U.S. Nationals: Ross Dant Tops 400 Free Prelims; Highly-Seeded Foster, Magahey Scratch
After finishing third in the 400 freestyle at last year’s International Team Trials, Wolfpack Elite’s Ross Dant led the way in the prelims at this selection meet, giving him a strong chance to qualify for his first major international team at night. Dant held off a strong surge from Rose Bowl’s Rex Maurer in the final heat, with Dant touching in 3:48.50 and Maurer swimming a time of 3:48.97 to beat his personal best by almost one second. Maurer’s time was good for third overall.
But while that duo was impressive, the final heat was more notable for who was not in the field. The middle two lanes were both empty, with Carson Foster and Jake Magahey set to occupy those spots. Foster has already won the 200 butterfly and 400 IM this week, securing his place on the World Championships team, and he hinted Thursday evening after the 400 IM that he was questionable for the 400 free. The eight-lap freestyle and medley races both take place on the first day of Worlds, so Foster was never likely to race both internationally.
But Magahey’s absence was a surprise, particularly after he was the winner of the event at last July’s Nationals, his time of 3:46.36 at that meet qualifying him third for Indianapolis. Magahey swam the 200 free Wednesday and put up a solid time of 1:46.97 for 11th place.
Kieran Smith, the pre-meet favorite and already on the team in the 200 free, had the second-best time of the morning at 3:48.81, as he edged out David Johnston (3:49.07) in the second-to-last heat. There was a tie for third in that same heat between Luke Hobson and Jake Mitchell, with both men hitting the wall in 3:49.25. Both are already heading to Fukuoka based on their results in the 200 free, with Hobson winning the event and Mitchell taking fourth.
Aaron Shackell cut more than three seconds from his best time to jump into the mix in the 400 free, and his 3:49.19 was good enough for fifth place overall. The last spot in the final went to Dant’s NC State teammate James Plage, who held off Julian Hill at the finish of their heat, 3:49.87 to 3:50.02. A pair of other big names racing in their non-primary events also finished just shy of the A-final, with Drew Kibler placing 10th (3:50.69) and Jay Litherland 11th (3:50.86).
