2021 EASTERN ZONE LONG COURSE SUPER-SECTIONAL MEET
- May 12-16, 2021
- Collegiate School Aquatic Center, Richmond, VA
- 50m
- Results on Meet Mobile as “2021 VBA EZ LC Speedo Championship Meet”
While the smaller regional or sectional meets don’t typically feature quite as fast swimming as we’re seeing at meets like the Indianapolis stop of the Pro Swim Series or the Atlanta Classic, that certainly doesn’t mean they’re devoid of fast swimming.
Tonight at the Richmond Sectionals site, 14 year-old Claire Weinstein got the pool rocking early with a 2:00.95 in the 200 free. That makes her only the 11th woman in US history to get under 2:01 by the age of 14.
Weinstein, who swims for Westchester Aquatic Club, is one of many swimmers who we’ve seen throwing down fast times since swimming competition has resumed since the pandemic-induced hiatus. Heading into March of 2020, Weinstein’s fastest time in this event was a 2:06.90, which she did in February 2020 at the age of 12. In November of 2020, she lowered her personal best to 2:03.01 at the Richmond site of the U.S. Open, then she hit new personal bests of 2:01.96 and 2:01.54 at the Richmond PSS meet this January and the San Antonio PSS stop in March, before shaving even more time off of her best this evening.
Tide’s Nicole Venema, who two years ago captured three individual Ivy League titles as a freshman at Princeton, won the 100 fly with a 59.86, setting a new personal best by almost exactly one second. The final women’s event of the evening went to Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Mia Abruzzo, who won the 400 IM with a 4:50.49, a couple seconds away from her lifetime best.
On the men’s side, UVA’s Jack Wright won his second freestyle event as many days, winning the 200 free with a 1:51.81. JT Ewing of the Fish took 2nd in 1:52.56, as the NC State commit knocked over two seconds off of his lifetime best. Wright’s UVA teammate Sean Conway also followed up his victory in the 200 IM with a win today, this time taking the 400 IM with a 4:27.13.
Penn State commit Sam Folger of Greenwood Swimming nicked a lifetime best in the 100 fly to win with a 54.70. Like Weinstein, he’s had previous success in this pool, with his previous lifetime best of 55.09 coming from November’s U.S. Open site here in Richmond.