IRVINE, Calif. – Before head coach Ryan Wochomurka's second season has even begun, an elite group of Tigers already made waves on the national scene, competing against the best-of-the-best at the 2022 Phillips 66 National Championships this past week.
A total of 33 Auburn student-athletes made the trip out west. As a group, they posted 30 finals swims, including two A finals and nine B finals. The Tigers had 11 finishes of 15th or better on the week with four top-10 finishes.
DAY 1
Seven tigers hit the blocks on the first day of competition and it didn't take long for Wochomurka's crew to start piling up impressive swims.
Evan McInerny was the first of many to turn in a lifetime best. His 2:00.57 in the 200 butterfly was good enough for a second swim in the C final later in the evening.
However, Tuesday in Irvine belonged to the distance swimmers.
Averee Preble snatched an 8:59.53 to finish 24th in the 800 freestyle. Meanwhile, Mason Mathias, Grant Davis and Michael Bonson each hit the wall with impressive times in the 1500 free. None better than Mathias, though, as the sophomore clocked in at 15:29.11 to finish ninth, earning the team's first top-10 performance of the meet.
DAY 2
Drops were bountiful on day two of the National Championships. In total, Auburn had six swimmers advance to the evening finals at William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.
The 200 freestyle trio of Mikkel Gadgaard, Mathias and Bonson each notched a spot in the C final. Though Ryan Husband didn't earn a second swim, his time of 1:50.60 was a full 1.3 seconds below his previous personal best.
Brynn Curtis dialed up a fantastic swim in the 200 breaststoke prelims to earn a spot in the C final. Her 2:28.87 later that night was a full two seconds faster than her previous personal best. In the men's 200 breast, Reid Mikuta touched in at 2:14.09, claiming 19th place.
Wednesday culminated in the team's first B final of the week thanks to the prolific work of Nate Stoffle. The Georgia native nearly went under two minutes in the 200 backstroke in prelims to grab the ninth-fastest time of the morning session. In the evening B final, Stoffle eclipsed the two-minute mark for the first time in his career at 1:59.70.
Hannah Ownbey, Alejandro Flores, Henry Bethel and Jacques Rathle all recorded lifetime best swims on Wednesday as well.
DAY 3
Ownbey continued her momentum from Wednesday to Thursday, securing the Tigers' second appearance in primetime in the 400 IM. Ownbey finished with a personal best of 4:47.81 in the B final to claim 15th place.
On the men's side of the 400 IM, Rathle earned his second C final appearance of the week with a lifetime best of 4:24.38.
Rounding out the night, Aidan Stoffle missed a B final by .01 seconds. However, the senior-to-be continued to drop time in the night session, winning the C final with a 52.76.
DAY 4
Auburn saved most of its fireworks for Friday as nine Tigers made finals appearances, including three B finals and two primetime A finals.
Mathias, adding to arguably the best overall meet performance, racked up his third final with an impressive effort in the 400 freestyle to grab the top spot in the evening's B final. Fellow distance swimmer Bonson wasn't far behind and earned a spot in the C final.
Sophomore Anastasia Makarova claimed her place in the 1:09 club in the 100 breast with a morning swim of 1:09.21. In the afternoon B final, Makarova nearly equaled her time and claimed an impressive 13th place overall.
Auburn's triumvirate of men's breaststrokers in Mikuta, Bethel and Flores all qualified for finals on Friday. Bethel and Flores solidified a place in the C final while Mikuta earned the Tigers their first A final of the week. His time of 1:00.94 in primetime was just .02 seconds off his personal best and was good enough for a seventh-place finish.
Ellie Waldrep gave the Orange and Blue faithful something to cheer about in the 100 backstroke. Waldrep's 1:02.05 guaranteed her a spot in the C final where she'd nearly recreate the same effort.
Brothers Nate and Aidan almost gave Auburn a double Stoffle A final in the 100 back. While Aidan settled for the B final, his 54.75 was .22 seconds faster than his morning swim and good enough for ninth place. Meanwhile, Nate dropped even more time, clocking in at 54.47 for a new personal best in the A final where he finished seventh.
DAY 5
On the final day of competition, Ownbey secured yet another primetime swim as she earned a spot in the 200 IM B final. The junior turned around and set a lifetime best in the final, hitting the wall third with a time of 2:15.00. She finished 11th overall.
The other highlight of the day came from the men's 800 freestyle where Mathias, Davis and Bonson all swam lifetime bests to finish in the top 24.
Mathias once again led the way with a time of 8:05.76 to win his heat and finish in 15th place overall. Davis took 17th, hitting the wall in 8:07.36, while Bonson also set a PR at 8:13.38 to place third in his heat and 24th overall.
In the women's 1500 freestyle, Emily Hetzer and Preble finished 19th and 23rd respectively to round out their weeks. Hetzer won her heat with a time of 16:55.66.