UK Jacob Smith Swims Olympic Trials Cut in 200 Fly at OSU Winter Invite

A group of Kentucky swimmers had a strong showing on the first day of the Ohio State Invitational, with three different Wildcats posting times that rank among UK’s top-10 swims, along with two NCAA B cuts and one Olympic Trials standard.

Jacob Smith highlighted the group of Wildcats as the only swimmer to notch an Olympic Trials cut with his time of 2:01.42 in the 200 long course meters fly. The sophomore also had an impressive swim in the short course yards 200 fly, clocking in at 1:45.67 for an NCAA B cut and a mark that ranks sixth on Kentucky’s all-time list.
Kentucky saw a top-five performance out of freshman Austin Haney, who won the prelims of the 400 SCY IM in 3:53.15, a time under the B cut standard and good for fifth in UK laurels. Haney did not compete in the finals, but Kentucky did see Sam Day finish sixth in 4:07.83 after going 4:05.98 in the preliminary heat.
Freshman Mike Summe fell just shy of an Olympic Trials cut in the 100 LCM breast, finishing in 1:04.84, but recorded the fifth-fastest swim in Kentucky’s history with a 1:59.87 in the 200 SCY breast time trials, just .08 seconds off an NCAA B cut. Summe also competed in the 100 SCY breast, winning the consolation final in a personal-best 56.29 seconds. Tanner Anderson paced the team in the event, placing third with a season best of 55.98 seconds.
In the remaining events, Shane Anderson won the C final of the 100 SCY free in 44.98 seconds, and just missed out on a B cut by .09 seconds in the 200 SCY free after finishing in 1:38.08 in a time trial. Lucas Gerotto and JD Schurer had season bests in their swims, with Schurer going 1:46.85 in the time trial of the 200 SCY back while Gerotto posted a 1:46.94. Schurer also swam in the 200 LCM back time trial, finishing in 2:06.40, while Gerotto swam the 100 SCY time trial in 49.44 seconds.
On the women’s side, Allie Petersen and Alaina Potts both notched personal records in the 100 breast, with Petersen placing third in the 100 SCY breast in 1:04.58 after setting her career mark in the prelims in 1:04.53, while Potts won the prelims in nearly a three-second improvement of 1:03.17 and declined swimming in the finals. Meghan Taylor also posted personal records on the day, winning the consolation final of the 100 SCY free in 52.11 seconds and swimming a 23.43 in the time trial of the 50 SCY free.
Kate Kelly was just off the mark for an OT cut in the 100 LCM fly, touching in at a personal-best 1:01.88. Kelly also finished fourth in the 100 SCY fly in 56.41 seconds and had a season-best time in the 200 SCY fly in 2:04.25. Also swimming in a time trial and notching a personal best was Rachael Freeman in the mile free, dipping below 17 minutes for the first time in her career in 16:50.25.
The OSU Winter Invite will resume tomorrow, with prelims beginning at 11 a.m. ET followed by the finals session at 4 p.m. Live results can be accessed here.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive, and on the web at ukathletics.com.
by Chloe Smith