FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — LSU swimmer Hannes Heyl took off from the starting blocks in one of the biggest races of his life Thursday night at the 2009 U.S. Open Swimming Championships and nearly came away with a medal finish in the 100-meter butterfly.
The four-time All-American captured fourth overall out of 85 swimmers in the event with a blistering time of 53.16 seconds, just 12 one-hundredths of a second off the bronze-medal time recorded by Texas’ Jimmy Feigen. The Tigers’ junior-to-be qualified for the ?A’ final with a preliminary mark of 53.40.
Heyl’s finish in the 100m fly was his second impressive performance of the meet as the German emerged victorious in the ?C’ final of the 100m freestyle Wednesday night with a time of 50.53.
However, Heyl hasn’t been the only LSU swimmer to make an impact at the U.S. Open. Sophomore-to-be Ben Decker and women’s signee Audrey Lawson each qualified for second swims in their respective events on Tuesday. Decker posted a mark of 2:16.10 in the 200m breaststroke to finish 14th overall, and Lawson took 13th out of 69 competitors in the 200m fly with a time of 2:14.02.
Men’s swimmers Clint Hallum, Sean LeNeave, James Meyers and Nate Telep and Lady Tigers Kannon Betzen, Samantha Goates and Morgan McGee have also competed at the national meet thus far.
Hallum placed 27th in the 200m breast with a time of 2:20.01, while LeNeave swam to a 28th-place finish in the 100m free with a mark of 51.17. Meyers finished in the top half of the draw in the 100m fly, coming in 40th with a time of 55.20, and Telep notched 39th in the 400m individual medley with a time of 4:34.07.
In addition, Betzen claimed 36th in the 200m breast with a mark of 2:37.41, and Goates reached the wall in 2:17.95 to place 33rd in the 200m backstroke. McGee recorded a time of 1:03.03 in the 100m fly.
The U.S. Open will continue through Saturday. Live results can be accessed at www.omegatiming.com.