US National Team Holds Off Big Ten All-Stars At USA College Challenge

Some of the top swimmers from the Big Ten and Team USA came together this past weekend to compete in the USA College Challenge.

Nov 15, 2016

US National Team Holds Off Big Ten All-Stars At USA College Challenge

The inaugural USA College Challenge pitted some of the top swimmers in the NCAA's Big Ten Conference against the United States National Swimming Team in Indianapolis this past weekend, showcasing plenty of new faces on both sides and a glance at the sport's future.

The event's format was reminiscent of special events in the NBA All-Star break, such as the Rising Stars Challenge, and its style of racing had the potential to lay a foundation for faster times going forward.

The USA College Challenge was held at an interesting time of the year for both teams. The NCAA swimmers are nearing their mid-season, "see what you got" meets before holiday break and intense training trips. Meanwhile, the U.S. National Team is currently composed of many first-time members and several veterans who are looking to stand out with their short-course yard times.

So what did we see? Some fast in-season times and plenty of new faces making a statement in the two-day meet, which witnessed Team USA hold off the Big Ten All-Stars for a 349-247 win.

Big Ten All-Star Siobhan Haughey of Michigan posted a new conference record in the 200 freestyle, going an unshaved 1:42.93 to touch out Team USA. Louisville's Mallory Comerford touched the wall in 1:43.28. Siobhan also posted a 47.17 relay split in the 400 medley relay but couldn't repeat her performance in the 100 freestyle individual event, which Comerford won in a 47.36.

Team USA posted quick splits in its American record-breaking 400 medley relay. Ali Deloof led off with a 50.95 100 backstroke, and Kelsi Worrell split 49.36 for the butterfly leg. On the Big Ten side, Lily King posted a fast but not shocking 56.85 split.

In the 400 IM, 17-year-old national team member Brooke Forde won in a blistering time of 4:02.67 .

Kierra Smith and King went 1-2 in the 200 breaststroke, reaching the wall two seconds off the NCAA record in 2:05.64 and 2:05.83, respectively.

In a thrilling 800 free relay that was never more than one second apart, Team USA came out victorious over the Big Ten 6:19.62 to 6:19.80. Team USA's Zane Grothe started his anchor split just a few 10ths behind but was able to overtake Ohio State's Josh Fleagle, 1:33.48 to 1:34.10. Also notable was Olympian Blake Pieroni's 1:33.74 leadoff leg.

In the 1,000 freestyle -- not an official event at the NCAA championships -- Jordan Wilimovsky was only three seconds off Michael McBroom's NCAA record and touched the wall in 8:46.34. However, he lost in a squeaker to Grothe by one-10th of a second.

Big Ten All-Star Shane Ryan of Penn State was impressive in the 100 back, beating Jacob Pebley 45.75 to 46.14. Ryan's time is one of the fastest in the NCAA this year, just behind Louisville's Grigory Tarasevich's time of 45.82. Ryan also posted a 41.72 split in the 400 freestyle relay.

Zhesi Li ran away with the 50 freestyle for the Big Ten All-Stars, winning in 21.72.

Fifteen-year-old phenom Alex Walsh won the 200 IM in a blistering 1:55.89 ahead of Kirsten Vose and Haughey, who finished in 1:56.19 and 1:56.22 respectively.

Team USA's Tom Shields had several impressive swims, going 1:39.89 in the 200 fly, 45.00 in the 100 fly, and a leadoff 42.53 in the 400 free relay.

Michael Andrew torched the field in the 200 IM, going 1:44.20. Andrew will be swimming this at Short Course World Championships, so it will be interesting to see how he stacks up against the world's best short-course swimmers.

To round out the meet, the Big Ten men went 1-2 in the 400 freestyle relay in bold fashion to beat the U.S. National Team with times of 2:50.81 and 2:53.28. Posting strong leadoffs in the relay were Indiana's Blake Pieroni in 42.53 and 17-year-old Daniel Krueger in 43.54.