Photo Courtesy: Mike Comer/ProSwimVisuals.com
GREENSBORO – Louisville’s past, present and future was on display in the championship final of the men’s 200 breaststroke, which was won by senior Thomas Dahlia in 1:53.83.
Dahlia broke away at the 100-yard mark and withstood a challenge from 2012 NCAA champion Carlos Almeida, who posted a 1:54.32. Dahlia, a French national, was 13th in last March’s NCAA championships with a 1:53.72, so he was just off his best time tonight. The time is also just a couple of tenths short of the automatic qualifying time but is second-fastest among college swimmers behind Sam Tierney’s 1:52.67.
Placing third and rounding out the Louisville podium sweep was Venezuelan freshman Carlos Claverie with a 1:54.96 to be fifth in the collegiate standings. Another Cardinal was in the final, as senior Addison Bray was seventh with a 1:56.36.
Also swimming in the championship final were: Purdue’s Marat Amaltidinov (1:55.17), Yucaipa’s Trevor Hoyt (1:55.82), Michigan’s Richard Funk (1:56.28) and New York Athletic Club’s Mike Alexandrov (1:56.58).
Michigan’s Chris Klein took the B final of the event with a 1:56.73. That was well ahead of the 1:57.29 posted by Tanner Kurz and the 1:57.49 by DJ Macdonald. In the C final, Rostyslav Fedyna posted a 1:57.55 to win over the 1:58.33 by Josh Zimmt and the 1:58.40 by Ethan Browne.
