12-Year-Old Penelope Lopez-Casula Hits 26.79 50 Free At 2023 Plantation Sectionals

Speedo Sectionals – Plantation

• June 29-July 2, 2023
• Plantation, FL
• LCM (50 meters)
• Results

The 2023 Southern Zone South Sectional Championships is in the books after wrapping up earlier this month in Plantation, Florida. Coming out on top the combined team scores was South Florida Aquatic Club, who tallied a total of 928 points over the course of the competition.

Team Scores (Women):

1. South Florida Aquatic Club – 547
2. Saint Andrew’s Aquatics – 533.50
3. Southwest Stars Swim Club – 281

Team Scores (Men):

1. Azura Florida Aquatics  – 605
2. South Florida Aquatic Club – 381
3. Saint Andrew’s Aquatics – 356

Team Scores (Combined):

1. South Florida Aquatic Club – 928
2. Saint Andrew’s Aquatics – 889.50
3. Azura Florida Aquatics – 758

Among the top performers at the meet was Penelope Lopez-Casula from Eagle Aquatics. The 12-year-old blasted a 26.79 in finals of the 50 free to take 3rd overall in the event. Her swim marks a personal best by over a second, and moves her to 4th all-time in the girl’s 11-12 age group. 

Lopez-Casula also advanced to the championship final in the 100 freestyle, where she also cracked the minute-barrier for the first time. She touched in 8th at 59.99, good for a best time by about a second. 

The men’s side of the meet featured Stanford’s Josh Zuchowski, who opted to compete at this meet over U.S. Nationals. Zuchowski, who will be a sophomore this fall, secured his ticket to the 2024 Olympic Trials with a winning time of 55.63 in the 100 back. His personal best in the event stands at 54.51, which he recorded en route to winning a silver medal at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships last August. 

Zuchowski opened his meet with a victory in the 50 backstroke, where he got his hand on the wall first at 26.67. He completed his backstroke sweep with a victory in the 200 backstroke as he posted a winning time of 2:02.77 to clear the field by nearly ten seconds. 

Another standout performer was Saint Andrew’s Aquatics’ Aspen Gersper, who collected wins in four of her five individual events. The Virginia recruit dominated the field in the 100 fly, as she got her hand on the wall first in a best time of 1:00.73 to win the event by almost four seconds. She also snagged victories in the 50 back (29.46), 50 free (25.97), and 100 free (56.41).

Among the highlights for the boys was 15-year-old George Gonzalez, who dropped nearly four seconds to win the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:52.82. His swim secures him a Summer Junior Nationals cut, and moves him up to 11th this season in the boy’s 15-16 age group. Gonzalez took 3rd in both the 100 free (52.33) and 400 free (4:04.62), with both swims also establishing new best times.

Rounding out the top swimmers is Sabyne Brisson from T2 Aquatics. Brisson, who is headed to Georgia Tech this fall, swept the breaststroke races and the 200 IM. She dropped over a second in the 100 breast to hit a 1:11.57, while in the 200 breast she knocked off nearly three seconds to win in 2:36.52. Her biggest improvement of all came in the 200 IM, where she recorded a best time by seven seconds to post a winning time of 2:22.38.