Dressel Earns Fifth Qualification to Worlds After 50m Free Victory at Phillips 66

Dressel Earns Fifth Qualification to Worlds After 50m Free Victory at Phillips 66

Saturday, July 1, 2017 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Five Gators Make Finals; Dressel and Sanders Qualify for “A” Final

By: Katie Callahan

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Caeleb Dressel qualified for his fifth event at the FINA World Championships after swimming a 21.53 in the men's 50m Freestyle A Final.

Dressel posted the fastest time of the preliminary round in the men's 50 Freestyle, finishing with a time of 21.75 to earn his spot in the A Final.

Four women kicked off the day in the 200m IM race, with Savanna Faulconer leading the way with a time of 2:18.22. Following closely behind were teammates Hannah Burns (2:18.31) and Kay Sargent (2:21.46). Rachel Ramey rounded out the swimmers in the women's 200m IM, posting a time of 2:24.17.

Soon-to-be Gator Grant Sanders found himself in the A Final of the 200m IM after finishing the preliminary round with a time of 2:01.26. Sanders finished the A Final in eighth place with a time of 2:01.86.

Conor Dwyer and Alex Lebed each earned their spots in the B Final, posting times of 2:01.96 and 2:02.08, respectively. Dwyer opted out of the event, leaving Lebed as the lone Gator in the B Final. Lebed earned sixth place in the final and 14th overall after posting a time of 2:02.01.

Brennan Balogh also raced in the event, finishing with a time of 2:03.72, winning heat 6.

Taylor Ault earned a spot in the fastest heat of the 1500m Freestyle after her seedtime of 16:36.36. She posted a time of 16:30.36, shaving a whole six seconds off her previous time.

Kahra Williams and Kay Sargent raced in the earlier heats of the preliminary round. Williams finished with a time of 16:50.77 and Sargent finished with a time of 17:20.08.

Ben Lawless posted a time of 8:02.66 in heat 6 of the men's 800m Freestyle, followed up by teammate Drew Clark, who finished with a time of 8:27.75.

In all, three Gators qualified for World Championships in seven events, with Dressel leading the way with five.

Finals Times:
Men's 200m IM – B Final
                Alex Lebed – 2:02.01 (6^th place, 14^th overall)
Men's 200m IM – A Final
                Grant Sanders – 2:01.86 (8^th place)
Men's 50m Freestyle – A Final
                Caeleb Dressel – 21.53 (1^st place)

*Bold indicates qualification for FINA World Championships

Preliminary Times:
Women's 200m IM
Savanna Faulconer – 2:18.22
Hannah Burns – 2:18.31
Kay Sargent – 2:21.46
Rachel Ramey – 2:24.17
Men's 200m IM
Grant Sanders – 2:01.26*
Conor Dwyer – 2:01.96^
Alex Lebed – 2:02.08^
                Brennan Balogh – 2:03.72
Men's 50m Freestyle
                Caeleb Dressel – 21.75*
Women's 1500m Freestyle
                Taylor Ault – 16:30.36
                Kahra Williams – 16:50.77
                Kay Sargent – 17:20.08
Men's 800m Freestyle
                Ben Lawless – 8:02.66
                Drew Clark – 8:27.75

* A Final
^ B Final
# C Final

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