By Alan Karickhoff, Swimming World College Intern
The final individual event of the night, the boys 100 breast, held one of the most exciting events of the night as lane one showed its power. After barely making the A final in the boys 100 breast, Austin Rednour of the Gaston Gators sailed to the top of the podium from lane one with a time of 1:04.57. Rednour took out the first 50 more than half a second faster than anyone in field and was able to hold off an encroaching Keefer Barnum from Lakeside who finished in second in 1:08.80. Kentucky Aquatic’s Michael Summe finished in third with a 1:05.43 holding off his teammate Benjamin Slate. Rednour’s ability to hold on after a fast start will truly be tested with “the journey”, the 200 breaststroke, on Sunday. Barnum, Summe, and Slate are scheduled to join him, among many others, through what many agree on as the toughest event.
If Rednour’s outside smoke wasn’t the most exciting event of the night, then it was the first event. The girls 400 freestyle finals charged the Greensboro Aquatic Center with energy that lasted through the evening. Kentucky Aquatics’ Geena Freriks and Kendal Casey, two of the most decorated swimmers at the Speedo Sectional Championship in Greensboro so far, battled with Lakeside’s Brooke Forde down to the last 10 meters of the 400 meter race. Though all within a tenth of a second at the 350 mark, Freriks pulled ahead to finish first in 4:15.18. Casey touched second in 4:15.33, and Forde hit the wall third in 4:15.96.
Jarod Kehl from Kentucky Aquatics put himself at the front of the pack immediately in the 400 free with a 56.93 for his first 100, and he held the lead for the rest of the race, finishing with a 3:58.89. Alexander Hamilton of North Carolina Swimming and Philip Perdue of North Carolina Aquatics Club touched in second and third with times of 4:00.13 and 4:02.96, respectively.
In the 100 fly, Hellen Moffit of North Carolina Aquatics, was the only swimmer under the one-minute mark, placing first with a time of 59.13. Touching after her in 1:00.87 was Kentucky Aquatic’s Haley McInerny, the second place finisher in the 200 fly on night one. Hannah Kukurugya, an unattached Lakeside swimmer who won the 200 fly on Thursday night, scored in third place with a time of 1:01.50.
The boys top three in the 100 fly all finished in 55th second. David Dingess from Kentucky Aquatics had another good night, after his win in the 100 back on night two, with a win in the 100 fly in 55.11. Matthew Beach, another Kentucky Aquatics swimmer, finished closely after in 55.43 with a dangerous second 50, four tenths faster than Dingess. Zachary Brown from Marlins of Raleigh squeezed under the 56 mark and improved his prelim time by 0.16 placing him third in 55.90.
Touchpads weren’t necessary to declare the winner of the girls 100 breast. Kendra Crew of Kentucky Aquatics glided to the finish more than two seconds ahead of the next closest competitor in 1:10.31 earning her the gold. For second place, the result was much less obvious. Cape Murch Elliot from SwimMAC Carolina touched only two and a half tenths ahead of DYNA’s Allie Reiter. Elliot finished in 1:12.74 and Reiter finished in1:12.99.
Lakeside was untouchable in the girls 800 freestyle relay with Monica McGrath, Bryn Handley, Cameron Brown, and Brooke Forde earning gold with an 8:24.30. SwimMAC Carolina’s young relay of Sophie Linder, Kristie Darmody, Charlotte Hylinski, and Olwyn Bartis finished in second with a time of 8:27.12.
Lakeside’s boy’s relay of Aldan Johnston, Hunter Tapp, Coley Sullivan, and Clayton Ford was equally untouchable as their girls, reaching the final wall first in 7:48.11. From DYNA, Cade Anderson, Jeffrey Durmer, James McGuire, and Owen Downs powered to second place in 7:54.49.
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