took fourth through eighth.
A final
B final
C final
D final
Men’s 200 breast
BJ Johnson, a veteran of the Arena Grand Prix series, took the top time in the 200 breast with a 1:53.80, while Marat Almatdinov placed second in 1:54.46.
NBAC’s Conor Dwyer took his third medal of the meet with a third-place time of 1:54.51.
Lyam Dias (1:55.22), Carlos Almeida (1:55.23), Mike Alexandrov (1:55.95), Matt Anderson (1:57.40) and Trevor Hoyt (1:58.57) placed fourth through eighth tonight.
John Bushman won the B final in 1:56.22 with Minnesota’s Conner McHugh claiming second in 1:57.33.
NBAC’s Alpkan Ornek (1:59.01) also cleared 2:00 in the B final.
Jakub Maly (2:00.07), Phillip Willett (2:00.60), Corey Lau (2:01.22), Nick Hatanaka (2:01.47) and Christian Bals (2:02.48) comprised the rest of the consolation field.
A final
B final
C final
D final
