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IRVINE, California, August 3. THE first day of prelims is complete at the U.S. Long Course Nationals held in Irvine, Calif.
Women's 100 fly
Christine Magnuson, swimming for Tucson Ford, nearly cleared her meet record in the penultimate heat with a sterling time of 57.51 for the top seed. That time moved her to second in the world behind Dana Vollmer's top-ranked 57.39 from the Los Angeles Grand Prix. Vollmer qualified second, racing for California Aquatics, with her own sub-58 for the morning by hitting the wall in 57.87.
North Baltimore's Felicia Lee put herself into the mix for an international trip with a third-seeded 58.41. That tied her for ninth in the world with Australia's Jessicah Schipper. SwimAtlanta's Kathleen Hersey qualified fourth in 58.47 to move into a 13th-place tie with Inge Dekker in the world rankings.
California's Natalie Coughlin (58.74), Trojan's Lyndsay De Paul (58.74), FAST's Mary Mohler (59.01) and Western Kentucky's Claire Donahue (59.15) comprised the rest of the top eight. Coughlin and De Paul's times also rank among the top 25 in the world.
Men's 400 free
A trio of swimmers cleared 3:51 during the middle distance preliminary heats. Club Wolverine's Peter Vanderkaay turned in a 3:50.79, while Mission Viejo's Chad La Tourette qualified second in 3:50.87. FAST's Charlie Houchin posted a third-place 3:50.95.
Longhorn's Michael Klueh (3:51.19), Lake Forest's Conor Dwyer (3:51.40), Cincinnati Marlin David Mosko (3:52.17), Club Wolverine's Matt Patton (3:52.18) and Snow's Matt McLean (3:52.37) also earned transfer spots into the grand finale.
Women's 200 IM
Athens Bulldog Morgan Scroggy (2:12.45), California's Caitlin Leverenz (2:12.51), FAST's Ariana Kukors (2:12.53) and Bluefish's Elizabeth Beisel (2:12.87) all cleared 2:13 to take the top four spots in the sprint medley. Scroggy moved up to 13th in the world, while Leverenz advanced to 15th with Kukors just behind her. Beisel also grabbed a top 20 spot.
Stanford's Julia Smit (2:13.23), Colorado Stars Missy Franklin (2:13.56), ASK's Dagny Knutson (2:13.73) and Germantown's Teresa Crippen (2:13.88) completed the top eight with sub-2:14s. NBAC's Elizabeth Pelton just missed the A final with a ninth-place 2:14.38.
Men's 100 breast
Tucson Ford's Mike Alexandrov threw down the top time in prelims with a swift time of 1:00.66. Alexandrov, who used to represent Bulgaria but is a dual citizen and switched his sports citizenship to the U.S., will be looking to earn a spot at Pan Pacs later this month. He vaulted from 23rd in the world to a seventh-place tie with Roman Sludnov in the event.
Longhorn's Eric Shanteau finished second with a 1:01.10, just clipping his previously 20th-ranked season-best of 1:01.19. Tucson Ford's Marcus Titus qualified third in 1:01.14, just behind Shanteau. Mark Gangloff touched fourth with a 1:01.28, while NBAC's Scott Spann finished fifth in 1:01.58.
Nashville's Robert Lovelace (1:01.70), Tucson Ford's Clark Burckle (1:02.17) and Indiana's Kevin Swander (1:02.21) also picked up spots in the championship final.
Women's 400 free
With only the top five heats of the women's 400 free swum in the A flight, FAST's Katie Hoff put up the fastest time with a 4:08.25, but has plenty of room for improvement. Her season best is a seventh-ranked 4:06.21 from the Los Angeles Grand Prix. Two-sport star Chloe Sutton of Mission Viejo continues to prove herself in the pool with a 4:09.71 for the second seed. She's been 4:07.41 at the Austin Grand Prix this year, ranked 12th in the world.
SwimFlorida's Stephanie Peacock (4:10.33), NBAC's Allison Schmitt (4:10.44), Terrapins' Chelsea Chenault (4:10.51), FAST's Kate Ziegler (4:10.81), ASK's Dagny Knutson (4:11.15) and Cascade's Amber McDermott (4:11.24) had the championship transfer spots heading into the B flights, and the top eight held firm throughout the B flight.
Men's 400 IM
FAST's Tyler Clary stopped the clock in 4:15.87 to improve upon his 12th-ranked spot in the world. He'd previously charted a 4:16.37 at the Los Angeles Grand Prix. Daytona Beach's Ryan Lochte qualified second in 4:16.34 to move to 13th in the world, but definitely struggled during his breaststroke leg likely due to his announced groin injury. FAST's Robert Margalis (4:17.43) and Poseidon's William Harris (4:17.63) qualified third and fourth.
NBAC's Todd Patrick (4:18.31), Delaware's Andrew Gemmell (4:19.58), Athens Bulldog Bill Cregar (4:20.39) and NBAC's Brennan Morris (4:20.77) made up the rest of the top eight.
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