ATLANTA, Ga. – Auburn backstrokers Ellie Waldrep and Nate Stoffle each picked up a win in the 200 back on Saturday, capping off a successful midseason invite for the Tigers inside McCauley Aquatic Center for head coach Ryan Wochomurka.
When the dust settled, the Auburn women finished second with 1,374.5 points and the men snagged third with 1,245 points.
It didn’t take long for Waldrep and Stoffle to give the Orange and Blue fans who traveled to Atlanta something to cheer about. Waldrep’s 1:55.17 was more than enough to earn the first victory of the night in the 200 back. Moments later, Stoffle narrowly missed out on a school record, popping his second-fastest race ever with a 1:39.36.
Annika Finzen, Maggie McGuire, Amie Perna and Jade Castro all made the women’s 200 back A final as well. Finzen finished sixth with a 1:58.12, McGuire finished seventh, Perna eighth and Castro rounded out in 10th.
On the men’s side, Andrew Simmons took sixth with a solid 1:44.15. Josh Noll also did well to make the A final and would slide into eighth with a 1:44.64.
Mason Mathias swam his first mile of the season and managed another sub-15-minute effort. His 14:58.11 was good enough for fourth overall.
Auburn’s Russian freestyle duo of Elizaveta Klevanovich and Polina Nevmovenko led the charge in the 100 free. Klevanovich secured fourth overall at 48.80 with Nevmovenko right behind at 48.90. Lexie Mulvihill would also make the A final, hitting the wall ninth with a 49.29.
Ryan Husband dialed up his best 100 free of the season with a 42.58 in finals. Logan Tirheimer (43.09) Kalle Makinen (43.33), Warner Russ (43.71) and Jon VanZandt (43.72) would solidify spots seventh through 10.
There is little doubt freshman Audrey Crawford will be a force to be reckoned with come championship season. Crawford ended her midseason showing with a third-place effort in the 200 breast at 2:11.48.
The Tigers would boast four more athletes in the A final of the women’s 200 breast. Olivia Dinehart (2:13.03) took sixth, Zoey Zeller (2:13.77) snagged seventh, Aislyn Barnett (2:15.53) wound up ninth and Olivia Stewart (2:18.25) rounded out the heat in 10th.
When it came time for the men’s 200 breast, Jacques Rathle delivered his best effort of the season, sliding in at third with a 1:55.44. Sophomore Britton Spann also made the A final and would place ninth, swimming a 1:57.88.
Abigail Gibbons paced the Tigers in the 200 fly. Her 1:58.86 was good enough for fifth place. Carissa Rinard snagged seventh with a 2:00.14, while Casey Cullen was right behind at 2:01.19. Morgan Carteaux also made the A final and would grab 10th with a 2:01.50.
German native Danny Schmidt also pieced together a solid midseason, finishing Sunday with a 1:42.51 in the 200 fly and third place. Freshman Andy Commins did well to make the A final, finishing ninth with a 1:46.50.
Rounding out the evening, Nevmovenko, Klevanovich, Mulvihill and Lora Komoroczy took a crack at the 400 free relay. The quartet combined for a 3:16.33 to grab third.
On the men’s side, Tirheimer, Husband, Makinen and Stoffle put together a sturdy 2:50.42 to equal the women’s effort in third place.
John Fox’s diving crew ended their week on the tower. Whit Andrus conjured a 321.80 to finish fourth. Talan Blackmon also turned in a solid 280.25 to secure a top-10 finish.
Platform special Emily Hallifax put together a five-dive list of 271.15 to secure third overall. Abigail Farrar wasn’t too far behind in fourth at 267.20. Both Kyleigh Kidd and Kayla Walsh each hit zones cuts as well.