Age Group Invitational Division 2 Meet Recap

Wave finished off the regular season in style, sending a strong contingent of swimmers from nearly every workout group to Snohomish for the Fall AGI meet. With every event requiring qualifying times, our swimmers rose to the challenge, delivering standout performance after standout performance. Throughout the weekend, Wave swimmers displayed exceptional sportsmanship as we went head-to-head with SMAC from start to finish. Leading the charge were Jennifer Ji and Jonathan Liu, each capturing four victories and placing in the Top 6 in their remaining events.

Black Group

Black Group just had five swimmers at this meet, but those five swam strong, and the coaches are very proud of them for qualifying for this meet. We tried something a little different this meet by asking the swimmers to check in with the coaches before and after their races instead of us tracking them down. Some of the swimmers did well with this, and some forgot, but it is a good lesson for them, as this will be the expectation whenever they move up from Black Group. Standout swims of the meet:

• Ryan Hu qualified in four races, and his best race of the weekend was definitely his 50 Free, where he raced hard and let it rip.
• Sindy Liu had one race, the 50 Back, and she came ready! She crushed it and earned her first B time! She does an excellent job at practice, and we’re excited to see her race more at Divisionals.
• Daniel Rondel had four races and was terrific in all four, including three new best times and even earning a relay position for the 14U PNS meet. Awesome stuff!
• Sam Ventura had one race, the 50 Free. He raced hard and put a solid race together. The best part was he had fun and came over to talk to be about it with a smile on his face. Love it!
• Kevin Zhang swam two races, and he raced tough in both, including a new best time in his 50 Free, where he used his strong legs to power his stroke!

White Group

White Group had 28 swimmers qualify, and they all came ready to race! We had 72.3% best times, adding 8 new B times, 14 new BB times, and 1 new A time. It was amazing! Standout swims of the meet:

• Mannat Garg had a great meet, earning best times in every race. She earned her A cap in the 50 Back in 37.48. She also dropped 3 seconds in her 100 Free, going a 1:12.88, and dropped 3 seconds in her 50 Breast.
• Naomi Lynn improved every time she touched the water. She dropped more than 8 seconds to get her first BB time in the 100 IM, going a 1:30.97. She doubled down by dropping more than 4 seconds in her 50 Back to pick up another BB time. She wasn't done, however, as she made another BB time in her 50 Breast. Very impressive.
• Agastya Agrawal dropped more than 3 seconds in his 50 Fly to earn his second BB time. He also dropped more than 8 seconds in his 100 Free to almost break the 1:20 mark. Keep up the great work!
• Jojo Burg improved nearly 5 seconds in her 50 Free to earn her BB cap. She also dropped 4 seconds in her 100 Free down to a 1:25.78. Congratulations on all best times!
• Kaitlyn Spooner earned her BB cap in the 100 IM by dropping 4 seconds. She also dropped 4 seconds in her 100 Free to a 1:21.95. Way to go.

Purple Group

Purple Group had a phenomenal showing at the meet. Coming off a challenging week of practice, the athletes showed up ready to swim fast and compete. We had two swimmers qualify for Champs, new B and BB motivational times, and great sportsmanship across the whole weekend. I can’t wait to see what the group does as we head into the Championship season. Standout swims of the meet:

A Group

• Andrew Zhu couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Swimming in five events, he dropped a total of 18 seconds, picked up three new BB times, and two Champs cuts in the 50 and 200 Breast! He has put a lot of work into his endurance within his 200; it paid off this weekend, where he swam a stellar last 50 to drop 5.5 seconds and claim that Champs cut.
• Elijah Guo had a busy weekend at AGI. He swam seven events, including a relay. Dropping in all his events, he continued his time drop spree with an impressive best time in all his events. He bettered his Champs seeds in the 50 and 100 Breast, swam a :28 in the 50 Free for the first time, and added new BB times in the 100 Free and 50 Fly.
• Cayden Smith dominated this weekend, dropping 8 seconds across three events. All season, we have been working on incorporating technique into his speed and production as a sprinter. That work paid off this weekend with a BB time in the 200 IM and a Champs cut in the 50 Back!
• Julia Bouianov had an amazing weekend full of time drops. In her last meet as a 12-year-old, she solidified her place as one of the top breaststrokers in Purple Group. Her standout swim was the 100 Breast where she dropped 17 seconds, swimming herself to her first BB time!

B Group

• Eric Chai is the embodiment of hard work. Every practice, he is determined to improve his technique and work ethic. That hard work paid off this weekend with a 2-second drop and a first-ever B time in the 50 Breast!
• Yulin Chen showed up and showed out in his 50 Back this weekend. All season, he has worked to solidify himself as a strong backstroker; he’s always leading sets and pushing his teammates to race during practice. This weekend, he dropped 2 seconds to earn his first B time!
• Ostap Lytvynovskyi is a prime example of showing up and being ready to race. As one of the quieter kids in the group, he does not ask many questions, but when he gets feedback, he incorporates it right away. This weekend in his 50 Breast, he came off the blocks with a quick tempo and had great underwater pullouts that led him to his first 11-12 B time!
• Bessie Jiang is the only 10&U in Purple Group and shows up every day excited to race the older kids. She takes feedback from her coaches and tries to implement it right away, to better her strokes. At the meet, that passion to swim fast came full circle; she dropped at least a second in all her races, and was the only girl from Purple to swim on a relay for Wave.

High School

High school had some amazing swims at AGI. We not only picked up one new Champs time, but we also added a ton of best times as a group. Standout swims of the meet:

A Group

• Dylan Vu has been working really hard lately so he can get his 100 Free under :50 and get his Sectionals cut in his 50 Free. He inched a bit closer towards his Sectionals cut and the :50 mark!
• Kyra Yuan had a great 50 Breast. She took 4^th for 13-14 girls and dropped half a second. She has also been working on her freestyle mechanics and dropped almost a second in her 100 Free to earn a BB time.
• Jenny Shen has been working on getting her tempo up in all her strokes and swam great! She was able to drop more than 1 second in her 50 Breast! She had a great 100 Free, placing 11^th for 15&O.
• Dima Leonov-Vendrovskiy had some amazing swims. He was dropped time in his 50 Breast and placed 8^th in 13-14 boys. He also dropped time in his 200 Breast and got 9^th.
• Charlie Page has been working really hard on holding a fast tempo. He was able to execute that well and drop almost a second!

B Group

• Tommy Ovendale has been working really hard on endurance and getting his kick up in his free events, resulting in a 1-second drop in his 100 Free. He was really happy and had a huge smile.
• Yifan Xu has been working really hard to perfect his butterfly. He went into this knowing he’d get a time drop. He was able to drop almost 2 seconds off his 50 Fly time.
• Alep Lahiri had some amazing swims. He dropped more than 3 seconds in his 50 Breast and almost 2 seconds in his 100 Free, where he almost broke the 1:00 mark. It won’t be long before he does.

Age Group 1

AG1 has been practicing well over the past few weeks, with the group really starting to understand the skill and progression work we do. They have also been hard at work on their kicking, building some tree-trunk legs for this swim meet. It was awesome to see all that hard work pay off with some great time drops. I can’t wait to keep up the work and see where the group goes during the Champs Season. Standout swims of the meet:

• Teddy Gerber had a great meet, with five best times and some significant time drops. He really dominated his 100 IM, where his stroke improvement on butterfly and breaststroke showed as he dropped 4.5 seconds.
• Yeim Jung had a great weekend and, regardless of his results (which were great), he would be called out since he really put in the work over the past 6-8 weeks. He broke his arm, but kept his attendance up, kicked every day throughout practice, and kept working hard. It showed in his results, too, especially his 50 Back, where he worked those legs for a 1.5-second drop.
• JoJo Miller crushed the weekend, going 6/6 best times. She’s been pushing herself in workouts every day, and it really showed up in the meet. Her standout swim was her 3-second drop in the 100 Back, where she rocked all three turns the same way she does them in practice.
• Claire Wang had some great swims throughout the weekend, and her hard work at kicking in practice really paid off in her sprinting. Her standout was her 6-second drop in her 100 Free, where her stroke stayed strong, and her legs carried her throughout the swim.
• Avani Yadav had an excellent weekend with six AGI Cuts and five best times. She also picked up some new motivational times, crushed her 50 Fly with a 7-second drop by keeping her hips up through the race, and pushed her tempo for a great swim.

Age Group 2

AG2 has been crushing their workouts, and for the second time this month, we witnessed the payoff in our races with massive time drops, many new Champs cuts, and loads of new motivational times. I can’t wait for Divisionals and Champs to watch you all swim at a whole new level! A huge shout out to Lingyi Li, who didn’t just break the 1:00 barrier in her 100 Free, but shattered it, going a :56! Standout swims of the meet:

• Hayley Chou has been battling ankle injuries all fall, but she’s persevered and had a huge 2+-second drop in her 50 Free to earn a new BB time and edge ever closer to breaking the :30!
• Braxton Davis has been learning what it takes to work hard and had a massive payoff at the meet, going 6/6 best times and earning four new motivational cuts. His highlight was his 100 IM, where he attacked every stroke and showed off his much-improved turns to drop 9.46 seconds!
• Berit Dunn turned in several fantastic performances over the weekend and went 5/6 in best times. Her top performance was an incredible 13+ second drop in her 200 Fly to pick up a new Champs cut!
• Elaina Jiang had an incredible meet. She also went a perfect 6/6 and added three new AA and three new A cuts. Her top swim was her 50 Fly, where she broke out strong and finished even stronger, just missing the :30 barrier.
• Avery Lee is AG2’s sparkplug, and she poured all her energy into her races, going a perfect 6/6 best times and earning four new motivational cuts. Her top race was her 100 IM, where she slashed 10 seconds off her best time by going out fast in her fly leg, then sprinting the other three strokes.

Senior Prep

The SR Prep Group crushed the AGI Meet. We have been running through some intense training over the past few weeks since the BISC Meet, and it really showed in all their swimming. It was awesome to see the time drops, and I am excited to see this group compete during the Champs Season. Standout swims of the meet:

• Lucy Broyles has been crushing it in practice and has had excellent attendance. She has also been really focused on improving her backstroke and backstroke start. It showed up big time this weekend with a dominating 200 Back where she dropped more than 13 seconds.
• Henry Cheng has been practicing great and has really turned up the dial for his training outside of breaststroke. Both his 200 IM and 200 Free showed that improvement, where he dropped more than 4 seconds in both events. I was most excited by his great 50 Fly to lead off his 200 IM.
• Rihit Gandhi has been pushing himself hard in practice, aiming for an AG Champs cut. His hard work has really helped improve all his strokes, and he saw that in his 100 IM, where he dropped almost 4 seconds in the event, with all four legs of the event looking great.
• Elizabeth Luo has been working hard at practice and has shown a lot of improvement in her endurance and kick ability. Both skills showed up at the meet this weekend, resulting in four best times. Her standout was her 100 Free, where she shaved more than 2 seconds with a great second 50 that brought her home fast.
• Nika Svirydovich had a great meet after plateauing for a few meets. She stayed positive in practice, kept working hard, and knocked this meet out of the park. Her standout swim was her 200 Breast, where she kept her kick strong throughout and dropped more than 10 seconds.

Senior 1

Senior 1 had 30 swimmers head north to compete. It was a fantastic meet for the group. We had a ton of best times and four new champs cuts. This group has been training very hard, and we went into the meet on only a little bit of rest. It was such a fun time seeing them crush their best times and execute the things we have been working on in practice. It is amazing to see the payoff from all the effort they put in. I am excited to see what they can do when we compete at our Champs meets in December. Standout swims of the meet:

• Gahl Ami ad was determined to repeat his success from long course season in the breaststroke events. He has been working hard on improving his sprint speed. His work showed through as he was able to absolutely crush the 100. He got off to a hot start, going a best time in the 50, and kept his tempo strong all the way to a huge, 4.5-second drop.
• Kamilla Bugaitsova had a splendid meet, going best times in all her races. She is always ready to crush aerobic free, and distance sets, giving her great endurance. However, at this meet she combined her extreme stamina with some excellent opening speed to give herself a monster 2-second drop in the 200 Free, putting her close to breaking the 2:00 barrier.
• Evan Deng has been able to demonstrate great speed but has dedicated himself to gaining endurance for increased success at longer races. He was given an opportunity to use this training in the 400 IM. He got off to a great start then swam a very tough middle 200, attacking both the back and breast legs then came home strong to give himself a 14-second drop and break 5:00 for the first time.
• Ella Tulanon is always willing to take on the distance sets at practices and thrives in the longer events. At the meet she swam an incredible 500 Free. She got off to a great start, then found the pace immediately and fought to hold on before racing to the finish and earning herself a sizeable 5.5-second drop.
• Piper Wiegand competed for the first time since returning to training full-time, now that cross-country season has concluded (which she crushed). She made the most out of her training, going 6/6 best times. She had a stellar 200 Free, using great opening speed and a very strong last 50 to give herself a 3.5-second drop and put her very close to breaking 2:00 for the first time.

Senior Epic

Senior Epic had a powerful and positive AGI weekend! I was glad to see many new best times and great swims without any rest before the meet. I am excited to see how fast we can swim at our Champs Meets in December! A special mention to Oleg Arlouski and Amaris Rus, who are training partners in all butterfly sets and tied in the 200 Fly. It was so much fun to watch their race! And shout out to Daniel Xia, who grabbed two new AAAA Times (200 Free and 200 IM). Standout swims of the meet:

• Amelia Pletosu had great results during the Girls' HS Season and kept up the trend at AGI, swimming three lifetime bests. She has been working on different strokes to improve in IM events, and it showed in her backstroke swims. She crushed her old time in the 200 Back dropping 9 seconds and getting an A Time. Kudos for her solid underwater work during the race.
• Henry Geitz has been crushing his freestyle sets at practice, and he did the same at the meet. He had a great 200 Free, feeling strong and swimming his best “in-season” time, only 2 seconds off his personal best. He was very excited after his race!
• Sophia Gorveatt came to the meet motivated by her strong HS Season and had many solid swims. Her outstanding result was the 200 IM, where she dropped 3.51 seconds, got an A Time, and looked good in all her strokes, including the ones that are not her specialty.
• Peter Hansen was feeling fast and was able to swim very close to his best times in many events. His strongest swims were the 50 and 200 Fly, where he managed to go a best time by shaving off a few tenths in each race.
• Cora Ledrick swam three events only and went a personal best time in two of them. Her strongest swim was the 200 Free, where she got a new Champs Cut and earned an AA Time by dropping half a second from her previous time achieved during the Girls' HS Season.

New US Motivational Times

 AAAA 

• Ellen Feng – 50 Fly
• Daniel Xia – 200 Fly, 200 IM

 AAA 

• Roman Byelykh – 500 Free
• Ellen Feng – 50 & 100 Back
• Caden Gray – 50 Breast
• Jennifer Ji – 50 Fly
• Dami Jung – 100 Breast
• Lingyi Li – 100 Free, 100 IM
• Jonathan Liu – 50 Back, 200 Free
• Irene Qu – 100 Back, 100 & 200 Breast, 50 Free
• Aditeya Verma – 50 Fly

 AA 

• Gahl Ami ad – 100 & 200 Breast
• Roman Byelykh – 50 Fly
• Deniz Cankaya – 400 IM
• Leo Chen – 50, 100 & 200 Fly; 400 IM
• Evan Deng – 50 Fly
• Abby Gray – 100 & 500 Free
• Caden Gray – 50 Free
• Fiona Herman – 100 Fly, 400 IM, 500 Free
• Nora Herman – 200 Free
• Vivian Hu – 100 Back, 200 IM
• Jennifer Ji – 50 Back
• Elaina Jiang – 50 Fly, 50 Free
• Ethan Jin – 50 Breast
• Dami Jung – 400 IM
• Eva Kalicinski – 100 Free, 100 & 200 IM
• Cora Ledrick – 200 Free
• Lingyi Li – 100 Back, 100 Fly
• Olivia Liu – 50 Breast
• Victor Lyakhovitski – 100 Free
• Alissa Nesterenko – 100 Free
• Andy Nguyen – 100 Breast
• Zachary Paulen – 100 Fly
• Lasya Viswanadham – 50 Fly
• Finley Wiegand – 100 Back, 50 & 100 Free
• Grace Zhang – 50 Breast
• Harvey Zhang – 50 Breast

 A 

• Ahana Bhattacharya – 50 Back
• Adele Bokach – 50 Fly
• Norah Braun – 200 Breast
• Lucy Broyles – 50, 100 & 200 Back
• Roman Byelykh – 50 Free, 400 IM
• Deniz Cankaya – 50 Fly
• Leo Chen – 200 Back
• Addy Clarke – 100 IM, 50 Fly
• Evan Deng – 200 Breast
• Berit Dunn – 100 IM, 50 Free
• Mannat Garg – 50 Back
• Sophia Gorveatt – 200 IM
• Abby Gray – 100 Back, 100 & 400 IM
• Blakely Hansen – 50 & 100 Breast, 200 IM
• Nora Herman – 200 IM, 50 Free
• Vivian Hu – 100 Breast, 100 IM, 200 Back, 100 Fly
• Jennifer Ji – 50 & 100 Free, 50 Breast
• Elaina Jiang – 50 & 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 100 Free
• Ethan Jin – 100 IM
• Eva Kalicinski – 100 Back
• Maria Kokhan – 200 Free
• Dima Leonov-Vendrovskiy – 50 Fly
• Lingyi Li – 200 Breast
• Anika Lichtenberg – 50 & 100 Free
• Olivia Liu – 100 Breast, 400 IM
• Victor Lyakhovitski – 200 Free, 200 IM
• Karina Maksyutov – 50 Free
• Lainey Meyer – 200 Free, 50 Fly
• Sofia Minchev – 50 Fly
• Albert O – 100 & 200 Breast
• Zachary Paulen – 50 Free
• Amelia Pletosu – 200 Back
• Maya Razdan – 100 Back
• Max Schrepfer – 50 Fly
• Olivia Sellhorn – 50 & 100 Back, 100 Free
• Jenny Shen – 50 Free
• Siena Stahlkopf – 200 Breast
• Leo Steijn – 100 IM
• Clara Stevenson – 200 IM, 50 Back, 500 Free
• Dan Sun – 50 Back
• Max Sun – 100 Free, 100 & 200 IM, 50 Back
• Nika Svirydovich – 50 Breast
• Ella Tulanon – 500 Free
• Edi Vasilescu – 200 Back
• Aditeya Verma – 100 IM, 200 Fly
• Dylan Vu – 100 Fly
• Natalie Whitbeck – 50 Breast
• Finley Wiegand – 100 & 400 IM, 100 Fly, 500 Free
• Piper Wiegand – 200 IM
• Owen Wilson – 100 IM, 200 Back
• Andy Wu – 50 Back
• Andy Yang – 100 Fly, 200 Back, 500 Free
• Isshin Yokoyama – 50 Free
• Ally Yuan – 200 Free
• Grace Zhang – 50 Free
• Harvey Zhang – 100 & 200 IM

 BB 

• Agastya Agrawal – 50 Fly
• Akira Andhare – 100 Back
• Adele Bokach – 100 IM
• Julia Bouianov – 100 Breast
• Norah Braun – 100 Back, 100 IM
• Jojo Burg – 50 Free
• Deniz Cankaya – 50 Breast, 50 Free
• Katelyn Chen – 200 Breast
• Miley Chen – 100 Breast, 100 Free
• Tony Chen – 50 Back
• Henry Cheng – 200 Breast, 200 Free, 200 IM, 50 Back
• Hayley Chou – 50 Free
• Braxton Davis – 50 & 100 Breast, 100 IM
• Lucas Deng – 100 Back, 100 Free, 100 & 200 IM
• Berit Dunn – 200 Fly
• Joseph Foster – 200 & 500 Free, 200 IM, 50 Breast
• Rihit Gandhi – 100 Free, 50 Breast
• Jason Gao – 50 Back
• Ross Gawthorp – 200 Free, 50 Fly
• Nolan Gu – 100 Back, 100 Free, 100 IM
• Elijah Guo – 100 Breast, 100 Free, 50 Fly
• Raya Hari – 100 Back
• Nora Herman – 50 Back
• Olivia Horng – 100 Back, 200 Breast, 200 IM
• Bessie Jiang – 100 IM, 50 Fly
• Ethan Jin – 50 Back
• Haim Jung – 50 Fly
• Yeim Jung – 50 Back
• Eva Kalicinski – 100 Fly
• Remy Kalicinski – 50 Breast
• Arvin Kandiah – 100 Breast, 50 Fly
• Alex Korolis – 50 Fly
• Priya Lahiri – 50 Breast, 50 Free
• Avery Lee – 100 Back, 100 IM, 200 Breast
• Martin Li – 50 Back
• Sophie Liu – 100 Breast
• Emma Lu – 100 IM, 50 Free
• Elizabeth Luo – 100 Free, 50 Fly
• Jonah Lynn – 50 Fly
• Naomi Lynn – 100 Back, 50 Back, 50 Breast
• Elizabeth Lytvynenko – 50 Back
• Miya Ma – 100 Back, 100 IM
• Finley Meier – 50 Fly
• JoJo Miller – 100 IM
• Sofia Minchev – 100 IM
• Albert O – 100 IM
• Andrew Ouyang – 50 Breast
• Porter Hudson – 100 Back, 50 Breast
• Max Schrepfer – 200 IM
• Olivia Sellhorn – 100 IM, 200 Back
• Cayden Smith – 200 IM
• Kaitlyn Spooner – 100 IM
• Siena Stahlkopf – 100 IM
• Clara Stevenson – 100 IM, 200 Fly
• Dan Sun – 100 Free, 100 & 200 IM
• Nika Svirydovich – 200 Breast, 50 fly
• Aditeya Verma – 200 Back
• Claire Wang – 50 Fly
• Alex Wang – 100 Fly
• Natalie Whitbeck – 100 IM, 500 Free
• Owen Wilson – 200 Breast
• Yifan Xu – 50 Fly
• Arjun Yadav – 50 Fly
• Avani Yadav – 50 Breast
• Owen Yan – 50 Breast
• Aaron Yang – 50 & 100 Breast
• Alex Yang – 100 Free
• Isshin Yokoyama – 100 Fly
• Kenshin Yokoyama – 50 Free
• Kyra Yuan – 50 & 100 Free
• Bella Zhang – 100 Free
• Claire Zhang – 50 Back
• Naomi Zhao – 100 Breast
• Eric Zhou – 50 Breast
• Andrew Zhu – 100 & 200 Breast

 B 

• Abha Acharya – 50 Free
• Kanav Acharya – 50 Fly
• Agastya Agrawal – 50 & 100 Free
• Akira Andhare – 50 Back
• Julia Bouianov – 50 Fly
• Yusuf Cavcic – 50 Breast
• Yulin Cen – 50 Back
• Eric Chai – 50 Breast
• Nigel Chang – 50 Breast
• Mo Chen – 50 Fly
• Braxton Davis – 100 Free
• Arvaan Deshmukh – 100 Free
• Mira Erdim – 50 Breast
• Joseph Foster – 50 Back
• Rihit Gandhi – 50 Back
• Jason Gao – 50 Breast
• Avni Garg – 50 Breast
• Teddy Gerber – 100 Free
• Raya Hari – 50 Free
• Haim Jung – 100 IM
• Arvin Kandiah – 50 Back
• Melanie King – 50 Back
• Anirudh Krishna – 50 Back
• Priya Lahiri – 50 Back
• Avery Lee – 50 Fly
• Sindy Liu – 50 Back
• Patrick Long – 100 Free
• Ostap Lytvynovskyi – 50 Breast
• Eason Mei – 50 Back
• Andrew Ouyang – 100 Breast, 100 IM
• Benji Ovendale – 50 Back
• Asmi Sarkar – 50 Fly
• Bianca Stanciu – 50 Breast
• Zoey Stark – 50 Back
• Josiah Suprato – 50 Free
• Claire Wang – 50 Free
• Yufan Xu – 50 Back
• Avani Yadav – 50 Fly
• Andrew Zhu – 50 Back

WAVE ON 3!!