Seattle Age Group Open Meet Recap

We had a tremendous weekend at the wonderful (and salty) Colman Pool. We saw a lot of swimmers pick up their first or additional PNS Champs cuts, and a whole slew of new motivational times. A big shout out to everyone who picked up their first-ever B time, as there were a lot of you and that first cap feels so good to put on!

Black Group

The Black Group had three swimmers qualify for this meet. It was great to see some of the younger kids in the meet and mixing it up with some of the bigger and older 10&Unders. Great job to all three swimmers!!!!

• Aaradhya Bharadqaj swam three events on a single day of the meet. She did an amazing job in all three with a standout in her 100 Back, where she braved the sun in her eyes with a strong kick and some good body rotation.
• Raya Hari swam on both days of the meets with six swims. She completed her very first long course 50 Fly and 50 Back and dropped time in three other events. Her standout swim was her 100 Free, where she was able to shave off 6 seconds with a super strong kick and long arms.
• Margaret Ursulenko had three events on a single day of the meet. She dominated with a 3/3 in best times. The standout swim for her was the 50 Breast where she took off 12 seconds in the event with a strong and consistent kick for the full 50.

Way to go Black Group Swimmers!!!

Senior Prep

Sr. Prep had an outstanding meet with 217 successful swims and 149 best times. The average time improvement was 0.74 seconds per race. We also had 57 new swims where a swimmer swam a race for the first time! I especially want to give a shout out to Claire Gao, Nora Herman, Piper Wiegand, and Isshin Yokoyama who all swam the 200M Butterfly for the first time. This is a challenging event, and I am so proud of you guys successfully swimming that race with rhythm and tempo and not breaking your stroke. Here are some highlights:

• Sasha Arlouski had a pair of monster improvements, and it was difficult to select one to highlight. He dropped about 11 seconds in both his 200 IM and 200 Free. He mainly has done this with improved technique, but I also love how gritty he is in his races despite the temporary uncomfortableness he may be feeling. He is a racer and does a great job stepping up for race day. He also improved in 5/6 races. Excellent effort Sasha!
• Lola Cheng improved by double digits in her 200 Breast with a fast powerful kick, and very well performed underwater pulls. She rounded out the meet with another huge 7+ second drop in the 200 IM showing how much better she has gotten in all her strokes. Great job Lola!
• Lainey Meyer had such a good 400 Free race. She was pacing really well and had some good races with the other swimmers in her heat. She chased them down on the last 150 or so and finished with a really strong final 100 split. She ended up improving over 9 seconds! She also had a very well done 200 Free where she dropped 5.7 seconds, which is even a bigger improvement when you compare it to the distance swam. Excellent freestyle improvement, Lainey!
• Irene Qu had two amazing races that deserve shout outs. The first was an excellent 200 IM where she improved almost 7 seconds. She raced beautifully from a strategic perspective as well as having some of the very best turns in the group. She also crushed her best 50 Free time by 1.64 seconds, which is also right up there with her 200 IM drop. She has been working on turning over her tempo in freestyle by getting into her catch immediately and it really paid off! Outstanding turn work and outstanding stroke changes, Irene!
• Arjun Yadav had a huge 8.67-second drop in his 400 IM. He has really improved his strokes rapidly, and this is after a beautiful 400 IM earlier in our long course season. Getting two huge improvements in the same race is unusual and impressive. It shows his dedication to changing his technique as well as his ability to push his body at swim practice. He also had an impressive 200 Free where he dropped 5.6 seconds! Nice work Arjun!
• Roman Byelykh had an outstanding 400 Free race. He improved 5.73 seconds by establishing a good solid pace on the first 200, which was faster than his previous best time pace and then had an amazing final 100 with some excellent racing. He also had perhaps a more impressive drop in his 100 Free where he dropped 3.11 seconds with excellent tempo! Excellent freestyle racing Roman!
• Caden Gray’s birthdate makes it challenging to qualify for Summer PNS champs. His best shot was in the 200 Back on Friday. He had a great race with the exception of one turn and made the qualifying time by almost 3 seconds. However, he was disqualified on one of his turns. Heading into the second day, the 100 Back was his next best chance, and he was excited and nervous. He had a great swim with lots of tempo, a legal turn, and he stuck his finish. He ended up with a 1.69-second improvement to pick up his first Summer PNS cut as a 13-year-old. Great perseverance Caden!

Purple Group

Purple Group swam incredibly fast at the meet. There were three swimmers getting their first B time, two swimmers gaining their first BB time, and five swimmers gaining additional B times in LCM. In addition, there were 10 swimmers that were less than 5 seconds off their first B time. The swimmers also did an excellent job executing race strategies and showing awesome technique they have been working on in practice.

• Alex Belkin did a phenomenal job racing at the swim meet. In his 50 Free, he showed awesome speed and was able to drop 3.31 seconds to get his first BB-time as a 13–14-year-old. He got three B times in the 100 Breast, 100 Free, and the 200 IM. He dropped a total of 23.95 seconds!
• Anu Fadnavis had a fantastic meet and got so close to his first B time in the 50 free. He dropped 2.34 seconds in his 50 Free to only be 2.24 away from that B time. He also swam his first ever 200 Breast and nearly the 4:00 mark with a time of 4:07.83! He dropped time in all his 50s totaling a total time drop of 9.61s!
• Alice Khudyakov did an amazing job at this meet. This was her first LCM meet and she crushed it! She got her first B time in the 50 Free by shattering the :40 mark with a time of 36.76! She also showed excellent race strategies in all her races!
• Dima Leonov-Vendrovskiy also swam in his first ever LCM meet and dominated the pool. He swam two B times in his 100 Breast and 100 Free while also gaining his first 13–14-year-old BB time in the 50 Free!
• Lydia Liu is a fantastic swimmer, and she proved that in this meet. Her technique was spot on, allowing her to gain five LCM B times. If you add her SCY B times and her LCM B times, she now has a total of 14 B times!
• Jonah Lynn returned to swimming after a broken risk, proving that nothing will stop him from improving. He only swum one day but had giant time drops in each swim. He dropped just over 11 seconds in his 50 Fly and more than 18 seconds in his 100 Free. He just needs to drop 4 more seconds in his 100 Free to get his first B time!
• Mia Mohr - After working so hard in practice and constantly getting closer to those B times, she finally got her first B time in the 50 Free. This was her first LCM meet, so she didn’t have any time to drop from, but when converting her time to short course yards on the “on deck” app she managed to swim 7 seconds faster in her 50 Breast!
• Serena Tang swam in just her second LCM meet, her first being at the Montana meet just two weeks earlier, and she dropped big time in all her breaststroke events from the Montana meet. She swam close to 12 seconds faster in her 200 Breast and almost 11 seconds faster in her 100 Breast! In total, she dropped a huge 25.68 seconds in just two weeks!
• Carlo Vinnanueva swam fast, showed great technique, and executed awesome race strategies. The way he proved this was by getting a perfect 6/6 B times! He now has a B time in the 200 Breast, 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 Free, 50 Free, and 200 IM. The only event he could drop in was his 100 Breast and he dropped 5.27 seconds in it!
• Eric Zhou swam in his first-ever LCM meet and was less than 2 seconds off getting his first B-time in three different events! He has been rapidly getting faster and it seems he can only continue getting faster. In his 50 Free he was 1.11 off, in his 100 Back he was 0.88 off, and in his 50 Back he was only 0.01 off his first B-time!

High School

We sent two swimmers to the meet, the Wu sisters, both of whom swam fantastic!

• Liya Wu was a perfect 6/6 in best times, including a 4^th place in her 50 Breast (which was a 22-second drop from an old time) and three new BB times. Her best race was the 200 Free where she used outstanding pacing to drop almost 10 seconds.
• Lina Wu had five best times and raced the 200 Free for the first time in long course. She had four Top 8 finishes, led by her 3^rd place in the 50 Breast and a 4.5-second drop in her 100 Breast.

Age Group 1

The athletes came to the meet ready to go after some solid training and focus at practice and it really showed up in the meet. We had several kids pick up their first PNS Champs cuts, more that picked up some additional cuts, and lots of new motivational times. It was a great weekend AND a very legal weekend for our group with only ONE DQ all weekend long. Great job to the whole group!!! Standout Swims of the Meet:

• Aman Bhatt had a great weekend of swimming. He has been working so hard in practice at improving his kick and it showed, especially in both the freestyle and backstroke. He dropped time in 6/6 events with a dominating drop in the 100 back where he crushed the second 50 with a consistent tempo and strong finish.
• Blakely Hansen had a solid weekend of swimming going 4/5 in best times and swimming her first long course 100 Fly. That 100 Fly was her standout for me, where she kept a consistent tempo and low breathing on the second 50 and cruised in her for her very first PNS Champs cut.
• Siena Stahlkopf had an amazing weekend of swimming with three best times and her very first 100 Back. The standout swim of the weekend was her 100 Breast, where she dropped 6.5 seconds by keeping her stroke long and holding a good body line for the entire 100.
• Owen Wilson had a very strong weekend of swimming going 4/4 in best times and completing his first long course 200 Free and 200 IM. He also picked up not just one but TWO AA cuts over the weekend. His standout swim came in his 50 Fly where he kept a strong tempo and rhythm to his stroke for the full 50 and didn’t let his length shorten.
• Avani Yadav had a wonderful weekend of swimming going 6/6 on best times. It is hard to pick a single swim for her, because she crushed every swim that she did. But I would say her 100 Breast was an amazing swim where she kept her arm speed quick on her insweep, especially on the second 50 and glided into an impressive 7-second drop.

Great Job to the whole group and all the swimmers. I am excited to see the group continue their improvements at Champs!!!

White Group

White group had 25 swimmers turn out to represent, most stepping into a long course pool for the first time, but they didn’t flinch in the larger playing field, racing fast swimmers. And now they have a pile of shiny new ‘wins’ to show for it: three swimmers earned PNS Champ cuts: David Rondel (50/100 Fly, 50 Back, 50 Free) , Maja Wang (50/100 Back), and Arifin Capiral (100 Breast); 2 earned first B times: David Li and Bianca Stanciu; one earned a first BB time: Thomas Godbout; and one earned a first A time: Maja Wang! In total White groupers netted 33 new B times, 10 new BB times and 2 new A times. Seriously solid.

• David Li (1st B times in 50 /100 Breast) has had his eye on this prize for a while, creeping up on it in practice time trials. So, this time around, he pulled out all the stops—even wearing a swim cap—and landed 6 seconds under the cut, and most of the way to a first BB time!
• Bianca Stanciu (1st Bs in 50 Free, 50 Breast) aced her first meet in a year-and-a-half, earning her first two B times in back-to-back events. That’s a batting average of a thousand. And it was very nearly higher; she missed BB only by a couple seconds in both! She was a lightning bolt!

• Thomas Godbout (1st BB in 50 Back) in his second long course meet, was two weeks smarter. He knew how to navigate in a LC outdoor pool, and dropped 3seconds in his 50 Back for a first BB time! He very nearly earned a second in his 100 Back as well.

• Ostap Lytvynovskyi earned new B times in his 50 and 100 Breast, even dropping 15 seconds in his 100 Breast in just two weeks! He has always had a fantastic kick, but only recently started to tuck his head in line and ride that kick power twice as far.

Special Shoutouts to the White group Girl Squad who aced all 6 events and helped out the Saturday-only swimmers. This meet was logistically weird, and likely super stressful unless you have awesome friends like these by your side: Heidi Mensching, Asmi Sarkar, Akira Andhare, and Ira Joshi.

Age Group 2

We had a fired up group after practicing all summer at Colman. They came in ready to race and picked up many new PNS cuts, motivational times, huge time drops, and a lot of fun with their friends!

• Arvin Kandiah smashed this meet, going 4/4 in best times and swimming the 200 Breast and the 200 Back for the first time in LCM. His best swim was clearly the 200 Breast, where he earned a BB Time and picked up his Champs cut in his very first attempt after working so hard at improving his glide! Way to fix your stroke and shine, Arvin!
• Rhea Dawani aged up just four days before the meet, so this was her first chance ever at racing the 200 Breast. Not only did she pace the race beautifully by descending her last three 50s, she also picked up a B time and made PNS Champs as well as placing 14^th in the event.
• Fiona Herman had an outstanding meet where she did not swim any of her favorite races. Rather than complain, she instead went 5/5 best times She ended dropping more than 25 seconds in those races. She also raced her first-ever LCM 100 Breast and earned a B time in the race.
• Ilia Maksimchuk has really turned a corner in his ability to practice hard every day and it paid off big time as he dropped in 3 of 4 races and swam two new LCM races: 200 and 400 Free. The only race he didn’t drop in was the 200 Fly, but it was a small add and he still placed 5^th. His standout swim was his 50 Free where he knocked off 2 seconds and picked up his first 11-12 B time.
• Leo Steijn has massively improved his training skills this season and it showed big time at the meet. He dropped time in all his races and swam his first-ever 400m Free, scoring 6^th place. He overcame a tough DQ in his 100 Breast to race an amazing 200 Breast where he slashed 22 seconds off his time from two weeks earlier at Montana.

New US Motivational Times

 AAA 

• Ellen Feng – 100 Fly

 AA 

• Ellen Feng – 100 Back, 50 Free
• Claire Gao – 200 Breast
• Sophia Gorveatt – 200 Free
• Olivia Henaire – 200 IM
• Dami Jung – 200 Breast, 50 Fly
• Lingyi Li – 50 Fly
• Andy Nguyen – 50 & 100 Breast
• Irene Qu – 50 Free
• Owen Wilson – 50 Fly, 50 Back
• Andy Yang – 200 Breast, 200 IM
• Isshin Yokoyama – 50 Free

 A 

• Adele Bokach – 50 Fly
• Addy Clarke – 100 Breast
• Ellen Feng – 200 Free
• Claire Gao – 200 Fly
• Dami Jung – 200 Free, 200 IM
• Lingyi Li – 100 Breast, 50 Back
• Bryan Lin – 50 Free
• Olivia Liu – 50 Free
• Irene Qu – 100 Free, 200 IM
• David Rondel – 50 Back
• Max Smagley – 50 Free
• Aditeya Verma – 50 Back
• Maja Wang – 50 Back
• Alex Wang – 200 Free
• Andy Yang – 50 Back
• Isshin Yokoyama – 50 Fly

 BB 

• Alex Arlouski – 100 & 200 Free, 200 IM
• Alex Belkin – 50 Free
• Adele Bokach – 100 Free, 50 Breast
• Lucy Broyles – 200 Back
• Roman Byelykh – 400 Free
• Deniz Cankaya – 200 Breast
• Arifin Capiral – 50 & 100 Breast
• Aaron Chakraborty – 100 Free
• Ann Ding – 50 & 100 Breast
• Thomas Godbout – 50 Back
• Feifan Gong – 100 Back
• Abby Gray – 100 Free
• Blakely Hansen – 50 & 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Olivia Henaire – 50 Back
• Fiona Herman – 100 Back, 100 Free
• Vivian Hu – 100 Back
• Haim Jung – 100 Breast
• Dami Jung – 200 Back
• Eva Kalicinski – 200 Free
• Arvin Kandiah – 200 Breast
• Maria Kokhan – 100 Breast
• Dmitry Leonov-Vendrovskiy – 50 Free
• Yihan Li – 200 Free
• Bryan Lin – 100 Breast, 100 Free
• Olivia Liu – 100 Back, 400 Free
• Karina Maksyutov – 100 & 200 Free
• Rinat Maksyutov – 100 Free
• Max Malinovskyi – 100 Back
• Andy Nguyen – 100 Back, 100 Free
• Benji Ovendale – 100 Back
• Irene Qu – 200 Free
• Tim Rakovchuk – 50, 100 & 200 Free
• Anika Razdan – 200 IM
• David Rondel – 50 & 100 Fly, 50 & 100 Free
• Sanvi Shrivastava – 50 Back
• Max Smagley – 100 Free
• Beata Sobol – 200 Back, 200 Free
• Siena Stahlkopf – 50 & 100 Breast
• Clara Stevenson – 50 & 100 Back, 100 Fly, 100 Free
• Dan Sun – 100 Back, 100 Free
• Han Sun – 100 Breast, 100 Fly
• Lasya Viswanadham – 200 Free
• Alex Wang – 50 Breast
• Maja Wang – 100 Back
• Owen Wilson – 200 Free, 200 IM
• Lina Wu – 100 Breast, 200 Free
• Liya Wu – 50 & 200 Free, 100 Back
• Arjun Yadav – 200 Breast
• Isshin Yokoyama – 50 & 200 Breast, 200 Free
• Kenshin Yokoyama – 100 Back, 200 IM
• Grace Zhang – 200 Free
• Maggie Zhou – 50 & 100 Breast

 B 

• Phoebe Anderson – 200 Back
• Akira Andhare – 100 Fly, 50 & 100 Free, 50 Back
• Alex Belkin – 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 IM
• Adele Bokach – 50 & 100 Back
• Roman Beylykh – 100 Free
• Arifin Capiral – 50 & 100 Back
• Aaron Chakraborty – 200 Free
• Sebastian Chan – 50 & 100 Breast
• Leo Chen – 100 Breast, 100 Fly
• Lola Cheng – 200 IM, 50 Free
• Rhea Dawani – 100 Back, 200 Breast
• Ann Dinh – 50 Fly, 50 Free
• Ella Gao – 100 Back
• Feifan Gong – 50 Breast
• Abby Gray – 100 & 200 Back, 400 Free
• Zoey Harmetz – 50 & 100 Breast, 50 Back
• Fiona Herman – 50 & 100 Breast, 50 Back
• Haim Jung – 100 Back
• Arvin Kandiah – 50 & 200 Back, 200 IM, 50 Breast
• Alina Karptsova – 50 Free
• Alice Khudyakov – 50 Free
• Maria Kokhan – 100 Fly
• Yu Lam – 50 Breast
• Dmitry Leonov-Vendrovskiy – 100 Breast, 100 Free
• David Li – 50 & 100 Breast
• Yihan Li – 200 Breast
• Lydia Liu – 50 & 100 Breast, 100 Free, 50 Fly
• Olivia Liu – 200 Back
• Ostap Lytvynovskyi – 50 & 100 Breast
• Ilia Maksimchuk – 50 Free
• Lainey Meyer – 200 IM
• Mia Mohr – 50 Free
• Melissa Nguyen – 100 Back
• Maksim Nikitenko – 50 Back
• Ethan Pan – 100 Back
• Anika Razdan – 50 & 200 Back
• David Rondel – 50 Breast
• Asmi Sarkar – 50 & 100 Breast, 50 Back
• Max Smagley – 200 Free
• Beata Sobol – 200 Breast
• Keira Spitze – 200 Free, 200 IM
• Siena Stahlkopf – 100 Back
• Bianca Stanciu – 50 Breast, 50 Free
• Leo Steijn – 100 & 400 Free, 200 Breast, 50 Back
• Dan Sun – 50 Breast
• Aditeya Verma – 200 Free
• Carlo Villaneuva – 100 & 200 Breast; 50, 100 & 200 Free; 200 IM
• Maja Wang – 50, 100 & 200 Free; 100 Fly
• Piper Wiegand – 200 Fly
• Lina Wu – 100 Back
• Doyeol Yang – 100 Free, 50 Back
• Aiden Ye – 50 Back, 100 Free
• Isshin Yokoyama – 200 Fly
• Ally Yuan – 50 Breast, 50 Fly
• Landon Yuan – 200 Breast
• Grace Zhang – 50 & 100 Back
• Serena Zhang – 200 Breast, 400 IM
• Maggie Zhou – 50 & 100 Free, 100 Back

WAVE ON 3!!