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Relive all the excitement from the 2014 USA Swimming Long Course Junior Nationals.
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Sponsored by Q Swimwear
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THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
SPECIAL EDITION
JR NATS RECAPTOTAL COVERAGE OF THE MEET
ALLIE SZEKELY TO FAME AND BACK AGAIN
YOUTH ATTACKS! THE 14 YEAR OLDS COME
OUT BLAZINGISSUE 1 | AUGUST | 2014
CHECK OUT OUR INTERACTIVE MEDIA GALLERY ON pg 17
RELIVE 2014 USA SWIMMING JR. NATIONALS
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May_14_Online.indd 14 4/24/14 9:34 AM
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04 - 13 | JUNIOR NATIONALS RECAP Full Coverage of 2014 Summer Junior Nationals
15 | THE RETURN OF ALLIE SZEKELY BY DAVID RIEDER
16 | TOWNLEY HAAS EMERGES BY DAVID RIEDER
13 | NATIONAL AGE GROUP RECORDS BY JASON MARSTELLER
14 | ATTACK OF THE 14 YEAR OLDSBY JEFF COMMINGS
17 | JUNIOR NATS MEDIA GALLERY
SWIMMING WORLD SPECIAL EDITIONJUNIOR NATIONALS FULL COVERAGE
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IRVINE, California, July 30. NBAC’s Easop Lee, 14, produced a sterling time of 2:10.40 to win the 200 fly tonight. That dropped a sec-ond off her 2:11.66 lifetime best from the Bulldog Grand Slam, and is the third-fastest time in the 13-14 age division. The great Mary T. Meagher owns the top time there with a 2:07.01 from 1979 that will likely never be touched. Chattahoochee Gold’s Lauren Case placed second in the finale with a time of 2:11.60, while Metro’s Isabella Paez finished third in 2:11.94. Don’t forget to look at the C final below, as the winner would have placed second in the championship heat.
Kingfish’s Madison Wright (2:12.33), Redlands’ Sonia Wang (2:12.72), Longhorn’s Victoria Edwards (2:12.99), SwimMAC’s Caitlin Casazza (2:14.40) and North Carolina’s Madison Homovich (2:16.44) also com-peted in the championship finale. Notably, Jasmine Tosky’s 2:09.28 from 2010 survived another year as the meet record.
Carmel’s Veronica Burchill claimed the B final win with a time of 2:13.10. That’s another second off her lifetime best of 2:14.19 set this morning in prelims. Patriot’s Jen Marrkand chased down second in the conso-lation heat with a 2:13.43, while Tampa Bay’s Christin Rockway snared third in 2:14.24.
Crown Point’s Hannah Kukurugya topped the C final in a time of 2:10.64. That’s a three-second drop from her personal best 2:13.83 from a month ago. Walnut Creek’s Brittany Usinger placed second in the C final with a 2:13.95, while Beach Cities’ Jasmine Margetts posted a time of 2:14.58.
For some reference points, the top 20 in the world currently is anchored by Sakiko Shimizu with a 2:09.19 from the Japan Open. The 2:10s by Lee and Kukurugya are just more than a second off that international-level time, which is pretty special considering we’re talking about a junior national event here.
Men’s 200 flyAquazot’s Corey Okubo could not replicate the speed he had last year in the 200 fly as he won tonight in 1:58.30. That’s just off his lifetime best of 1:58.28 from his swim in Irvine a year ago. But, it was more than enough to win tonight as Upper Dublin’s Michael Thomas took second in 1:59.11 with Pleasanton’s Maxime Rooney also beating 2:00 with a third-place effort of 1:59.26. Arizona Gold’s Mark Jurek raced to fourth in 1:59.41 as he also cleared 2:00.
NBAC’s Cole Buese (2:00.20), KING’s Mathias Oh (2:00.34), Executive’s Matthew Grauslys (2:01.56) and Huntsville’s Zach Harting (2:01.91) also competed for the national title with Oh having a bit of a fly-and-die strat-egy as he went out under meet-record pace with a 56.44 at the 100. He was unable to keep up with the pace that Andrew Seliskar used to win last year as his 1:56.54 meet record will last another year.
Aquazot’s Chris Taber cleared 2:01 for the first time with a 2:00.72 to win the B final this evening. That’s better than his 2:01.46 personal best set in prelims. Indiana University’s Max Irwin hit the wall second in 2:01.50 with Wilton Y’s Ian Rainey and Tule Nation Tri-ton Chris Nolan tying for third in the consolation heat with 2:01.99s. In a close contest in the C final, Birmingham’s Will Freeman tracked down the heat win in 2:01.11 with
Tualatin’s Patrick Mulcare claiming second in 2:01.28. Northern Kentucky Clipper Brendan Meyer also posted a 2:01. with a 2:01.69. Freeman entered the swim with a lifetime best of 2:02.51 from this morning. Continued >>>
USA SWIMMING JUNIOR NATIONALS: REECE WHITLEY’S NAG HIGHLIGHTS NIGHT ONEby Jason Marsteller
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Women’s 100 breastJCC Sailfish Lauren Barber led a quartet of swimmers in the 1:09s with a winning ef-fort of 1:09.72. This morning, she clocked a lifetime best of 1:10.21, and tonight she managed to break through that 1:10 barrier. KING’s Carolyn McCann chased down second-place honors with a time of 1:09.84, while Roadrunner’s Jorie Caneta finished third in the finale with a 1:09.88. Atlantis’ Lindsey Horejsi also put up a 1:09 to take fourth in 1:09.89.
Central Bucks’ Allie Szekely (1:10.12), Shorewood’s Rachel Munson (1:10.19), Canyons’ Nikol Popov (1:10.30) and High-bridge’s Madison Winstead (1:11.01) also battled in the championship heat. Kasey Carlson’s meet record of 1:08.29 had looked to be in trouble this morn-ing, but will add another year to its reign since 2008.
Aspen’s Emma Cain, 14, powered her way to a strong B final win in 1:10.89. This morning, she just missed breaking 1:11 for the first time with a 1:11.00, and to-night she raced right through that barrier. Rose Bowl’s Kirsten Vose took second in 1:11.10 with Loveland’s Morgan Friesen also with a 1:11 as she posted a 1:11.42 for third in the consolation heat.
Fort Collins’ Zoe Bartel edged Nashville’s Tatum Wade in the C final, 1:11.19 to 1:11.35. That clipped 13-year-old Bartel’s lifetime best of 1:11.68 set this morning, while Wade also edged a best of 1:11.39 from July. Marin Pirate Riley Scott placed third in the bonus consolation heat with a 1:12.01.
Men’s 100 breastClovis’ Connor Hoppe chased down Can-yon’s Peter Kropp down the stretch, win-ning the junior national title 1:02.17 to 1:02.32. That’s Hoppe’s first time under 1:03, breaking his previous personal mark of 1:03.18 from prelims. Kropp missed his best of 1:02.21 set during prelims. Avon’s Chandler Bray rounded out the top three
in 1:02.87 with Arkansas Dolphin Blair Bish picking up fourth in 1:02.88.
Cardinal’s Todd Owen (1:02.95), PASA’s Curtis Ogren (1:03.13), Greater Omaha’s Jacob Molacek (1:03.55) and Heat’s Ross Palazzo (1:03.67) turned in the rest of the championship heat swims. Carsten Visser-ing’s meet record held up as his 1:01.94 from last year will make it another year.
Penn Charter’s Reece Whitley took down his 13-14 National Age Group record with a winning time of 1:03.23. Two weeks ago, he broke Michael Andrew’s 1:03.83 with a new record time of 1:03.82 (30.46, 33.36). Tonight, he blasted half-a-sec-ond from the record ahead of Andrew’s second-place time of 1:03.49. PASA’s Joe Kmak took third in 1:03.60.
Long Island’s Gunther Cassell had too much in the tank as he powered his way to a 1:03.40 to win the C final. That cut half-a-second off his lifetime best of 1:03.94 from the Mesa stop of the Arena Grand Prix. Stingrays’ Ben Hendrickson took second in 1:03.51 with Arizona Mar-lin Matt Anderson third in 1:03.75.
Women’s 800 freeSierra Schmidt smashed the field in the final heat, and had enough speed to take down the 8:36.82 clocked by North Carolina’s Madison Homovich in the ear-lier heats as Schmidt won in 8:34.58. That’s a five-second drop for Schmidt, blasting her lifetime best of 8:39.28 from the Bulldog Grand Slam. Homov-ich’s best had been an 8:48.69 from the Charlotte stop of the Arena Grand Prix. Amanda Nunen took third in the distance event with a time of 8:42.84.
BNY’s Melissa Pish (8:43.22), SwimFlorida’s
Kendall Brent (8:43.27), Indiana Universi-ty’s Stephanie Marchuk (8:43.31), Frisco’s Gabrielle Kopenski (8:43.80) and Nash-ville’s Elizabeth Stinson (8:44.29) rounded out the top eight podium-placers in the timed final event. No one challenged Gil-lian Ryan’s 2012 meet record of 8:30.84.
Men’s 1500 freeIt doesn’t happen often, but it happened tonight as Parkland’s Sam Magnan won the junior national title from the slower seeded heats. That’s a monstrous time drop for Magnan as he came into today with a lifetime best 15:56.56 from last year’s junior nationals. Nitro’s Taylor Ab-bott gave that winning time a run, and even gave the meet-record a try as he was two seconds under the pace about halfway through the race. But, Abbott settled for silver with a 15:29.88. That’s a huge drop for Abbott as well, down from his 15:43.08 from the Santa Clara stop of the Arena Grand Prix.
Marlins of Raleigh’s Adam Linker took third in 15:30.79, while 13-year-old An-drew Abruzzo of Germantown blasted a 15:36.03. That’s the second-best swim from a 13 year old behind Jesse Vassal-lo’s national age group record of 15:31.03 from 1976.
PS’ Grant Schenk (15:37.21), Wilton Y’s Stephen Holmquist (15:41.42), Team San-ta Monica’s Brendan Casey (15:43.99) and Sarasota Y’s Carter Page (15:44.23) made up the rest of the top eight finishers in the timed final event.
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IRVINE, California, July 31. CARMEL’s sprint corps truly owned the night as the squad from Indiana blasted the meet record in the women’s 400-meter free relay and the 15-18 national age group record as well at the USA Swimming Junior Nationals.
Women’s 200 backCentral Buck’s Allie Szekely went out hard, and held on for the win with a time of 2:11.29. That’s a full second drop off her best time of 2:12.39 from this morning as the 16-year-old put up the ninth-fast-est time ever in her age group. Carmel’s Claire Adams, who is taking on a difficult double with a 100 free swim in a few minutes, took second in 2:12.02. That’s a huge drop for her as she posted a best 2:13.45 this morning during prelims. She came in today with a 2:15.42 as her best. Grace Ariola of the Waves of Bloomington rounded out the top three in 2:12.69.
Hopkins Mariner Erin Earley took fourth in 2:12.92 with Y-Sparta’s Danielle Galyer clocking a 2:12.96 to close out the 2:12s for the A final. CyFair’s Cameron McHugh (2:13.29), Spokane Waves’ Emma Schanz (2:13.71) and Lakeside’s Sydney Sell also vied for the junior national title.
PASA’s Ally Howe topped the B final in the event with a personal-best effort of 2:12.98 as she broke the 2:13 barrier for the first time. That performance beat her previous best of 2:13.10 from last sum-mer’s junior nationals. Gabby Deloof turned in a second-place 2:15.06 as she edged BCH’s Abby Richter (2:15.29) for second in the consolation heat.
Scottsdale’s Taylor Ruck had an amaz-ing swim in the C final with a time of 2:13.05. The 14-year-old turned about
USA SWIMMING JUNIOR NATIONALS: CARMEL’S MEET, NAG RECORD HIGHLIGHTS NIGHT TWOby Jason Marsteller
the same time as Lakeside’s Asia Seidt at the 150-meter mark, then turned on the afterburners down the stretch to beat Seidt’s 2:15.05. Entering today, Ruck had a personal best of 2:19.24, and dropped six seconds in sum after a 2:17 in prelims. Lexy Aitchison of Clearwater took third.
Men’s 200 backBadger’s Patrick Conaton led a trio of swimmers in the 1:59 range as he broke 2:00 for the first time with a title-winning effort of 1:59.67. His time this morning of 2:00.50 had downed his previous best of 2:02.18, so that is nearly a three second drop today. Tualatin’s Patrick Mulcare picked up second-place honors in 1:59.78, under his best of 2:01.61, while Dynamo’s Michael Taylor earned third in 1:59.90.
FAST’s Joey Reilman (2:01.57), Aquazot’s Corey Okubo (2:01.91), Sarasota Y’s Austin Katz (2:02.45), Aquazot’s Thomas Smith (2:02.80) and SwimMAC’s Nathan Murray (2:04.02) also competed in the finale.
Aquazot’s Daniel Tran clocked a big personal best to win the B final heat in 2:02.04. That’s down from his 2:03.21 set this morning during prelims. Day-ton Raider Brock Turner picked up sec-ond-place in the consolation heat with a 2:02.55, while NOVA’s Wade O’Brien also cleared 2:03 with a third-place 2:02.92.Joe Young of Southeastern took the bo-
nus final in 2:03.05. After coming into today with a 2:07.52 personal best, he nearly cleared the 2:03 barrier as he put up some serious times today. Sarasota Y’s Matt O’Donnell finished second in 2:03.90 with Dayton Raider Henrik Pohlmann placing third in 2:03.91.
Women’s 100 freeShe had to track down Roadrunner’s Stanzi Moseley to do it, but Carmel’s Amy Bilquist led a Carmel Crush in the 100-me-ter free with a personal best 54.85. That clipped the 54.88 she set this morning. Moseley, meanwhile, took second in 55.04 to just miss her 55.03 best from prelims. Veronica Burchill took third for Carmel in 55.89, while Claire Adams finished eighth for the Carmel squad in 57.14.
Y-Sparta’s Katrina Konopka (56.00), Greensboro’s Natalie Labonge (56.27), City of Mobile’s Paige Madden (56.43) and Saint Andrew’s Megan Moroney (56.74) also put up swims in the finale.
After winning the 200 back C final in a lifetime best, Scottsdale’s Taylor Ruck re-mained on fire with a personal-best 55.79 to win the B final. Entering today, she held a 56.94 best and chopped more than a second off that time. Lakeside’s Lauren Pitzer clipped Pleasanton’s Erika Brown, 56.23 to 56.24, for second in the consola-tion heat.
All Star’s Carolina McTaggart charted a 56.44 to win the C final tonight. That’s a personal best after a two-year wait, as she previously posted a 56.63 at the 2012 NCSA Junior Nationals. PASA’s Leah Gold-man finished second in the bonus final with a 56.90, while Lake Erie’s Lauren Hell-er placed third in 57.06. Continued >>>
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Men’s 100 freeNOVA’s Townley Haas, the 500-yard free-style record holder in the 15-16 national age group record, showed some versa-tility with a junior national title in the 100-meter free tonight with a 50.12 after clocking a 50.62 last year.
Five swimmers all cleared 51 seconds in the championship heat with Pleasanton’s Maxime Rooney (50.60), Dynamo’s Knox Auerbach (50.62), AGUA’s Michael Doma-gala (50.72) and Michigan Lakeshore’s Ta-bahn Afrik (50.97) all putting up 50-points tonight. Upper Dublin’s Michael Jensen (51.22), Machine’s James Murphy (51.40) and Bolles’ Tyler Rice (51.73) comprised the rest of the podium tonight in Irvine.
Nitro’s Tate Jackson broke 51 seconds for the first time with a 50.72 to win the B fi-nal. That lowered the 51.37 he posted this morning in prelims as his new lifetime best. Phoenix Swim Club’s Ryan McCoy took second in 51.20 with Saint Andrew’s Gage Kohner taking third in 51.29.
Women’s 400 IMBellevue’s Kim Williams dominated the championship heat and she looked in pain after the swim with a 4:43.18. Prior to today, her best had been a 4:48.01 from two years ago, so that represents a pretty strong time drop this evening. Y-Sparta’s Savanna Faulconer tracked down silver in 4:45.89, down from her best of 4:47.19 from this morning. Lakeside’s Leah Ste-vens put up a 4:46.64 to win bronze in the finale.
North Carolina’s Madison Homovich (4:49.83), Aberdeen’s Hannah Kastigar (4:50.13), FAST’s Lauren Edelman (4:50.37), Redlands’ Sonia Wang (4:50.73) and Tam-pa Bay’s Christin Rockway (4:52.28) put up the rest of the swims in the A Final.
Iowa Flyer Ruby Martin lived up to her team’s name as she flew down the final 50 meters to overtake Rays’ Sydney Lofquist, 4:50.38 to 4:50.54, for the B final win. Entering today, her best had been a
4:52.85, while Lofquist held a 4:51.28 per-sonal record. Crown Point’s Hannah Kuku-rugya pulled off a third-place swim with a 4:51.45.
Rays’ Zoe Thatcher won the C final of the distance medley by more than a second with a 4:48.77. That swim demolished her lifetime best of 4:55.70 from prelims today, and would have placed her fourth in the A final. In fact, she entered the day with a 4:59.03 lifetime best in the event, so she dropped double digits in just one day. Davis Arden’s Chenoa Devine took second in 4:50.50 with Gator’s Hannah Burns placing third in 4:51.43.
Men’s 400 IMHe couldn’t replicate his top time of 4:17.79 from last year’s juniors, but PA-SA’s Curtis Ogren had more than enough with a 4:18.02 to win the men’s champi-onship finale. He’s likely keeping some of his powder dry for senior nationals next week here in Irvine. Cascade’s Abrahm Devine clinched second-place honors with a time of 4:20.39, while Wilton Y’s Ian Rainey finished third in 4:20.72. CyFair’s Austin Van Overdam nearly made the top three, settling for fourth in 4:20.90.
Aquazot’s Alex Peterson (4:24.33), PACK’s Ben Walker (4:26.32), Tualatin’s Patrick Mulcare (4:27.44) and SwimAtlanta’s Tom Peribonio (4:27.46) also battled in the A final.
Arizona Gold packed a wallop in the B final as Mark Jurek (4:22.91) and Antonio Ramirez (4:24.84) went 1-2 in the conso-lation heat. Jurek smashed his best of 4:24.95 from prelims, while Ramirez had a best of 4:26.66 from prelims before crush-ing that time tonight. Crimson’s Anthony Marcantonio wound up third in the heat with a 4:25.90.
Dayton Raider Brock Turner had too much left down the stretch for SwimAtlanta’s Cody Bekemeyer as Turner won the C final tonight, 4:26.44 to 4:26.90. Alex Lebed placed third in the bonus heat in 4:27.16.
Women’s 400 free relayCarmel had quite the day as not only did it own the 100-meter free finale, it used that superior fire power to take down the meet record and the 15-18 U.S. National Age Group record in the 400 free relay. The squad downed the meet record with a 3:44.88. That smashed the previous re-cord of 3:45.58 set by SwimMAC a year ago. The team of Rachel Hayden (57.37), Veronica Burchill (56.06), Claire Adams (56.23) and Amy Bilquist (55.22) rocketed their way to the top time, as the time also broke the 15-18 U.S. National Age Group record of 3:45.50 set by the Colorado Stars with Missy Franklin in 2010. No one else even came close tonight. Read more on the national age group record, including the Colorado Stars splits and Franklin’s ridiculous anchor leg.
Palo Alto Stanford’s Jennifer Campbell (57.60), Leah Goldman (56.54), Sarah Kau-nitz (57.76) and Ally Howe (56.59) took second in 3:48.49, while North Baltimore’s Mary Pelton (57.51), Easop Lee (56.80), Maddie Runge (58.96) and Heidi Miller (56.24) finished third in 3:49.51.
Bolles (3:50.43), Dynamo (3:50.58), Swim-MAC (3:50.76), City of Mobile (3:50.97) and Scottsdale (3:51.18) rounded out the top eight in the timed final event.
Men’s 400 free relayThe Indiana University junior team of Ian Finnerty (51.32), Max Irwin (50.52), Bran-don Colonis (53.23) and Blake Pieroni (49.55) managed to take down the meet record with a 3:24.62 out of heat one. That swim beat the 3:26.15 set by Ala-mo Area in 2011 by a long-shot. Tennes-see Aquatics’ Will Arthur (52.65), Joshua Romany (52.06), Walker Higgins (50.57) and John Myhre (52.13) finished atop the second heat in 3:27.41 for second in the event tonight. SwimAtlanta’s Powell Brooks (52.00), Alex Taylor (52.28), Jordan Ross (51.80) and Tom Peribonio (51.82) placed third in 3:27.90.
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IRVINE, California, August 1. INDIANA Uni-versity Swim Team has had a pretty strong meet thus far, closing out the second night straight with a meet record. This time the team also took down a national age group relay record in the process.
Women’s 400 freeSierra Schmidt would not be denied her second junior national title of the meet as the 800 free victor raced her way to a 4:10.92 in the middle distance event. That cut more than two seconds from her best of 4:13.08 set this morning, and was more than enough to beat a pair of 14-year-old prodigies to the top of the podium. North Carolina’s Madison Homovich edged NBAC’s Easop Lee for silver, 4:12.30 to 4:12.65. The two moved into the top 10 in the U.S. 13-14 age group rankings with Homovich in fourth. Sippy Wood-head still holds the record with a stunning 4:07.15 from 1978. Homovich (4:14.97) and Lee (4:13.65) both set lifetime bests this morning.
IU’s Stephanie Marchuck (4:12.77), NOVA’s Jessie Gvozdas (4:13.27), Marietta Marlins’
USA SWIMMING JUNIOR NATIONALS: IUST DOWNS MEET RECORD, NATIONAL AGE GROUP RELAY MARK
Stephanie Peters (4:14.01), Tallahassee’s Cece Williams (4:15.82) and Pleasanton’s Moriah Simonds (4:16.63) also swam in the the finale.
Lakeside’s Leah Stevens looked in con-trol of the B final throughout the first 325 meters, but La Mirada’s Taylor Ault hit the nitrous to get the afterburners go-ing en route to edging Stevens, 4:12.84 to 4:12.96 for the consolation heat win. That’s a huge drop for Ault, coming into today with a 4:14.73 best from the LA In-vite. Stevens just missed her lifetime best of 4:12.78 from the 2012 American Cham-pionships in Austin. She’s been chasing that mark for quite some time, and would love to break through the plateau. City of Mobile’s Paige Madden took third with a 4:13.39. Ault and Stevens would have fin-ished fifth and sixth in the A final.
Badger’s Anina Lunda came roaring home down the final 100 meters to win the C fi-nal with a 4:15.35. That’s a full second off her personal best of 4:16.74 from the Que-bec Cup in June. Mission Viejo’s Brooke Lorentzen snared second in 4:16.05,
while Saint Andrew’s Megan Moroney picked up third in 4:17.22. Lorentzen was a second fastest last year with a 4:15.06, while Moroney set a 4:16.99 personal best this morning but could not replicate that swim.
Men’s 400 freeNOVA’s Townley Haas just missed his meet record in the championship finale with a 3:52.01. Last summer, he set the record with a 3:51.99 and just could not match the time tonight. He still won this eve-ning by a second-and-a-half as the rest of the field was in chase mode. That’s two wins for Haas as he already demonstrated his versatility with a 100 free triumph ear-lier this week.
Nitro’s Sean Grieshop, 15, blazed his way to second with a time of 3:53.54. That’s the sixth-fastest time in the 15-16 age group behind Larsen Jensen’s national age group record of 3:50.68 from 2002.
by Jason Marsteller
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Grieshop had set a personal best with a 3:55.35 this morning. Dayton Raid-ers’ Brock Turner snared third overall in 3:53.89.
Parkland’s Sam Magnan, the surprise 1500 freestyle winner, took fourth in 3:55.55, while Santa Clara’s Michael Messner took fifth in 3:56.07. PASA’s Curtis Ogren (3:56.10), Marlins of Ra-leigh’s Adam Linker (3:57.77) and Scarlet’s Eric Stobbe (3:58.97) rounded out the podium tonight.
The B final wasn’t even close as Pacif-ic Swim’s Grant Schenk threw down a 3:56.01 to win by more than a second. He had never broken 4:00 heading into today before he clocked a 3:58.09 this morning. That’s a four-second drop today! AGUA’s John Nunez hit the wall second as he bat-tled SwimAtlanta’s Nick Hogsed down the stretch, 3:57.27 to 3:57.75. Both Nunez (3:58.87) and Hogsed (3:57.98) man-aged to get under their lifetime bests in the event.
La Mirada definitely looks to have been working on its last 100-meter speed as for the second event in a row, a La Mira-da swimmer overhauled an early leader down the stretch. After Ault took down Stevens in the women’s 400-meter free B final, Ryan Kao dropped the hammer to beat NBAC’s Cole Buese, 3:57.51 to 3:57.74, in the C final of the men’s 400 free. Kao was much faster last summer with a 3:54.69, while Buese beat his best of 3:59.08 from this morning. SwimAtlan-ta’s Cody Bekemeyer took third in the bo-nus heat with a 3:58.43.
Women’s 100 flyCarmel’s squad kept on cruising as its team just hasn’t missed a beat all week. Veronica Burchill powered to a 59.63 to win the junior national title. Burchill was faster this morning with a 59.28, but did enough to win this evening as three swim-mers broke 1:00 in the A final. Duneland’s Vanessa Krause (59.80) and Longhorn’s Victoria Edwards (59.98) both broke 1:00
for the first time in their career tonight.
Redlands’ Sonia Wang (1:00.27), SwimAt-lanta’s Haley McInerny (1:00.29), OC Waves’ Lindsey Engel (1:00.36), Aquazot’s Eva Merrell (1:00.58) and Quest’s Maddie Banic (1:01.05) also put up swims in the championship heat.
Chattahoochee Gold’s Lauren Case broke the 1:00 barrier for the first time with a sizzling effort of 59.63 to win the B final. That cleared her best of 1:00.37 from the Orlando stop of the Arena Grand Prix, and would have tied her for the junior national title tonight. SwimMAC’s Caitlin Casazza turned in a second-place time of 1:00.33, while Crown Point’s Aly Tetzloff placed third in 1:00.95. Both Casazza (1:00.95) and Tetzloff (1:01.31) served up personal bests in the consolation heat.
Fort Collins’ Bailey Nero captured the C final with a time of 1:00.74 as PASA’s Ally Howe snared second in 1:00.88. Nero downed her best of 1:00.81 from prelims with Howe missing her Austin Grand Prix time of 1:00.75. Royal’s Amy Okada took third overall in 1:01.19.
Men’s 100 flyBuenaventura’s Alex Valente had a power-ful swim this evening as he won in 53.09. That clipped the 53.10 he clocked this morning that stands as his personal best. He has now dropped a second from last year as his best effort a year ago was a 54.20 at these junior national champion-ships. Azura’s Luis Martinez snared silver with a time of 53.34 while 15-year-old pro Michael Andrew posted a best time of 53.46. That not only beat the 53.90 he posted this morning but moved him to sixth all time in the 15-16 age division. He has a ways to go to catch up to Justin Lynch’s 52.75 national age group record from 2013.
PASA’s Andrew Liang (53.94), Rose Bowl’s Sascha Subarsky (54.16), Central Bucks’ Greg Brocato (54.21), FAST’s Max Holter (54.31) and Peddie’s Patrick Park (54.72)
also competed in the finale.
Pleasanton’s Maxime Rooney broke through 54 seconds with a B final winning time of 53.85. His lifetime best had been a 54.44 from prelims this morning, and he had just enough final stretch speed to separate himself from the pack. AGUA’s Michael Domagala (54.62) and Nitro’s Ma-son Tenney (54.85) chased down second and third in the consolation heat tonight.
Charger’s Anthony Kim won the C final in the 100 fly with a time of 54.93. That’s his first time under 55 seconds after posting a lifetime best 55.32 this morning. Upper Dublin’s Michael Jensen picked up sec-ond-place honors in the heat with a time of 55.20, while Dynamo’s Derek Cox took third overall in 55.26.
Men’s 800 free relayFor the second night in a row, the Indi-ana University Swim Team – not to be confused with the IU Hoosier athletics college squad even though most of this team will be headed to IU in the fall – took down a meet record. The foursome of Ian Finnerty, Max Irwin, Brandon Colonis and Blake Pieroni checked in with a 7:28.28. The previous meet record also happened to be the 17-18 and 15-18 national age group record of 7:30.87 set by the Lith-erland triplets and Gunnar Bentz at the 2013 junior nationals. Read a full report on the national age group record, as well as splits from both squads.
The Dayton Raiders’ Tommy Cope, Jack-son Higgins, Henrik Pohlmann and Brock Turner took second tonight in 7:31.89, while Tennessee’s Will Arthur, Joshua Ro-many, Walker Higgins and Hayden Burns touched third in the timed final event with a 7:32.10.
Santa Clara (7:33.49), SwimAtlanta (7:34.33), Upper Dublin (7:35.82), Saraso-ta YMCA (7:36.76) and Palo Alto Stanford (7:37.33) comprised the rest of the podi-um placers in the timed finals.
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IRVINE, California, August 2. MICHAEL Andrew, the much-talked-about 15-year-old professional swimmer, had a break-through tonight with his first junior na-tional title at the USA Swimming Junior Nationals in Irvine.
Women’s 200 freeRoadrunner’s 16-year-old prodigy Stanzi Moseley broke through the 2:00 barrier for the first time in the 200-meter free-style finale. She rocked a 1:59.88 after behind under meet-record pace through 150 meters. That’s under her 2:00.37 life-time best from the morning as Moseley moved to 15th all time in the 15-16 age division. Lia Neal’s amazing 1:58.26 meet record from 2011 remained for another day – unless of course a leadoff breaks it tonight in the 800 free relay.
Scottsdale’s Taylor Ruck, a 14-year-old phemon, turned in a second-place 2:00.14. That clipped her best of 2:00.27 from sectionals last month. Pleasanton’s Erika Brown raced to third in 2:00.29, while City of Mobile’s Paige Madden (2:00.50) and Loveland’s Eryn Eddy (2:00.78) fin-ished fourth and fifth. Saint Andrew’s Megan Moroney also posted a 2:00 with a sixth-place 2:00.83.
Rockville-Montgomery’s Anna Kolanows-ki (2:02.02) and Bloomington Waves’ Melissa Pish (2:02.18) also competed in the finale.
Tallahassee’s Cece Wililams dropped a second-and-a-half from her best time
with a 2:01.12 to win the B final. That’s a big drop from her 2:02.51 here at juniors a year ago. Marietta Marlins’ Stephanie Pe-ters (2:01.61) and Upper Valley’s Hannah Cox (2:01.80) finished just a bit behind in second and third. Lakeside’s Lauren Pitzer (2:01.85) and JCC’s Lauren Barber (2:01.99) also had a shot at the heat win before Wil-liams pulled away down the stretch.
Bolles’ Claire Rasmus turned on the jets down the stretch to claim a one-second win in the C final. She clocked a 2:01.59, smashing her previous best of 2:03.03 from earlier in the day. Tennessee’s Erica Laning picked up second in 2:02.69, while Chattahoochee Gold’s Lauren Case snared third in the bonus final with a 2:03.13.
Men’s 200 freeNOVA of Virginia’s Townley Haas has had himself a meet. On top of winning the 100 free and 400 free already this week, he just added a third title with a come-from-behind win in the 200 free. He raced his way to a 1:48.75 to take sixth in the 17-18 age division all time. That’s a big person-al best, down from his 1:50.26 at Virginia senior states.
Pleasanton’s Maxime Rooney, who led at the 100, wound up taking second in 1:49.54. That clipped his personal best of 1:49.70 from this morning, and edged him closer to Caeleb Dressel’s 15-16 national age group record of 1:48.64. Tennessee’s Walker Higgins wrapped up third-place honors in 1:50.68.
Dayton Raiders’ Brock Turner (1:51.15), AGUA’s Michael Domagala (1:51.45), Iowa Flyers’ Aidan Keen (1:52.09), Machine’s James Murphy (1:52.53) and Terrapins’ Mi-chal Zyla (1:52.83) also competed in the big final.
Tualatin’s Patrick Mulcare put together a speedy time in the B final to win in 1:51.10. That’s a lifetime best, clearing the 1:51.85 he clocked at sectionals earlier this sum-mer. Last summer, he posted a 1:52.79, so that’s a nice drop since last year’s juniors. La Mirada’s Ryan Kao edged Quest’s Jeff Newkirk for second in the consolation heat, 1:51.81 to 1:51.86.
Women’s 200 breast
Swim Fort Lauderdale’s Emily Kopas raced her way to a 2:29.53 to top a disqualifica-tion-laden championship heat. That’s a large amount of time cut from her per-sonal best of 2:31.61 set at sectionals just a month ago. Aspen’s Emma Cain, a 14-year-old transplant from Great Brit-ain who represents GBR internationally, took second in 2:30.25. Cain is now in the top 10 all time in the 13-14 age division with that swim. Livonia’s Miranda Tucker finished third in 2:31.81.
Y-Sparta’s Savanna Faulconer (2:32.47), SwimMAC’s Maija Roses (2:32.49) and Ozaukee’s Katie Drabot (2:33.61) placed fourth through sixth in the champion-ship heat. Nashville’s Tatum Wade and Spokane Waves’ Emma Schanz both drew disqualifications.
Atlantis’ Lindsey Horejsi cut a huge amount of time off her personal best with a B final time of 2:32.33 to win. That’s down from her 2:34.63 this morning in prelims. Bellevue’s Kim Williams chased down second in 2:33.51 with Lincoln Se-
USA SWIMMING JUNIOR NATIONALS: MICHAEL ANDREW WINS FIRST JUNIOR NATIONAL TITLEby Jason Marsteller
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lect’s Ashley Pales just behind in third with a 2:33.65 in the consolation heat.
Berkeley’s Erin Barry held off a hard-charging Julia Poole of Triangle in the C final for a win, 2:35.20 to 2:35.34. That’s a best for Barry, taking down her 2:35.73 from last summer, while Poole lowered her 2:35.86 from prelims. Pine Crest’s Lindsey Swartz took third in the bonus with a 2:35.69.
Men’s 200 breastCardinal’s Todd Owen emerged from a close contest in the championship finale as he clocked a time of 2:16.25. That’s his first time under 2:17 as he beat his previous best of 2:17.01. Arizona Marlins’ Matthew Anderson raced his way to sec-ond in 2:16.71 He also broke 2:17 for the first time, lowering his best of 2:17.29 as he placed second in the finale.
Penn Charter’s giant Reece Whitley, the 13-14 national age group record holder with a 2:16.48 from the Middle Atlantic senior states, came up just a bit shy of the 6-8 swimmer’s record with a third-place time of 2:16.81.
HEAT’s Ross Palazzo (2:17.63), SwimAt-lanta’s Joseph Portillo (2:18.16), Xcel’s Ethan Browne (2:18.23) and Current’s Tommy Brewer (2:20.15) finished fourth through seventh in the finale. PASA’s Curtis Ogren drew a disqualification in the event.
Barracuda’s Daniel Chang (2:18.71) edged Canyon’s Peter Kropp (2:18.78) and Minnetonka’s Corey Lau (2:18.85) for the B final win. Chang just missed is personal best of 2:18.69 set at sectionals a month ago.
Brea’s Derek Kao won the C final by half-a-second with a time of 2:19.32, while Rockwood Swim’s Phillip Willett placed second in 2:19.86. Aquazot’s Judd How-ard rounded out the top three in 2:20.38.
Women’s 100 backThe Carmel girls have been on fire this week. Tonight, they went 1-2 with Amy Bilquist edging teammate Claire Adams for the title, 1:01.04 to 1:01.12. That’s a best for Bilquist, lowering her 1:01.27 from prelims. Adams also bettered her best of 1:01.59. T2’s Elise Haan raced her way into third with a time of 1:01.67 to account for all of the 1:01s tonight. That’s a trio of 16 year olds at the top of the podium.
Y-Sparta’s Danielle Galyer (1:02.29), BCH’s Abby Richter (1:02.47), Bryon Center’s Taylor Garcia (1:02.52), CyFari’s Camer-on McHugh (1:02.73) and SoCal’s Emily Easton (1:03.17) also vied for the junior national title tonight.
PASA’s Ally Howe cruised to victo-ry in the B final with a time of 1:02.79, while Aquazot’s 14-year-old Eva Merrell touched second in 1:03.06. Tualatin’s Kea-ton Blovad tied with Hopkins Mariner Erin Earley for third with matching 1:03.12s.
Lifetime best for Grace Ariola of the Bloomington Waves as she won the C final in 1:03.19. That’s just a bit better than her 1:03.87 from sectionals. Long-horn’s Victoria Edwards raced to second in 1:03.40 with Emma Seiberlich earning third in 1:03.54.
Men’s 100 back
The 15-year-old professional swimmer Michael Andrew had the biggest break-through of his career as he captured a junior national championship with a 55.73 in the A final. In his first time un-der 56 seconds, Andrew moved to sixth all time in the 15-16 age division. He still has a bit to go to track down Ryan Mur-
phy’s national age group record of 53.76 from 2012, but he still has more than a year to make that happen. While Andrew draws an exorbitant amount of attention as the youngest swimmer to ever turn pro and his unreal amount of national age group performances in 14-and-under categories, tonight’s win is a big step in his career.
Dynamo’s Michael Taylor finished second in 56.07 with Badger’s Patrick Conaton taking third in 56.68. Roadrunner’s Brock Bonetti (56.74), Tualatin’s Patrick Mulcare (56.93) and Cheyenne Mountain’s Dan-iel Carr (56.97) also posted 56s. FAST’s Joey Reilman (57.04) and KING’s Thom-as Anderson (58.00) finished seventh and eighth.
Class’ David Puczkowski shaved a bit from his personal best in the event with a B fi-nal-winning effort of 56.58. That’s under the 56.58 he clocked at the Fran Crippen Memorial meet in June in Mission Viejo. Munster’s Wilson Beckman hit the wall second in 57.58, while Pleasanton’s Max-ime Rooney tied Tampa Bay’s Wesley Mc-Govern for third with 57.70s just a bit after swimming the 200 free.
Women’s 800 free relayThe foursome of Mary Pelton (2:04.08), Ea-sop Lee (2:02.15), Maddie Runge (2:04.74) and Heidi Miller (2:02.36) chased down the title in the women’s 800 free relay with a time of 8:13.13. That’s a few seconds off York YMCA’s meet record of 8:10.13 from last year, but still speedy enough by more than two seconds for the win.
Carmel finished second to keep piling up the team points. Veronica Burchill (2:05.23), Emma Nordin (2:04.14), Claire Adams (2:03.90) and Amy Bilquist (2:02.29) turned in an 8:15.56 to finish second in the relay. PASA’s Jennifer Campbell (2:02.81), Lisa Kaunitz (2:06.52), Leah Goldman (2:05.02) and Ally Howe (2:02.16) earned third-place honors in 8:16.51.
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2014 US JUNIOR NATIONALS - SPECIAL COVERAGE
AMY BILQUIST AND SPRINTERS SHINE ON FINAL NIGHT OF JUNIOR NATIONALSBy David Rieder
IRVINE, California, August 3. WITH Junior Nationals now wrapped up, what will this meet be remembered for? Rightfully, Townley Haas deserves first mention here; with his victories in the 100, 200, 400, and 800 free, he can be considered one of the best young freestylers in the U.S. In an era of intense specialization, it boggles the mind to think someone could win two events so distinct as the 100 – by any measure, a sprint – and the 800 – definitely not a sprint. Not to forget, of course, that Haas put down times in the 200 (1:48) and 400 (3:51) that will have him in the running for championship finals next week at Nationals.
One could also look at the emergence of Sierra Schmidt as a name to watch on the national scene. She completed the 400-800-1500 sweep with a mile time of 16:24.09, a mark that ranks 18th in the world this year. Like Haas, she will have a chance to make an impact when she faces off with the big guns beginning on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in the 200 IM, Kim Williams could be a name to look out for after dropping down to a 2:14.58 for the win. Resurgent Allie Szekely took second, but she has unfinished business for next week after being disqualified in the 200 breast – arguably her best event – at Juniors.
For me, though, the biggest takeaways from the final night of Juniors might come from the 50 free events, where Amy Bilquist and Caeleb Dressel both showed some cards. Bilquist blasted a 25.28 in the 50 free, just missing Missy Franklin’s techsuit-era meet record of 25.23. That time won’t keep Cate Campbell up at night, but Bilquist’s improvements offer optimism for the future of American women’s sprinting. Despite consistent success in the 400 free relay and even the 100 free, no woman not named Dara Torres has won an international medal in the event this century. Continued >>>
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2014 US JUNIOR NATIONALS - SPECIAL COVERAGE
At last year’s Juniors, Bilquist finished 11th in the 50 free with a top time of 26.21. She failed to advance out of pre-lims in the 100 free and also took 11th in the 100 back. She won all three events this time around. She clocked sparkling times in all three events, including a 54.85 in the 100 free and 1:01.04 in the 100 back – dropping more than two seconds from last year in each. But in the 50 free, she swam just three tenths of a second slow-er than Natalie Coughlin did to make the World Championships team last summer. Bilquist has been on the rise over the past year, and expect that to continue into her senior year of high school.
On the men’s side, seeing Caeleb Dressel take first surprised no one. He won the 50 free in 22.36, edging out his best time from last year’s meet of 22.39. Dressel pro-vided one of the highlight swims in the brief history of the Greensboro Aquatic Center in December when he dropped an 18.94 50 yard free, but he has mostly flown under the radar since. Seeing him back and swimming faster than he did last summer – with Nationals still to go – assuages any fears about his preparation for his senior year at Florida. He might not be ready to knock of Nathan Adrian at Na-tionals, but the SEC needs to watch out.
THE NAGS ARE IN THE BAG
DURING the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay heats at the USA Swimming Ju-nior Nationals, the Indiana Universi-ty Swim Team took down its second straight relay meet record as well as the 17-18, 15-18 national age group marks in the event.Splits: 7:28.28Ian Finnerty: 1:53.15Max Irwin: 1:51.49Brandon Colonis: 1:55.25Blake Pieroni: 1:48.39
THE Carmel girls not only smashed the meet record in the women’s 400-meter free relay, the team also took down the 15-18 National Age Group record in the event at the USA Swimming Junior Nationals.Splits: 3:44.88Rachael Hayden: 57.37Veronica Burchill: 56.06Claire Adams: 56.23Amy Bilquist: 55.22
DURING time trials of the USA Swim-ming Junior Nationals, Canyons’ Abbey Weitzeil decided to get an early start on her weekend with a 50-meter freestyle time trial. Instead of swimming during the individual event, she time trialed her way to a 17-18 national age group record tie.
Weitzeil’s 25.00 tied her with Kara Lynn Joyce’s 25.00 from 2004.
Reece Whitley turned in a 13-14 nation-al age group record to win the B final of the men’s 100-meter breast at the USA Swimming Junior Nationals.
Whitley raced his way to a 1:03.23 to win the consolation heat of the finale.
by Jason Marsteller
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2014 US JUNIOR NATIONALS - SPECIAL COVERAGE
IRVINE, California, August 2. APPARENTLY Taylor Ruck, Emma Cain, Reece Whitley and other 14-year-olds at the USA Swimming junior nationals didn’t get the memo that the championship final is reserved for high school juniors and seniors – as well as a few college freshmen.
It’s quite a rare and exciting thing to see 14-year-olds racing for wins at junior nationals. Most swimmers at that age have been used to doing well at the local and regional level, but to be able to put any trepidation aside at juniors and nearly win gold medals shows confidence beyond their years.
Today, Cain (200 breast) and Ruck (200 free) placed second in their respective events, while Whitley was third from lane one in the 200 breast. If they decide to race at juniors next year instead of graduating to the senior level, they’ll know what it’s like to be called national champion.
It’s not unusual for a 14-year-old female to do so well at juniors, especially since we’ve seen so many 15-year-old girls (Amanda Beard, Anita Nall, Janet Evans) win senior national titles. But for Whitley to beat five other swimmers in the 200 breast who were 17 or 18 years old says a lot about Whitley’s future.
And much was made of the possibility for Taylor Ruck to chase after the longstanding national age group record of 1:58.53 by Cyn-thia “Sippy” Woodhead back in 1978. As much as I would have loved to see Ruck break Sippy’s 13-14 NAG record, I wonder if it would have been too much of a burden to bear. After all, Missy Franklin, Katie Ledecky and a host of others couldn’t beat the record when they were in that age group. The person who breaks that record will be instantly have Olympic expectations and bigger records heaped on her. I’m sure lots of girls have their eyes on that record. Put your focus on the future as well, and be ready for what would come after that.
For Future Reference
I’ve been covering Maxime Rooney in this sport since his days of collecting records and gold medals at the Far Westerns as a 12-year-old. He’s not the only kid who got his start at Far Westerns to do so well at junior nationals (and set a national high school record in May), but he’s had a great year to transform from a possible contender to an actual contender.
Rooney will be a junior this fall at Granada High School with amazing promise. With a couple of swims under 1:50 in the 200 free now in his arsenal, I expect him to graduate to the big leagues next year and work toward major goals before his college career begins.
THE ATTACK OF THE 14-YEAR-OLDSCommentary by Jeff Commings
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2014 US JUNIOR NATIONALS - SPECIAL COVERAGE
IRVINE, California, July 31. HOW often does a young swimmer break onto the scene and stun the country with some crazy times, only to hardly ever be heard from again. Particularly with women, success at a young age can often be unsustain-able. The best swimmers learn how to deal with such slumps and rebound, often coming back better than ever after a down period. Obviously, the likes of Amanda Beard comes to mind in this scenario, as she experienced a major drop-off after winning three medals at the 1996 Olympics.
One year ago, some may have expected Allie Szekely to fit into that mold. After all, she was only 14 when she became famous after winning a swim-off for first alternate in the 200 breaststroke at Olympic Trials in 2012. The youngster from Pennsylvania followed that up with a four-win performance at Junior Nationals, where she clocked an impressive meet record-time of 2:26.25 in the 200 breast. After that, though, no one heard much from Szekely as she began focusing on backstroke.
Tonight, though, she made an important statement at Junior Nationals in the 200 back. Wearing her typical record-break-er as opposed to the more-typically-preferred kneeskin, Szekely bolted out to a big lead and held on to win the event in 2:11.29. That cut more than a second from her best time from prelims, and she finished almost five seconds faster than she did during her dominant Juniors performance in 2012. Now 16, will she complete the transformation into a backstro-ker, will her breaststroke re-emerge, or will versatility be Szekely’s calling card. She remains one to watch out for headed into her junior year of high school.
On the men’s side, Patrick Conaton led a tight top three in the 200 back as he won the event in 1:59.67. More significant-ly, though, Patrick Mulcare and Michael Taylor made it three under 2:00 in the event. The backstrokes have long been among the events in which the United States has been the most dominant. Brad Bridgewater, Lenny Krayzelburg, Aaron Peirsol, Ryan Lochte, and Tyler Clary have each won gold medals in the Olympics to make it five in a row for the country. The generation of backstrokers that includes Ryan Murphy, Jack Conger, and Jacob Pebley has entered college. And behind them, this group of sub-2:00 high schoolers leaves this event in extremely capable hands.
In the women’s 100 free Amy Bilquist ripped an impressive 54.85 for first place. The time didn’t come close to the 54.01 Missy Franklin set back in 2009, but any 16 year old breaking 55 at this point will be in the conversation for a spot on the 400 free relay come Olympic Trials in 2016. Even at next week’s Nationals, her time tonight will have her seeded 11th in a talent-ed 100 free field. Bilquist, of course, already has significant relay experience after she led the Carmel girls’ 400 free relay to a dominating relay win and National Age Group record – breaking the mark a Missy Franklin-led team set four years ago.
For Future Reference
While Szekely used a strong front half to power to the win in the 200 back, 14 year old Grace Ariola from Bloomington, Illinois, used a very different strategy to claim the final podium spot. Swimming from lane eight, she almost even-split the race, 1:06.19 to 1:06.50, coming home in a 32.81 final split, two seconds faster than Szekely’s 34.87. Ariola came home with a final time of 2:12.69, obliterating by three and a half seconds the 2:16.12 that was her best time at sunrise. Ari-ola will make a token appearance at Nationals next week – in the 200 back.
ONCE-FAMOUS ALLIE SZEKELY RE-EMERGING IN BACKSTROKEBy David Rieder
IRVINE, California, August 1. COMING into Junior Nationals, one would have con-sidered Townley Haas as the true defini-tion of a middle-distance freestyler. His biggest career accomplishment, after all, had been breaking Michael Phelps’ 15-16 National Age Group record in the 500 at Short Course Junior Nationals back in December, when he clocked a 4:17.45. He also finished second in the mile at that meet. Last summer at Juniors, Haas won the 400 free with a meet record-time of 3:51.99, and he also finished fourth in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 free.
So far this week, Haas has cemented his status as a premier competitor in the 400 free, but his performance in the 100 free on Thursday opened some eyes as well. He won the event in 50.12, cutting a half second from the 50.62 he swam to finish fifth a year ago. In the 400 free today, he swam virtually by himself in falling just two one-hundredths shy of his meet re-cord of 3:51.99 from last year. On Satur-day, he will try to make it a three-for-three performance as he enters the 200 free as
TOWNLEY HAAS EMERGING AS ALL-AROUND FREESTYLE TALENTBy David Rieder
the top seed with his time of 1:50.62. He also swims the 50 and 800 on Sunday.Haas has a strong chance to make a state-ment in that 200 with his first sub-1:50 performance. Based on improving speed, he may be on the way to establishing that event as his best, and certainly that will be his best chance to qualify for one of the many national teams being selected at Senior Nationals next week. At those Na-tionals, he has chance to make his mark among superior competition, particularly in the 400, where he won’t need much of a time drop to get into the championship final. Most importantly, though, his wins in wide-ranging events have reminded college coaches of his pure freestyle abil-ities. With the huge importance of relays on the NCAA level, Haas will be a valuable commodity in recruiting this fall.
On the women’s side, the top swim of the night came from 16 year old Sierra Schmidt in the women’s 400 free. She touched the wall in 4:10.92, almost four seconds faster than her prelims seed time of 4:14.70. In the bigger picture, that time
would move her up in the psych sheet for Nationals from 30th to 16th. Schmidt will be entering her sophomore year of high school this fall, but she won’t need much of a drop from her time in tonight’s final to make a push for the top heat at Nation-als next week, thus giving her a chance to qualify for international competition next year.
For Future Reference
Two 14 year olds finished behind Schmidt in that 400 free final as Madison Homov-ich edged Easop Lee with both clocking times in the 4:12-range. We’ve already heard from Lee this week at Juniors, as she threw down an impressive 2:10 in the 200 fly, the weakest event among American women. Similarly, the depth in the 400 free has not been outstanding as of late behind American record-holder Katie Le-decky. Each dropped nearly four seconds from their best times over the course of the day. At that age, such massive drops could keep coming.
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2014 SUMMER JUNIOR NATIONALS MEDIA GALLERYCheck out the best photos & videos from the meet!
CAELEB DRESSEL 50 FREE VIDEO LINK
TOWNLEY HAAS 1500 FREE VIDEO LINK
CARMEL GIRLS 400 FREE RELAY VIDEO
17SEE ALL VIDEO’S FROM THE MEET HERE - CLICK HERE
