Winter Junior Olympics - Day Three

Day three of the Southern California Winter Junior Olympic Championships showcased some phenomenal performances from all ages and some edge of your seat relay races.  Many of the swimmers made it back for finals and not only dropped time in prelims but came back to drop even more time in finals.

The 7-10 boys kicked it off with the 50 yard breaststroke.  Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Kai Scarlet, Brad Diaz, and Mason McEwen represented BCS in the prelims.  Brad Diaz dropped 1.5 seconds for a best time of 41.69, Mason McEwen made it back for consoles, and Ryan and Kai made it back for the finals heat. First time JO swimmer Mason McEwen dropped even more time in the consols with a final place of of 15th and best time of 40.78, Ryan O’Shaughnnessy finished 5th overall and Kai Scarlet finished 3rd overall with a best time of 36.81.  Congratulations, boys!!!

The 11-12 200 yard backstroke featured Alex Crisera with a prelims placement of 5th and a time drop in finals for a 3rd overall finish.  Teammate Shannon O’Brien raced hard in the 200 backstroke with a 7th place tie in prelims.  She came back for finals and raced to a best time of 2:13.75 and a 6th place overall finish.  Great swim!!

The 7-10 boys set the standard for success again in the 100 yard butterfly.  Kai Scarlet and Brad Diaz represented Beach Cities well with more season best times.  Brad and Kai both raced in prelims to lock in a slot in the finals heat.  Brad finished 5th overall with a best time for the day of 1:12.52 and Kai finished 2nd overall with a best time of 1:08.60.  Way to go, boys!!

Riley Farrell placed 10th in the 200 yard freestyle representing Beach Cities in the 13 year old age group and earning her a 2nd alternate position for the finals sessions.  Great swim, Riley!

Roger Brown represented the 11-12 boys in the 200 yard freestyle.  This was Brown’s first chance at racing the 11 year old age group in this event and went from an 8th place seed to a 5 place finals lock in and an overall finish of 4th and a best time of 2:11.95.  Great effort, Roger!!

The 7-10 boys 200 IM featured Ryan O’Shaughnessey and Brad Diaz.  Both boys raced hard in prelims to lock in a spot in finals.  Ryan started out with a 14th place seed, but earned himself a 6th place spot in the finals heat and a 6th place finish overall.  Ryan dropped over 5 seconds for a final time of 2:39.63.  Teammate Brad Diaz began the race with a 10th place seeding and locked in a 7th place spot for the finals and finished 7th overall with a best time of 2:39.71.  Great effort, boys!!  Alex Crisera also competed in the the 200 IM and held her 5th place seed through prelims and into finals.  She finished with a best time of 2:21.15.

The most exciting races of the day came at the end of the finals session.  The 13-14 girls A and B relays raced for the winners title and the B relay pulled through in the clutch.  Kathryn Doyle, Sophie Kuehler, Riley Farrell, and Nikki Cooper showed the A team who was boss and swam to an impressive 12 second drop and best time of 4:16.36.  Congratulations, girls!! Bragging rights are all yours!!

The final day of Winter JO’s will conclude with the 100 free, 50 fly, 200 breast, 100 breast, 100 back, 100 IM, and the final relays.  STAY TUNED!!