Georgia Fall Invitational: Bella Sims Rips College-Best 4:31.06 in 500
Bella Sims’ sophomore season at the University of Florida is off to a flying start. Sims opened the Georgia Fall Invitational on Wednesday night with a time of 4:31.06 in the 500 freestyle.
That’s the second-fastest swim of Sims’ career – she was 4:28.64 at the Speedo West Junior Championships in the winter of 2022. But it’s a Florida school record, and it’s quicker than the time of 4:32.47 that she used to win the NCAA championship as a freshman last spring.
All the action from the first night in Athens:
Women’s 200 freestyle relay
The opening relay brought a little bit of a surprise in among the SEC powers with Alabama assembling a squad of four sub-22 swims to win in 1:27.22. That’s an NCAA A cut for the team of Cadence Vincent, Jada Scott, Kailyn Winter and Charlotte Rosendale.
Vincent led off in 21.84, improving her college best of 22.03 to move into a tie for fourth in program history. (That time came in the morning prelims of the 50 Wednesday; her best time had been 22.10.) Scott went 21.81, Winter 21.82 and Rosendale 21.75.
Georgia was second in 1:28.01, also an A cut, with the squad of Helena Jones, Julianna Stephens, Katie Belle Sikes and Eboni McCarty. Sikes’ 21.73 was the quickest leg of the race. Florida was third in a B cut of 1:28.94, Bella Sims leading off in 22.26. Julia Heimstead, Olivia Peoples and Micayla Cronk joined her.
LSU was fourth in 1:28.97, followed by Missouri in 1:29.13.
Men’s 200 freestyle relay
Reigning NCAA champion and NCAA record holder Florida took home gold in the men’s race in a time of 1:15.10. Julian Smith (19.00), Josh Liendo (18.41), Alex Painter (18.64) and Ed Fullum-Huot (19.05) teamed up for the win in a largely rebuilt squad around those front two legs. It is an NCAA A cut for the Gators.
Also just under the A standard by .04 seconds is LSU in 1:16.47. Jere Hribar’s 18.53 is the standout there, the Croatian Olympian swimming the second leg. Andrew Garon led off, with Stepan Goncharov and Griffin Curtis also on the squad.
B cuts came for Alabama (1:16.82) and Missouri (1:16.98). Charlie Hawke packed a 19.05 for the Crimson Tide. Darden Tate anchored in 18.83 for the Tigers.
Women’s 500 freestyle
Bella Sims was outstanding for Florida to win in 4:31.06, a statement of intent for the reigning NCAA champ. The sophomore was out in 1:45.81. Her slowest 100 split was 55.32 on the middle 100. Her margin of victory was more than three seconds in a final that featured five A finalists from NCAAs last year.
Second Wednesday was Georgia’s Rachel Stege in 4:34.27. That’s 1.4 seconds shy of the best time she set at this invite last fall. Third was Abby McCulloh, who went 4:36.18. Both are NCAA A cuts. McCulloh was sixth and Stege seventh at NCAAs last year.
The NCAA runner-up last spring, Emma Weyant of Florida, finishing fifth in 4:37.62 Wednesday. Ahead of her was Julie Brousseau in 4:37.19. Florida’s Mabel Zavaros took sixth in 4:41.17, ahead of Dune Coetzee of Georgia.
Men’s 500 freestyle
Jake Magahey outdueled Charlie Hawke in what could be a preview of an A final battle in the spring.
Both were just short of the NCAA A cut of 4:10.64, and Magahey’s fastest time of the day was a 4:10.93 in prelims. But his finals time of 4:11.18 was enough to get past Hawke’s 4:11.95. Hawke just held off the charge of Georgia’s Tomas Koski, who finished third in 4:11.96. It was a distance back to fourth-place Jovan Lekic of LSU.
Women’s 200 individual medley
Florida went 1-2 in the IM, led by Zoe Dixon’s time of 1:54.57. That’s three tenths off the time she used to finish eighth at NCAAs last year. She was followed by teammate Lainy Kruger’s 1:56.29. Both are B cuts, with the A cut of 1:53.66.
Kruger was .14 up on Georgia’s Ieva Maluka, who went 1:56.43. Teammate Olivia Dellatorre followed her in 1:57.46.
Men’s 200 individual medley
Julian Smith notched himself a best time, his 1:41.01 quicker by .86 seconds than what he turned in at NCAAs last year. That time, in prelims, was en route to finishing 11th. He’s .26 seconds shy of the A cut.
Following him was Tommy Hagar of Alabama in 1:43.36. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero of Florida claimed third in 1:44.76, .11 up on teammate Mason Lour.
Women’s 50 freestyle
Make it three best times for Cadence Vincent in a very eventful day of sprinting for the Alabama swimmer. After 22.03 in prelims and 21.84 to lead off the relay, the sophomore found a little more speed to win in 21.73. She’s .15 off an A cut.
The 50 was another outstanding showing from Alabama’s speedsters. Second place went to LSU’s Michaela de Villiers in 22.29 in a generally sluggish A final. That’s because the second-quickest time of the night came in the B final, where Emily Jones of Bama went 22.22. Charlotte Rosendale, the anchor on the winning 200 free relay, was second in the B final in 22.39, which beat three A finalists. That means five of the top nine times at night were from Crimson Tide swimmers, with Jada Scott tying Georgia’s Katie Belle Sikes for fourth in 22.35 and Kailyn Winter seventh (ninth overall) in 22.45.
Between De Villiers and the Bama tide was Eboni McCarty of Georgia, who placed third in 22.33. Her teammate Helena Jones was sixth in 22.40.
Men’s 50 freestyle
In what may be a preview of World Short-Course Championships next month, Josh Liendo topped Jere Hribar for the win. The Canadian went 18.80, besting the Croatian by .12 seconds, the only swimmers to break 19 seconds. The A cut is 18.72.
Third was Alex Painter of Florida in 19.24, followed by teammate Scotty Buff’s 19.30, in a bid to work his way into that A 200 free relay. Ed Fullum-Huot tied for sixth in 19.50. Fifth went to Stepan Goncharov in 19.31.
Women’s 400 medley relay
Bella Sims cracked a leadoff leg of 49.93 to lead Florida to a win in 3:26.27. That’s a B cut and the second-fastest time in program history. Anita Bottazzo, Olivia Peoples and Micayla Cronk rounded out the quartet, with .99 seconds of reaction time still on the chopping block.
The Gators won by more than three seconds. Alabama was second in 3:29.56, an A cut for the squad of Emily Jones, Diana Petkova, Victoria Raymond and Cadence Vincent. Vincent was the fastest anchor of the race in 47.14. Bama’s B team was fourth with a quicker breaststroker (Avery Wiseman, 58.91) than Petkova on the A squad.
Georgia was just under the B cut in 3:32.49 for third. LSU’s would-be B cut of 3:32.85 was erased by a DQ.
Men’s 400 medley relay
Florida was out front again, the team of Johnny Marshall, Julian Smith, Josh Liendo and Alex Painter winning in an A cut of 3:02.95. Liendo was the fastest butterflier in 44.36. Smith was the top breaststroker in 50.57.
LSU snuck into an A cut in 3:04.92 for second, thanks in large part to Jere Hribar blasting a 40.99 that was more than 1.5 seconds quicker than Painter. Stepan Goncharov, Mitch Mason and Pawel Uryniuk led that team.
Alabama was third in a B cut 3:05.29, with Georgia also notching a B cut of 3:05.94. The fastest backstroke leg of the race, by the way, came from Missouri lead-off leg Grant Bochenski, who went 45.34. The Tigers were fifth.
