Improvements from former Gator Caeleb Dressel and current and future Gators marked a lively end to the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships in Irvine, California.
Dressel, who struggled through the first two days of competition on Wednesday and Thursday, restored order by first winning the 100-meter fly on Friday with a time of 50.50, the best time worldwide since Dressel’s 49.86 at the 2017 World Championships. He followed that up with a second-place finish in the 50-meter freestyle on Sunday.
The 800-meter freestyle final on Sunday also saw a quartet of Gators, both current and future, place well and set personal records. Incoming freshmen
Robert Finke and Trey Freeman qualified for the finals, placing third and eighth, respectively.
Current Gator Ben Lawless also set a program record in the event with a time of 7:57:56 in his ninth-place finish, while teammate Mitch D’Arrigo finished 24th.
Finke, Freeman, Lawless, and D’Arrigo’s personal records were four of eight set by the program on the final weekend of competition.
Additionally, Kieran Smith’s swim in the B final of the 200-meter individual medley was good enough for 14th overall in the event.
As a result of their performances at the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships, Dressel, Finke, and UF alumnus Conor Dwyer all qualified for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in August.
Finke qualified on Wednesday with his second-place finish in the 1500-meter freestyle, while Dwyer made the team after his second-place result in the 200-meter freestyle. Dressel nearly did not make the team with his struggles earlier in the week, but his aforementioned victory in the 100-meter fly secured his spot.
Taylor Ault placed 16th overall in the 1500-meter freestyle, and Hannah Burns finished in 15th the 200-meter individual medley.
Grant Sanders, Kahra Williams and incoming freshmen Miguel Cancel and Vanessa Pearl also ended up qualifying for the finals of their respective events.
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Former UF swimmer Caeleb Dressel took first in the 100-fly at the Phillips 66 National Championships in Irvine, California. He, along with two other UF notables, will advance to the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo.
