2024 LCM Season Highlights
2024 LCM Season Highlights
Another fantastic season is in the books! In the 2024 LCM season we continued many traditions that have led to success in the pool. These traditions included Sunday morning strength training at Reach Athletics, early morning and late evening practices outside at Quail Ridge, and several Saturday long course training sessions at Harvard. This season we also had many new program offerings. One of our new program offerings this LCM season included wonderful nutrition discussions with USC mom and registered dietician, April Liles. April provided a fun and informative approach to learning about the food and energy needed in order for athletes to make the most of workouts and meets. We were also fortunate to have three fantastic college-aged coaches supporting our program this spring/summer: Adriana Korbly, William Tyrrell, and Chelsea Zhou. We wish them the best of luck in college this fall! Finally, the full Senior Program enjoyed an afternoon together outside of the pool at Kimballs, eating ice cream, playing mini golf, and practicing their driving and hitting skills at the driving range and batting cages.
Senior Spotlight
This past LCM season we had 5 seniors training with us: Estella Cui (Johns Hopkins University), Chris Fahlman (Assumption University), Brendan Flaherty (Indiana University), Nikita Ostapenko (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), and Olivia Sater (Northeastern University). Two of those swimmers will be swimming for their college team and the remaining 3 (plus several other former USC swimmers) plan to participate in club swimming. USC also had 6 seniors who did not compete during the 2024 LCM season, including Ella Bergeron (North Carolina State University), Katie Crowley (University of Vermont), Mitali Deshmukh (Indiana University), Kevin Wang (Northeastern University), Julia Xiao (Cornell University) and Chelsea Zhou (University of Pittsburgh). It has been such an honor and privilege to work with these seniors over the years. We have seen you grow and mature into the incredible individuals you are today. Congratulations and we wish you the best on your next adventure!
New Members to USC
USC welcomed 10 new members to our team this LCM season, rounding out our program to 85 members total. Our newest members: Daniel Belin, Aela Bruno, Emily Chen, Harold Chen, Jack Dailey, Atharva Gulati, Brayden Kavanagh, Henry Mountz, Emma Yan, Jadon Yang.
Championship Meets
Seniors
This past summer, United brought 12 swimmers to the 2024 Senior Championships at Brown University! The Seniors team consisted of: Chris Fahlman, Brendan Flaherty, Andrew Lu, Catherine Newark, Nikita Ostapenko, Han Park, Vance Petrossi, Isabela Teixeira, Luisa Teixeira, Caroline Tyrrell, Nora Williamson and Jadon Yang! Each swimmer had a great meet where they pushed themselves through each of their races and supported their teammates.. Below are some highlights:
Three USC athletes - Chris, Nikita, and Brendan - participated in the Senior Ceremony held on the final day of the 2024 LCM Senior Championships!
Chris and Brendan competed in their first LCM Senior Championships. Chris swam in the 50 and 100 free while Brendan competed in the 100 breast and both had best times in their events!
Andrew swam the 100 back, 200 back, 50 free, 100 fly plus 3 relays. His swims were highlighted by a best time in the 100 back prelims earning him a spot in the finals where he placed 22nd!
After working hard to overcome an injury, Catherine Newark came back strong and swam the 50 free!
Nikita swam the 100 breast, 200 breast, 50 free, 100 free, 200 IM plus 3 relays. He earned best times in all 5 events (the 100 free time came on a relay lead-off)! What a way to end your USC swimming career!
Han swam the 50 free, 100 free, 100 breast and 3 relays. Han’s 50 free time was a best time and narrowly missed the Senior Long Course Zone meet qualification time. He kept at it in time trials and made the qualifying time to earn his first trip to the Senior Long Course Zone Championship meet!
Vance competed in the 100 breast, 200 breast, 50 free and 2 relays. He earned best times in the 100 and 200 breast and in a 100 fly time trial!
Fresh off her return from Brazil, Isabela swam 4 events plus 1 relay. She placed 10th in the 200 IM, 6th in 200 free, and 15th in 100 breast, earning a best time in the 100 breast prelims!
Luisa Teixeira competed in her first Senior Championships as a 12 year old! She qualified and competed in the 100 breast!
Caroline swam the 100 breast, 200 breast, 100 back, 200 IM and was a member of both mixed relays. She achieved a best time in the 100 breast!
Nora Williamsonson swam in the 50 and 100 free earning season best swims to date and was a member of the 400 mixed medley relay!
Jadon Yang swam the 100 free and 100 breast and hit season best times in both events!
The men’s 400 medley relay (Andrew, Vance, Nikita and Han) dropped over 7 seconds in their relay!
The men’s 400 free relay (Nikita, Han, Andrew, and Vance) dropped over 2 seconds in their relay!
Individual Team Records Broken:
Andrew Lu: 17-18 100 back
Nikita Ostapenko: 17-18 100 breast
Han Park: 15-16 50 free
Vance Petrossi: 17-18 200 breast
11-14 AG Championship
The 2024 LCM 11-14 Age Groups was a record breaking meet in SO many ways! This group of 14 athletes came in 11th out of 48 teams in New England scoring 331.5 points overall! This year’s 11-14 AG team consisted of: Jacob Barrett, Ari Baysinger, Willow Baysinger, Felix Cui, Polly Curran, Max Geng, Bree Gouldson, Omar Graia, Ryan Liu, Rithvik Medikurthi, Avi Renhorn, Rokas Rutkauskas, Luisa Teixeira, and Lucy Tyrrell.
Each swimmer had an incredible meet, where they gave each race their all and pushed themselves out of their comfort zone. Below are some highlights:
From the 11-12s:
Ari Baysinger crushed the 100 breast (placing 11th overall), completed in the 100 back, 50 breast (coming in 9th and dropping over 2 seconds!), 200 breast (placing 3rd and dropping over 4 seconds), and had a fantastic 200 back time trial. Ari was also a key member of the 11-12 mix relay team!
Ryan Liu placed 14th in the 50 back (dropping almost a second), came in 12th in the 100 back, placed 12th in the 200 fly (dropping over 2 seconds), and got 13th in the 200 back (dropping over 2 seconds). Ryan was also an essential member of both the 11-12 relays!
Rithvik Medikurthi placed 15th in the 200 free, came in 9th 100 fly, 7th in the 50 free (with a personal best), 13th with the 50 fly, and got 10th in the 100 free (dropping almost 2 seconds) and swam the 100 breast. Rithvivk was another pivotal member of the 11-12 mixed relays!
Luisa Teixeria placed 1st in the 100 breast (dropping over 3 seconds and qualifying for Seniors), 4th in the 100 fly, 7th in the 400 IM, 11th in the 200 IM, 3rd in the 200 fly (dropping over 3 seconds), 2nd in the 50 breast, and 1st in the 200 breast (dropping over 6 seconds to achieve another Seniors qualifying time!!). Luisa received a High Point award, coming in 5th overall for the 11-12 girls!
From the 13-14s:
Jacob Barrett swam in the 100 breast placing 15th overall, swam the 200 free, 50 free, 400 free, and 100 free as well as the 13-14 relays!!
Willow Baysinger completed the 100 fly, 50 free (with a best time), 200 fly, 200 back (dropping almost 2 seconds!), and 100 free (dropping over 2 seconds). Willow was also a member of the 13-14 relay team!
Felix Cui swam in the 100 fly (with a season best), 50 free (dropping over a second), and 100 back (dropping almost 3 seconds), 200 back (with another season best), and 100 free! Felix was an integral member of the 13-14 boys and mixed relays!
Polly Curran completed in the 100 breast (dropping over 1 second), placed 16th in the 400 IM (with a 5+ second time drop), competed in the 200 IM, and placed 15th in the 200 breast (with a season best by 1 second!).
Max Geng qualified for age groups for the first time this season- making the cut the week prior during a time trial in the 50 free! He completed in the 200 IM (dropping over 2 seconds), 50 free (with a season best), 100 back (another season best), and 100 free (dropping over 2 seconds)!
Bree Gouldson swam in the 50 free, 100 back (dropping over 2 seconds), 100 free, and the 200 breast!
Omar Graia swam the 200 free (dropping over 4 seconds), placed 16th in the 50 free, 5th in the 100 back (dropping over 2 seconds), 6th in the 200 back (dropping over 2 seconds), and also swam the 100 free. Omar was a key member of all the 13-14 relays!
Lucy Tyrrell competed in the 400 IM, 200 IM, 50 free, 200 breast, and placed 7th in the 100 breast (with a personal best by over 2 seconds, which qualified her for Seniors!). She was also a key swimmer in both of the 13-14 mix medley relays!
Rokas Rutkauskas qualified for age groups for the first time this season the week prior during a time trial in the 50 free! He swam the 200 free, 100 fly, 50 free, and 100 back (dropping over a second). Rokas also led off the 13-14 relay free relay with a best time!
Avi Reinhorn swam the 100 breast, 200 IM (where he dropped over 3 seconds), 100 back, and 200 breast (where he aso dropped over 3 seconds).
This group came together to dominate in relays:
7th place: 11-12 Mixed 400 Medley: Ryan, Ari, Rithvik, and Luisa
10th place: 13-14 Mixed 400 Medley: Omar, Lucy, willow and Felix
10th place: 11-12 Mixed 400 Free: Luisa, Ryan, Ari, and Rithvik
12th place: 13-14 Mixed 400 Free: Jacob, Lucy, Willow, and Omar
10th place: 13-14 Boys 400 Medley: Omar, Avi, Felix, and Jacob
7th place: 13-14 Boys 400 Free: Rokas, Jacob, Felix, and Omar
Individual Team Records Broken:
Luisa: 11-12 50 breast, 100 breast, 200 breast 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM
Ryan: 11-12 50 back, 200 back
Rithvik: 11-12 50 fly, 50 free, 100 fly
Lucy: 13-14 100 breast
Jacob: 13-14 100 free
Omar: 13-14 50 free, 100 back, 200 back
10 & Under Age Groups
This summer, USC brought seven swimmers to compete in the hot summer heat outdoors at the 10 & Under AG championships: Derin Cobanoglu, Margot Curran, Jaxon Ethier, Zachary Ethier, Grace Feeley, Arthur Feng, and Yisu Shi.
USC came in 15th out of 58 teams with 186 points. All of our swimmers were able to compete in at least one of our 5 relays. All 3 of our girls relays (400 FR, 200 MR, and 200 FR) placed 5th in their respective events with the mixed 200 FR placing 11th!
Each swimmer had at least one best time at the meet with several placing in scoring position! Derin placed in the 100 breast (13th) and 50 breast (9th) going best times in both events. Margot placed in the 400 free (13th) matching her best time. Jaxon placed in the 100 breast (11th) and the 50 breast (15th) going best times in both events. Grace placed in the 50 back (6th) breaking her own team record as well as in the 100 back (12th) going best times in both events. Yisu placed in the 400 free (10th), 200 IM (10th), 100 breast (5th), 50 breast (7th), and 100 fly (10th) going best times in 4 out of these 5 events.
Despite the hot weather and sun in their eyes, the swimmers found ways to stay cool and be supportive cheering each other on all weekend long!
Senior Zones
This season United brought 8 swimmers (3 more than last year) to the 2024 Long Course Senior Zone Championships in Buffalo, NY. This year's team consisted of the following athletes: Chris Fahlman, Andrew Lu, Catherine Newark, Han Park, Vance Petrossi, Caroline Tyrrell, Nora Williamson, and Jadon Yang. Below are some highlights:
Chris, Han, and Jadon competed at Senior Zones for the first time! Chris swam best times in the 100 breast and 100 fly and Han swam a best time in the 100 free. All three boys played a role in the team record setting men’s open 200 free relay!
Andrew Lu swam best times in the 100 fly and 50 free. Andrew also swam the 200 back and finaled in the 100 back, where he placed 12th!
Catherine Newark continued to show progress in her recovery this season swimming the 50 and 100 free and earning a season best time in the 50 free!
Vance Petrossi swam in the 100 breast, tying his best time, and also swam the 400 free, 200 breast and the anchor leg of the team record setting men’s open 200 free relay!
Caroline Tyrrell swam in the 100 back, 200 back, 100 breast and 200 breast. She was a true leader throughout the meet: supportive, positive, and kept the team energy high!
Nora swam a best time in the 100 back (dropping over 1 second), earned season best times in the 50 free and 100 free and also competed in the 200 free.
The Senior Zones swimmers did a great job of cheering for each other, showing up to cheer even if they did not have an event that day, and just really supporting each other throughout the weekend.
Age Group Zones
Age group swimmers in NE are invited to attend Zones as a member of team New England. Participants apply and need to qualify in 3 different individual events to make it onto the team. Luisa Teixeira represented both USC and team New England in this year's Age Group Zone meet in Hampton, VA. Luisa stayed in a hotel with team NE and competed in 5 individual events: the 100 breast, 200 fly, 100 back, 50 breast, and 200 breast. Luisa was also a member of 3 of the 11-12 relays: 200 free, 200 medley, and 400 medley! Congrats Luisa!
Futures
United sent one swimmer, Isabela Teixeira, to the 2024 USA Swimming Futures Championships in Richmond, Virginia. Isabela swam 6 events over the 4 day meet where she made it back to finals in 4 Events: 50 free (15th), 200 free (16th), 200 IM (23rd), and 100 free (28th). With some great swims at the meet she also broke two USC team records in the 17-18 200 free and the 17-18 100 free!
International Meets
This past LCM season, USC had three swimmers, Isabela Teixeira, Luisa Teixeira, and Caroline Tyrrell, compete at international swim meets! Below are some highlights from their international races:
Caroline Tyrrell competed at the XXXVI CCCAN Championships in Monterrey, Mexico with the St Croix Dolphins, representing the US Virgin Islands! She had the opportunity to swim 7 events over 5 days and swam best times in the 100 back, 200 breast and the 50 free!
Isabela competed at the Campeonato Brasilero Interclube Junior de Inverno (National Championship) in Recife, Brazil. Isabela, swimming with Minas Tênis Clube, competed in 8 events over 5 days and swam best times in the 100 back, 200 free, 200 IM, 100 free, 200 breast and 100 fly!
Luisa competed at the Campeonato Mineiro Petiz e Infantil de Natacao (Regional Championship) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She came in 1st place in the 100 breast, 3rd in the 200 breast, 3rd in the 100 fly, 3rd in the 200 fly, and 3rd in the 400 IM!
These swimmers did a fantastic job at these multi day international meets, while balancing the weather, travel, and new swim communities at their respective locations!
