In what is going to be an undoubtedly fast swim meet, some of our favorite swimming stars will compete in the Austin Grand Prix which starts on Wednesday, March 3rd. Among those swimming celebs are: Katie Hoff, Caroline Burckle, Chloe Sutton, Aaron Peirsol, Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Matt Grevers, Peter and Alex Vanderkaay, Michael Klueh, Cesar Cielo, and many more! Without further ado, here is a run down of the psych sheet with my predictions:
The Ladies
The ladies lead off the individual events with 210 swimmers in the 500 freestyle, and this is also the event that Katie Hoff will go head to head with her Fast teammate (Caroline Burckle), and the current leader of the Grand Prix series, Chloe Sutton. This, I think is going to be an outstanding final, but I do believe that Chloe Sutton will take the event in a down-right brutal battle for position.
In the 100 fly (with 332 swimmers), we will see the likes of Dana Vollmer, Christine Magnuson, Lara Jackson, Whitney Myers, and Margaret Hoelzer. I am curious to see how Hoelzer steps up as she has now been training with Sean Hutchison (along with Caroline Burckle, Ariana Kukors and Katie Hoff among others). However, I don’t know if Hoelzer has enough to hold off Vollmer and Magnuson. My pick for this event is Christine Magnuson over Dana Vollmer with Whitney Myers touching in third and Hoelzer taking fourth.
The 200 IM (with another 323 swimmers) is where the ladies will venture next with Ariana Kukors, Whitney Myers, and Megan Jendrick grace the top 1o swimmers on the psych sheet. For what it’s worth, I don’t think there is any way that any other swimmer is taking this event other than Ariana Kukors! I do, however, think that Megan Jendrick will make a run at the top 3 (she is currently seeded 5th).
The ladies are absolutely packed in tightly for the 50 freestyle where the seed difference between the first seed (Lara Jackson) and the eighth seed (Dana Vollmer) is less than a second.
Katie Hoff and Ariana Kukors will go head to head in the 400 IM, but I definitely think that Hoff will come away with the victory.
Then, it’s the return of Rebecca Soni in the 100 breaststroke where she is seeded first and her teammate, Jessica Hardy, is seeded second. As much as I would love to see Soni take this event, it is going to be a VERY close race between her, Hardy, Amanda Reason, and Megan Jendrick. In my opinion, Hardy and Soni will battle for first with Soni winning, and Jendrick taking third over Reason.
The Fast team represents again in the 100 backstroke with Margaret Hoelzer and Ariana Kukors seeded 1 – 2 (respectively). However, this field is completely packed! Alana Dillette, Natalie Coughlin, Sinead Russell, Caroline Rodriguez, Deborah Roth, and Whitney Myers (who all grace the top 8 seeds) will also be fighting for top spots in this event! Look for Hoelzer to take the event with a great battle for second between Kukors, Dillette, and Coughlin.
The 200 freestyle event will most likely be awarded to Dana Vollmer. However, look for a great performance for second between Christine Magnuson, Caroline Burckle, Kara Lynn Joyce, and Christine Marshall. The other swim to watch is Chloe Sutton who is seeded in 16th. I think she will make her way up, but I’m uncertain as to where she will finish.
Margaret Hoelzer is seeded first in the 200 backstroke with Katie Hoff directly behind her in second and their Fast teammate, Ariana Kukors, in fourth. But, there is no way that Hoelzer and Hoff are losing this event. I am hoping that Hoelzer takes the event, and I am also hoping that Kukors pulls up into third place.
In the 100 freestyle, Dana Vollmer, Amanda Weir, and Kara Lynn Joyce will battle it out for first place in the finals with Amanda Weir touching in first on the 50, but Dana Vollmer coming on strong to finish first while Kara Lynn Joyce makes the battle for second place tough, but is only able to touch in third.
The young star, Chloe Sutton, will take to the waters in the 1000 freestyle, and will most likely blow all other competition out of the water (for lack of a better term). She, currently, is seeded 12 seconds faster than Sarah Henry who is seeded second.
Rebecca Soni is seeded first in the 200 breaststroke with Megan Jendrick in second. Though Jendrick is seeded about 2.5 seconds behind Soni, I would expect this to be a great race with Soni taking first by a mere 2 tenths.
Coming to the end of the meet, Dana Vollmer and Whitney Myers will most likely go head to head in the 200 fly. With Vollmer seeded first and Myers in second, I am anticipating a great race between the two in the finals, and thinking that Myers will be able to take Vollmer at the final touch.
The Men
The men tackle the 100 fly for their first event, and Aaron Peirsol will make an appearance as he is seeded sixth. However, I don’t think Peirsol will be winning this event even though I do see him in the top 5 finishers. The winner of the 100 fly, in my opinion, is going to be Matt Grevers over his teammate Masayuki Kishida.
In the 3 horse race, the 500 freestyle, Peter Vanderkaay, Michael Klueh, and Matthew Patton will go head to head. Vanderkaay is seeded first, Klueh in second, and Patton in third. However, I think that it will turn into a 2 horse race between Klueh and Vanderkaay with Klueh taking the victory.
The 200 IM looks to be a very fast swim with Alex Vanderkaay leading psych sheet with Nick D’Innocenzo in second, Mark Gangloff in third, and Aaron Peirsol in fourth. I definitely think that Vanderkaay is going to take this event.
If you thought the ladies are fast in the 50 free, let me introduce to you the Auburn Alumni swimmers: Cesar Cielo, Jakob Andkjaer, and George Bovell. For what it’s worth, there is no way what-so-ever that Cielo is losing this event! I am looking for Grevers to make a push for second, with Andkjaer taking third and Bovell taking a very close fourth.
In the 400 IM, Alex Vanderkaay returns and will most likely touch in first against Robert Margalis even though Margalis is seeded in first above Vanderkaay. Definitely a 2 person field with this event, but Vanderkaay is my favorite in this event.
The 100 breaststroke is most likely going to be led by Michael Alexandrov followed by a duel for second, third and fourth by Mark Gangloff, Henrique Barbosa, and Kevin Swander.
Benedict Hesen is seeded first in the 100 back followed by a close Aaron Peirsol. However, listen to this supporting cast in this event: David Russell, Matt Grevers, Nick Thoman, Patrick Schirk, Bryan Lindquist, Matthew Patton, Cesar Cielo, and Anthony Cox. What I truly want to see is a great outing from Peirsol, but I am almost positive that Hesen will take this event with Grevers, Russell and Thoman battling it out for top spots (and beating out Peirsol).
Simon Burnett, Peter Vanderkaay, and Garrett Weber-Gale will most likely battle it out for first in the 200 freestyle. As much as I hate giving these kind of predictions, I do think that they will finish in order of seed with Burnett taking the event, Vanderkaay touching in second and Weber-Gale finishing third.
In the 200 back, Aaron Peirsol is seeded first while Matt Grevers is seeded closely behind him and Patrick Schirk in third. Even though Nick Thoman is seeded fifth, I am looking for a great performance from him and hopefully he can swim his way into a third place finish behind Grevers who will take second and Peirsol who will finish first.
As long as Cesar Cielo stays healthy, nobody is going to take the 100 freestyle from him. Matt Grevers, William Copeland, Simon Burnett, and Garrett Weber-Gale will duke it out for the other top places with Grevers finishing second, Copeland in third, Weber-Gale in fourth and Burnett in fifth.
I am very curious to see what is going to happen with Peter Vanderkaay in the 1650 freestyle, and I’m also curious to see if Michael Klueh can make a pass at first place during the swim. Overall, I think that Vanderkaay can pull off this victory as well, but look for Klueh to make things interesting.
I don’t foresee anyone being able to take the 200 breaststroke from Michael Alexandrov, but I am anticipating a great race between Henrique Barbosa and Bart Steninger for second/third place.
Alex Vanderkaay is then seeded first in the 200 fly ahead of Andre Blyth, Matthew Patton, Pedro Oliveira, Aaron Peirsol, and Masayuki Kishida (respectively). While Vanderkaay and Blyth are seeded over a second faster than the rest of the pack, I am expecting this to be a great finals heat. Look for Vanderkaay to take the event, but not by much over Blyth and Peirsol stepping up into third.
Summary
Overall, this is going to be a great meet, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing the end results of a lot of these races! However, let’s get your opinion on the Austin Grand Prix…who do you think will take these events?
Great Job! We are loving watching Chloe Sutton and Nick Thoman climb! Glad to see you are noticing as well.
I just watched the prelim with Chloe Sutton and she rocked it out! I’m definitely enjoying watching those two (Sutton and Thoman) swim as well as a few other younger swimmers out there!