Curzan Closes Out TAC Blizzard Blitz With 1:49 200 Back, #2 in 15-16 Age Group | SwimSwam

By Robert Gibbs on SwimSwam

TAC TITANS BLIZZARD BLITZ

• December 10-13, 2020
• Cary, NC
• SCY
• Results on Meet Mobile as “2020 TAC Titans Blizzard Blitz Meet”

Claire Curzan closed out the TAC Titans Blizzard Blitz with a blitz of her own, moving up to #2 all-time among 15-16 girls in the 200 back with a big lifetime best and rattling her lifetime best in another event tonight.

Curzan, who earned her 5th National Age Group record in the 15-16 age group last night with a 50.18 in the 100 back, lopped nearly 3.5s off of her 200 back time tonight. She came into the meet with a personal best of 1:52.76 from March of 2019. She took a big chunk off of the mark with a 1:51.06 in prelims, then really lowered the hammer in finals with a 1:49.35, winning by nearly 10 seconds.

With that time, Curzan became only the second 15-16 girl ever to crack 1:50 in this event, and actually now has the only 1:49 ever in 15-16 age group history. NAG holder Regan Smith went 1:48.30 in March of 2018 as a 16 year-old, and went 1:47 as a 17 year-old, but has never actually swam a 1:49. Curzan’s time tonight moves her into a tie with Courtney Bartholomew as the 13th-fastest woman of any age ever in the event.

Curzan returned just a few heats later to swim the 100 free, and despite the tight turnaround, she won by over second with a time of 47.51, just 0.28s away from her personal best of 47.23.

In other results, fellow 16 year-old TAC Titan Charlotte Hook won her 3rd event of the meet with a 1:56.52 in the 200 IM. Hook won the 200 free and the 200 fly earlier this week.

While this was primarily a meet for the 18 and under crowd, TAC has a few older swimmers who’ve swum here as well, and tonight, 31 year-old veteran Ashley Twichell won the 500 free with a time of 4:39.85, after going 4:39.52 in prelims. Today marked the first time Twichell has been under 4:40 since 2017, and those times are her 3rd- and 6th-fastest ever. Twichell only competed in one other event this week, the 1000 free, which she won on Thursday.

The runner-up behind Twichell both Thursday and tonight was 17 year-old Caroline Pennington of TAC. Pennington, a UVA commit, hit a three-second lifetime best today in the 500 free, coming in with a best of 4:46.76 and swimming a 4:43.97 in prelims before hitting in 4:43.46 in finals.

Michael Cotter and Lance Norris have been the big name on the boys’ side all week, and they both wrapped up the meets with big wins today.

Cotter knocked nearly two seconds off of his lifetime best today as he won the 200 IM in 1:46.52. Cotter earned victories, and lifetime bests, earlier this meet in the 200 free and the 50 free. Cotter dominated this event tonight, winning by over five seconds, with no one else finishing under 1:51.

Norris won the 200 back tonight with a time of 1:44.83, setting a new personal best time after coming into today with a best of 1:45.87. Norris won the 1000 free and the 400 IM earlier this meet.

19 year-old Michael Ivy of TAC won the 100 free with a new personal best of 44.33, lowering his best by 0.32. Ivy was the runner up in the 50 free last night.

UVA commit Braeden Haughey closed out the meet with a 4:25.76 victory in the 500 free. Haughey took 2nd to Norris in the 1000 free, 400 IM, and 200 back earlier this week, and he had the top prelims time in the 100 back, although we still haven’t seen final results for that event.

Times from the four-day meet will count towards USA Swimming’s 18&U Winter Championships, for those swimmers who are eligible.

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