USC's women's and men's swimming teams, ranked No. 11 and No. 22, respectively, in the CSCAA Top 25, each finished in first place after the first day of the three-day 2008 Husky Invite at the Weyerhaeuser Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash., on Thursday (Dec. 4).
Troy's women lead the field with 740 points. UC Santa Barbara is second (621.5) while host Washington is third (608). The order is the same on the men's side, with USC leading with 794 points, followed by UCSB (673.5) and Washington (664).
USC freshman Katinka Hosszu led five Trojans in the 500y free final, finishing second in 4:47.24, less than a second off her season best. Sophomore Ellie Doran was third (4:49.28, NCAA `B' cut) while junior Krissy Forelli was sixth (4:54.31), junior Dina Hegazy was seventh (4:54.31) and senior Rachael Waller was eighth (4:56.09).
Junior Zoltan Povazsay also secured second in the 500y free for the men's team with a team-best and NCAA `B' cut 4:20.91. He finished less than a half second out of first. Freshman Patrick White and sophomore Kevin Little also reached the final and finished fifth (4:27.50) and seventh (4:34.71), respectively.
Hosszu came back to win the 200y IM, overtaking senior teammate Katy Houston over the final 50 yards. Hosszu won in 1:59.44, a team-best and an NCAA `B' cut. Houston's second-place 2:00.03 is second-best on the team and also an NCAA `B' cut. Senior Rebecca Soni was sixth in the race (2:02.70) and freshman Ania Kowalczyk was seventh (2:02.88).
Junior James Martin topped USC's efforts in the men's 200y IM, touching second in 1:48.30, Troy's top time of the season and less than a second off an NCAA `B' cut.
Senior Kristen Lahey was second in the 50y free (22.61) while Waller was eighth (23.86). Lahey's time is a USC best and an NCAA `B' cut. Troy's best finish in the men's 50y free came from freshman Jeff Daniels, who finished 11th (20.53).
Troy's women's 400y medley relay of Lahey, Soni, Hosszu and Waller was second in 3:37.88 while the women's 200y free relay of Lahey, Houston, Waller and sophomore Sophie Gosper was third (1:32.28).
The Trojans men's 400y medley relay of sophomore Jake Grosser, sophomore Dillon Connolly, senior Ankur Poseria and Povazsay was third (3:17.22), as was the 200y free relay of Grosser, sophomore Luke Tanner, Daniels and senior Kevin Bartell (1:21.28).
The meet continues Friday and Saturday.
NC State: McGee Breaks 30-Year Old School Swim Record
Mason McGee led the group of NC State swimmers in competition during the first day at the Husky Invitational by breaking one of the oldest records in program history. McGee used a 4:20.60 in the finals of the 500 freestyle to swipe first place in the event and set a new record for the Wolfpack annals.
“I’m very excited about Mason setting a new school record in the 500 freestyle,” said head coach Brooks Teal. “Any time someone breaks a record they have done something great, but to surpass a former Olympian and beat a record that has lasted for so long is truly a remarkable accomplishment.”
McGee’s time tops the 30-year-old benchmark of 4:20.64 set by Dan Harrigan in 1978. The swim also hits an NCAA “B cut” qualifying standard.
Stephen Mellor took third in the 200 IM with a 1:48.80, while Kevin Woodhull-Smith placed 12th on a 1:50.50. In addition to McGee’s offering, Andrew Lester also took 23rd in the 500 freestyle with a 4:42.35. Mellor, Dan Forsythe, Mike Seiferth and McGee ended the evening with a 3:22.52 for sixth place in the 400-medley relay.
On the women’s side, Erica Smith put up the eighth best time in school history in the 50 freestyle with a 23.74. Anna Linkenauger took 21st in the 500 freestyle on a 5:04.67, while Jen Kopenitz (2:05.84) and Linkenauger (2:08.35) took 19th and 26th in the 200 IM.
Action started earlier in the afternoon with the preliminaries. McGee (4:26.49) took third and Lester (4:38.54) placed 21st in the 500 freestyle. Mellor put up a strong 1:49.32 for third place in the 200 IM while Woodhull-Smith used a 1:51.87 to take 12th. Forsythe (1:56.40), Seiferth (1:57.79) and Lester (1:58.50) also took part in the 500 freestyle prelims.
Linkenauger got things going in the women’s prelims by posting a 5:04.02 for 21st in the 500 freestyle. Kopenitz (2:06.18) and Linkenauger (2:09.37) then placed 20th and 28th respectively in the 200 IM, before Smith’s 23.92 was good for 15th in the 50 freestyle.
“I thought the team did a good job of shaking off the rust of a long cross-country flight yesterday and coming back strong tonight in the finals,” said Teal. “I have all reason to believe that everyone will continue to swim faster as our
Record-Setting Day Place Broncos in Sixth at Husky Invite
It was a record-setting day at Day one of the Husky Invitational for the Boise State swim team. The Broncos are currently sitting in sixth place at the meet and only 5.5 points behind WAC-rival Hawaii. Multiple lifetime bests and five new team records were set through the first eight events of the three-day meet.
Finals started with the 200 free relay, in which the Broncos finished in sixth-place and set the first team record of the day. The quartet of Amber Boucher, Sammy Sanchez-O’Dell, Denise Green and Stephanie North kicked off the day with a time of 1:36.26.
Katelyn Lofland represented the Broncos in the 500 free by swimming two lifetime bests, one in the preliminaries and on in finals. Lofland recorded a time of 5:06.66 in the preliminaries, and proceeded to drastically lower it again as she placed 19th overall with a time of 5:03.50.
The Broncos had two point scorers in the 200 IM in Chelsea Lopus and Emily Irvin. Lopus, who help the team record going into the day, broke her own record in the preliminaries with a time of 2:08.09. Irvin had an equally impressive swim as she recorded a time of 2:08.26 for a personal best. Irvin then ousted the new team record as she lowered her time in the finals to 2:07.18, finishing 20th. Lopus finished in 24th for the Broncos.
The last individual event of the day saw the Broncos’ top-finisher so far with Boucher finishing in 13th and setting another team record with a time of 23.79. North also placed 24th for the Broncos, recording a time of 24.31 in the finals.
To end the day, the Broncos placed a meet-high fifth place in the 400 medley relay, edging Hawaii by 0.06 seconds. The group of Green, Irvin, Boucher and North finished with a time of 3:51.01 and another new team record.
The Husky Invitational continues Friday with the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 800 free relay.
