U.S. Nationals: Caeleb Dressel Into 100 Fly Final After Ryan Murphy Scratches
In his first A-final appearance of U.S. Nationals, Caeleb Dressel improved from seventh in prelims to third in the final, and he will get another chance to show off some outside smoke with a World Championships spot up for grabs. Dressel was ninth in the 100 butterfly prelims, but thanks to Ryan Murphy scratching, Dressel will now swim in lane eight in the 100 fly final.
Murphy is already on the team in the 200 backstroke, and he will race the 100 back, an event where he holds the American record, Friday morning. Murphy and Dressel are old friends, having grown up together in Jacksonville, and now Dressel will be the beneficiary of Murphy’s decision to skip the final.
Click here to view the full heat sheet for the final.
The Thursday evening session, beginning at 7 p.m. ET, will begin with the 400 IM, where Alex Walsh is the top seed for the final ahead of World Championships silver medalist Katie Grimes, with Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant absent from the field after a disqualification this morning. Carson Foster holds lane four in the men’s event. He topped prelims comfortably ahead of Bobby Finke, Jay Litherland and Chase Kalisz despite cruising to the finish.
Gretchen Walsh leads a tight field in the women’s 100 fly ahead of Torri Huske, Kate Douglass and Claire Curzan, and in the men’s event, Dare Rose is the top seed by a half-second, with Shaine Casas bumped up to second after Murphy’s scratch. After a rough start to the week, Casas could get himself a spot in Fukuoka with another strong performance in the evening.
Lilly King and Nic Fink each are the top seed for their respective 50 breaststroke races, with Fink earning lane four after Max McHugh’s disqualification in the heats. Katharine Berkoff could put a scare into her own American record in the women’s 50 back, but Regan Smith will be one lane over, and Hunter Armstrong and Justin Ress will go head-to-head in the men’s 50 back.
