The Cal post-grad group is looking very fast on day 2 prelims of the 2012 Santa Clara International Grand Prix.
Dana Vollmer topped the 100 free prelim in 54.38, and then bookended that at the end of the session with a 57.07 in the 100 fly that already is a Meet Record by seven-tenths of a second. In both races, her teammates and training partner Natalie Coughlin was 2nd, with marks of 55.12 and 58.56, respectively.
In the men's races, Nathan Adrian's 48.50 in the 100 free was the big story, as he dominated both the front-and-back halves of the race. In fairness, this was really his final as he's scratched the evening session to head to Seattle for his older brother's wedding.
That leaves South Korea's Tae Hwan Park as the top seed with a 49.81. After winning the 800 on Thursday evening, that's a very good 100 time to come back with. Anthony Ervin (50.14) and Will Copeland (50.26) will be hot-on-his-heels in the final, with Ervin swimming a time within half-a-second of his best since coming back.
Tom Shields (50.90) and David Nolan (50.90) tied for 11th to put themselves in the B-Final. This final will be a doozy, across the three levels (A, B, and C, with 9 swimmers each). Also of note, the Redlands Swim Team's Kyle Gornay, who recently had a great CIF Championship meet, was 28th in 51.68. That's a best time by half-a-second for the 16-year old. Adrian's scratch will move him into the C Final.
In the men's 100 fly prelim, Japan's Takuro Fujii (53.18) and Takeshi Matsuda (53.77) took the 1st and 3rd seeds in prelims, with Cal's Tom Shields in-between in 53.49. That time is within a tenth of what American favorite Michael Phelps went in Austin earlier in the morning.
In the men's 200 breast prelim, Kosuke Kitajima posted an easy 2:13.10 for the top seed, followed by Palo Alto's BJ Johnson in 2:13.69. That's actually a best time for the 25-year old.
The women's race was topped by Cal's Caitlin Leverenz in 2:28.98.
At the head of the women's 400 is high schooler Chelsea Chenault in 4:08.38, which is her lifetime best by over a second. New Zealand's Lauren Boyle, winner of the 1500 the night before, was 2nd in the morning in 4:12.14.
And finally, Canada's Ryan Cochrane topped the men's 400 in 3:50.74, followed by Tyler Clary (3:52.62) and Ryan Napoleon (3:52.75). That's a good pace for a prelim, though South Korean Tae Hwan Park was a bit off the pace in 3:54. He'll be way faster in the evening.
Full, Live Results available here.