The United States hauled in 14 medals on night four of the Junior Pacific Pan Pacs highlighted by a sweep of the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle and multiple meet records. 

Sierra Schmidt paced Team USA in the mile, touching the wall in 16 minutes 24.09 seconds. Isabella Rongione finished second in 16:27.23 and Madison Homovich rounded out the top-three in 16:32.95. 

In the men’s 50m free, Paul Power raced to gold in 22.20. His time set a meet record and also set the 17-18 U.S. National Age Group record. James Jones placed fourth in the event for the United States, with a time of 22.81. On the women’s side, Amy Bilquist earned the top spot on the podium with her swim of 25.04. Stanzi Mosely earned a sixth-place finish with a time of 26.06.

The U.S. also earned gold in both the men’s and women’s 200m individual medley. Andrew Seliskar cruised to the wall in 2:00.81, followed by teammate Curtis Orgen (2:02.21). Ella Eastin took the women’s title with a swim of 2:13.12, while Kim Williams grabbed bronze, touching in 2:14.18.

Townley Haas and Liam Egan went 1-2 in the men’s 800m free. Haas found the wall in 8:00.99, while Egan finished in 8:04.06. 

Emily Kopas earned the bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke with her swim of 2:28.83. Teammate Lilly King placed fourth with her time of 2:29.83. On the men’s side, Alex Evdokimov earned an eighth-place finish with a swim of 2:18.45.

The U.S. won gold and set a meet record in the women’s 400m medley relay. The team of Bilquist, King, Hannah Kukurugya and Katie Drabot finished in 4:03.44. The men also took home gold in the 400m medley relay. The team of Connor Green, Connor Hope, Alex Valente and Haas stopped the clock in 3:39.09. 

Running through Saturday, prelim pool sessions begin at 9 a.m. locally (3 p.m. EDT), with finals set for 5 p.m. locally (11 p.m. EDT). Complete meet details, including a schedule of events, can be found here. 

An exclusive, live webcast of the entire meet is hosted at  USASwimming.org . 

All competing swimmers at Junior Pan Pacs must be ages 13-18 as of the first day of competition. The entire Team USA roster can be found  here .

 

TEAM USA ADDS FIVE GOLD MEDALS ON FRIDAY IN MAUI

 

The United States continued to pile up wins Friday at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Maui. Team USA claimed five golds on the night and added four silvers to their haul including three 1-2 finishes.

 

Courtney Harnish began the evening on a high note by capturing gold in the women's 400m freestyle in a time of 4:09.36. Liam Egan followed matched the feat in the men's 400m freestyle. Egan claimed gold by touching in 3:52.59. Aidan Burns joined the fun with a silver medal, finishing just behind Egan in 3:53.10.

 

The 1-2 trend continued in the men's 100m butterfly. Alex Valente touched first in 52.60 to take the gold while Andrew Seliskar won the silver in 53.14.

 

The final 1-2 American finish of the evening took place in the men's 200m backstroke. Connor Green outpaced the field to grab the gold in 1:59.60. Cory Okubo held off the remainder of the field for the silver in 2:01.17.

 

The United States added one more gold in the night's final event. Paul Powers, Blake Pieroni, James Jones and Townley Haas combined to win the men's 4x100m medley relay in 3:18.68. On the women's side, the Americans claimed silver in the 4x100m medley relay. Stanzi Moseley, Amy Bilquist, Katie Drabot and Katrina Konopka combined for a time of 3:40.14.

 

American perfrormances in other finals Friday night included Madis Homovich finishing fifth in the women's 400m freestyle in 4:14.42. In the women's 100m butterfly Hannah Kukurugya finished fourth in 59.53 and Cassidy Bayer took fifth in 1:00.17. The women's 200m backstroke saw Daniell Gayler finish fourth in 2:13.77 and Emily Allen touch eighth in 2:16.45. 

 

TEAM USA OWNS THE MEDAL STAND ON NIGHT TWO IN MAUI

 

The United States finished 1-2 in three events and claimed a total of seven gold and three silver medals on the second night of action at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Maui. 

 

The meet continues through Saturday in the pool and concludes Sunday with open water competition. A live webcast is available for prelims and finals through Saturday.

 

In the men's 100m freestyle Paul Powers of the United States beat teammate Black Pieroni to the wall by an eyelash to take the top spot in 50.29 with Pieroni taking the silver by the narrowest of margins in 50.30.

 

American dominance continued in the women's 100m breaststroke with Lilly King breaking the meet record and claiming gold in 1:07.98. Jorie Caneta added to Team USA's silver haul, taking second in 1:08.68. Connor Hoppe added another gold for the United States in the men's 100m breaststroke. Hoppe touched the wall in 1:01.68.

 

American Ella Eastin was golden In the women's 400m IM. Eastin out-touched her closest competitor by over two seconds and finished in 4:43.13. In the men's 400m IM the United States took the top two spots handily. Andrew Seliskar touched first in a time of 4:16.05 and Curtis Ogren claimed silver in a time of 4:20.34.

 

The United States capped the evening with golden performances in both relay events. In the women's 4x200m freestyle relay Katie Drabot, Courtney Harnish, Stanzi Moseley and Amy Bilquist combined for a winning time of 8:00.47. The American men followed suit as Townley Haas, Liam Egan, Blake Pieroni and Andrew Seliskar claimed the top spot in a time of 7:21.36.

 

Other American performances in "A" finals on Thursday night included Amy Bilquist finishing sixth in the 100m freestyle in 56.07. Cody Taylor, 100m breaststroke, seventh place, 1:02.94 and Leah Stevens, 400m IM, DQ.

 

BLOGS: 2014 JUNIOR PAN PACS

 

Wednesday, August 27

I don't think there's a better way to begin my first junior national team blog post than to acknowledge that my voice survived one half of one session. There hasn't been a race yet before which the American swimmer hasn't been wholly backed by each of their teammates; I don't think it's a coincidence that we won seven of eight events tonight. 

On the first day of competition, members of the team have had ups, and have had downs. Being one of those swimmers, I can say that having my teammates going crazy on the side of the pool made the lows high and the highs higher. Even after a poor 200 free prelim, I received high fives, hugs, and congratulations from over a dozen other Americans. Identical treatment was shown for the swimmers who won events, broke meet records, and smashed their own personal bests. It's easy to cheer when your teammate is winning; it's American to cheer for them regardless. 

I know (if our voices aren't all lost by tomorrow morning) that we'll bring the heat to tomorrow's prelims, and continue to swim proudly for our country. 

After a mere three days, I can say that I'm prouder than ever to have been given this opportunity to represent my country with such a talented, energized, and supportive group of people. 

Go USA!

 

- Liam Egan

 

Tuesday, August 26
 

Today was our second day in paradise. It was a pretty chill day filled with a lot of down time and relaxing as well as swimming (of course.) It started out with breakfast and then a trip down to the pool for a morning swim to loosen up and get ready for the competition that starts tomorrow, August 27. The girls, however, went over a little later than the boys because we had a little meeting with Olympian Rebecca Soni, about the mental aspects before a race and how to get negative thoughts out of your head/turn them into positive thoughts. We had a little down time between the time we got back from our swim and lunch. After lunch we had about 3-4 hours of even more down time where everyone relaxed and rested. Around 4 p.m. the girls headed off to the pool while the boys then met with Rebecca (and then came over after their meeting.) Once we came back from the second practice of the day, we ate dinner then had a team meeting where a navy seal came to talk to us and shared information with us about his experiences. Once he was done, we finished with some team cheers and videos. Overall it has been a great trip and everyone is excited to start racing. Go USA!

- Katie Drabot

Aloha! Although day two is coming to a close, the energy here in Maui is heating up. Team USA is ready to go for the start of the meet tomorrow after a fun-filled day! Our day began in the morning at 6:30 a.m. with an amazing Hawaiian breakfast. I specifically was up at 5 a.m. to walk down to the beach for some pre-meet meditation and a glimpse of the beautiful view. After breakfast the girls team had a motivational meeting with our mentor, Rebecca Soni. She not only taught us about mental skills to help us in our races but also connected with us on a more personal level by explaining her ideas through experiences similar to ours. Each one of us definitely felt excited to apply what we learned from the session to our upcoming practices and races. Next was practice! Swimming with the team is so much fun because everyone is super energetic and positive! We also enjoy talking to other pan pac teams and making new international friends. Lunch was great, as usual. Team bonding extended from the lunch tables to the team room, where we blasted music and sang along as a group while getting to know each other better. We then returned to the pool for the final practice session of the day. The combination of the splish splash of water and smiles suggested that while team USA was enjoying the pool time, they were also ready for battle. We finished the night off with a special surprise visit from Navy Seal Torey Averick. He informed us on the rigorous trials that he has overcome and that “teamwork is paramount to success.”  We at once broke out into a hair-raising and awe-inspiring Bonzi cheer, which was led by Paul Powers, Connor Green and Navy Seal Torey Averick. Each one screamed at the top of their lungs while flexing their muscles promoting everyone to chant back in excitement. The excitement dulled to a goose-bump infused response to Russell Mark’s National Anthem video, which combined images of both our Nation’s Naval heroes and Olympic swimming champions. To top it all off, Frank Busch gave us an uplifting speech to recognize our USA Swimming Fight Song which is also known as the National Anthem. With honor on the mind, Jack Roach finished the day by passing out our USA caps. These are not only objects to designate our nationality but also symbols of unity, leadership, bravery, and freedom. Team USA, with caps in hand and today’s words of wisdom in heart and mind, is now ready to conquer The Junior Pan Pacific Championships. 

I’d like to give a special shout out to my family, Coach Dave Gibson and Team Swim Fort Lauderdale! Thank you for always supporting me and helping me get to where I am today! 

- Emily Kopas 
 

Monday, August 25

We finally arrived in Hawaii after a long day of travel!  After a short meeting and a small dinner, everyone was given their room assignments and went to their rooms to bed. The next day, everyone was awake pretty early because of the time change. We were able to swim in the competition pool as a team- once in the morning, and then separated in groups in the afternoon. Between sessions, the team had a great lunch at the hotel where all of the countries come to eat each meal. We hung out and relaxed at the hotel and enjoyed the huge view of the ocean and nice weather. Maui and the Wailea Resort where we are staying are beautiful and we are all having a great time being able to stay at a vacation destination. With one day left before the meet starts, everyone is starting to get excited to compete. I am personally excited to get to know all of my teammates and look forward to all the fun the trip has in store for us.