Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Simone Manuel won the national title in the 50 free and Maya DiRado won the 200 individual medley during the first day of competition at the AT&T Winter Nationals on Thursday. In addition, Ella Eastin (200 medley) and Lia Neal (50 free) each won their respective B Final.
A former Cardinal standout, DiRado posted the second-fastest time in the prelims with a finish of 2:13.78, and then bested Olympian Caitlin Leverenz in the final to claim the national title. A strong backstroke gave DiRado the lead at the midway point. She lost ground on the breaststroke before regaining the lead and holding on for the win.
Also in the 200 medley, Eastin won the B Final with a time of 2:13.79 after posting the 11th-fastest time in the prelims (2:14.84). Freshman Kim Williams was three swimmers behind her classmate in the prelims and the finals as she placed fourth in the B Final (2:16.19).
Following DiRado's win, Michael Phelps won the men's 200 medley, and shorly thereafter, Manuel posted her victory in the 50 free. She outtouched Abbey Weitzeil by three-hundreths of a second and earned the national title with a finish of 24.83 on the long course. Neal took the B Final with a finish of, while Felicia Lee was 26th with a time of 26.11 and junior Nicole Stafford was 71st with a finish of 26.95.
On Day Two, DiRado and Eastin are slated for the 400 individual medley, Stafford and Lee will be in the 100 fly, and Nealand Manuel are set to swim in the 200 free. To cap the second day, Williams will compete in the 100 breast, and Lee and DiRado will be in the 100 back.
On the final day, three are slated for the 200 breast and four in the 100 free in addition to Williams in the 200 fly and DiRado in the 200 back.
A full recap from each day's events will be available at GoStanford.com.
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