Alex Shackell’s Impressive Performance at Indy Spring Cup
With just a little over a month left until the top American swimmers compete for spots on the World Championships team in Indianapolis, there has been a lot of attention on the performances of the contenders at the various long course competitions held throughout the country. Among these competitions is the Indy Spring Cup, where 16-year-old rising star Alex Shackell delivered an outstanding performance by swam three lifetime-best marks.
Shackell, from Carmel Swim Club, started the meet with the 100 butterfly. Her prelims time of 57.89 bested her previous personal record of 58.33, and she cut two tenths more in the finals to touch in at 57.69, edging out veteran Gabi Albiero (58.03). With this performance, Shackell currently ranks fourth in the United States in the 100 butterfly for this year, placing behind Regan Smith (56.60), Torri Huske (56.84), and Claire Curzan (57.26), while Albiero ranks sixth (with Kelly Pash fifth at 57.89).
Shackell also delivered an excellent performance in the 200 fly, clocking a time of 2:08.68 to beat her previous best time of 2:09.44 and ranking fourth in the United States so far for the event this year, behind Smith (2:07.92), Pash (2:08.25), and Dakota Luther (2:08.30). In addition, she swam a personal best of 54.69 in the 100 freestyle, edging out her previous top mark of 54.87 and beating strong swims from Indiana’s Anna Peplowski (54.81) and Ohio State’s Amy Fulmer (54.87), suggesting that Shackell could be a strong contender for her first senior-level international team next month.
Other Notable Performances at the Indy Spring Cup and Other Meets
In addition to Alex Shackell’s impressive showing at the Indy Spring Cup, other notable performances at the competition included Anna Peplowski, who clocked a time of 1:57.02 in the 200 free, knocking a second off her previous best time of 1:58.03. This placed her second in the country for the event this year behind Katie Ledecky (1:54.96) for 2023 and positioned her as a potential challenger for a spot on the World Championships team in the event.
On the men’s side, Indiana’s Rafael Miroslaw scored wins in the 200 free (1:47.98) and 100 free (49.23), while Blake Pieroni finished third in the 100 free with a time of 49.65 in his first meet since ending his brief retirement. Cody Miller, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist in the 100 breaststroke, won the event in 1:01.04, beating out Tommy Cope (1:01.53) and Josh Matheny (1:01.55).
Meanwhile, several other meets also featured notable performances. Carson Foster, the World Championships silver medalist in both individual medley events, competed at an age group meet in Austin, Texas, and swam times of 1:56.51 in the 200 IM and 1:47.25 in the 200 free. His performance in the IM ranks him as the third-fastest swimmer in the world this season, behind Leon Marchand (1:55.68) and Shaine Casas (1:56.06), ahead of 2019 world champion Daiya Seto (1:56.62). In the 200 free, Foster ranks fourth among Americans behind Kibler (1:45.82), Kieran Smith (1:46.84), and Henry McFadden (1:47.23).
At the Martha McKee Open in Charlotte, several members of the Texas women’s team raced, with Anna Elendt delivering an exciting performance. She swam as fast as 1:07.14 in the 100 breast and 30.36 in the 50 breast, jumping into the global top-10 in the shorter race. Olivia Bray clocked a solid time of 58.22 in the 100 fly, while the 200 fly featured a strong swim from future Virginia Cavalier Tess Howley, who touched in 2:09.44. These performances and others from around the country add to the excitement and anticipation for the upcoming World Championships trials in Indianapolis in June.
