Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
GREENSBORO – Similar to the women’s 400 IM final at the USA swimming short course nationals featured an exciting race that came down to the final strokes. Michigan postgrads Kyle Whitaker and Connor Jaeger made the race exciting with a race to the wall in the final 25 yards, with Whitaker getting the win by 25 hundredths of a second to sweep the IM events.
Whitaker, a multiple NCAA finalist in the event now in his first short course yards season as a postgrad, posted a 1:02.55 breaststroke leg to get a body length ahead of the field. But Jaeger responded immediately on freestyle, pulling within a half body length with 50 yards remaining. Whitaker found another gear and held off Jaeger, an Olympian in the 1500 freestyle. Jaeger took second with a 3:41.35. While Whitaker was off his lifetime best of 3:38.51, Jaeger dropped two seconds off his lifetime best.
The Wolverines celebrated a 1-2-3 finish as Dylan Bosch comfortably took third with a 3:44.92 after being in the hunt through breaststroke. Louisville’s Nolan Tesone was fourth with a 3:46.69, while Ohio State’s Tamas Gercsak (3:47.20), Oakland’s Jorden Merrilees (3:48.81), Pittsburgh’s Zachary Lierley (3:49.84) and Nation’s Capital’s Andrew Gemmell (3:50.87) rounded out the championship field.
Carlos Claverie’s 1:01.91 on the breaststroke leg seemed to give him enough cushion to win the B final, but Queens University of Charlotte’s Nick Arakelian had other plans, putting together a 52.24 freestyle leg to win in 3:49.04. Claverie, representing Louisville, was second with a 3:49.24 while Trevor Hoyt of Yucaipa Swim Team was third with a 3:50.87.
Ryan Sebastian pulled away from the field on breaststroke to win the C final by two seconds with a 3:50.09. That’s a five-second drop his lifetime best for the Michigan freshman, which he swam last March. Scotland’s Duncan Scott placed second in the heat with a 3:52.82 while Princeton’s Sam Smiddy was third with a 3:52.82.
Twitter Coverage
For up to the minute coverage, follow us on Twitter @SwimmingWorld:
