Former Longhorns Hansen and Peirsol highlight final day at U.S. World Championship Trials
INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Longhorns Aaron Peirsol and Brendan Hansen posted commanding performances in their respective events while sophomore Elizabeth Tinnon (Bowling Green, Ky.) and senior Sarah Wanezek (Brookfield, Wis.) highlighted current Texas swimmers as competition at the U.S. World Championship Trials came to a close on Tuesday. There were no surprise world records from Aaron Peirsol like the one he set Saturday in the 100-meter backstroke. But the Olympic gold medalist and reigning world record holder did run away with the 200m back, winning with a time of 1 minute, 55.13 seconds - the third-fastest time in history and more than two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Ryan Lochte of the University of Florida was second in 1:57.50. Peirsol was ahead of world record pace at the end of the first 100 meters, bringing the crowd to its feet, but couldn't hold on. "I think that was the theme of the night - go out as fast as you can and see what you can do," Peirsol said. "Tonight I think I had a better sense of what I could do, so I went for it, and I felt pretty good for the first 150, but then I began tightening up in the last 35 meters or so. I'm really happy about it. We didn't go into the meet thinking we could swim this well. I'm really excited to get back into training." Like Peirsol, Hansen also came close to a world record in the 200m breast, swimming ahead of pace through the 150-meter mark but falling just short down the stretch with a time of 2:10.20. Scott Usher of the University of Wyoming was second in 2:13.46, while UT junior Christian Schurr (Austin, Texas) placed second in the `B' final in 2:17.59. After finishing third in the 50m free on Sunday, Wanezek clocked in with the seventh-fastest time (56.05) in the 100m free on Tuesday. First- and second-place finishers in each event - along with the first- through six-place finishers in the women's 100-meter freestyle - qualify. Following Wanezek's performance was UT teammate Tinnon, who placed 13th in the 200m breast with a time of 2:34.90, while Longhorns signee Alexandra Spann placed sixth in 2:32.07. Michael Klueh, also a Texas signee, posted the fifth-fastest time in the 1,500m freestyle (15:31.95) which was won by American record holder Larsen Jenson. A total of six Texas swimmers - past and present - will represent Team USA at the 2005 World Championships. Two current swimmers - freshman Matt McGinnis (Raleigh, N.C.) and sophomore Garrett Weber-Gale (Fox Point, Wis.) - will be making their first appearance at the World Championships and will team with Texas Exes Ian Crocker, Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol and Neil Walker on the team. Weber-Gale sewed up a spot on the roster as he posted the fourth fastest-time (49.40) in the 100m free on Monday, while McGinnis earned a berth by virtue of his sixth-place performance in the 200m free. Tuesday night's finals concludes the U.S. World Championship Team selection process. The meet will wrap up Wednesday morning with timed finals in the men's 800-meter freestyle and the women's 1,500-meter freestyle, though these events have no bearing on the World Championships roster. For complete results of the Trials as well as a team roster visit USASwimming.org. Texas 2005 World Championship Trials Notes (Monday): sophomore Garrett Weber-Gale (Fox Point, Wis.) sewed up a spot on the U.S. World Championship squad as he posted the fourth-fastest time in the 100-meter freestyle (49.40) ... Texas Exes Neil Walker and Nate Dusing placed fifth and sixth in the `A' final, respectively ... former Longhorn Ian Crocker won the `B' final of the 100 free in 50.29, while UT freshman Matt McGinnis (Raleigh, N.C.) won the `C' final in 51.01 ... future Longhorn Ryan Verlatti placed 15th overall in the 100 free ... Sophomore Katie Robinson (Dillsboro, Ind.) placed sixth in the `C' final - 23rd overall - in the 200-meter butterfly, but posted her fastest time of (2:18.91) in the morning prelim ... junior David Kahn (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) placed 10th in the 200-meter individual medley in 2:04.93 ... freshman Hayley McGregory (Houston, Texas) placed 2nd in the `B' final - 10th overall - in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:14.52. (Tuesday): UT sophomore Macie Garrett (Nashville, Tenn.) placed 31st in the prelims of the 800-meter freestyle in 9:04.21 ... junior Kristy Siminski (Portage, Ind.) placed fifth in the `C' final of the 100-meter freestyle with time of 57.15 to place 21st overall in the event.
|
|
