2023 Winter Age Group Championships Recap

Winter Age Group Championships (December 8-10, 2023)
BCS athletes battled an extremely competitive field at this year’s edition of the Winter Age Group Championships, once again in beautiful San Clemente.  After two days of racing, the team found themselves firmly in 4th place in the team competition and went on to finish in 4th (combined/women/men) when all was said and done, just off the podium behind the juggernauts of NOVA, ROSE and AZOT.  Congratulations, athletes!

Last weekend we witnessed two BCS athletes become first-time Sectionals qualifiers (Kayla Sun - 100 Back & Joshua Truong - 50 Free) and two more become first-time Futures qualifiers (Meagan Gordon - 100 Breast & Andi Taylor - 50 Free)!

To boot, the 13-14 Girls rewrote the entire BCS relay record book in the age group, winning all 5 relays in the process.  Congratulations to Eryn Arnold, Gabi Brito, Sarah, Diethelm, Meagan Gordon and Kayla Sun!

There was lots of other great racing to report, as well.  Read on for the highlights!


Marlin A
Elliott Poole (7-10 Boys)
Mr. Poole raced the second leg of the 10th place 200 Free Relay and can now say, at just 9 years old, that he has scored points for the team at a Championship meet! His split of 36.8 was just off his best flat start time in the 50 Free. Unfortunately, his other relay was disqualified for an early takeoff, but this will no doubt be an experience he will carry with him throughout the rest of his aquatic journey. Way to go, Elliott!


Beach 1
Maddie Braceros (7-10 Girls)
Miss Braceros popped in on Sunday to lead off the 12th place 200 Medley Relay with a Backstroke split of 41.32, which was a best time by 1.45 seconds.  Her strokes have continued to improve, so much so that she has now landed herself a scoring role at a Championship meet.  Congratulations, Maddie!

Hannah King (7-10 Girls)
Miss King represented on both of the 7-10 Girls relays, splitting 36.5 on the 11th place 200 Free Relay and 45.3 as the Breaststroker on the 12th place Medley Relay.  Her Freestyle split was more than a second faster than her best flat start 50 Free and the Breaststroke split was right on her best time in that event.  This young athlete continues to do great work at practice and it shows on race day.  Outstanding effort, Hannah!

Mackenzie McElroy (7-10 Girls)
Miss McElroy blazed to a 37.5 split on the 11th place 200 Free Relay, coming in more than a second under her flat start time in the 50 Free.  Like her other two Beach 1 counterparts, this too was her first Championship meet action and she did not disappoint.  Well done, Mackenzie!


Beach 2
Alysha Annamalai

Alysha is no stranger to championship meets, as she is a veteran of our 10&under relays. However, this Winter Age Group was extra special as she competed as an individual for the first time, which is something she has been chasing. She swam six individual events and set personal bests in four of them: 100 Back (-2.20), 100 Breast, 100 IM (-2.68), 200 IM (-2.65), 50 breast (-2.80, 1st National ‘A’ time!!), and the 50 Free. On the relay side, she was on the 12th place 200 Medley Relay, where she anchored away in the freestyle, and she almost caught the swimmer in front of her inside the last five yards! I am so proud of you and all the hard work you have put in, Alysha. Your future is bright at BCS!

Angelo Calungcagin

Angelo joined us in San Clemente for the 200 Medley and Freestyle Relays. On the 200 Free relay, he went almost a second faster than his flat start time and helped his team to a top-10 finish (10th). He had a great backstroke leg on the 200 Medley Relay, but unfortunately, the team was DQ’ed over a false start. It was a tough way to end the session, but it did little to stop Angelo’s positive attitude. Fantastic swimming, Angelo!

Theo Haubner

After having a breakout long course season, Theo put his head down and went all in for the short course season. It paid off as he qualified individually for WAG for the first time and went 2/2 on best times: 50 Breast (-1.44) and 100 Breast (-2.64). Apart from competing individually, he was on four 11-12 ‘A’ relay teams! He swam in the 400 Free (9th), 200 Medley (11th), 200 Free (6th), and 400 Medley (9th). You have come a long way, Theo, and I could not be happier with your progress. Plenty of short course swimming is left, so let’s get after it!

Tyson Imai

Another swimmer in Beach 2 who had a breakout long course season, Tyson carried that momentum and came into WAG with a full line-up individually and on the relays. He set personal bests in all six of his individual events: 100 Breast (-0.37, 9th overall, National ‘A’ time!), 100 IM (-5.17), 200 IM (-5.75), 50 Breast (-0.11, 10th overall, National ‘A’ time!), 50 Fly (-0.15), & 50 Free (-0.80). In the 200 Freestyle Relay, he brought it home on the relay, where they finished up in 10th. Unfortunately, alongside Angelo, the 200 Medley relay was disqualified, but it did not take away anything from a highly successful meet. Way to go, Tyson!! There is still plenty of racing left in the short course season, and I am excited to see what you can do!

Colin Ionescu-Macri

In December, Colin did not have any WAG cuts, but then he had a fantastic Last Ditch Meet where he snagged four individual cuts. He came down to San Clemente ready to race, and he went 3/4 on best times: 100 IM (-0.64), 50 Back (-1.14), 50 Breast (-0.85), and 50 Fly. Alongside Theo, he was also on four 11-12 ‘A’ relay teams! He swam in the 400 Free (9th), 200 Medley (11th), 200 Free (6th and a monster split of 25.67!!), and 400 Medley (9th). I am so happy to see that your hard work is paying off. Well done, Colin!

Lucy Song

Lucy’s only event was the 200 Freestyle Relay, and she had a fantastic race. She went 1.11 seconds faster than her flat start (34.02) and helped her team to an 11th-place finish. Even though it was just one day, your effort and commitment helped us in the meet, Lucy. Keep up the great work, and you’ll be there for individual events in no time!


Beach 3
Olivia Chi

Olivia, who has raced consistently well throughout the short course season, now has four more personal bests under her belt! She displayed growth, and focus, and commitment to herself and her team, achieving best times in the 200 Back, 100 Fly, 100 IM, and 200 IM. Her 200 Back was particularly impressive, dropping almost 4.5 seconds and coming out ranked 11th overall! She demonstrated her growth in all areas, dropping another 2.5 seconds in her 200 IM in only a month and a half.

Nina Haubner

Nina had an incredible performance at WAG, and continues to improve across the board! She swam five personal bests, even after recovering from a cold. She powered through the weekend, dropping about one second in her 50 Free, from less than one month ago. She also dropped a significant three seconds in her 100 Free in only one month! In addition, Nina cut almost 4 seconds off of her 100 Back from mid October. She also improved her time in the 100 Breast, from less than 30 days ago by about one second. Her most significant improvement of the weekend was her 4.5 second drop in the 100 IM, which demonstrates Nina’s well rounded growth.

Hana Imai

Hana had, yet another, stellar performance at WAG. She dropped almost 3 seconds in the 100 Breast, achieving the Spring Age Group Champs cut She nabbed this cut even though having swum it less than 30 days prior. She also dropped two seconds in her 100 IM and an additional 3 seconds in her 200 IM. Great job Hana. Keep up the hard work, as you are demonstrating growth in all areas!

Aria Kim

Aria swam incredibly well at WAG this past weekend. She earned three personal bests, yielding massive time drops. She dropped a whopping six seconds in her 200 IM, showing that she is consistently improving in all aspects. In addition, she dropped five seconds in the 100 back and ½ a second in the 100 Breaststroke. I appreciate that Aria asks thoughtful questions when she is training, which lets me know that she is engaged. Keep up the amazing work Aria! Way to represent BCS!

Hailey Kuo

Hailey nabbed four new personal best times out of the five events that she swam at WAG. She also demonstrated vast improvements in Breaststroke, diligently working hard to effectively make the stroke corrections that I have given her. Hailey dropped a massive two seconds in the 50 Breast, achieving the 2024 Spring Age Group championship cut. This was despite having swam it only one month ago! She also dropped two seconds in the 100 Breaststroke, achieving the 2024 Summer Age Group Championship cut. She also dropped another second on her 50 Fly.  Incredible work Hailey!

Madison Manalo-Pavach

Madison did a fabulous job representing her team in relays at WAG! She swam the 50 Breast in the 11-12 Girls 200 Medley Relay, dropping four seconds from her best time! She also swam her fastest ever 50 free time, dropping a massive two seconds and breaking 30 for the first time! Thank you for your hard work Madison!

Adelei Mosteller

Adelei swam the 200 Free, 50 Free, 50 Back, 100 Back and the 50 Fly, as well as multiple relays. I can see the changes that Adelei has been focused on making starting to translate when she races. She dropped one second in the 200 Free and showed improvement in her turns and breakouts. Way to race Adelei!

Barrett Poole

Barrett did a great job representing your team in the 11-12 Boys 200 Free Relay. He swam his fastest 50 Free ever, coming in at 25:06 to snatch up the 2024 Summer Age Group championship cut, as well as the JAG cut for next year. Way to show up for your team when they need you Barret! Nice work!

Eileen Romesser

Eileen swam amazing this weekend! She dropped one second in her 50 Free and broke 1:10 in her 100 Backstroke. I was particularly proud of the way that she executed her races. She fought hard and held on tight for her team! Her most impressive drop was over two seconds in her 100 IM. Amazing job Eileen!

Piper Sootkoos

Piper represented her team in three individual events as well as multiple relays. She achieved best times in all three individual events that she swam. Piper was on her toes and laser focused. She dropped over one second in her 100 Free, 1.5 seconds in the 50 Breast, as well as a slight improvement in the 100 Breast. I am most proud of Piper for the way she supports her teammates. Thank you for all of your hard work Piper!

Mateo Trombley

Mateo did an outstanding job at WAG this past weekend! He achieved 100% best times at this meet, with some substantial drops and even more substantial stroke changes. I can see his focus paying off. He dropped a second in both the 50 and the 100 free, even after struggling with an ankle injury that forced him to only pull for over a week prior to the meet. He also had a strong 50 Back and 50 Breast. Although he did drop about one second in each of these races, I was most proud of how they looked! I can see that Mateo is focused on making the stroke corrections needed to improve. Keep us the great work Mateo!

Patrick Wang

Congratulations to Patrick, who walked away seated second overall in the 50 Breast, 100 Breast, and 100 IM. In addition, he achieved personal bests in four of his six events. He had a fantastic 100 Breast, dropping over two seconds from his time in mid October. The sheer drive and grit that Patrick shows in practice everyday is apparent when Patrick steps on to the block. I cannot wait to see what 2024 has in store for you, Patrick!


Beach 4
Luca Boots
Sprint Sprint Sprint! Luca swam the 50 free and 50 back at WAG dropping .26 and 2.34 seconds respectively. Luca performed incredibly well in 4 separate relays for BCS with significant time drops for the team in all events


Beach 5
Eryn Arnold (13-14 Girls)
Miss Arnold had an outstanding weekend of racing as one of only two Beach 5 athletes to achieve 100% best times.  Her biggest improvement came in the 200 Free (2nd place, -2.43).  She took home two individual titles, winning the 200 Fly and 100 Breast, with both events being new Futures cuts and the 200 Fly a new Team Record!  Her 200 IM (2nd place) was also a new Futures cut and she was part of each of the 5 victorious Team Record-setting relays.  Congratulations, Eryn!

Gabi Brito (13-14 Girls)
Miss Brito lit up the scoreboard at another Championship meet, winning 5 (400 IM, 100 Back, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 200 IM) of her 6 individual events, while posting 6 personal best times on the weekend and demonstrating her versatility.  Her blistering 1:51.88 (-2.18) in the 200 Free was a new Futures cut and her largest improvement on the weekend.  She, too, was part of each of the 5 victorious Team Record-setting relays.  Way to go, Gabi!

Penny Chiu (13-14 Girls)
Miss Chiu got a taste of her first Championship action as a 13 year old, as she picked up a full slate of WAG events throughout the fall invitational circuit.  She posted two new best times in her six individual races, with her best finish (12th) and biggest improvement (-0.44) coming in the 50 Free.  She also made huge contributions on the relay front, highlighted by a monster split of 56.8 on the 3rd place 400 Free Relay.  Each of her four relays scored points, finishing no lower than 7th place.  Great racing, Penny!

Zoey Lewis (13-14 Girls)
Miss Lewis was one of two Beach 5 athletes to achieve 100% best times on the weekend, with 6 coming in individual races and 2 as the Backstroker on the Medley Relays.  Not bad for a weekend’s work!  She took the crown in the 13-14 Girls 1650 Free, with a massive improvement of more than 53 seconds, her biggest improvement of the weekend.  Her 500 Free was also very good (10th place), where she had another big drop of more than 10 seconds.  Her relay swims were also very fast, highlighted by her 1:05 Backstroke split on the 400 Medley Relay and her :58 Freestyle split on the 400 Free Relay.  Well done, Zoey!

Alejandro Safa (13-14 Boys)
Mr. Safa fought valiantly through an illness that knocked him out of the competition on day 1, but he bounced back to score points (10th) in the 1000 Free and drop time in the 200 Fly (-2.24).  His 5 other races were all within striking distance of best times, in spite of his setback.  His splits on the 200/400 Free Relay were both faster than his best flat start times (25.0/54.8) and we were very pleased with his effort throughout the weekend.  Looking forward to seeing what he can do at full strength at the next Championship meet.  Gritty effort, Alejandro!

Kayla Sun (13-14 Girls)
Miss Sun achieved 6 personal bests last weekend, highlighted by her 2.28 second improvement in the 100 Back as the leadoff leg of the victorious 400 Medley Relay, which was also her first Sectionals cut!  She finished 3rd in the 100 Back, 200 IM (-4.92) and 50 Free (-0.20) and was a major player in each of the 5 victorious Team Record-setting relays.  Big weekend, Kayla!

Max Wang (13-14 Boys)
Mr. Max Wang had a great weekend, posting 5 personal bests.  His best finish (4th) and biggest improvement (-2.55) came in the 100 Back.  He also scored in the 400 IM (9th), a race in which he dropped 4.74 seconds.  His relay swims were solid, highlighted by a personal best in the 200 Free (-1.20) as the leadoff leg of the 800 Free Relay, and 3 of his 5 relays landed in the scoring column: 400 Medley (3rd), 200 Free (6th), 400 Free (5th).  Solid weekend, Max!

Sam Wang (13-14 Boys)
Mr. Sam Wang was a regular in Finals last weekend, posting his best finish (4th) in the 200 Back (-0.83).  He also placed 5th in the 400 IM (-4.28), 8th in the 200 Free, 7th in the 200 IM (-2.95) and 7th in the 500 Free (-4.20).  On the relay front, he contributed to two scoring relays: 5th in the 800 Free Relay and 4th in the 200 Medley Relay.  All in all, a great showing, Sam!

Danny Zimmerman (13-14 Boys)
Mr. Zimmerman had a great weekend in San Clemente, posting six personal bests and scoring in three individual races.  He was victorious in the 100 Back, which was also his biggest improvement (-3.39).  He was also 2nd in the 200 Back (-6.10) and 5th in the 50 Free (-0.73).  He made big contributions on all 5 relays, placing as high as 3rd (400 Medley) and no lower than 6th (200 Free).  Well done, Danny!


Senior 2
Adam Kim
Making his debut at WAGs with 4 individual events and 3 relays Adam came into the meet with a mission to drop time. His 200  back dropped half a second, his 100 breast was a half second drop despite having a misfire in the underwater pull down, his 200 IM was 3 seconds drop despite having dropped 2.3 seconds a week earlier at Last Ditch. The 200BR was another phenomenal drop of 4.7 seconds. He went on to represent BCS in 3 relays as well helping them get best times.

Cayden Garcia 

All Gas. No Brake. That was Cayden’s motto for this meet, swimming the mile, 1000, and 500. Dropping 3 seconds in the 500 and posting outstanding splits in all 3 events. Changing his strategy and mentality for the 400IM brought out another 5 second drop and a really well done race. Cayden supported two relays for beach cities as well.

Seb Bystedt 

Coming into the meet not feeling 100% Seb still pulled through best times in the 100 and 200 Breast dropping half a second in the 100 and 3 in the 200. Seb swam twice more for BCS relays.


Senior 3
Koji Konishi
Koji was one of the new athletes to join Senior 3 in August, having aged out of all his cuts. He managed to grab 5 individual WAG cuts in just 3 months and swim a full slate at WAG. Koji Swam in the 400 IM, 200 FLY, 100 Fly, and 200 Back getting the best times in all events. He also swam in the 800 Free relay and had a gaffe where he stopped at the 150 mark and realized he still had another 50 to go. Koji managed to drop 9 seconds in the 200 Free even with a 3-second pause. 

Trey Nilson
Trey was another of our superstars at WAG. When he joined the team in September, having not swum club since he was 8, he also had no cuts. Trey also managed to grab 5 WAG cuts swimming in the 400 IM, 200 Fly, 100 Fly, 100 Free, 50 Free. He went his best time in every event and is knocking on the door of some Sectional Bonus cuts in the 100 and 50 Free. Keep up the hard work and we just might see you at Sectionals in March. 

Kate Lanzdorf
Also swam a full slate swimming in the 100 Free, 200 Free, 50 Free, and 200 Back. Kate's highlights of the meet were some of her relays in which she was 57.8 in the 100 Free and 26.5 in the 50 Free. Keep up the hard work and we just might see you at Spring Age Group Championships. 

Olive Richmon
Olive swam in 5 individual events, the 200, 500, 1000, 1650, and 200 BK. She also swam a full slate of relays as well. She dropped time in all of her events and had some great relay swims. Her highlight swim was the 1650 where she just missed the Senior Development time standard going 19:00.5. 

Hattie Wildes
Hattie swam the 100/200 Bk and Friday and Saturday relays at WAG. Unfortunately, she was sick during the event and did not have the best swims but still showed up and did her best for her team. 

Raya Lluz
Raya swam in the 100/200 BK and 50 Free at WAG. She is just coming off of an injury and still managed to swim right on best times. We hope Raya continues to improve her attendance so that she can get back to swimming best times and heal from her injury faster. 

Jewell Lluz
Jewell swam the 100 Breast 100/200 BK and the 800 Free Relay. Thank you for being an incredible part of the team and always bringing your infectious positive attitude to every meet. 

Sofia Tanner
Sofia is one of the newer athletes on the team joining with a WAG cut in the 500 Free. She managed to add the 200 BK and 200 BR WAG cuts to her slate and swag the 100 BK as a bonus event. Sofia's highlight swim was the 200 BK where she dropped 6 seconds going a 2:19.2.

Madelyn Fu
Maddie swam the 50/100 Free for her individual events at WAG as well as several relays. Maddie has returned to swimming in the last 2 months and is already back to swimming at her best pace. We can't wait to see what Maddie will do for this next season with full attendance. 

Alex Miyashita
Alex swam in 3 events at WAG the 100 and 50 Free as well as the 200 BR going right on best times. Some of his best swims were in the relays, in particular, the 400 Free relays where his relays beat the 15&Over Boys D relay. 

Amelia Tucker
Amelia swam in 3 individual events at WAG the 200 Free 50 Free and 100 Fly. Her best swim was the 50 Free going a 26.1. Unfortunately, she hurt herself early on in the meet otherwise all of her events were on track for some fast swims. 

Derek Huang
Derek has been a part of Senior 3 since I joined the team however he has finally had a breakout season. He grabbed his first WAG cut in the 200 Breast, swimming the 100Br and 200 IM as well. He had a lot of great swims but his highlight was the 200 IM. He showed that he can go out with some speed and hold on. 

Daniel Huang
Daniel also just barely grabbed his 200 BR cut at Last Ditch going a 2:29.98. He swam in the 200/100 Br and the 200 Fly. There were some learning experiences for Daniel at this meet. Daniel is very hard-working and we know we will see him with a full slate of cuts for next year's WAG. 

Annie Conye
Annie Conye was one of our relay-only athletes swimming in the 400-free relay. We hope to see Annie at more practices in the future so that she can qualify for the next WAG with a full slate of individual cuts. 

Kaia Weiss
Kaia is also a relay-only swimmer participating in the girls 200 Free/Medley and 400 Medley Relays. Unfortunately, Kaia got sick during Last Ditch and was unable to qualify for WAG this year. We hope for some better luck next year.


Senior 4
Senior 4 had a great showing at WAG. It has been a goal of mine for a long time to have 100% qualification AND participation at a championship meet this 2023 WAG this finally happened. All 20 members of Senior 4 had qualifying time and everyone showed up and raced. Shoutout to Andi Taylor and Meagan Gordon on grabbing their first Futures cuts and Josh Truong on his first Sectional time.

Boden Allen
Boden has been battling for his 200 Fly cut for over a year and finally achieved his time by over 3 seconds the weekend before at Last Ditch. At WAG he raced his 200 Fly and dropped another 2 seconds to go 2:12! On Sunday Boden also raced the 200 Free where he was right on his best time and then he dropped another .6 in his 100 Fly for a 58.1.

Evan Brutscher
Evan raced a full slate over two days and started his meet with a 2 second drop in the 100 Back going 54.6 and grabbing a spot in Finals where he moved up 2 spots to finish 8th. He also had a great 200 IM dropping 1.5 going 2:03.3. On Sunday Evan dropped 2 seconds in his 200 Free going 1:52. Evan also raced the 50 Free and 100 Fly adding a bit of time. Evan was also a huge help on all the 200/400 Relays including a 3rd place finish in the 200 Free relay.

Isaac Chang
Isaac had a busy meet that started with a small add on his 100 Breast and matching his best 100 Free time. Saturday he swam an impressive 1:58.09 200 Fly to make Finals and finish 7th. Isaac also had a small drop in the 200 IM going 2:00. Sunday Issac had a huge drop in his 200 Breast going 2:09.38 making Finals and finishing 8th. He also had a small drop in his 100 Fly going 52.6 to finish 10th at Finals. Isaac helped on all 5 relays including a 4th place finish in the 400 medley and 3rd place finish in the 400 Free relay.

Miki D’Adamo
Miki raced a lot of yards over the course of the weekend for all the distance events while also channeling her inner sprintiness. She started Friday with an 8.8 second drop in the 400 IM going 4:55 and then finished 5th in the 1650 with a 3 second drop going 18:36. Saturday she had a 3.4 second drop in the 500 dipping under 5:20 for the first time. Sunday she added a bit in her 200 Free but then threw down a monster 1000 Free dropping 18 seconds going 11:02! Miki was a huge help on relays as well including an impressive 55.7 100 Free split.

Sarah Diethelm
Sarah’s meet started off a bit rough with some wedge issues on her 200 Back where she had a great swim but unfortunately was DQ’d for the start. She turned her meet around though in impressive fashion. She matched her best 100 Free time and then helped the 13/14 girls 800 Free relay finish 2nd and set a new team record. Saturday she dropped 2.4 in the 100 Back going 1:00 and finished 7th overall. Sarah also made Finals in the 200 IM finishing 9th and dropping 4.9 seconds going 2:17. Sunday Sarah dropped under 2:00 in the 200 Free for the first time going 1:59 and finishing 8th. Sarah also had a big drop in the 50 Free going 25.17 and finishing 5th. Sarah was a huge help on relays as well.

Jake Everitt
Jake kicked off Friday with a 1.2 second drop in the 100 Free to go under :50 for the first time and finished 5th. Jake also raced the 1650 that day, dropping 52 seconds and grabbing a 3rd place finish. Saturday Jake dropped 1.01 in the 200 Fly going 1:57 and finishing 2nd and also had a nice 2.7 second drop in the 200 IM going 2:06. Sunday he also Finaled in both swims dropping 1.4 in the 100 Fly going 52.2 and finishing 2nd and had a small drop in the 200 Free finishing 9th. Jake was a huge help in all the relays including the 400 Medley that finished 3rd.

Meagan Gordon
Meagan had an amazing meet that started with a 1:05.29 in the 100 Breast for a Futures cut and she finished 3rd. She also dropped a bit in the 100 Free and finished 10th in that. Saturday she dropped a total of 5.5 seconds in the 200 IM to finish 4th. Sunday she raced 3 times which started with a 1.3 second drop in the 200 Breast going 2:25 where she finished 3rd, a small drop in the 50 Free to finish 2nd with a 24.98 and adding a bit in the 100 Fly with a quick turnaround. Meagan was a huge factor on relays, including 1st place finishes in all the 200/400 relays and new team records.

Kevin Han
Kevin started Friday with qualifying for Finals in the 200 Back to finish 5th with a small add. He also made Finals in the 100 Beast, dropping a bit going 1:02.9 and finishing 7th. Saturday Kevin made Finals in the 100 Back adding a bit to finish 4th and matched his seed time in the 200 IM going 2:03.7 and finishing 10th. Sunday Kevin had a 1 second drop in the 200 Breast going 2:18 and finishing 10th and also dropped a bit in the 100 Fly. Kevin was a huge help on relays including a 3rd place finish in the 400 Medley.

Ethan Hott
Ethan was another one with a big distance lineup over the weekend. Ethan had a solid first half of his 400 IM and also had a decent 1650 on Friday finishing 15th. Saturday Ethan also raced the 500 Free and 200 Fly adding a bit. Ethan also raced the 1000 Free on Sunday and was a huge help on relays.

Avalon Kim
Avalon started her meet with a DQ in the 200 Back and a small add in the 100 Free but came back Saturday for a great rest of the meet. She dropped a bit in the 100 Back going 1:00.0 and finished 4th and had a solid 200 IM not too far off her seed time. Sunday she dropped a bit in the 50 free going under 26 for the first time with a 25.96 to finish 8th and a small add in the 100 Fly. Avalon was also a huge help on all the relays including 3rd place in the 400 Free relay 

Franco Lee
Franco had a solid meet including a .7 drop in the 200 IM going 2:05. Sunday Franco dropped 1.1 in the 200 Free for a 1:51 then added a bit in the 200 Breast. Franco also raced the 1000 and had a huge 30 second time drop going 10:38. Franco also raced on all the 200/400 relays where he consistently put up great splits.

Gabby Nicholas
Gabby kicked off her meet with a 5.5 second drop in the 400 IM going 4:53. She also raced the 100 Breast that morning adding a bit going 1:11. Saturday she dropped a bit in the 200 IM with a 2:17. Sunday was Gabby’s strongest day with a nice 4 second drop in her 200 Breast going 2:37 and then a quick turnaround to race the 50 Free and then another quick turnaround to race the 100 Fly where she dropped .7 going a 1:01. Gabby was a huge help on all the relays including a 5th place finish in the 200 Medley and a 56.9 leadoff split in the 400 Free relay.

Heather O’Brien - Heather started Friday morning off with a .5 drop in her 100 Free going 55.9 and followed that up with a small drop in the 1650 to finish 7th with a 19:02. Heather led off the 800 Free Relay with a best time in the 200 Free going 1:57. Heather added a bit in her 500 and 200 IM on Saturday but put up some great relay splits including a 25.5 50 Free split. Sunday she added a bit in her 200 Free from her impressive Friday split but was able to grab an 8th place finish in the 1000 Free with an 11:08. Heather also helped all the relays including a best time in the leadoff leg on the 400 Free relay with a 55.7.

Thomas Romesser
Thomas started with a DQ in the 400 IM but quickly bounced back for a 2.5 second drop in the 200 Back with a 2:07. Thomas also had a monster 15 second drop in the 1650 that morning going 18:02. Saturday Thomas .8 in the 100 Back going 57.6. On Sunday he was right off his best 50 Free time then finished his individual races strong with a 4 second drop in the 1000 going under 11:00. Thomas was also a huge asset on all the relays.

Ben Schlehuber
Ben had a great meet which started with a 2.2 second drop in the 200 Back going 2:04 followed up by a 2 second drop in the 100 Free going under 50 for the first time with a 48.8. Ben leadoff the 800 Free relay with another best time in the 200 Free going 1:49.0. Saturday Ben dipped under the 5:00 mark for the first time in the 500 going 4:59 and also dropped 1.6 in the 100 Back. Sunday he lowered his 200 Free time again with a 1:48.6 and also dropped .2 in the 50 Free going under 23 for the first time. Ben was also a big help on all the relays. 

Bennett Sootkoos
Bennett started off with a 1.2 second drop in his 400 IM to finish with a 4:50 and a small add in his 200 Fly to finish with a 2:14. Bennett came back Saturday evening to help on the 200 Free and 400 Medley relays with some solid splits. Sunday Bennett raced the 200 Breast right on his best time with a 2:32 and then put together a really nice 1000 Free dropping 12 seconds to go 11:01. Bennett was also a help that evening on both relays including a best time 53.0 100 Free split.

Marcus Syring
Marcus put together a really nice meet with a lot of impressive swims. He started off with a 2.6 second drop in the 200 Back going 2:06.9 and then finished 9th in the 1650 with a 13 second drop going 17:43. Saturday he dropped .6 in the 100 Back going 57.7. Sunday he had a 1.3 second drop in the 200 Free going 1:52. Marcus was also a huge help on all 5 relays including a best time 51 split in the 400 Free Relay.

Andi Taylor
Andi arrived Saturday and started with a 20 second drop in her 500 Free going under 5:30 for the first time. She was right off her best time in the 100 Back but then finished with a 2.2 second drop in the 200 IM going 2:16. She also threw down a 53.5 100 Free split in the 400 Medley relay that evening that finished 8th. Sunday she dropped 1.3 in the 200 Free to go under 2:00 for the first time and followed that up with a 1 second drop in the 50 Free to finish with a 23.75 and grab her first Futures cut. She raced that evening to finish 3rd and was under 24 again. Andi was also helpful that evening on both relays that finished 5th and 4th.

Josh Truong
Josh started Friday with a .7 drop in his 100 Breast going 1:02.26 and followed that up with a .2 drop in the 100 Free with a 50.5. That evening he led off the 800 Free relay dropping nearly 4 seconds going 1:51.1. Saturday evening he came back to help on relays and lead off the 200 Free relay going 22.13 and grabbing his first Sectional cut. Sunday he added a bit in the 200 Breast but managed to get near his time from the previous evening again in the 50 Free. That evening he helped on both relays again, going 22.1 in the 50.

Ian Tumamak
Ian started Friday off with a 1.4 second drop in the 400 IM going an impressive 4:23 and then had another small drop in the 100 Breast with a 1:03.2. Saturday Ian dropped 2.5 in the 200 Fly going 2:04 and dropped 3.7 in the 200 IM going 2:03.7. Sunday Ian had a really nice 200 Breast dropping 2 seconds to finish with a 2:18 and added a bit in the 100 Fly to finish with a 57.2. Ian was also helpful on relays Friday and Saturday evening.


High Performance
Kotaro Bell
Kotaro had a very busy weekend at WAGs, as he competed in six individual events as well as all five relay events.  His best swims came in the Backstroke events where he dropped nearly 3 seconds in the 200 to grab a new Sectional cut and secure the event win and also dipped under the 54-second barrier in the 100 for the first time, going 53.92 leading off our 400 Medley Relay!  Kotaro has put in some great training the past few months, and I’m looking forward to seeing him race again at Sectionals this weekend!

Anderson Bennett
Anderson has really been working on improving his attention to details and focus this season, and his hard work paid off in a major way in San Clemente. Not only did he post lifetime bests in all 4 of his individual events, he snagged his second Futures cut in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 57.94, dropped more than 5 seconds in the 200 IM, and dropped almost 3 seconds in the 200 Breast, posting a time of 2:05.0 in prelims before going on to win the event handily at finals.  Anderson will take one more shot at the 200 this weekend at Sectionals to see if he can crack that 2:05 barrier!

Mikki Maemura
Mikki only raced Saturday and Sunday at WAGs, but she was still able to post some impressive results.  On Saturday, she was just off her LTB in the 100 Back in prelims, posting a time of 56.7 before going on to finish runner-up at finals, and she also posted a 1.5-second drop in the 200 IM, showing off her steadily improving Breaststroke leg, and grabbing a new Sectional cut in the process.  Sunday’s highlight was her monster swim of 55.2 in the 100 Butterfly where she shaved 6 tenths off her best, claimed the event win, and got within half a second of her first Junior National cut.  Mikki will also be racing once more this weekend, and I know she’ll be ready to go!

Brooke Patel
Brooke continued a stretch of very strong meets for her at WAGs, and also set herself up well for one last round of racing this weekend at Sectionals.  Her WAGs highlights were her 100 Back where she showed off her new and improved technique by blasting a lifetime best by nearly 4 seconds, the 200 Breaststroke where she qualified for finals with a strong morning swim and then came back at finals to drop another second and establish a new lifetime best, and in her split on the 200 Freestyle Relay where she blasted a 25.94 to show off her sprint speed.  Way to go, B!

Adriel Sun
Adriel has worked hard this season at improving his “off” strokes and expanding his event lineup, and that work really showed through at WAGs.  His best swims of the weekend came on Saturday, first in the 100 Backstroke where he shaved 1.5 seconds off his LTB to post a very solid 55.3 and then in the 200 IM where he first dropped nearly 2 seconds at prelims to dip under the 2:00 mark for the first time and qualify 9th before coming back at finals to drop another half second and ultimately touch the wall in 4th place.  Keep up the good work, Adriel!

Vincent Wang
Vincent put another notch in a great season with a very strong performance down in San Clemente.  His meet was highlighted by some stellar performances in the Backstroke events.  First, in the 200 prelims he dropped nearly 2 seconds to break the 2-minute mark for the first time in his career and sneak back to finals in 10th place; then at finals he dropped ANOTHER 1.3 seconds to post a time of 1:58.6 and finish in 5th place overall.  He was equally as impressive in the 100 where he posted a lifetime best of nearly a second to dip under 53-seconds with a runner-up time of 52.95 at finals.  Vincent also showed off his sprint Freestyle abilities, posting his first sub-22 50 Freestyle with a time of 21.7 and added a great split of 21.57 on the 200 Freestyle relay.  Atta boy, Vince!