SRST Champs Qualifier Meet Recap

The Select Team had their final meet before the March Championship Season up at Snohomish last weekend. Many of the older boys only raced on Sunday, as they were participating in the High School State Champs on Friday and Saturday. Wave dominated at the meet, with athletes swimming more of their best events and fewer off events in preparation for March. It was exciting to see how fast our athletes are performing while still in midseason form. We are pumped to see them go even faster in March whether they are racing in Indiana, Boise, or Anacortes!

Age Group 1

AG1 had a great weekend of swimming. The 10&U swam only one day and the session was quick, quick, quick with not a lot of rest between swims for the athletes. The kids did a great job of working through the short rest, warming up and warming down when needed, and staying tough mentally to get up and put together some very strong fast swims. Special Thanks to Coach Jay for covering the AG1 Girls on Saturday so Coach Dillon could watch his son swim at the State Meet. Shout Out Swims of the Meet:

• Maggie Zhou crushed the Saturday of the meet with some great swimming. She dominated her 200 Free with a 5-second drop and a BB time in the event. She had great turns and great underwaters throughout.
• Bella Zhang had a dominant Saturday of swimming as well. She had a fantastic 200 Free with a 13-second drop. Her quality freestyle kept her arms long and her kick going throughout.
• Kenshin Yokoyama had a great Sunday of swimming with a fantastic 200 Free. He dropped just shy of 5 full seconds with some great breakouts and a super-fast back 100 where he brought home the race well.
• Aiden Ye had an amazing Sunday of the meet with some great swims. He dropped 1.5 seconds in his 50 back for a BB Time in the event. He had some fast arms to keep his tempo moving throughout the swim.
• Claire Wang had a great Sunday of the meet also. She crushed multiple events throughout the weekend but her 2.5-second drop in the 100 IM was her standout with four4 great 25s of sprint swimming for each stroke.

Age Group 2

We’ve been working hard in practice and there’s not enough room to congratulate all the AG2 athletes for their amazing performances at the meet. We had a handful of setbacks on Saturday, but the swimmers proved how tough they have become mentally and overcame those setbacks with many awesome performances. Way to go AG2! I’m really looking forward to how well you are all going to perform in March! Bonus shout outs to Finley Wiegand and Owen Wilson, who both broke the :30 in their 50 Free for the first time, as well as all the athletes doing their first 400 IM, 500 Free and 200 Fly! Highlights:

• Keira Spitze got us off to a great start in her 500 Free. Despite her goggles falling down around her neck, she swam tough, kept her eyes open, nailed her turns, and finished strong to drop 6 seconds in the swim!
• Leo Steijn has been crushing it in workout, and it paid off big at the meet. Not only did he drop 42 seconds between his 400 IM and 200 Back, he also earned his first 11-12 A time in the 50 Breast. However, his standout swim was his 50 Free where he used some amazing breakouts and strong kick to break the :30 barrier for the first time!
• Melissa Nguyen had several strong swims but none bigger than her 50 Free where she really cranked up her arm speed to not only pick up a lifetime best, but a BB time as well!
• Lucas Deng went a perfect 7/7 best times, including 14-second drops in both his 200 Back and 200 Breast. His biggest drop came on Friday night in his 500 Free, where he destroyed his previous best by 49 seconds and easily broke the 7:00 barrier!
• Leo Chen also went a perfect 7/7 best times, including a 4^th place in his first-ever 200 Back and a nice 12-second drop in his 200 Free. His highlight swim was his 400 IM where he went out with an outstanding fly leg, held on through his back, the really blasted his breast and free legs to drop 20 seconds and earn an A time!

Senior Prep

The SR prep Group had a very strong swim meet this past weekend. The kids have been working hard and grinding through the past few meets of this year with some off events and with some tired swimming. We took a little more rest this past week heading into the meet and the kids took off with some great swims and some awesome time drops from some. I am super pumped to see where the kids are in their training right now and excited to see where they go at the end of the SC Season at either the SSDL, AGR, or Spring Finale. Great Work SR Preppers!!! Shout Out Swims of the Meet:

• Roman Byelykh had a very strong weekend of swimming with a standout in his 400 IM where he dropped more than 1 minute in the event. He had a great split in his breaststroke leg where the work on his kick stood out.
• Lola Cheng had a tremendous weekend of swimming with a standout in her 200 Free where she went out super strong and held on throughout the swim for a 5-second drop.
• Ellen Feng had a great weekend of fast swimming. Her standout swim was her 100 Fly where she broke the 1:00 barrier for the first time. She had some great underwaters and did a good job of not breathing on her breakout strokes.
• Ilia Maksimchuk had a great weekend of swimming with a standout in his 100 Breast. He dropped more than 2.5 seconds and had strong pull outs as well as a good back 50 to finish the race with a strong time.
• Nika Svirydovich had a great weekend of swimming with some big time drops all weekend long. Her standout swim was her 400 IM where she put together four strong 100s of each stroke and paced it well to be able to finish with a strong freestyle leg at the end, dropping more than 20 seconds.

Senior 1

Senior 1 had 25 swimmers competing at the meet. We started off with a bang Friday night absolutely crushing the 400 IM. From there the group kept the momentum and turned in several awesome swims throughout the meet. It was greast to see them compete at such a high level after all the work they have put in so far this season. It was really fun for me to see them race so well and work on a lot of the smaller details we have focused on in practices. I am looking forward to some lights out swimming at our taper meets in March. Highlights:

• Arya Bhatt has been working hard on his butterfly endurance and his overall race strategy. He showed off that hard work by turning in a stunning 200 Fly. He got out after it fast but didn’t over swim then stayed stronger throughout the rest of the race than he has in the past. He did an excellent job putting his head down and finishing fast resulting in a monster 7-second drop.
• Daniel Chen has been on the grind since the completion of his high school season. The hard work he has been putting in paid off in a big way at the meet as he dropped time in several events and was right on his best in his others. He had a phenomenal swim in the 200 IM. He got off to a blazing start then swam a strong middle 100 and used his distance training to turn in a quick final 50 giving him a 9-second drop and putting him under 2:10 for the first time.
• Bennett Geitz has been working hard to improve his sprint races. He got a chance to swim some of the shorter events at the meet and capitalized on the opportunity. He has really been working hard to have a quick 100 Breast but has been stuck for a little while. This would prove to be the meet that he blasted through that barrier as he got off to a strong start and held on for a fast second 50 giving him a solid 2-second drop.
• Ani Purkayastha has been battling illness and some injury issues, but she didn’t let that stop her from putting up some stellar performances at the meet. She has been working hard to return to form with her underwater speed and that really showed as she was absolutely crushing opponents off the walls. She used her great dolphin kick and some much improved tempo to turn in an incredible 100 Fly, dropping a second and pushing her closer to breaking the 1:00 barrier.
• Maya Surugiu used this meet as a tune up before her taper meets, swimming many of her main races. She showed great tenacity, closing all her races incredibly well and turning in solid swims in every event. Her biggest focus was the 200 Breast, which went super well. She had a solid first 50 then split evenly the rest of the way using great pullouts and adjusting her tempo as the race went on. She was just off her best time, and it was a great preview of what she can do in the event once she is rested.

Senior Epic

Senior Epic had a positive weekend with many fast swims and best times at the meet. We stayed consistent and kept our hard training through the week, so it was great to see how the group raced well and executed some of the things that we have been working on at practice! Our next meet is around the corner and I can't wait to see this group racing in Indiana! Enjoy some highlights from our group:

• Bianca Bensen has been working on her freestyle and learning how to swim with a higher tempo at practice and it showed in the 50 Free where she went a personal best dropping almost a full second and earning an A Time. Besides that, she had a strong meet, swimming right at her time in other events.
• Oleg Arlouski swam two days at High School State Champs and joined our us for the last day of the meet. He had a good day where he went a best time in the 50 Free dropping 0.73 and swam right at his best time in the 200 Back.
• Iris Huang was feeling strong and had several fast swims at the meet including two best times. She dropped 2.83 seconds in the 200 Breast, another 1.20 seconds in the 200 Fly and was very excited to swim right at her time in the 50 Free, one of her favorite events.
• Peter Hansen had solid swims, showed consistency in his events all weekend long and was happily surprised to get a best time in the 50 Free, which is one of his strongest events.
• Hailey Crawford has been recovering from an ankle injury since the end of 2024 and has finally been able to train more with the group for the past month. Since her injury, that was the first meet in which she swam all the events, and she is looking forward to another month of training before the SSDL Champs Meet in March.

New US Motivational Times

 AAA 

• Ellen Feng – 200 & 400 IM, 200 Fly
• Finley Wiegand – 50 Free

 AA 

• Alex Arlouski – 200 & 400 IM, 100 Fly
• Deniz Cankaya – 200 Free
• Daniel Chen – 200 IM, 200 Breast
• Elaina Jiang – 200 Free
• Dami Jung – 200 IM
• Olivia Liu – 400 IM
• Anton Mazepa – 200 Free
• Clara Stevenson – 200 Free
• Han Sun – 400 IM
• Finley Wiegand – 100 & 200 Free
• Isshin Yokoyama – 200 & 400 IM

 A 

• Alex Arlouski – 200 Free
• Oleg Arlouski – 50 Free
• Bianca Bensen – 50 Free
• Lucy Broyles – 200 Free, 400 IM
• Leo Chen – 200 & 400 IM
• Henry Cheng – 50 & 100 Back
• Bennett Geitz – 50 Free
• Sophia Gorveatt – 200 Back
• Caden Gray – 200 IM
• Blakely Hansen – 200 Free
• Vivian Hu – 200 Free
• Haim Jung – 50 Back, 50 Free
• Maria Kokhan – 400 IM, 50 Free
• Jonathan Liu – 200 Free, 200 IM
• Olivia Liu – 100 Fly
• Ani Purkayastha – 100 Fly
• Irene Qu – 400 IM
• Amaris Rus – 100 Free
• Leo Steijn – 50 Breast
• Clara Stevenson – 50 Free
• Nika Svirydovich – 100 Breast
• Anna Ventura – 50 Fly
• Maya Wang – 50 Back
• Natalie Whitbeck – 50 Breast
• Finley Wiegand – 50 Fly
• Owen Wilson – 50 Fly
• Ally Yuan – 100 Free

 BB 

• Aman Bhatt – 50 Free
• Norah Braun – 50 Breast
• Roman Byelykh – 200 & 400 IM, 50 & 200 Free, 200 Back, 200 Fly
• Arifin Capiral – 50 & 100 Free, 50 Back
• Emily Caspaar – 100 Free
• Aaron Chakraborty – 200 & 400 IM
• Leo Chen – 50 & 200 Breast, 200 Free
• Henry Cheng – 400 IM, 200 Free
• Addy Clarke – 200 Breast
• Evan Deng – 400 IM
• Logan Downing – 200 Free
• Berit Dunn – 500 Free
• Kaito Falk – 100 Free, 100 IM
• Tyler Fernandez – 50 Breast
• Joseph Foster – 200 Free, 200 IM
• Rihit Gandhi – 400 IM
• Abby Gray – 400 IM
• Caden Gray – 400 IM
• Yuzuki Ishizuka – 400 IM
• Jennifer Ji – 100 & 200 Free, 50 Back
• Arvin Kandiah – 200 & 400 IM
• Yihan Li – 200 Breast
• Jonathan Liu – 100 Breast
• Emily MacDonald – 400 IM
• Karina Maksyutov – 200 & 400 IM
• Rinat Maksyutov – 400 IM, 100 Fly
• Lainey Meyer – 200 Back, 400 IM
• Melissa Nguyen – 50 Free
• Albert O – 50 Breast
• Anika Razdan – 100 Free, 200 IM
• Maya Razdan – 100 Free
• Max Smagley – 200 Free, 200 IM
• Leo Steijn – 200 & 400 IM, 50 Free
• Max Sun – 400 IM
• Nika Svirydovich – 200 Free, 200 IM
• Vedah Tuladhar – 200 IM
• George Ursulenko – 200 IM, 50 Back
• Edi Vasilescu – 100 Fly
• Anna Ventura – 400 IM, 100 Breast
• Maja Wang – 100 & 200 Back, 50 Free
• Owen Wilson – 400 IM
• Alex Yang – 100 Back
• Aiden Ye – 100 IM, 50 Back
• Ally Yuan – 100 Fly
• Landon Yuan – 200 IM
• Grace Zhang – 400 IM
• Maggie Zhou – 200 Free

 B 

• Mira Arora – 100 Breast, 100 Fly
• Aman Bhatt – 400 IM, 200 Breast
• Arya Bhatt – 200 Fly
• Norah Braun – 400 IM
• Arifin Capiral – 200 Free
• Emily Caspaar – 50 Fly
• Leo Chen – 200 Back
• Addy Clarke – 400 IM
• Lucas Deng – 500 Free, 200 Back
• Berit Dunn – 200 Fly
• Theodore Gerber – 50 Back
• Yeim Jung – 50 & 200 Free
• Heidi Mensching – 100 & 200 Free
• Albert O – 200 Breast, 50 Free
• Tim Rakovchuk – 400 IM
• Anika Razdan – 400 IM
• Siena Stahlkopf – 200 Free
• Leo Steijn – 200 Back
• Dan Sun – 400 IM
• Nika Svirydovich – 400 IM
• Margaret Ursulenko – 100 & 200 Free, 50 Back
• Aditeya Verma – 100 & 200 IM
• Claire Wang – 200 Free
• Maja Wang – 400 IM
• Alex Yang – 50 Free
• Kyra Yuan – 200 IM
• Landon Yuan – 400 IM
• Bella Zhang – 50 Fly

WAVE ON 3!!