13-Year-Old Owen Ekk Tallies 4 Nation-Leading Times at FL Summer Age Group Champs

2022 FL Summer Age Group Championships

• July 13-17, 2022
• Florida Aquatic Swimming and Training (FAST)
  • Ocala, FL
• LCM
• Results on Meet Mobile
  • “2022 Fl Summer Age Group Championships NORTH”
  • “2022 Fl Summer Age Group Championships South”

Area Tallahassee swimmer Owen Ekk tallied four nation-leading times this season among 13-year-old boys on his way to earning the high-point scorer honor at the 2022 Florida Summer Age Group North Championships last weekend. 

In the 200-meter freestyle, Ekk clocked a 1:55.52, the top time this season for his age and No. 40 all-time in the 13-14 age group. He also posted nation-leading marks in the 100 free (53.85), 400 free (4:08.58), and 50 back (28.53). In the 800 free, Ekk reached the wall in 8:33.51, second-fastest this season among 13-year-old boys and 98th all-time for the 13-14 age group. 

Blakely Hammel of Swim Ajax swept the 50 free and 100 free with a pair of personal bests. In the 50, she blazed a 26.61 to become the second-fastest 13-year-old girl so far this season. Hammel’s 58.18 in the 100 free made her the third-fastest performer this season. 

Laker Swimming’s Rylee Erisman also put up a few of the top swims among 13-year-old girls this season. She placed first in the 50 free (26.78) and 100 back (1:05.97) while also crushing a 31.20 50 back relay split, all of which rank fourth this season for her age.

In the FLAGS South meet last weekend, Sarasota Tsunami Swim Team’s Colin Jacobs went even faster than Ekk in the 800 free to claim the top time in the country this season among 13-year-old boys and No. 92 all-time in the 13-14 age group. 

Remarkably, Jacobs dropped 13 seconds off his previous best in the 1500 free and delivered a 16:26.46 to take over the top time among 13-year-old boys this season. He also registered a personal-best 4:11.73 in the 400 free to become the third-fastest performer this season for his age. 

Sarasota Tsunami teammate Mia Pistanek also posted a nation-leading time in the 200 fly with a 2:31.08, more than three seconds faster than any other 11-year-old girl this season. 

Taylor Schwenk also had an impressive meet for Sarasota Tsunami, moving up to No. 3 this season among 14-year-old girls with her victory in the 50 back (30.20). She added wins in the 100 back (1:05.87) and 200 free (2:09.35).

Saint Petersburg Aquatics swimmer Christian Guettler flexed his versatility with six first-place finishes in three different strokes and an IM event. His 58.77 in the 100 free ranks No. 10 among 12-year-old boys this season. Guettler’s other victories came in the 50 fly (29.58), 100 fly (1:06.22), 50 breast (35.04), 100 breast (1:18.35), and 200 IM (2:30.03).

Two of Guettler’s Saint Petersburg teammates also had times crack the top 10 this season. Sawyer Hansen triumphed with a 2:32.99 in the 200 back, which made him the sixth-fastest performer among 11-year-old boys this season. He also went 4:38.16 in the 400 free, less than a tenth of a second off his personal best that leads the nation this season. Fellow Saint Petersburg swimmer Karrington Hansen clocked a 2:23.85 in the 200 back to become the 10th-fastest performer this season among 13-year-old girls. 

Angelina Lista picked up four individual wins (50 free, 100 free, 50 fly, and 100 fly) along with three more on relays (200 medley, 200 free, and 400 free relay). The 13-year-old Sarasota Sharks swimmer climbed into the top 10 performers for her age this season (No. 9) in the 50 fly with a time of 29.40. Lista’s 1:04.65 in the 100 fly ranks her at No. 11 among 13-year-old girls this season. 

Sarasota Tsunami’s Bogdan Zverev triumphed in five individual events: the 50 fly (27.77), 100 fly (58.44), 200 fly (2:08.93), 200 IM (2:15.37), and 400 IM (4:46.49). The last three of those times rank 11th, 12th, and 12th, respectively, among 14-year-old boys this season. 

Other Highlights 

• Loggerhead Aquatics swimmer Austin Tomas dropped nearly three seconds off his previous-best 200 fly time, reaching the wall in 2:31.91 to become the third-fastest 11-year-old boy this season. 
• Hydro4 Swimming’s Sarah Stegall swam a 34.87 in the 50 breast at the North meet, making her the third-fastest performer this season among 12-year-old girls. 

• Also at the North meet, Sarah Fiama of Fast Lane Aquatics became the second-fastest 9-year-old girls this season in the 400 free with a time of 5:27.20. She also cracked the top 10 season rankings in the 100 free with a 1:11.32 that puts her seventh. 
• At the South meet, Aidan Levine went 28.34 in the 50 back, good for fifth this season among 14-year-old boys. The 14-year-old Tampa Bay Aquatics swimmer also earned a victory in the 100 back with a time of 1:02.53.
• 13-year-old Joey Campagnola of West Florida Lightning Aquatics took first place in the 100 free with a time of 55.13, which ranks seventh for his age this season.
• Sarasota Sharks 14-year-old Vito Sgroi went 2:11.80 in the 200 back to become the No. 13 performer this season for his age.