ATHENS, Ga. – Aidan Stoffle became the first Auburn swimmer to go sub-1:39.00 in the 200 back, setting a school record and highlighting a terrific final night of the UGA Fall Invite for the Tigers.
At the end of three grueling days of swimming, both the Auburn Men and Women finished in second place amongst a top-tier group of programs.
SCORES
MEN
Florida – 1169
Auburn – 715.5
Georgia – 682
Florida State – 603
Michigan – 495.5
Georgia Tech – 346
WOMEN
Florida – 1146
Auburn – 789
Michigan – 724.5
Georgia – 673
Florida State – 424.5
Georgia Tech – 268
MEN
If fans of the Orange and Blue wanted a show in the 200 back, Nate Stoffle and Aidan Stoffle certainly gave it to them. With a little outside smoke in lane eight, Aidan became the first Tiger in program history to swim sub-1:39.00. His 1:38.57 is a new school record while brother Nate jumped to second all-time with a 1:39.01.
Josh Noll did well to finish 14th after a solid morning swim got Noll into the B final. Andrew Simmons would wind up 21st.
In the 100 free, it was Kalle Makinen who won the B final with a 42.78. Logan Tirheimer grabbed 11th, Ryan Husband finished 12th and Benjamin Chateigner secured 16th to round out the event.
Jacques Rathle dialed up a solid effort in the 200 breast. His 1:56.31 was good enough to tie for second overall. Alejandro Flores also made the A final and finished in seventh with Liam Heary right behind in eighth. Henry Bethel's 1:56.26 placed the Georgia native in 11th and Britton Spann took 15th.
A quartet of Tigers made the A final in the 200 fly. Danny Schmidt led the charge with a 1:44.03 to finish fifth while Evan McInerny, Rusty Jerger and Collin Klingman all stacked up sixth through eighth. In the B final, Lucas Thomas secured 10th and Harrison Ranier moved up to 20th in the C final.
Already a school record to his name this week, Mason Mathias swam a solid 15.02.02 in the 1650 to lead the Auburn distance group and lock in sixth place. Grant Davis wasn't too far behind, clocking a 15.05.34 for eighth. Michael Bonson secured 17th and Drew Jordan grabbed 25th.
It was job done for Aidan Stoffle, Kalle Makinen, Logan Tirheimer and Ryan Husband in the 400 free relay. Solid splits across the board led to a 2:49.90 and an NCAA A cut to finish off a good week of swimming.
WOMEN
Backstroke U was alive and well in the 200 back. A night after winning the 100, Ellie Waldrep dropped time from prelims to take third in the 200 at 1:54.72. Freshman Maggie McGuire impressed with a stellar swim to take fourth at 1:54.85. Kensley Merritt would hit the wall sixth, Kyla Maloney won the B final to take ninth, Jade Castro secured 11th and Michelle Kaner grabbed 18th.
Auburn wasn't done piling up top-10 swims. Polina Nevmovenko qualified for the A final in the 100 free in the morning and dropped time in finals to produce a 48.48 to jump to eighth all-time in program history. Wyllo Hanson, who made the B final, secured 11th while Emma Steckiel grabbed 12th and Lexie Mulvihill hit the wall 14th. Lawson Ficked rounded out the freestylers in 19th.
The Tigers' breaststroke duo of Brynn Curtis and freshman Zoey Zeller each qualified for the A final. At night, Curtis dropped a 2:11.37 for sixth place overall. Zeller clocked in a 2:12.49 for eighth. Hannah Ownbey would win the B final with a 2:12.84 with youngster Olivia Dinehart right behind in ninth. Aislyn Barnett grabbed 15th and Anastasia Makarova redeemed herself with a C final swim of 2:12.23.
Meghan Lee didn't move up any spots on the all-time list in the 200 fly but her 1:55.28 was a personal best and good enough for second place. Casey Cullen did well to make the A final and took home seventh in the evening session. Avery Bargeron hit the wall 14th. In the C final, Carissa Rinard, Morgan Carteaux and Abigail Gibbons took 17th-19th, respectively.
Averee Preble earned All-American honors in the mile in Knoxville at the end of last season. Her first 1650 of the 2023-24 wasn't too far off that pace, going 16:05.22 to lead all Tigers and finish fourth overall. Freshman Katie Russell snagged 20th with a sub-17-minute swim and Maggie McGuire would hit the wall 22nd.
Capping off the event, Nevomenko, Hanson, Mulvihill and Steckiel combined for a 3:14.71 and third place in the 400 free relay.
DIVING
Following a solid day on 3-meter on Friday, senior Ashlynn Sullivan produced another terrific performance on the tower on Saturday. Her 261.45 was good enough for third place overall. Meanwhile, freshman Kayla Walsh solidified her zones score and fifth place with a 251.90. Abigail Farrar would lock in eighth and Kyleigh Kidd finished in 19th.
Like Sullivan, Hunter Kebler found his groove in the diving well at Gabrielsen Natatorium. His 358.50 was good enough for bronze on the Platform. Talan Blackmon grabbed 19th and Alex Just finished 21st.
UP NEXT
With the Olympics due up next summer, Auburn will compete in a variety of long-course events, beginning on Sunday, Nov. 19 with the UGA Long Course Invite in Athens at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The Tigers will also host the Auburn Long Course Invitational on Nov. 29 and a few select swimmers will head to the ISCA Long Course Open in Lynchburg, Tennessee Nov. 29-Dec. 3.
Stoffle’s school record caps off terrific showing at UGA Fall Invite
