Enge Wins 100 Breast, Hartman Claims 200 Free/100 Fly Double On Day 2 Of Mesa Spring Cup

By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam

2024 18 & UNDER SPRING CUP – MESA

• May 2-5, 2024
• Mesa, Arizona
• LCM (50 meters)
• Psych Sheets
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2024 USA Swimming 18&U Spring Cup – Mesa”
• Day 1 Recap

The Mesa 18 & Under Spring Cup continued on Friday at the Skyline Aquatic Center. This second finals session included the 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, and 400 IM events.

Virginia commit Bailey Hartman was a double event winner on the night, as she secured victory in both the 200 free and 100 fly. The 200 free was first on her schedule and she faced a tough battle with both Ella Cosgrove and Amelia Mason. The trio touched less than a second apart at the finish, where Hartman stopped the clock at 2:01.86 ahead of Cosgrove (2:02.07) and Mason (2:02.68). Mason led for the first 150, but Hartman and Cosgrove recorded 30-second final 50m splits compared to her 31.76. Mason was the only one of the three to notch a new lifetime best, and she did so by over a full second.

Hartman’s 100 fly winning time of 1:00.59 was enough to top the field by 1.84 seconds. She led front start to finish en route to the win with her closing 50 split (31.72) being the highlight. For reference, her best time in the 200 free is 1:59.23 while she’s been as fast as 58.44 in the 100 fly.

In the men’s 200 free, Gold Medal Swim Club’s Raymond Hesser touched the wall 1st in 1:50.88. He showcased a strong back half of his race tonight, as he opened in 54.30 before closing in 56.58 over the final 100 meters. It was a best time by nearly a full second for the 18-year-old, who cleared his previous standard of 1:51.66 from March. Hesser is committed to swim with the California Golden Bears next season. 16-year-old Aiden Hammer was the only other swimmer to break 1:55, courtesy of his 1:52.93 runner-up effort. He was just shy of his 1:52.15 personal best.

Swim Neptune’s August Vetsch put his hands on the wall in 53.80 to win the men’s 100 fly, which checks-in just 0.40 outside of his career-best (53.40) from the Junior National Championships in August. He placed 2nd at those championships and also undercut the U.S. Olympic Trials cut of 53.59 in that race. His closing split in tonight’s race, 28.52, was actually faster than his final 50 from his best time (28.73).

16-year-old John Thumann, who represents Sooner Swim Club, was the only other swimmer under 57 seconds. He led Vetsch through the first 50 with a 24.97 split before ultimately nabbing 2nd in 54.27. His personal best rests as the 53.80 that he threw down back in December.

After establishing the top qualifying time (1:10.13) earlier this morning, rising star Piper Enge claimed victory in tonight’s 100 breast final. The Texas commit produced a winning time of 1:08.19, which checks-in about a second off her 1:07.27 best time from the Federal Way Sectionals in March. She will line-up for the 100 free, 200 IM, and 200 breast events later this week.

On the international scene, Enge won a bronze medal at September’s World Junior Championships in the 50m breast. She then competed at the senior World Championships in February where she placed 6th in the same distance.

NC State commit Hudson Schuricht sprinted to a dominant win in the men’s 100 breast. The 18-year-old punched a winning time of 1:04.14 to clear the field by just shy of a full second. He opened in a swift 30.39 through the first 50 meters before finishing in 33.75. He’s been as quick as 1:03.09 in his career, which is less than a second shy of the U.S. Olympic Trials qualification standard (1:02.19).

The women’s 400 IM was perhaps the race of the night, where King Aquatic Club’s Camden Doane and Scottsdale’s Emma Sayers touched about eight tenths apart at the finish. Despite their battle down the final 50, they swam the race completely differently. Doane led by nearly nine seconds at the halfway turn before Sayers nearly closed the entire gap on the final 200. See a full splits breakdown from the exciting race below.

Splits Comparison:

SwimSwam: Enge Wins 100 Breast, Hartman Claims 200 Free/100 Fly Double On Day 2 Of Mesa Spring Cup