A total of six Gators competed in A-Finals on Friday night
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Four Gators earned spots on the podium on Day 4 of the Phillips 66 National Championships, with Katie Ledecky, Bella Sims, Kieran Smith and Jake Mitchell dominating the 400m free.
Florida swept the women’s 400m free on Friday night, with Katie Ledecky and Bella Sims going 1-2 in the A-Final. Ledecky earned her third podium finish in four days after her swim of 4:00.45, while Sims posted her second Top-3 finish of the meet, touching the wall in 4:03.25. Both Ledecky and Sims have each already punched their tickets to the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Japan. Emma Weyant paced Florida in the B-Final, finishing second in the race with a time of 4:09.78.
The men’s side of the 400m free saw two more Gators earn podium spots, with Kieran Smith and Jake Mitchell securing second and third place. Smith grabbed his second, second-place finish of the week after going 3:46.11 in the A-Final. Mitchell – who along with Smith punched his ticket to Japan on Thursday – earned third with his swim of 3:46.87.
Assistant Coach Annie Lazor posted a sixth-place finish in the 100m breaststroke on Friday night, touching the wall in 1:07.77.
In the final A-Final of the night, Adam Chaney placed fifth in the 100m backstroke, shaving off more than half a second from his prelim time for a finals swim of 53.34.
Incoming freshmen Michaela Mattes, Bobby DiNunzio, Lainy Kruger, Josephine Ramey and Caleb Maldari swam in C and D-Finals during the evening session. Mattes finished second the 400m free C-Final with her time of 4:10.73, while DiNunzio placed seventh in the men’s 400 free D-Final with a time of 3:57.01. Kruger finished her 100m breaststroke D-Final in eighth, touching the wall in 1:15.01. In the 100m backstroke, Ramey placed fifth in the women’s D-Final with her swim of 1:02.54, followed by Maldari’s fourth-place finish in the men’s C-Final (54.88).
Prelims:
Women’s 400 Free
The Gators had five women compete in the opening event of Day 4, with four swimming their way into a final later Friday night. Katie Ledecky led the pack, earning the top-seed after swimming a 4:01.88. Incoming freshman Bella Sims followed behind Ledecky, finishing fourth overall in prelims with her 4:07.16 swim. Emma Weyant earned a spot in the B-Final following her performance of 4:12.17 in the prelims, while Michaela Mattes posted a time of 4:13.62, good for a spot in the C-Final. Rounding out the Gators in the event was Anna Auld, who touched the wall 40th with her time of 4:18.05.
Men’s 400 Free
On the men’s side of the event, Florida had seven competitors, with three earning their spots in a finals session. Kieran Smith finished second overall in the prelims with his time of 3:48.81, while Jake Mitchell posted a time of 3:49.25 to join Smith in the A-Final. Gio Linscheer (3:55.66) and Brennan Gravley (3:57.70) touched the wall next for the Gators, in 28th and 37th respectively. Incomers Andrew Taylor and Bobby DiNunzio posted times of 3:57.97 and 3:58.17, with DiNunzio competing in Friday night’s D-Final. Jack VanDeusen was the final Gator in the event, posting a time of 4:00.35 to finish 48th overall.
Women’s 100 Breast
The newest addition to the Gators’ coaching staff – Annie Lazor – swam her way into the A-Final on Friday night after finishing fifth overall with a time of 1:07.70. Incoming freshman Lainy Kruger clocked in at 1:14.38, good for 43rd overall and a spot in the D-Final.
Men’s 100 Breast
Julian Smith was the lone Gator competing in the men’s 100 breaststroke, finishing 41st with a swim of 1:03.37.
Women’s 100 Back
Florida had four women competing in the 100 back prelim on Friday morning. Transfer Isabel Ivey posted the highest finish for the Gators in the event, touching the wall 16th with a time of 1:00.93. Aris Runnels finished 32nd overall with her swim of 1:01.84, while Catie Choate swam a 1:01.87. Josephine Ramey rounded out the Gators, finishing 45th overall (1:02.62) to earn a spot in the D-Final.
Men’s 100 Back
The final event of the prelims saw two Gators competing – with Adam Chaney earning an A-Final spot with his swim of 53.98. Incomer Caleb Maldari finished the race with a swim of 55.00 – good for 23rd overall and a spot in the C-Final.
The 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships continue with the final day of competition on Saturday. Prelims start at 10 a.m. ET, followed by finals at 7 p.m. ET. The prelims are streamed on the USA Swimming YouTube page while the finals are available on Peacock.
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