Sunday, July 31, 2022
Casas Flirts with World Record Pace on Final Night of Nationals
Distance aces, sprinters and IM’ers lit up the pool with impressive racing tonight, wrapping up the exciting week of the 2022 Phillips 66 National Championships in Irvine, California.
It started with the women’s 1500 freestyle where Australia’s Maddy Gough led from the 400 mark, extending her lead to victory with a 16:07.34. Mariah Denigan of Indiana Swim Club touched second with 16:12.44, and Alabama’s Kensey McMahon earned her third bronze of the week with 16:16.22.
“It’s been a great trip, and lots of fun,” said Denigan of her win. “This week’s been very exciting."
Next up was a tight race, where veteran Leah Smith, 27, touched first in 2:11.67 in the women’s 200 IM matching her personal best. Zoe Hartman finished second with 2:12.04, followed by Beata Nelson, who held the lead until 20 meters to go in 2:12.46.
“That was super fun out there. I wanted to go a best time, so second-best (option) is tying it,” said Smith. “The key to my swimming [this year] was an added level of gratitude. This was the pool [Irvine] that I made my first national team at.”
The highlight of the evening came on the men’s side, where Shane Casas was knocking on world and American record doors. He was within world-record pace for much of the race, finishing with a resounding win of 1:55.24, crushing his personal best, Casas is now the third fastest American in history in this event behind legends Ryan Locate and Michael Phelps, and the seventh American to ever break a 1:56.
“[It was] a lot of hard work and dedication. I want to be faster, but I’ll take it,” said Casas. Speaking to 2024 Paris goals, he said, “I want to make the team, God willing, and just be happy.”
Following Casas, Grant House and Baylor Nelson finished with 1:59.03 and 1:59.13, respectively.
The second distance of the night was the men’s 800 freestyle showcased, where the 2022 Olympic gold medalist in this event, Bobby Finke, led and easily won with 7:51.21, followed by Will Gallant with 7:53.34 and David Johnston, 7:54.60.
“I'm happy to get back in the water and swim again. I just keep trying to have fun with it and keep it up,” said Finke.
The culmination of the week’s competition was showcased with the 50 freestyles. The women’s field was stacked with talent, and the Polish star Katarzyna Wasick, at 30 years old, won in 24.17, out-touching Gretchen Walsh, 24.47, and Claire Curzan, 24.74.
The men’s final was highlighted by more talent including Michael Andrew, who snuck into the final heat, racing from lane 1 and finished just shy of the podium. Matt King was the decided winner, a personal best with a 21.83, followed by Justin Ress with 22.01 and Jack Alexy with 22.18.
It started with the women’s 1500 freestyle where Australia’s Maddy Gough led from the 400 mark, extending her lead to victory with a 16:07.34. Mariah Denigan of Indiana Swim Club touched second with 16:12.44, and Alabama’s Kensey McMahon earned her third bronze of the week with 16:16.22.
“It’s been a great trip, and lots of fun,” said Denigan of her win. “This week’s been very exciting."
Next up was a tight race, where veteran Leah Smith, 27, touched first in 2:11.67 in the women’s 200 IM matching her personal best. Zoe Hartman finished second with 2:12.04, followed by Beata Nelson, who held the lead until 20 meters to go in 2:12.46.
“That was super fun out there. I wanted to go a best time, so second-best (option) is tying it,” said Smith. “The key to my swimming [this year] was an added level of gratitude. This was the pool [Irvine] that I made my first national team at.”
The highlight of the evening came on the men’s side, where Shane Casas was knocking on world and American record doors. He was within world-record pace for much of the race, finishing with a resounding win of 1:55.24, crushing his personal best, Casas is now the third fastest American in history in this event behind legends Ryan Locate and Michael Phelps, and the seventh American to ever break a 1:56.
“[It was] a lot of hard work and dedication. I want to be faster, but I’ll take it,” said Casas. Speaking to 2024 Paris goals, he said, “I want to make the team, God willing, and just be happy.”
Following Casas, Grant House and Baylor Nelson finished with 1:59.03 and 1:59.13, respectively.
The second distance of the night was the men’s 800 freestyle showcased, where the 2022 Olympic gold medalist in this event, Bobby Finke, led and easily won with 7:51.21, followed by Will Gallant with 7:53.34 and David Johnston, 7:54.60.
“I'm happy to get back in the water and swim again. I just keep trying to have fun with it and keep it up,” said Finke.
The culmination of the week’s competition was showcased with the 50 freestyles. The women’s field was stacked with talent, and the Polish star Katarzyna Wasick, at 30 years old, won in 24.17, out-touching Gretchen Walsh, 24.47, and Claire Curzan, 24.74.
The men’s final was highlighted by more talent including Michael Andrew, who snuck into the final heat, racing from lane 1 and finished just shy of the podium. Matt King was the decided winner, a personal best with a 21.83, followed by Justin Ress with 22.01 and Jack Alexy with 22.18.