2017 Phillips 66 National Championships

Cullen Jones Blasts 23.26 50m Butterfly, U.S. Nats Meet Record

Cullen Jones Blasts 23.26 50m Butterfly, U.S. Nats Meet Record

Full recap and live results from day two prelims Wednesday at the 2017 U.S. Nationals and World Championship Trials. The events contested are the 200m freestyle, 200m breaststroke, 200m backstroke, and 50m butterfly.

Jun 28, 2017 by Maclin Simpson
Cullen Jones Blasts 23.26 50m Butterfly, U.S. Nats Meet Record

2017 U.S. National Championships & Worlds Trials

​June 27 - July 1, 2017​
Indianapolis, Indiana
​IUPUI Natatorium
MEET INFORMATION
PSYCH SHEET
LIVE RESULTS

Women 200m Freestyle -- FULL RESULTS
World: 1:52.98 -- 7/29/2009 -- Federica Pellegrini
​American: 1:53.61 -- 7/31/2012 -- Allison Schmitt
​U.S. Open: 1:54.40 -- 6/28/2012 -- Allison Schmitt
​LC Nationals: 1:54.40 -- 6/28/2012 -- Allison Schmitt
​JR World: 1:56.12 -- 8/20/2014 -- Shen Duo

1.) Katie Ledecky -- 1:55.87
2.) Melanie Margalis -- 1:57.27
3.) Leah Smith -- 1:57.61
4.) Simone Manuel -- 1:58.00
5.) Mallory Comerford -- 1:58.39
6.) Claire Rasmus -- 1:58.64
7.) Cierra Runge -- 1:58.91
8.) Katie Drabot -- 1:59.09

Well, well, well. What do we have here? ​Katie Ledecky​ as the top seed in something? No surprise. Ledecky swam this race pretty aggressively for a prelims race, taking it out at the 100-meter mark in 56.66 -- the only one in the top eight to flip under 57. For someone like Ledecky who is self-proclaimed "not very rested" -- a 1:55 anything, in the morning nonetheless, is a very good sign. The battle for second is going to be an absolute dogfight from heavy hitters ​Melanie Margalis, Leah Smith, Simone Manuel, Mallory Comerford​, and others. Comerford did not look as sharp as she did on Tuesday in the 100 -- can she break through in the 200 tonight? Stay tuned.​

​The Wild Card: ​Simone Manuel​. You're probably asking yourself: "How is Manuel a wild card in anything?" Well, the 50-100 specialist will have to overcome some serious obstacles in Margalis, Smith, and Comerford to earn a spot on the team in an "off event," but it's not unrealistic.

Men 200m Freestyle -- FULL RESULTS
World: 1:42.00 -- 7/26/2009 -- Paul Biedermann
American: 1:42.96 -- 8/12/2008 -- Michael Phelps
U.S. Open: 1:44.10 -- 7/1/2008 -- Michael Phelps
LC Nationals: 1:44.10 -- 7/1/2008 -- Michael Phelps
JR World: 1:47.10 -- 8/7/2015 -- Maxime Rooney

1.) Townley Haas -- 1:46.85
2.) Clark Smith -- 1:47.10
3.) Caeleb Dressel -- 1:47.45
4.) Blake Pieroni -- 1:47.49
5.) Mitch D'Arrigo -- 1:47.52
6.) Zane Grothe -- 1:47.58
7.) Jay Litherland -- 1:47.76
8.) Conor Dwyer -- 1:48.10

Plot twist: ​Caeleb Dressel ​can swim a long course 200 freestyle. That's right, the sprint specialist threw down the third-fastest 200m freestyle of the morning with a 1:47.45. Interestingly enough, Dressel had the fastest ​LAST 50​ (27.01) of anybody in the field. This guy has multiple gears he can tap into on command. But leading the charge were the usual suspects from Texas -- ​Townley Haas​ (1:46.85) and ​Clark Smith​ (1:47.10). Both of these guys represented the U.S. on the gold medal-winning 4x200m freestyle relay last summer in Rio, so their names were expected to be at the top. What was unexpected, however, was Tuesday night's 200m butterfly champion, ​Jack Conger, ​missing the final altogether after finishing 16th in 1:48.71. He was also on that relay in Rio.​

​The Wild Card: ​Jay Litherland​​, sitting in seventh place (1:47.76). The 2016 Olympian in the 400m IM has arguably the best closing speed in the field -- so if he can stay in the hunt through the 150, don't count him out to sneak in the top two.


Women 200m Breaststroke -- FULL RESULTS
World: 2:19.11 -- 8/1/2013 -- Rikke Moeller Pedersen
American: 2:19.59 -- 8/2/2012 -- Rebecca Soni
U.S. Open: 2:20.38 -- 7/11/2009 -- Rebecca Soni
LC Nationals: 2:20.38 -- 7/11/2009 -- Rebecca Soni
JR World: 2:19.64 -- 8/30/2015 -- Viktoria Gunes

1.) Lilly King -- 2:24.68
2.) Bethany Galat -- 2:25.10
3.) Katie Meili -- 2:26.09
4.) Andrea Cottrell -- 2:26.11
5.) Miranda Tucker -- 2:26.49
6.) Breeja Larson -- 2:27.21
7.) Kayla Brumbaum -- 2:27.69
8.) Vanessa Pearl -- 2:27.73

Who said ​Lilly King​ can't swim a 200m breaststroke? Although she ​strongly​ favors the 100, the 2016 Olympian in this race is still the top seed out of a relatively slow prelims with a 2:24.68. ​Bethany Galat​ -- the dreaded third-place finisher in this race at Olympic Trials last summer -- touched for second in 2:25.10 and the hot-handed ​Katie Meili ​rounded out the top three in 2:26.09. Meili was 2:23 less than two months ago at the Pro Swim Series in Atlanta, so expect for her to be much faster tonight.​

​The Wild Card:​ Louisville's ​Andee Cottrell, sitting in fourth (2:26.11) -- just 0.02 of a second behind Galat. The Cardinals have been on fire over the last 24 hours, so it would come as no surprise to see a massive swim from Cottrell tonight.

Men 200m Breaststroke -- FULL RESULTS
World: 2:06.67 -- 1/29/2017 -- Ippei Watanabe
American: 2:07.17 -- 6/30/2016 -- Josh Prenot
U.S. Open: 2:07.17 -- 6/30/2016 -- Josh Prenot
LC Nationals: 2:07.17 -- 6/30/2016 -- Josh Prenot
JR World: 2:09.64 -- 8/6/2015 -- Anton Chupkov

1.) Andrew Wilson -- 2:08.64
2.) Nicolas Fink -- 2:09.25
3.) Josh Prenot -- 2:09.27
4.) Will Licon -- 2:09.29
5.) Kevin Cordes -- 2:09.35
6.) Jonathan Tybur -- 2:11.55
7.) Jacob Montague -- 2:11.70
8.) Daniel Roy -- 2:11.92

A lot to wrap our heads around in this race... First -- ​five guys under 2:10? In prelims? That's fast. Beyond fast. Second -- we could easily see three guys go 2:08 tonight and ​NOT MAKE THE TEAM.​ Wait, what? 

Emory's ​Andrew Wilson​ -- training at Texas -- blazed out to a fast 1:01.22 at the 100, which was enough for him to hang on and get the top seed in 2:08.64. The next four spots -- ​Nic Fink​ (2:09.25), ​Josh Prenot​ (2:09.27), ​Will Licon​ (2:09.29), and ​Kevin Cordes​ (2:09.35) -- are only separated by 0.1 of a second. History says the nod has to go to Prenot (the American-record holder and 2016 Olympic silver medalist) and Cordes (2016 Olympian), but history doesn't always repeat itself. This is a complete toss-up tonight.​

​The Wild Card: ​Nobody. It would not be a surprise to see any of the top five guys make this team.

Women 200m Backstroke -- FULL RESULTS
World: 2:04.06 -- 8/3/2012 -- Missy Franklin
American: 2:04.06 -- 8/3/2012 -- Missy Franklin
U.S. Open: 2:05.68 -- 6/26/2013 -- Missy Franklin
LC Nationals: 2:05.68 -- 6/26/2013 -- Missy Franklin
JR World: 2:07.43 -- 8/15/2015 -- Daria Ustinova

1.) Kathleen Baker -- 2:08.56
2.) Regan Smith -- 2:08.95
3.) Bridgette Alexander -- 2:09.44
4.) Lisa Bratton -- 2:09.85
5.) Asia Seidt -- 2:09.95
6.) Hali Flickinger -- 2:10.21
7.) Kylie Stewart -- 2:10.34
8.) Alex Sumner -- 2:10.36

Top to bottom, this is going to be a tight race tonight. The 2016 Olympic medalist in the 100m backstroke -- ​Kathleen Baker​ -- took the top seed in 2:08.56 but not by much. Baker is going to have challengers on all sides in tonight's final, as there were four other girls 2:09 or faster in the prelims -- including 15 year-old ​Regan Smith​ in 2:08.95. With 2016 Olympic gold medalist ​Maya DiRado ​and ​Missy Franklin​ out of the picture, this is truly anybody's race. While Baker is the top seed, ​Lisa Bratton​ was third at Olympic Trials last year with a 2:08.20 and will be looking to redeem that disappointing result.​

​The Wild Card:​ Kentucky's ​Asia Seidt​. The Lakeside Swim Team product had a breakout freshman year in Lexington and has already been faster than her 2:09.95 prelims swim this season. Look for her to be in the 2:08 mid range tonight and challenge for a spot on the team alongside her teammate ​Bridgette Alexander.


Men 200m Backstroke -- FULL RESULTS
World: 1:51.92 -- 7/31/2009 -- Aaron Peirsol
American: 1:51.92 -- 7/31/2009 -- Aaron Peirsol
U.S. Open: 1:53.08 -- 7/11/2009 -- Aaron Peirsol
LC Nationals: 1:53.08 -- 7/11/2009 -- Aaron Peirsol
JR World: 1:56.79 -- 8/7/2015 -- Li Guangyuan

1.) Sean Lehane -- 1:57.07
2.) Robert Owen -- 1:57.34
3.) Ryan Murphy -- 1:57.35
4.) Jacob Pebley -- 1:57.49
5.) Austin Katz -- 1:58.71
6.) Hennessey Stuart -- 1:59.44
7.) Abrahm Devine -- 1:59.85
8.) Joey Reilman -- 1:59.81

This morning's men's 200m backstroke was a relatively slow and controlled event with seven of the top eight -- including the top six -- all adding from their seed times. ​Sean Lehane​, who was great at Olympic Trials last year despite not making the team, took the top seed with a 1:57.07 followed by a gutsy swim from Virginia Tech's ​Robert Owen​ -- going toe-to-toe with the Olympic champ ​Ryan Murphy.​ Speaking of Murphy, he took the third seed in 1:57.35 followed by his fellow Cal Bear Olympic teammate ​Jacob Pebley ​in 1:57.49. Although Murphy and Pebley are third and fourth, respectively, they are certainly the favorites going into finals.​

​The Wild Card:​ Top seed ​Sean Lehane​. Credit is given where credit is due -- Lehane earned lane four tonight, but it would be a surprise to see him overtake Murphy or Pebley to earn a spot on the World Championship team.

Women 50m Butterfly -- FULL RESULTS
World: 24.43 -- 7/5/2014 -- Sarah Sjöström
American: 25.50 -- 7/11/2009 -- Dara Torres
U.S. Open: 25.50 -- 7/11/2009 -- Dara Torres
LC Nationals: 25.99 -- 8/7/2014 -- Kendyl Stewart
JR World: 25.74 -- 11/18/2016 -- Rikako Ikee

1.) Kelsi Worrell -- 25.78
2.) Amanda Kendall -- 26.33
3.) Annie Ochitwa -- 26.49
4.) Kendyl Stewart -- 26.50
5.) Hellen Moffitt -- 26.57
6.) Maddie Murphy -- 26.60
7.) Alyssa Marsh -- 26.69
8.) Ali Tetzloff -- 26.74

Louisville's ​Kelsi Worrell​ -- the 2016 Olympian and 100m butterfly specialist -- flexed some serious muscle this morning in the 50 with a solid 25.78. Worrell cranked up her tempo to a rate we haven't seen from her up until this point, and it also looked like she may have gone no breath. She was the only one under 26 in prelims, but Worrell will have challengers across the board. The second through eighth seeds are only separated by 0.4 of a second, led by ​Amanda Kendall ​(26.33) and ​Annie Ochitwa​ (26.49).​

Men 50m Butterfly -- FULL RESULTS
World: 22.43 -- 4/5/2009 -- Rafael Munoz
American: 22.91 -- 7/18/2009 -- Bryan Lundquist
U.S. Open: 22.91 -- 7/18/2009 -- Bryan Lundquist
LC Nationals: 23.29 -- 6/26/2013 -- Eugene Godsoe​ 23.26 (Cullen Jones, 2017)
JR World: 23.39 -- 9/29/2015 -- Li Zhuhao

1.) Cullen Jones -- 23.26 ​(U.S. Nationals Meet Record)
2.) Caeleb Dressel -- 23.33 
3.) Michael Andrew -- 23.51
4.) Tim Phillips -- 23.62
5.) Giles Smith -- 23.71
6.) Justin Lynch -- 23.87
7.) Tom Shields -- 23.90
8.) Ryan Held -- 23.91

​Cullen Jones 
​still has it. After barely missing the A-final in the 100m freestyle Tuesday morning, Jones busted out some butterfly chops in the 50 this morning -- breaking the U.S. Nationals meet record and taking the top seed in 23.26. It's not going to come easy for the 33-year-old tonight, though, with ​Caeleb Dressel ​on his heels. Dressel took the No. 2 seed in 23.33 and will pose a serious threat for Jones. Rounding out the top three was ​Michael Andrew​ in 23.51 -- a great swim for him as he heads into his best events later on in the meet.
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