Hinds, Ledecky Claim Golds on Opening Night of National Championships

Hinds, Ledecky Claim Golds on Opening Night of National Championships

Tuesday, July 26, 2022 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Natalie Hinds wins 100m free, Katie Ledecky wins 800m free

By: Nick Yuska

IRVINE, Calif. – The Gators posted a promising start to this week's Phillip 66 National Championships, winning two golds as well as tallying eight top-ten finishes on the opening night.

Natalie Hinds set a personal-best in the 100-meter freestyle with a statement win at 53.53 after finishing first in the prelims at 54.12.

Ledecky continued her career dominance in the 800-meter freestyle, finishing over 19 seconds ahead of the rest of the field at 8:12.03. The Gators' Volunteer Coach now has the top-28 times ever in the women's 800-meter freestyle.

Mason Laur and Kevin Vargas, both competing in the 200-meter fly A final after qualifying this morning, finished sixth and eighth, with Laur finishing with a time of 1:57.62 and Vargas touching the wall in 1:58.38.

It was similar results in the women's 800-meter for the Gators, with Elise Bauer finishing sixth at 8:37.11 and Tylor Mathieu placing eighth with an 8:41.68, giving Florida three of the top eight finishes in the women's 800-meter free.

In the men's 100-meter final, Kieran Smith finished in sixth with a time of 48.91. Adam Chaney, who swam in the B final, finished 14th overall at 49.46.

Women's 200m fly
After finishing 12th and 13th in the morning prelims, Amanda Ray and Allie Piccirillo both advanced to the B final, where the duo would finish sixth and eighth in the B final Tuesday night.

Men's 200m fly
Mason Laur posted a time of 1:57.90 during the prelim to place seventh, while Kevin Vargas' time of 1:58.11 put him in eighth as the Gator duo qualified for the A final.

Women's 100m free
Natalie Hinds claimed the top overall seed, finishing first with a 54.12 in the morning session to advance to the final. Katie Mack finished 35th at 56.13 while Talia Bates claimed 39th at 56.26.

Men's 100m free
Kieran Smith and Adam Chaney both advanced during the preliminary session, with Smith advancing to the A final and Chaney in the B final. Julian Smith finished in 32nd at 49.90.

Women's 800m free
Anna Auld finished 19th with a time of 8:47.56, placing just one spot ahead of Gator teammate Leah DeGeorge who came in 20th at 8:47.93 during the distance session in the afternoon.

Men's 1500m free
Brennan Gravley touched the wall in 15:29.91 to finish tenth, edging out Tyler Watson, who placed 11th with a time of 15:31.25. Bobby Finke, who set the American Record in the event last month at the FINA World Championships, was scratched from the event.