USC Women, Auburn Men Wrap 2022 USC Invitational with Big Wins

Reid Mikuta; Photo Courtesy: Auburn Athletics

USC Women, Auburn Men Wrap 2022 USC Invitational with Big Wins

The USC women’s team and Auburn’s men wrapped up Day 2 of the 2022 USC Invitational with strong performances on Saturday.

USC won nine of 11 swims in the two sessions on Saturday to lead the women’s event. Auburn was similarly dominant on the men’s side, winning eight of 11 events, including both relays.

Isabelle Odgers, Justina Kozan and Anicka Delgado (with a twist) led USC with two wins each.

Odgers started the second session of the meet by winning the 400 individual medley in 4:10.51, adding to her 200 IM crown Friday. She then won the 200 breaststroke in 2:09.15, outdueling teammate Kaitlyn Dobler by a half-second. Dobler had earlier won the 100 breast, an event she won at NCAAs last year, with a nation’s best time of 57.83 and a winning margin of 3.01 seconds. Dobler also split 26.63 on the 200 medley relay, teaming with Aria Bernal, Delgado and Elise Garcia for a dominant win.

Delgado claimed the 100 fly in Session 2 with a time of 52.52 seconds. She went 49.02 in the 100 free, tying for victory with former USC swimmer Laticia Transom, the New Zealand international now representing the University of Hawaii. Transom was also second in the 200 free.

Kozan won the 200 free in 1:46.00. She added a win in the 200 fly in 1:57.36. Hanna Henderson won the 200 back.

The only interruption to the Trojans’ dominance was provided by Emily Hetzer, who won the 1,650 free in 16:14.61. She finished nearly nine seconds up on USC’s Marlene Kahler.

Auburn also won the concluding 400 free relay in 3:16.76, with the team of Lexie Mulvihill, Claudia Thamm, Emma Steckiel and Polina Nevmovenko. The latter’s anchor split of 48.80 bested Dobler by 1.1 seconds, which accounted for the winning margin.

Thamm was second in the 100 fly. Nevmovenko took third in the 200 free, as was Mulvihill in the 100 free. Auburn’s Hannah Ownbey finished second in the 400 IM and third in the 200 breast. Meghan Lee was second in the 200 back and third in the 400 IM. Casey Cullen finished second in the 200 fly.

UC San Diego was led by Juli Arzave finishing third in the mile.

On the men’s side, Auburn charged out of the gates with 1-2 finishes in each of the first three events. Danny Schmidt (3:49.92) and Jacques Rathle led the way in the 400 IM. Nathaniel Stoffle’s 47.07 led Sohib Khaled to the wall in the 100 fly, with Aidan Stoffle fourth. It was a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 free, Mikkel Gadgaard’s 1:35.24 leading out Michael Bonson and Ryan Husband (the latter tying for third with USC’s Evangelos Makrygiannis).

Bonson was second to teammate Mason Mathias in the 1,650 free. Reid Mikuta won the 100 breast and finished second in the 200 breast. Kalle Makinen sped away to take the 100 free in 43.48.

Both of the Tigers’ relays dominated proceedings. The 200 medley of both Stoffles, Mikuta and Makinen went 1:24.53. Makinen’s split of 42.90 on the second leg opened the margin for the 400 free squad with Aidan Stoffle, Logan Tirheimer and Christian Sztolcman to win in 2:53.64.

USC got its first win in the 200 back via Makrygiannis in 1:43.39, ahead of the Stoffles. Chris O’Grady, second to Mikuta in the 100 breast, took the 200 with ease in 1:52.83. Harry Homans and Jackson Odgers went 1-2 in the 200 fly, Homans winning in 1:44.87. He had been third in the 400 IM.

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