- Tuesday, June 27th – Saturday, July 1st
- IUPUI Natatorium – Indianapolis, Indiana
- LCM (50M)
Reporting by Glen Redwood
The biggest week of swimming in US waters in 2023 kicks off this week in Indianapolis with the Phillips 66 National Championships.
In addition to holding the title of long course national championships, the event this week also serves as the qualification meet for Team USA in four upcoming international competitions. Those meets include:
- World Championships
- World Junior Championships
- Pan American Games
- LEN European U23 Championships
Of the 19 swimmers with Minnesota ties entered in this week’s meet, 11 are in action on day 1. Today we’re watching as the following swimmers compete for a spot in tonight’s finals:
200 Butterfly
- Regan Smith, Sun Devil Swimming (Lakeville, Riptide)
- Megan Van Berkom, University of Minnesota
- Jack Dahlgren, Team Triumph (Victoria, Aquajets, Chaska/Chanhassen)
- Kaiser Neverman, University of Minnesota
- William Christenson, University of Minnesota
100 Freestyle
- Caroline Larsen, Foxjets (Eden Prairie)
- Chris Morris, University of Wisconsin (St. Cloud, St. Croix Swim Club)
800 Freestyle
- Eliot Kennedy, University of Minnesota
- Katherine Randall, Arizona State University (Inver Grove Heights, Riptide)
- Katie McCarthy, Edina Swim Club (Edina)
1500 Freestyle
- Chris Nagy, University of Minnesota
Prelims Recap
200 Fly
Comfortable is probably not a word too often used to describe the 200 fly, but Lakeville native Regan Smith looked it securing the top seed in tonight’s finals with a 2:06.80. Gopher Megan Van Berkom secured a spot in tonight’s consolation final finishing 12th in preliminaries with a time of 2:10.94.
On the men’s side, Jack Dahlgren continued his hot start to his pro career winning his heat and finishing 4th overall, earning a spot in tonight’s final. Swimming for Team Triumph, the former Aquajet and University of Missouri standout finished in 1:55.72 establishing a new career best time. University of Minnesota’s Kaiser Neverman also posted a significant time drop of 1.42 seconds, securing a spot in the consolation final tonight with a prelims time of 1:57.31.
100 Free
Time drops have been a trend in 2023 for Foxjets swimmer Caroline Larsen and this morning was no different. She cracked the 56 second barrier for the first time, winning her heat in a personal best time of 55.93.
St. Cloud native Chris Morris, swimming for the University of Wisconsin, was the only swimmer with MN ties on the men’s side, finishing in 50.77.
The women’s 800 free and men’s 1500 free kick off tonight’s action, along with finals in today’s two preliminary events.