Pro Swim Series Sacramento, Day 4 Prelims: Sean Niewold, Michael Andrew Impress in Qualifying
Qualifying events at the USA Swimming Pro Series in Sacramento concluded Saturday with the 50 butterfly, 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle on the docket. Sean Niewold, the winner of the 100 fly and 50 free already, swam the top times in the 50 fly and 100 free while Michael Andrew followed up his second seed in the fly with a top-ranked 10 breast.
On the women’s side, French swimmers Marie Wattel and Mary-Ambre Moluh both earned top seeds, as did Hungary’s Aliz Kalmar. Torri Huske will try to build on her strong first two days, in which she captured three wins, as she contests finals of the 50 fly and 100 free.
Women’s 50 Butterfly
Leading the way in the women’s 50 fly was France’s Marie Wattel, who recorded a time of 26.43. Wattel previously placed third in the 100 fly Wednesday evening. Taylor Ruck, the Canadian who placed second in the aforementioned two-lap race, qualified in the No. 2 spot for the final at 26.67, followed by Kalia Antoniou (26.79), Lismar Lyon (26.80) and Caroline Larsen (26.82).
Torri Huske, the winner of three events already this week in Sacramento, took sixth in 26.99, followed by a seventh-place time between Kasia Wasick and Katrin Otaegi in 27.24. Wasick, 34, is more than twice the age of the 16-year-old Otaegi.
Event 27 Women 50 LC Meter Butterfly
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World: W 24.43 7/5/2014 Sarah Sjoestroem, SWE
American: A 24.66 6/4/2025 Gretchen Walsh, New York Athleti
U.S. Open: O 24.66 6/4/2025 Gretchen Walsh, New York Athleti
Pro Swim: M 24.93 5/2/2025 Gretchen Walsh, New York Athelti
Jr World: 25.46 8/26/2017 Rikako Ikee, JPN
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Wattel, Marie 28 Sun Devil Swimmi 26.01 26.43
r:+0.68
2 Ruck, Taylor 25 Swimming Canada- 25.71 26.67
r:+0.66
3 Antoniou, Kalia 26 Unattached-SE 26.51 26.79
r:+0.68
4 Lyon, Lismar 25 South Florida Aq 26.30 26.80
r:+0.59
5 Larsen, Caroline 20 Univ Louisville- 26.06 26.82
r:+0.70
6 Huske, Torri 23 Unattached-PV 26.23 26.99
r:+0.64
7 Wasick, Kasia 34 Unattached-NT 23.99Y 27.24
r:+0.62
7 Otaegi, Katrin 16 San Ramon Valley 27.44 27.24
r:+0.68
Men’s 50 Butterfly
Already with wins in the 100 fly and 50 free at the Pro Series, Sean Niewold of Alabama and the Netherlands went 22.94 to cruise to the top spot in the 50 fly by more than four tenths. Niewold will have veteran swimmers surrounding him in the final as Michael Andrew, twice a World Championships medalist in the event, was second in 23.37 and Dylan Carter went 23.49 for third.
Santo Condorelli, who has represented Canada, Italy and the United States in major competition, took fourth in 23.61, with Finlay Knox, Aiden Hayes, Brandon Ha and Ryan Nordheim also making it back to the top heat, Nordheim rounding out the field i n24.60.
Event 28 Men 50 LC Meter Butterfly
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World: W 22.27 7/1/2018 Andrii Govorov, UKR
American: A 22.35 7/16/2022 Caeleb Dressel, USA
U.S. Open: O 22.80 1/17/2026 Maxime Grousset, France
Pro Swim: M 22.80 1/17/2026 Maxime Grousset, France
Jr World: 22.96 9/3/2022 Diogo Matosribeiro, POR
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Niewold, Sean 24 Univ Alabama Swi 23.04 22.94
r:+0.68
2 Andrew, Michael 27 MA Swim Academy- 23.10 23.37
r:+0.69
3 Carter, Dylan 30 Azura Florida Aq 22.93 23.49
r:+0.65
4 Condorelli, Santo 31 FAST Swim Team-C 23.23 23.61
r:+0.60
5 Knox, Finlay 25 Swimming Canada- 23.57 24.03
r:+0.66
6 Hayes, Aiden 22 NC State Univers 23.57 24.22
r:+0.64
7 Ha, Brandon 18 DART Swimming-SN 24.37 24.54
r:+0.65
8 Nordheim, Ryan 23 Unattached-AM 27.04 24.60
r:+0.65
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
Aliz Kalmar, a native of Hungary who represents Fresno State in college competition, had the fastest time in a relatively weak but still competitive 100 breaststroke. Kalmar, previously second in the 200-meter race, took the top time in prelims by seven hundredths at 1:09.46.
Silje Slyngstadli, a Cal swimmer originally from Norway, was second in 1:09.65, just ahead of Stanford’s Lucy Thomas (1:09.54) and Adalene Robillard (1:09.63). Jenna Pulkkinen and Mikayla Tan also went sub-1:10 while Phoebe Bacon and Caroline Bricker, both established international performers in other strokes, also reached the championship heat.
Event 29 Women 100 LC Meter Breaststroke
==================================================================
World: W 1:04.13 7/25/2017 Lilly King, USA
American: A 1:04.13 7/25/2017 Lilly King, USA
U.S. Open: O 1:04.45 8/7/2009 Jessica Hardy, Trojan
Pro Swim: M 1:05.32 3/31/2022 Lilly King, Indiana Swim Tea
Jr World: 1:04.35 7/29/2013 Ruta Meilutyte, LTU
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Kalmar, Aliz 23 Fresno State Swi 1:07.57 1:09.46
r:+0.69 32.42 1:09.46 (37.04)
2 Slyngstadli, Silje 22 California Aquat 1:07.53 1:09.53
r:+0.67 32.10 1:09.53 (37.43)
3 Thomas, Lucy 20 Alto Swim Club-P 1:08.63 1:09.54
r:+0.64 31.87 1:09.54 (37.67)
4 Robillard, Adalene 18 Alto Swim Club-P 1:09.09 1:09.63
r:+0.67 32.94 1:09.63 (36.69)
5 Pulkkinen, Jenna 21 Fresno State Swi 1:09.38 1:09.84
r:+0.67 32.53 1:09.84 (37.31)
6 Tan, Mikayla 16 San Ramon Valley 1:08.74 1:09.94
r:+0.67 32.93 1:09.94 (37.01)
7 Bacon, Phoebe 23 Wisconsin Aquati 1:12.59 1:10.80
r:+0.68 33.88 1:10.80 (36.92)
8 Bricker, Caroline 21 Alto Swim Club-P 1:01.44Y 1:10.88
r:+0.63 33.51 1:10.88 (37.37)
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
Michael Andrew sits in pole position in the 100 breast, but he faces some tough competition in Saturday evening’s final. Andrew swam a time of 1:01.23 to top prelims, but NCAA champion Yamato Okadome (1:01.45) and 200 breast winner Carles Coll Marti (1:01.47) were not far away.
Eli Martin, a Virginia Tech Hokie along with Coll Marti, tied with Andrew Eubanks for fourth in 1:01.54, while Tom Higdon, Josh Matheny and Daniel Li also advanced to the final. Matheny is a multi-time World Championships finalist in the 100 breast, and he swam that stroke on the U.S. men’s medley relay at last summer’s World Championships, earning a bronze medal for his efforts.
Event 30 Men 100 LC Meter Breaststroke
==================================================================
World: W 56.88 7/21/2019 Adam Peaty, GBR
American: A 58.14 6/13/2021 Michael Andrew, Race Pace Club
U.S. Open: O 58.14 6/13/2021 Michael Andrew, Race Pace Club
Pro Swim: M 58.67 5/13/2021 Michael Andrew, MA Swim Academy
Jr World: 58.94 6/20/2025 Shin Ohashi, JPN
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Andrew, Michael 27 MA Swim Academy- 59.65 1:01.23
r:+0.72 28.49 1:01.23 (32.74)
2 Okadome, Yamato 20 California Aquat 1:00.21 1:01.45
r:+0.65 28.62 1:01.45 (32.83)
3 Coll Marti, Carles 24 Spain-IT 1:00.39 1:01.47
r:+0.60 28.41 1:01.47 (33.06)
4 Martin, Eli 20 Virginia Tech-VA 1:00.23 1:01.54
r:+0.69 28.80 1:01.54 (32.74)
4 Eubanks, Andrew 18 Dolphins-OR 1:00.79 1:01.54
r:+0.65 28.50 1:01.54 (33.04)
6 Higdon, Tom 28 DART Swimming-SN 1:01.81 1:02.01
r:+0.68 28.99 1:02.01 (33.02)
7 Matheny, Josh 23 Indiana Swim Clu 59.15 1:02.08
r:+0.67 28.96 1:02.08 (33.12)
8 Li, Daniel 20 Rose Bowl Aquati 1:01.81 1:02.31
r:+0.68 29.30 1:02.31 (33.01)
Women’s 100 Freestyle
Cal’s Mary-Ambre Moluh secured the top seed in this event over the swimmer who finished 2025 as the top-ranked swimmer in the world, Torri Huske. Moluh clocked 55.10 in prelims to Huske’s 55.28, with Bella Sims (55.36) and Caroline Larsen (55.39) not far away.
Marie Wattel, Chloe Stepanek and Kalia Antoniou also advanced to the final, and Taylor Ruck claimed the last spot thanks to a win over Marie Landreneau in a swim-off. After both women went 56.53 in the morning, Ruck went to another gear in the head-to-head matchup, her 55.41 matching Wattel for fifth-best on the day thus far.
Event 31 Women 100 LC Meter Freestyle
==================================================================
World: W 51.71 7/23/2017 Sarah Sjostrom, SWE
American: A 52.04 7/26/2019 Simone Manuel, USA
U.S. Open: O 52.43 6/3/2025 Torri Huske, Arlington Aquati
Pro Swim: M 52.74 4/11/2024 Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong
Jr World: 52.70 8/11/2016 Penny Oleksiak, CAN
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Moluh, Mary-Ambre 20 California Aquat 54.08 55.10
r:+0.68 26.63 55.10 (28.47)
2 Huske, Torri 23 Unattached-PV 52.29 55.28
r:+0.59 26.49 55.28 (28.79)
3 Sims, Bella 20 Sandpipers Of Ne 54.45 55.36
r:+0.57 26.53 55.36 (28.83)
4 Larsen, Caroline 20 Univ Louisville- 54.43 55.39
r:+0.71 26.43 55.39 (28.96)
5 Wattel, Marie 28 Sun Devil Swimmi 53.38 55.41
r:+0.68 26.82 55.41 (28.59)
6 Stepanek, Chloe 24 Long Island Aqua 54.63 55.73
r:+0.70 26.97 55.73 (28.76)
7 Antoniou, Kalia 26 Unattached-SE 54.23 56.40
r:+0.68 27.08 56.40 (29.32)
8 Ruck, Taylor 25 Swimming Canada- 53.88 56.53
r:+0.65 26.72 56.53 (29.81)
Men’s 100 Freestyle
Sean Niewold will swim from lane four in successive finals thanks to a strong 100 free prelims time of 48.86, only five hundredths slower than his seed time. Niewold is set for another double in the finals session, coming into this 100 free after he races the 50 fly, and his rivals will try to take advantage. Henry McFadden, already the winner of the 200 free at this meet, will be the toughest competitor after he finished in 48.87, just one hundredth behind Niewold.
Keaton Jones has shown major improvements in freestyle this week. The 200 back Olympic finalist went 49.23 in prelims, a second quicker than his seed time. Lamar Taylor grabbed fourth in 49.27, followed by Brendan Whitfield, Jerry Fox, Nans Mazellier and Ruslan Gaziev. At 49.89, Gaziev beat Canadian countryman Finlay Knox for the last spot in the final by five hundredths.
Event 32 Men 100 LC Meter Freestyle
==================================================================
World: W 46.40 7/31/2024 Zhanle Pan, CHN
American: A 46.81 7/30/2025 Jack Alexy, USA
U.S. Open: O 46.99 6/3/2025 Jack Alexy, California Aquat
Pro Swim: M 47.38 3/4/2026 Chris Guiliano, Longhorn Aquatic
Jr World: 46.86 8/13/2022 David Popovici, ROU
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Niewold, Sean 24 Univ Alabama Swi 48.81 48.86
r:+0.67 23.31 48.86 (25.55)
2 McFadden, Henry 20 Jersey Wahoos-MA 47.97 48.87
r:+0.66 23.76 48.87 (25.11)
3 Jones, Keaton 21 California Aquat 50.28 49.23
r:+0.72 23.92 49.23 (25.31)
4 Taylor, Lamar 22 Bahamas Aquatics 48.51 49.27
r:+0.60 23.17 49.27 (26.10)
5 Whitfield, Brendan 21 Virginia Tech-VA 48.44 49.49
r:+0.68 23.53 49.49 (25.96)
6 Fox, Jerry 20 NC State Univers 48.60 49.77
r:+0.66 23.71 49.77 (26.06)
7 Mazellier, Nans 22 California Aquat 48.21 49.78
r:+0.65 23.58 49.78 (26.20)
8 Gaziev, Ruslan 26 Swimming Canada- 48.37 49.89
r:+0.72 24.20 49.89 (25.69)
