2021 Winter Age Group Championships Recap
2021 Winter Age Group Championships Recap
Despite having a split squad last weekend (three athletes in Texas for Junior Nationals and half a dozen at home sharpening for Sectionals), Beach Cities Swimming still managed to bring the heat to an otherwise chilly weekend at the 2021 Winter Age Group Championships in Huntington Beach! The TEAM finished 3rd overall, with the Women in 2nd place and the Men in 4th. Congratulations to all who participated and poured their hearts out for themselves and their teammates!
Beach 1
This is exciting for me to write because this is the first time I have ever written a championship meet recap for the Beach 1 group! The group had its first individual championship qualifier (Mateo Trombley), as well as two relay qualifiers (Aria Kim and David Arnold). Every member of the group should be proud of this accomplishment. You have each contributed in a positive manner to the culture of the group and helped to create an environment in which these kinds of performances are possible. Congratulations to ALL Beach 1 athletes, but especially Aria, David and Mateo!
David Arnold (7-10 Boys)
Mr. Arnold came to race! To give you some perspective, his best time from a flat start in a 50 Free is 36.16. Both of his 50 Free relay splits at this meet were under :35, with his Free Relay split clocking at 34.05! That Free Relay finished in 10th place and his Medley Relay placed 5th. Never would have guessed that this was his first championship meet, but this was a direct result of his great attitude and effort at practice throughout the season. Congratulations, David!
Aria Kim (7-10 Girls)
Miss Kim made a big contribution to the team effort by leading off the 6th place 200 Medley Relay! Though it was not a personal best swim, this experience will no doubt prepare her for future opportunities at the championship level. Looking forward to what’s to come in 2022 for you, Aria!
Mateo Trombley (7-10 Boys)
Mr. Trombley was the lone individual qualifier from the Beach 1 group (50 Free). He admitted that he had some nerves the first couple of days of racing, but put all of that behind him on day three to smash his personal best in the 50 Back and lead the 200 Medley Relay to a 5th place finish! Gritty performance, Mateo!
Beach 2
Beach 2 took a small contingent down to Huntington Beach for WAG’s this past week, and boy oh boy did they represent our group and BCS very well. Hana Imai qualified for 2 individual events and 1 relay. Penny Chiu and Alex Miyashita were both there to swim in relays. For all three this was their first championship meet but it will most certainly not be their last one. They have their eyes set on Jo’s and JAG now, and I hope to see more Beach 2 faces there as well!
Hana Imai (7-10 Girls)
This was Hana’s first WAG and first championship meet, and she took it in her stride. She qualified for the 50 and 100 breaststroke and managed to drop over a second in her 100! Hana you have come along way from Wahoo’s, keep up the good work Hana.
Hailey Kuo (7-10 Girls)
Hailey, joined us on Sunday at WAG's, she was there to participate in the 200 Medley Relay. Hailey swam the butterfly leg for the relay and she crushed it, she helped the girls snag 6th place overall, scoring us 26 points! Now her sights are set on an individual race at a championship meet!
Penny Chiu (11-12 Girls)
Penny came down on Saturday to participate in the 200 medley relay, she swam the fly leg and she cracked the 30s barrier for the first time! She helped the team come 15th and score 4 points for the team!
Alex Miyashita (11-12 Boys)
Alex was also at WAGs to participate in relays, he was part of the 200 Medley relay and the 200 Free Relay. He swam the 50 free in both relays, and he was so close to breaking the 30s barrier! I know he will go under with his next opportunity!
Beach 3
This group rolled 8 deep into WAG and popped off some very fast swims! 6 were participating in their first championship meet and 5 had qualified for their first individual event at a championship meet. It was great to see so many Beach 3 athletes at this meet, after only 3 had qualified to race at Summer JOs. Onward and upward!
Mazie Adams (11-12 Girls)
Miss Adams put points on the board with her Butterfly leg on the 15th place 400 Medley Relay. She shot out of a cannon her first 50 and paid the price on the back half :-). Great racing experience for her and will no doubt help her learn how to control her race take-out speed. Watch out for Mazie in the future!
Santi Baranda (7-10 Boys)
This was an important meet for Mr. Baranda, as he discovered how influential a positive mental outlook (and preparation) can be to one’s performance. To his credit, he had very high hopes for this meet, but, due to circumstances beyond his control, he was not able to prepare as much as he would have liked to. He had a really solid leadoff swim on the 10th place 200 Free Relay on day 2, but when his first individual race did not go as planned, his disappointment spilled over into his next race. It must be noted that these were Santi’s first championship meet swims, so this is only the beginning for this promising young athlete. Kopf hoch, Santi! You’ve got a lot to look forward to!
Talia Cistone (11-12 Girls)
Miss Cistone made valuable contributions to two of our 11-12 Girls relays, racing the Breaststroke leg on both the 200 Medley Relay (15th place) and 400 Medley Relay (12th place). Though she only raced Breaststroke at this meet, her other strokes are coming along nicely and I have a feeling she will be racing them at meets like this in the future. Another first-time championship meet participant, it was exciting to see her put points on the board and she will have another year in the age group!
Zoey Lewis (11-12 Girls)
Miss Lewis, clearly the fastest swimmer in her heat of the 100 Backstroke, now realizes the importance of starts and turns :-). After a slip on the start put her behind the field, she raced her guts out to catch up, losing a bit of ground on each turn, but racing hard to the finish to post a new personal best time! It was an impressive effort with a positive outcome, and she is now committed to increasing her effort in and out of the walls at practice. Zoey also swam two Backstroke legs on our Medley Relays (both 15th place) and had a monster split of 1:04 (~3 second improvement) on the 8th place 400 Free Relay!
Marin Lohner (11-12 Girls)
Miss Lohner has been on a collision course with championship level racing since the previous season. With her always detail-oriented effort and a big jump in overall practice intensity, she qualified for two individual races (50/100 Breast), getting on the board with a top 16 finish in the 50 and best times in both races at her first championship meet! Marin also represented the team on all four relays in the age group, contributing to scoring efforts (top 16) on all four. Congratulations, Marin!
Adelei Mosteller (7-10 Girls)
Miss Mosteller scored a top 16 finish in her first championship meet race (200 Free) and posted a personal best time in the 100 Back. She always brings the energy on race day and she continues to work on matching that race day energy at practice. In her 7th race of the weekend, Adelei also threw down a great anchor leg on the 200 Medley Relay (6th place)!
Alejandro Safa (11-12 Boys)
Mr. Safa has found another gear in the last month or so and his race day performance has benefited greatly! Despite a check-in hiccup on day one, he rebounded to post personal bests in both Backstroke races and represented the team well with a couple of big relay splits on the 200 Medley and 200 Free!
Patek Wang (7-10 Boys)
Mr. Wang, at only 8 years old, has to be the performer of the meet in the Beach 3 group. With 7 races over 3 days, he started the meet with a nearly 7 second improvement in the 100 Breast and had no intentions of slowing down! Patek posted 100% best times, including a nearly 10 second drop in the 200 IM on the final day of racing! What a gutsy performance by this young man. It’s fun to think that he will still have two more WAG meets in the 7-10 age group :-). Way to go, Patek!
Beach 4
Beach 4 was represented by one swimmer individually, and an additional 4 swimmers for relays. This was the first championship meet for all of these swimmers. All of these swimmers either had best times in their relay splits or were right on their best times, which is great considering it was their first championship meet experience.
Avalon Kim was the only individual qualifier from Beach 4. She qualified for the meet at the Last Ditch meet the week before, and was able to drop another best time in her 100 back, which is hard to do one week later. She split best times in the 400 Free Relay and leading off the 200 Medley Relay, and was right on her times in the 200 Free and 400 Medley Relays.
Justin King was one of the two boys to participate on relays. He had a best time in his 50 breaststroke split in the 200 Medley Relay, and was right on his best time during the 200 Free Relay.
Raya Lluz participated in three relays. She was a last minute addition to one of the relays and stepped up to the plate. She was right on her best times for the 50 free on her splits on the 200 Medley and 200 Free Relays. She split a best time in her 100 breaststroke on the 400 Medley Relay.
Emmory Mosteller was the other boy to participate on relays. He was right on his best time in the 50 back split on the 200 Medley Relay and split a best time in his 50 free on the 200 Free Relay.
Olive Richmon participated in two relays. She was also a last minute addition to one of the relays. She ended up splitting a best time in that relay for the 50 free, going under 30 seconds for the first time on the 200 Medley Relay. She also split a best time in her 100 Free split on the 400 Medley Relay.
Beach 5
Beach 5 were out in force at WAG, every swimmer showed up with a game plan and they executed it very well. My highlight for beach 5 though was seeing how much fun was had by the kids from warm up to warm down and the relays. WAG was proof, if you are having fun you are swimming fast! Now our focus turns to Spring JO, JAG and Summer JO and I hope to have the whole group there, Gabby N you were missed by everyone.
Eryn Arnold (11-12 Girls)
Eryn has had an amazing end to 2021, after dropping consistent time all season, to then come to WAG and have the meet she did was great to see. In all of Eryn’s individual races she placed inside the top 10 besides one (11th). Eryn’s attitude and willingness to attack her races were her highlight though, she is starting to grow into a very accomplished swimmer, and I have a feeling 2022 is going to be a groundbreaking year! I am very excited to watch her progress.
Gabi Brito (11-12 Girls)
Gabi came into this meet with a plan, and she executed her plan very well. She came away with two 1st places and she was our team's highest point scorer with 102 points. Putting all the accolades to the side I was very proud of Gabi for listening to and trusting the advice given to her and for being able to self reflect on her races. Gabi is a racer and I am very much looking forward to spring JO’s!
Sarah Diethelm (11-12 Girls)
This was Sarah’s first championship meet, and she had her best meet of the season! She proved to herself that she belongs with the fastest kids in her age group. Sarah walked away with 5 new best times, and was instrumental in placing our 400 Free relay, 200 Free relay and the 400 Medley relay in the top 3. Sarah’s shining quality over the weekend was she never stopped smiling and laughing, her energy was contagious for the whole group.
Jake Everitt (11-12 Boys)
Jake came into this WAG with a setback, after breaking his finger and then having pins put in it. After having a 2.5 week break to swim the way he did was outstanding. Jake walked away from the meet with 4 best times, but most importantly he is hungry to hit his goals and work hard in preparation for spring Jo’s and I'm excited to be there with him.
Meagan Gordon (11-12 Girls)
Meagan walked away from WAG’s with 4 best times, but her highlight of the meet and one of my swims of the meet was her 200 Im. Coming into the meet she wasn’t too excited to be swimming the 200 Im, but after having a chat and coming up with a race plan, she walked away with a 5.5 second drop and a big smile on her face! Meagan I am proud of your perseverance, that’s what swimming is all about!
Kayla Sun (11-12 Girls)
Kayla had herself one of her best meets ever, not only did she come away with 5 new best times. I witnessed some of the best turns and breakouts I have seen from an 11 year old, and as a coach who focuses on technique and details, I was blown away! Kayla thank you for putting in the work in the practice pool it showed in the competition pool. 2022 is going to be a special year!
Andi Taylor (13-14 Girls)
Andi was Beach 5’s lone teenager at WAG but she carried Beach 5 spirits with her the whole way! After snagging her 100 Fr cut at the last ditch she came to wag and dropped even more time. This was Andi’s first championship meet but it will not be her last, she has also realized she belongs with the fastest girls in her age group.
Max Wang (11-12 Boys)
WAG was Max’s meet of the season, he walked away with 5 new best times missing number 6 by .09! He did get my vote though for the swim of the meet with his 200 Fr! He dropped a massive 4.5 seconds, but the most impressive part was he executed the race plan perfectly. Thank you for trusting in me Max, and let’s make 2022 better than 2021!
Sam Wang (11-12 Boys)
Sam had an up and down WAG, he walked away with 2 new best times and matched his best in everything else. He never let that get to him though as he produced 4 really big swims on the relays and helped the boys earn top 5 in each one. Sam I was very proud of how you conducted yourself and how you were able to bounce back and step up for relays. 2022 is a brand new year, with brand new goals!
Danny Zimmerman (11-12 Boys)
Danny was 5 for 6 on best times at WAG, but if you ask me it’s what he did on the relays that shined the brightest. Not only did he race incredibly fast, he was an amazing teammate, leader and most importantly a great Hype man! Danny, your energy and enthusiasm never faltered over the weekend, and your teammates fed off it. You were a true ambassador to Beach 5 and BCS!
Senior 2
Senior 2 was represented by one swimmer. Joshua Truong swam in two individual races and four relays. He had a best time in his 100 breaststroke and was just off his best time in the 200 breaststroke. He followed up his individual performances with best times in all of his relay splits. He split a best time in his 50 free, 100 free, 100 breaststroke and 50 breaststroke, going under 30 seconds for the first time.
Senior 3
Senior 3 had a great showing at WAG. We had 6 individual qualifiers attend along with 2 additional relay only swimmers which was a huge help to the team. This group has been working hard all season on race pace, walls, strokes and achieving times at the next level and to have so many qualify and attend was amazing. The swimmers conducted themselves well and gained valuable experience racing at the next level. I’m really looking forward to where these athletes will continue to go from here.
Evan Brutscher (13/14 Boys) - Evan was able to swim 5 individual events and dropped massive time in all of them. Evan was also a huge help on the 13/14 boys relays swimming on all 5 of them. Evan continues to work on training the way he races and will be dangerous when that all comes together.
200 Back - 21st 2:12.58 (-8.48)
100 Breast - 24th 1:07.87 (-2.29)
200 Breast - 23rd 2:28.65 (-6.25)
50 Free - 41st 24.86 (-.3)
100 Fly - 59.72 (.2.3) First time under 1:00
Franco Lee (15-18 Boys) - Franco was coming off some holiday time off so we were a bit off our best times but Franco has been working on details and following a race strategy which he did a great job of at the meet. Franco executed his races well and helped some of the younger swimmers. Franco also had a nice 50 breast split on the medley relay going 29.
400 IM - 33rd 4:46.06
100 Breast - 44th 1:06.4
200 Breast - 46th 2:27.42
Chase Little (15-18 Boys) - Chase was a relay only swimmer but proved to be extremely helpful, even offering to come down Sunday at the 11th hour to fill in some relay slots. He split all best times on each relay, getting faster each day.
800 Free Relay - 1:58.76 (Best Time)
200 Free Relay - 24.1
200 Medley Relay - 23.9 (New Best Time from the Night Before)
400 Free Relay - 53.27 (Best Time)
Heather O’Brien (13-14 Girls) - Heather nabbed 3 individual cuts including one the weekend before and managed to drop time from the previous weekend in the 100 fly! Heather was a ray of positivity, learning how to navigate higher level meets and helped on all the relays!
100 Free - 31st 57.47 (-1.00)
200 Free - 24th 2:04.59 (-.48)
100 Fly - 23rd 1:04.03 (-1.05)
800 Free Relay - 2:03 Split
Lucas Ro (13-14 Boys) - This was Lucas’s first championship meet and was extremely helpful on all the relays and spending time with his teammates. While his individual time was a bit off from what he wanted he is learning how to race and train while splitting time with golf. Really looking forward to what Lucas can do with some continued time under his belt.
100 Breast - 31st 1:09.77
400 Medley Relay - 1:09.4 Breast Split
200 Medley Relay - 31.5 50 Breast Split
400 Free Relay - 57.5 100 Free Split
Ben Schlehuber (13/14 Boys) - Ben was our second relay only swimmer again gaining valuable experience at his first championship meet. Ben was a bit off the splits he wanted coming off some vacation time but his determination and focus are exciting and hopefully he will have a slew of individual cuts at the next Champs meet.
400 Medley Relay - 56.9 100 Free Split
200 Medley Relay - 26.37 50 Free Split
400 Free Relay - 58.2 100 Free Split
Kattalee Segal (15-18 Girls) - Kattalee qualified for two individual events and also helped us out on two relays. Kattalee continues to be a leader in the group and brings those around her up with her constant positivity. While her prelims times were a bit slower than her entered times she continued to learn from it and will come back with even more determination.
200 Fly - 2:30.92
200 Breast - 2:45.29
200 Free Relay - 27.9 50 Free Split
400 Medley Relay - 1:19.9 100 Breast Split
Ian Tumamak (13/14 Boys) - Ian swam two individual events on Friday then became relay master for the remainder of the meet. Ian has been a constant of hard work all season at practice and it began to pay off for him big time at WAG. He saw drops in his two individual events as well as his relay splits. With his continued hard work he should have a plethora of cuts next go around.
200 Back - 27th 2:16.42 (-4.69)
100 Free - 62nd 55.65 (added .07 from the weekend before)
400 Medley Relay - 1:04.2 100 Fly Split
200 Medley Relay - 30.0 50 Back Split
400 Free Relay - 55.5 100 Free Split
Senior 4
Senior 4, wow did you guys show up and impress. This is the first time the entire group had WAG times and was able to completely come together for a common goal. This group has put in WORK over the last 3 months including endless hours at the gym and countless early morning swims to prepare for the ridiculously tight turnaround for individual events at finals. You guys handled yourselves well, still gave 100% on relays and never complained. Pyeton Kuo and Farah Bowles managed to snag new Sectional cuts and Peyton had an event win in the 50 free and probably would have had more without the tight turnaround. Shout out to Isabel for showing up Sunday morning and seeing the team area was left messy and cleaning it up - character always matters. Also a shout out to Isaac who unfortunately broke his foot two weeks out from WAG but still came down to support and cheer on his teammates. Looking forward to having you next go around in full force!
Leo Antioco (15-18 Boys) - Leo had a standout meet with big drops in everything, monster relay splits and learning that he can do all the hard things and start achieving the times he wants to achieve. Still some details to polish but this guy raced with some monster splits.
200 Fly - 25th 2:06.61 (-5.37)
100 Fly - 55.22 (-1.5)
800 Free Relay - 1:52.9 Split (best time)
400 Free Relay - 51.62 100 Free Split (best time)
Kotaro Bell (13/14 Boys) - Kotaro had a terrific meet with some big events and monster swims. Kotaro raced well in prelims and then would come back even faster at night, smartly making the adjustments needed for the evening. It’s been fun watching Kotaro begin to embrace and master the longer freestyle events.
200 Back - 7th 2:05.7 (-9.33)
100 Free - 9th 50.08 (-.65)
1650 Free - 5th 17:40.59 (right off his best 2nd time swimming it)
500 Free - 17th 5:04.14 (-5.09)
100 Back - 7th 56.62 (-1.54)
200 Free - 5th 1:47.57 (-1.51)
Anderson Bennett (13/14 Boys) - Anderson had a tough schedule of swims including distance events and endless relays and did a great job conducting himself throughout the meet. Anderson continues to learn how to race the longer distances and is going to be really fun to watch it all come together.
100 Free - 48th 54.34 (-.83)
1650 Free - 8th 18:33.46 (-2.68)
500 Free - 32nd 5:18.01 (-4.7)
200 IM - 50th 2:17.43
200 Free - 43rd 1:59.98 (consistently under 2:00)
Farah Bowles (13/14 Girls) - Farah had a breakout meet grabbing her first Sectional Hard cut in the 200 breast and a bonus cut in the 100 breast and 200 free! Farah is a tough racer and loves to back half a race and run the rest of the heat down the last 50-75 yards. Farah had some tough final turnaround swims and did a great job with that.
100 Breast - 3rd 1:08.51 (-3.93) New Sectional Bonus Cut
800 Free Relay - 1:58.94 Leadoff Split New Sectional Bonus Cut and First time under 2:00
500 Free - 9th 5:19.66 (-9.62)
200 Fly - 17th 2:22.75 (-3.65)
200 IM - 21st 2:19.51 (-2.45)
200 Breast - 3rd 2:27.06 (-3.82) New Sectional Cut
1000 Free - 4th 11:03.26 (-34.53)
400 Free Relay - 55.88 Split for a New Best Time
Fred Brown (15-18 Boys) - Fred opted out of his individual event due to school work but managed best times on all 5 relays! Fred had a pile of cuts but unfortunately aged up right before the meet. Thank you for helping out the team every evening and racing like a monster on the relays.
800 Free Relay - 1:56 Split
200 Free Relay - 23.2 50 Free Split!
400 Medley Relay - 1.00.04 100 Back Split (-1.5)
200 Medley Relay - 27.8 50 Back Split
400 Free Relay - 52.29 Split (-2.0)
Nic Buhl (15-18 Boys) - Nic is coming off high school water polo season but the work he puts in at every BCS practice paid off big time. After just aging up before the meet Nic managed to snag cuts in both the 1000 and 1650…. I’m sure what every swimmer dreams of swimming at their Champs meet. Nic was also a huge help on relays.
1650 Free - 9th 18:04.71 (-18.83)
1000 Free - 17th 10:47.60 (-21.72)
400 Medley Relay - 54.05 100 Free Split
200 Medley Relay - 24.0 50 Free Split
400 Free Relay - 52.8 100 Free Split, dropping 1.2 from the night before
Kaela Hashimoto (13/14 Girls) - Kaela had a great meet, dropping in all her events and racing like a monster. Kaela always has great walls and strokes and it was fun watching her execute her details. Kaela also helped out on relays with a best time in her 100 fly on the medley.
100 Breast - 43rd 1:16.12 (-.88)
200 Fly - 26th 2:27.37 (-4.64)
200 Fly - 35th 2:43.56 (-.79)
400 Medley Relay - 1:06.8 100 Fly Split
Peyton Kuo (13/14 Boys) - Peyton had a breakout meet as well, nabbing an additional Sectional hard cut in the 50 free and winning the event and conducting himself well with a tough schedule of prelims and finals and a mere 6 minutes between finals events. Despite minutes between events Peyton still managed to race the first final and be right on a best time in the second final all three evenings.
400 IM - 3rd 4:19.57 (-4.48)
100 Free - 8th 50.16
100 Back - 9th 56.78 (-1.18)
200 Fly - 2nd 1:59.13
50 Free - 1st 22.06 (-.33) New Sectional Cut
100 Fly - 2nd 54.02
Audrey Lie (15-18 Girls) - Audrey was right at her best times in her individual events and continues to work on aggressive walls, tempo and racing. Her 200s of stroke have finally come together with solid back half splits and Audrey was helpful on relays as well leading some younger team members throughout the weekend including starting and leading dynamic work.
200 Back - 27th 2:20.71
100 Back - 56th 1:05.95
200 Fly - 18th 2:25.30 (-4.48)
100 Fly - 57th 1:05.18
400 Free Relay - 58.4 100 Free Split
200 Medley Relay - 28.58 50 Fly Split
Isabel Merica-Jones (13/14 Girls) - Isabel was a stalwart throughout the meeting, providing leadership, racing to some great times and of course helping clean up the team area without being asked. No one works harder than Isabel at the gym or in the pool so it was super fun to watch her start dropping time Friday morning in the 100 free and then just keep going!
400 IM - 16th 5:06.06
200 Back - 20th 2:22.08
100 Free - 56.81 (-.51)
100 Back - 21st 1:04.63 (-.06)
200 IM - 23rd 2:19.84 (-.60)
200 Free - 18th 2:03.31
200 Medley Relay - 29.87 50 Back Split
400 Free Relay - 56.16 Split
Giulia Paganelli (15-18 Girls) - Giulia showed up Friday ready to race and had solid time drops in both her events. Giulia was also super helpful on relays with some solid splits and best times during the relays. Giulia continues to learn how to apply practice race pace to actual race pace and as it keeps coming together the times will continue to drop.
200 Back - 41st 2:22.83 (-2.59)
200 Fly - 23rd 2:27.79 (-3.63)
200 Free Relay - 26.7 Split
400 Medley Relay - 58.19 100 Free Split
400 Free Relay - 57.13 100 Free Split, 1 second drop from the night before
Adriel Sun (13/14 Boys) - Adriel had a solid meet dropping in almost everything, making some finals and executing plans better in finals for improvement and moving up some places. Adriel is another that continues to work on applying race pace in practice and I cannot wait to see where he goes from there. Adriel was also a huge help on relays.
400 IM - 16th 4:29.53
100 Breast - 5th 1:03.91 (-.30)
800 Free Relay - 1:57 Split
100 Back - 32nd 1:01.75 (-1.27)
200 IM - 38th 2:13.38 (-.01)
200 Free Relay - 23.7 Split
200 Breast - 6th 2:17.08 (-3.18)
200 Medley - 29.15 50 Breast Split
Senior 5
Holy wow! We had some pretty fantastic swims across the board this weekend, so let's take a moment to brag on Senior 5!
Brooke Patel came back from injury to swim (PAIN FREE!!!) two individual events and two relays!!!!
Shea Steggell was another of our injury returnees who put in some WORK on the relays. Her 23.9 split on the 200 FR Relay helped secure a 2nd place finish, and her anchor leg helped lock down 2nd in the 200 Medley Relay as well.
A week removed from qualifying for WAGs in the 400 IM, Ethan Hott turned around a dropped another best time, going 4:44.01. He was a stalwart on the relays, splitting a best time of 1:55.3 on the 800 FR Relay.
James Coyne came back from illness and a forced health break to do some great relay work, and also score a couple of best times. In the 100, he officially got under 50, stopping the clock in 49.69, and went 58.86 in the 100 BK. It's great to have James healthy again!
Catalina Kahan knocked on the door of 1:09 before stopping the clock in 1:10.21 for the 100 BR. She knocked again in the 100 FR before hitting the wall in 55.02. She closed the weekend with a 1:00.63 in the 100 FLY. I don't think that is going to be able to stay closed much longer.
Lucas Sorensen was another relay stalwart on top of his busy individual schedule, and also went toe to toe with Alex in the 500. He got his hand to the wall in 5:02.51 in a thrilling race that was very enjoyable to watch.
Alex Chun dropped 5 seconds in the 200 BK, broke a minute in the 100 BK, and went head to head with Lucas in one of my favorite races of the weekend, the 500 FR. They went after each other for the entire race, with Alex getting his hand to wall in 5:02.66, a 5 second improvement.
Emery Arnold had several good swims this weekend, highlighted by her finals swims in the 50 FR (25.21 - 7th place) and 200 FLY (2:19.78 - 9th place). She has dropped best times in the 200 FR (2:03.59), the 100 FR (54.84), and split a 2:01 as a member of the 800 FR Relay
Andy Pham started his weekend by qualifying for finals in the 200 BK (7th - 2:02.51), went a best timei in the 100 BR (1:06.48) and swam an excellent 100 BK, finishing 9th with a 55.51. He also dropped 3 seconds in the 200 BR (2:24.60)
Kyle Capili swam away with new Sectional cuts in the 50 FR (22.09 ) and the 400 IM (4:14.44), while also finishing 3rd in the 400 IM, 4th in the 50 FR, 7th in the 200 FLY, and 10th in the 200 IM. Kyle came away with best times in the 400 IM, 200 FLY (1:59.13), 200 IM (2:00.65), 50 FR, and broke 1:50 in the 800 FR Relay, splitting 1:48.1.
Tiara Jackson swam further in one event than most of the rest of the meet did for their whole program... and dropped a bomb on her 1650, stopping the clock in 18:15.80 ( a 30 second improvement!) while finishing 4th. She also swam a best time in the 200 BK (2:16.8) and split 1:58 in the 800 Free Relay. And that was just Day 1. Day 2 saw her finish 9th in the 500 FR (5:17.83), swim a best time in the 200 FLY (2:25.90) and swim on two relays. Day 3 was an easy day... just a best time in the 200 FR (2:00.12) and another 30 second time drop in the 1000 (10:50.90 - 5th place). All told, Tiara raced 4750 yards this weekend and swam best times in every individual event.
High Performance
This group of HP kids went down to HB to hit some times and add some great value to the relay scene. Really proud of my kids ability to function and perform when I am at another meet. These guys did really well, with new sectional cuts and Sammie bringing down a new Futures Cut as well.
Mia Crisera
Mia had a great meet considering she came off of a big 4 day Travel Trip for Soccer. Looking forward to seeing what she can do with a little more rest this weekend at Sectionals. Really strong swims under the circumstances and second highest point getter for the older girls.
200 Back - 1st place drop of .83 for 2:07.1
100 Free - 4th place 54.02
200 Free - 2nd place 1:54.7
50 Free - 5th place 24.91
100 Fly - 13th place 1:00.2
200 Med Rel - 2nd place 28.10
400 Free Rel - 3rd place 54.6
800 Free Rel - 4th place 1;57.5
Tyler Campbell
Tyler Grabbed a new Sectional Cut in the 100 Breast with a giant time drop there. Way to go Dr. Campbell. Other times were on or around his best, hoping the next couple days of rest will give him that boost that is needed.
100 Breast - 6th place 3.8 drop for 1:00. 66 and a Sectional Cut!!!!
100 Free - 8th place 49.2
200 Free - 24th place 1:49.4
50 Free - 25th 22.8
200 Med Rel - 8th place 27.86
800 Free Rel - 4th Place 1:52.3
400 Med Rel - 6th Place 1:00.75
400 Free Rel - 7th place 49.09
Sammie Hall
Sammie had some standout swims setting herself up for Sectionals this weekend. Hoping the couple extra days of rest will do the trick and create that little extra pop. Sammie grabbed her first FUTURES CUT in the 100 fly and is looking to do some more damage this weekend. Sammie was the top point scorer for the olders. Way to go Sammie!
200 Fly - 1st place 2:07.1 drop of .77
200 IM - 6th place 2:13.5
200 Free - 2nd place drop of 4.05 for 1:56.4
50 Free - 22nd place 25.6
100 Fly - 1st place 57.33 drop of .27 and Sammie's first FUTURES CUT!
200 Free Rel - 2nd place 24.76
400 Med Rel - 8th Place 1:11.44 Br leg
200 Med Rel - 2nd place 25.8 Fly leg
400 Free Rel - 4th place 54.2
