2021 Eastern Zone Sectionals
- March 26-28, 2021
- Christiansburg Aquatic Center, Christiansburg, VA
- Short Course Yards
- Results on Meet Mobile
Teams from across the eastern zone are gathering in Christiansburg, Virginia for the Sectional Championship this weekend. The meet was designed to replace the Ithaca and Buffalo Sectional meets, which were both canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With a mix of both veterans and age-groupers competing, both groups managed to find the top of the podium on Friday night.
In the women’s 50 freestyle, 14-year-old Sidney Arcella claimed the top spot, finishing in a time of 23.33. With her performance, Arcella cut over a half second off of her personal best, coming under the 24 second barrier for the first time. The men’s event saw 26-year-old Lucas Bureau touch over a half second ahead of the field, finishing in a time of 20.27. Bureau, a former Virginia Tech standout, came within .3 of his best time, which stands at 19.95.
16-year-old Alexandra Bastone won the women’s 500 freestyle in a best time of 4:52.72, touching over 3 seconds ahead of the field. She also cut 3 seconds off of her best time with her swim. 21-year-old Matthew Braviak won the men’s 500 freestyle with a time of 4:35.85, beating the field by almost 4 seconds.
In the 1650 freestyle, 16-year-old Emma Baca, the only entrant in the women’s race, finished in a time of 17:37.75. With 4 entrants in the men’s race, 17-year-old Jonah Goodman finished first, dropping 14 seconds off of his best time to touch in 16:18.15.
In the final event of the night, the 200 IM, 21-year-old Ailee Mendoza won the women’s race with a time of 2:04.87, dropping over 2 seconds off of her best time. 17-year-old Ethan Feng won the men’s 200 IM, touching in a personal best of 1:52.01. Like Mendoza, Feng also cut 2 seconds off of his personal best with his swim.