Junior Nationals, Day Four Finals: Emily Wolf and Connor Christopherson Claim 200 Freestyle Titles
Emily Wolf (Fishers Area) sat in fourth after the first lap, but took command on the second length en route to victory in the 200-meter freestyle on Wednesday night at the United States Junior National Championships. Wolf just missed breaking the two-minute barrier, winning in 2:00.08 and fending off a late challenge by runnerup Adrienne Schadler (2:00.22).
Wolf was in the middle of the pack after the opening 50 meters, but moved to the front of the field at the midway point of the race, splitting 59.19. She made the 150-meter turn in 1:29.35 and came home with a closing split of 30.73. Down the stretch, Schadler cut into Wolf’s lead and capped her race with a last 50 meters of 29.71. That final lap was the fastest in the field by more than a second.
In the boys’ 200 freestyle, Connor Christopherson was the only swimmer to go sub-1:50 and he accomplished the feat with ease, as he touched in 1:49.00 for a dominant victory. Christopherson was in second place through 100 meters, but he back-halved the race in 55.72 to pull away. The silver medal went to George Patterson, who stopped the clock in 1:50.54.
Maggie Dickinson secured the gold medal in the girls’ 100 backstroke, thanks to a mark of 1:00.71. She was the only swimmer to break 1:01, but runnerup Lane Francis touched in 1:01.00.
In the girls’ 50 butterfly, Katrin Otaegi edged Peyton McDaniel, 26.78 to 26.88, while the boys’ 50 fly went to Brady Campbell in 23.91, the only sub-24 mark in the field.
