2023 CA FRAN CRIPPEN SWIM MEET OF CHAMPIONS
Day three of the 2023 Fran Crippen SMOC features the 50 breast, 200 free, 200 back, 50 free, and 400 IM.
In this morning’s prelims session, Sandpipers of Nevada 17-year-old Katie Grimes put up a very solid morning swim of 4:37.55 in the women’s 400 IM. Finishing as the only swimmer in the field under 4:50, Grimes got out to a strong start, splitting 1:01.56 on the fly 100. She tacked on a 1:09.08 back split, followed by a 1:24.06 breast split, and came home in 1:02.85 on free. Grimes’ personal best in the event stands at 4:32.67, which she swam at the World Championships last summer.
Sandpipers teammates Bella Sims and Claire Weinstein will be in the ‘A’ final of the women’s 400 IM tonight as well. Sims was second this morning in 4:50.34, while Weinstein touched fifth in 4:57.38.
14-year-old Kayla Han out of La Mirada Armada swam a 4:51.53 for third in the 400 IM this morning. Han has a lifetime best of 4:43.60, so keep an eye on her in finals tonight.
Grimes was also the top performer in the women’s 200 free this morning, swimming a 2:01.12. The swim comes in three seconds off Grimes’ personal best of 1:58.04, which she swam at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series last month.
It was Sims who came in second in the women’s 200 free as well, swimming a 2:02.27. It wasn’t a super fast swim for Sims, who has a lifetime best of 1:57.53 in the LCM 200 free. Han also will be in the ‘A’ final of the women’s 200 free tonight, having taken sixth this morning with a 2:04.06.
Mission Viejo Nadadores 17-year-old Asia Kozan came in fourth in the women’s 200 free this morning with a 2:02.56. The performance marks a new lifetime best for Kozan, who has been steadily improving throughout this season.
Sandpipers 18-year-old Macky Hodges was out way in front of the field in the women’s 200 back this morning, swimming a 2:14.51 to finish first by nearly three seconds. Hodges’ swim came in just 0.06 seconds off her career best in the event (2:14.45), which she swam at the Knoxville Pro Swim Series in January.
Rose Bowl Aquatics 18-year-old Rex Maurer was once again one of the top men’s performers this morning. Maurer clocked the top time in the men’s 200 back by a big margin, swimming a 2:04.76. He was a bit off his personal best of 2:02.12, which he swam in January of this year.
Maurer also clocked the second-fastest time of the morning in the men’s 200 free, swimming a 1:52.69. It was Ivan Kurakin who grabbed the top seed for tonight, swimming a 1:52.16.
DAY 3 TOP QUALIFIERS:
