ATLANTA, Ga. – Day one of the Georgia Tech Invitational proved to be a fruitful one for head coach Ryan Wochomurka and the Auburn Tigers as both the men’s (323 points) and women’s (305 points) teams sit second with two days of competition left inside historic McCauley Aquatic Center.
Logan Tirheimer, Kalle Makinen, Nate Stoffle and Ryan Husband kicked off the evening with a solid performance in the 200 free relay, touching in second at 1:16.51.
Distance specialist Julia Strojnowska clocked a season-best time in the 500 free on Friday with a 4:44.44 to finish fourth overall. Sophomore Maggie McGuire was close behind with a 4:55.27.
There would be no denying Mason Mathias in the men’s 500 free. His season-best time of 4:14.03 was good enough to outswim everyone. Grant Davis and Michael Bonson also made the night’s A final. Davis would touch in at eighth with a 4:22.64 and Bonson snagged 10th at 4:25.60.
Freshman Audrey Crawford continues to impress in her rookie campaign. In finals of the 200 IM, Crawford dropped a 1:59.02 to take sixth overall. Annika Finzen and Zoey Zeller also made the A final and finished eighth (2:01.13) and ninth (2:01.97), respectively.
German native Danny Schmidt also dialed up a personal best in the men’s 200 IM. His 1:43.41 was good enough for third overall. Jacques Rathle swam his way into the A final and eventually finished ninth with a 1:46.01.
Lexie Mulvihill dropped time all afternoon long in Atlanta. In finals, the Tampa, Florida native dialed up a 22.16 in the 50 free, her best time of the season, to finish second overall. Lora Komoroczy (22.46), Polina Nevmovenko (22.53) and Elizaveta Klevanovich (22.58) locked in places eight through 10.
Tirheimer, Husband and Makinen were back in the pool for the 50 free. Logan lead the group with a 19.43 to finish sixth. Husband clocked a 19.50 and Makinen slid down to ninth after a 19.73.
Rounding out the evening in the 400 medley relay, Komoroczy, Anastasia Makarova, Lawson Ficken and Nevmovenko combined for a 3:32.84 to take third.
Stoffle, Henry Bethel, Sohib Khaled and Makinen finished the men’s night with a solid 3:05:95 in the 400 medley relay, sliding in at third.
In the diving well, a trio of Auburn women worked their way into the final on the 1-meter. Abigail Farrar led the charge with a 282.75 to take fourth overall. Freshman Emily Hallifax wasn’t far behind in fifth after a 278.05. Fellow rookie Chloe Brothers also faired well, scoring 272.30 to secure seventh.
Whit Andrus kept the momentum going on the 3-meter. In Friday’s finals, Andrus dropped a massive 381.70 to place third overall. Both Talan Blackmon and Ethan Swart were right behind the senior as Blackmon jumped to fourth with a personal best 359.30 in finals. Swart finished fifth at 358.75. Travis Keith also did well to get a second list of dives. His 310.10 earned the freshman 10th overall.