Junior Nationals Meet Recap
Winter Junior Championships – Austin, TX – December 10-13
Wave was represented by Daniel Xia from Senior Epic at the Winter Junior Championships. This was the second time that he qualified to swim at Winter Jrs. and he had four cuts this year (last year he had only two). He went personal best times in all his events and broke three Team Open Records in 100 & 200 Breast and the 200 IM. These are also Boys 15-16 Records.
Before diving into Daniel's results, I would like to explain how the USA Swimming National Meets are built to follow a progressive tier of cuts. The goal of having different tiers of National Meets is to help swimmers stay motivated to move up to the next level while still offering a very competitive environment for young swimmers. The National Meets are divided in the following meets:
- Futures Championships (LCM) is the first tier of the meets with pretty fast qualifying times (way faster than Sectionals) and it is held in five locations across the country. Swimmers of any age can swim this meet, but there is a specific rule for swimmers over 19 years old who qualify for finals.
- Winter Junior Nationals (SCY) is the second tier with faster qualifying times than Futures and it is held in two locations (West and East). Only swimmers 18&U can swim this meet. This is the meet Daniel competed in last week.
- Summer Junior Nationals (LCM) is similar format to Winter Juniors but in a long course pool and the cuts are the fastest cuts for the Junior level.
Besides these three tiers of National Meets, there are also Open Meets where the cuts are the fastest cuts in the country and where Olympians and college swimmers show up to compete. A few examples of these meets are US Open (SCY), TYR Pro Series (LCM), Summer Nationals (LCM) and Olympic Trials (LCM every four years).
All these meets are a great opportunity to race with some of the fastest swimmers in the country, learn important lessons about swimming in high level meets where there is more pressure to perform, and also gain more experience for upcoming meets. Now, let's dive into Daniel’s swims!
200 IM: 1:48:94 - Open & Boys 15-16 Record
Daniel had a great start and dominated his first day! He dropped 3 seconds and went a best time in the morning. He focused on the middle hundred as planned (Back & Breast) and finished like a boss to win his prelim heat. His outstanding drop moved him up to 25th from 67th place, almost qualifying him for his first finals. He was first alternate and was very happy with his swim.
50 Free: 21.24 - Personal Best Time
He came back to the pool to swim the 50 Free only a few heats after his 200 IM. Although he was still feeling tired from the previous race, he was able to swim his lifetime best, shaving off another 0.08 from his time.
100 Breaststroke: 56.11 - Open & Boys 15-16 Record
He swam the right strategy and looked really strong in the race. He had a tough last turn that changed his pullout and blew his finish. He still dropped 1.38 seconds and is looking forward to another chance to swim the event again this week at Senior Champs.
200 Breaststroke: 2:01.44 – Open & Boys 15-16 Record
He went out fast and followed the race strategy we have been training at practice. He executed solid pullouts the entire race and dropped another second. He also realized that he needs to swim this event more times before his “big meets” to feel more confident with his race.
Congrats, Daniel, for your phenomenal swims in Austin! Your results are a reflection of your dedication, discipline, and commitment to your sport season after season. And there is much more to come!
