USA Swimming contact:

Sara Hunninghake, (719) 866-3588, shunninghake@usaswimming.org

MELBOURNE, Australia – The women’s 800m freestyle relay might have been the last race of the day, but it was one of many shining moments for the U.S. National Junior Team on Day 1 of the Victorian State Championships (Jan. 3-7, Melbourne, Australia). The Americans won six medals overall on Tuesday, including two gold, two silver and two bronze.

Team USA’s relay of Megan Romano, Monica Drake, Chelsea Franklin and Leah Gingrich captured the gold in 8:15.28, which broke the 26-year-old Victorian All Comers record of 8:21.24 by six seconds. Posting the fastest time in National Junior Team history by more than five seconds, the relay won the Betty Holdsworth Trophy performance award from Swimming Victoria.

“The women’s team exceeded our expectations across the board tonight,” said Jerry Holtrey, women’s head coach. “They came together as a unit and really swam well for the USA.”

Theresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa. / Germantown Academy) led a U.S. sweep of the 400m individual medley, taking home the gold in 4:49.49, a Victorian record. Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz. / El Dorado) and Jessica Rodriquez (Aurora, Colo. / Mission Aurora) both swam lifetime bests to win the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

The American women also had a strong showing in the women’s 200m butterfly as Kathleen Hersey (Atlanta, Ga. / Swim Atlanta) was the silver medalist and Gingrich (Enola, Pa. / West Shore YMCA) won the bronze, her second medal of the day and a lifetime best.

“Today was all really exciting,” Gingrich said. “The best part was standing on the podium with my three teammates to receive the gold medal for the USA.”

Highlighting the men’s team was Dillon Connolly’s (Marietta, Ga. / Marietta Marlins) performance in the semifinals of the 100m breaststroke. His time of 1:04.41 makes him the top seed heading into finals. Team captain Mark Dylla (Littleton, Colo. / Aces Swim Club) also led Team USA with a lifetime best of 55.44 in the semifinals of the 100m fly, making him the fourth seed. He also swam a lifetime best split in the men’s 400m freestyle relay, which finished fourth.

“I was very proud of the men’s team,” said Clayton Cagel, men’s head coach. “They were definitely not intimidated by the competition and stepped up to represent the USA in a very professional manner. This first day set us up for success in the remainder of the meet.”

Day 2 (Wednesday) of the Victorian Championships at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre begins with heats at 9 a.m. and finals at 6:30 p.m. Melbourne is 16 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, which means heats begin at 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday Jan. 3, and finals begin at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday Jan. 4.

Here’s how the rest of Team USA fared in the Top 10 in each event:

Note: LTB stands for “lifetime best”

Men’s 200m Free FINAL:

Logan Storie (Corvallis, Ore.),1:53.97, 8th

Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.), 1:54.60, 10th (LTB)

Women’s 50m Breast SEMI advancing:

Michelle McKeehan (Greenwood, Ind.), 32.67, 4th

Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.), 33.30, 5th

Men’s 100m Back SEMI advancing:

Eugene Godsoe (Greensboro, N.C.), 57.43, 5th

Josh Hafkin(Rockville, Md.), 57.94, 9th

Women’s 200m Fly FINAL:

Kathleen Hersey (Atlanta, Ga.), 2:14.28, Silver

Leah Gingrich (Enola, Pa.), 2:15.91, Bronze (LTB)

Chelsea Franklin (Estero, Fla.), 2:17.59, 6th (LTB)

Samantha Woodward (Edmond, Okla.), 2:17.67, 7th (LTB)

Tanya Krisman (Wildomar, Calif.), 2:20.24, 9th

Men’s 100m Breast SEMI advancing:

Dillon Connolly (Marietta, Ga.), 1:04.41, 1st (LTB)

Troy Nissen (Sacramento, Calif.), 1:08.07, 8th

Women’s 100m Back SEMI advancing:

Megan Romano (St. Petersburg, Fla.), 1:04.16, 3rd

Theresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.), 1:04.20, 4th

Kristen Shickora (Tamaqua, Pa.), 1:04.29, 6th

Men’s 100m Fly SEMI advancing:

Mark Dylla (Littleton, Colo.), 55.44, 4th (LTB)

David Seiler (Auburn, Calif.), 55.85, 5th

David Mosko (Cincinnati, Ohio), 56.96, 9th

Women’s 400m IM FINAL:

Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.),4:49.49, Gold

Catilin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.), 4:52.71, Silver (LTB)

Jessica Rodriquez (Aurora, Colo.), 4:52.76, Bronze (LTB)

Kathleen Hersey (Atlanta, Ga.), 4:53.68, 5th

Kirsten Smith (Cary, N.C.), 4:54.37, 6th

Leah Gingrich (Enola, Pa.), 4:59.80, 9th

Men’s 400m Free Relay:

USA 4th (3:30.22)

Women’s 800m Free Relay:

USA Gold (8:15.28)

About USA Swimming

As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.