Gianluca Urlando Misses National Age Group Record by .11 at Sectionals

COLLEGE STATION SECTIONALS

• February 28th-March 3rd, 2019
• Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
• 25y (SCY) prelims/50m (LCM) finals

16-year old US National Teamer Gianluca Urlando came within .11 seconds of his own National Age Group Record on Saturday evening in College Station, Texas, but ultimately ran out of room in the 100 meter fly. He finished in 52.51, which just-missed his own record of 52.40 from last summer’s Jr. Pan Pac Championships. Urlando now holds the 4-fastest 100 meter butterflies ever done by a 15-16 year old eligible to represent the United States internationally.

Comparative Splits, 5 Fastest 15-16 Times by Americans, 100 LCM Fly

Urlando still seems to be toying with the pacing of this race. He split 24.42, which is out about a quarter-of-a-second faster than he was in his best time, but he paid for it coming home. Urlando said in an interview on Friday night that he was shaved and tapered for the meet and that he was chasing National Age Group Records. He already picked up 1 earlier in the meet on an 800 free relay leadoff, though he didn’t swim the 200 free individually in finals. He split a 52.65 on the fly leg of DART’s winning 400 medley relay on Saturday as well.

Other Day 3 Winners:

• Texas A&M post-grad Sarah Gibson beat out Texas post-grad Madisyn Cox in the women’s 200 free relay final. Gibson swam a 2:00.78 to Cox’s 2:01.54. That time ranks Gibson 10th nationally this season. Gibson also swam a 1:44.52 in prelims in yards. The top junior finisher was Longhorn Aquatics’ Quinn Schaedler, who swam 2:01.70. She’s an uncommitted high school junior and the 8th-ranked recruit in our high school class of 2020.
• Coby Carrozza, whose older sister Quinn won the Big 12 title in the 200 back for Texas on Saturday evening, picked up a Sectionals win in the 200 free. He swam 1:50.46, which won the race by almost 2 seconds. That’s his best time by over a second, beating the 1:51.65 that he did in January. Carrozza is verbally committed to Texas.
• Texas A&M junior Anna Belousova, fresh off a 2nd-place finish in the yards version of the event at SECs, won the women’s 200 meter breaststroke on Saturday in 2:31.26. She finished 7 seconds ahead of the field and the top junior swimmer Jenna Watson of Lakeside Aquatic Club (2:38.31). Belousova swam a 2:10.89 in prelims.
• Another Aggie, Mexican-born post-grad Mauro Castillo Luna, won the men’s 200 breaststroke in 2:14.13. The top 4 finishers in the race were all current or former Aggies, with ICAC’s Aidan Simpson finishing as the top junior swimmer in 2:23.11.
• Sarah Gibson won again in the women’s 100 fly, touching in 58.85. That’s her season best time after swimming just a 59.7 at the Longhorn Long Course Invite (formerly known as the PSS – Austin) in January. US National Junior Teamer Lillie Normdann from the Magnolia Aquatic Club in Houston finished 2nd in 1:00.32 after a near-best of 52.26 in yards in prelims.
• Lindsay Looney, who was 3rd in that 100 fly (1:00.52), came back in the next women’s event to win the 400 IM in 4:49.68. She’s an Arizona State commit and the 2019 Texas 5A (small schools) state champion in the 100 fly. That’s her first win of the meet. Michigan commit Kaitlynn Sims took 2nd in 4:51.89.
• The Lakeside Aquatic Club won the women’s 400 medley relay in 4:13.40 with a relay of Natalie Whalen, Jadyn Janasch, Katherine Zenick, and Riley Francis.