16-Year-Old Aiden Hammer Clocks 15:36 1500 FR at Mt Hood Sectionals (Day 3/4 Recap)

2024 Speedo Sectionals – Mt Hood

• July 11-14, 2024
• Mt Hood Community College Aquatic Center, Gresham, OR
• LCM (50m)
• Results on MeetMobile (“2024 Speedo Sectionals – Mt Hood”)
• Day 1/2 Recap

Following some awesome performances by junior swimmers on the first two days of the Summer Sectionals meet in Mt Hood, the final two days of the meet kept the pace up. Portland Aquatic Club 16-year-old Mena Boardman continued to impress on the back half of the meet, winning the women’s 100 fly in 1:00.21. That swim wasn’t a personal best for Boardman, as she’s been 59.37 before, but she did manage to win the race by a whopping 1.62 seconds nonetheless.

Boardmann would go on to close out her meet with a 25.55 to win the women’s 50 free on Sunday. That swim marked a new personal best for Boardman by 0.34 seconds. In total, the 16-year-old won the women’s 100 free, 100 back, 100 fly, and 50 free on the weekend.

Spokane Waves Aquatic Team 18-year-old Michael Hochwalt was another top performer of the meet. Having won the men’s 200 fly and 400 IM during the first two days of the meet, Hochwalt then took the men’s 200 back on Saturday, swimming a 2:01.52. The rising Arizona State freshman holds a personal best of 2:00.18, which he set at last summer’s Junior Nationals. King Aquatic Club 16-year-old Aiden Hammer took 2nd in the 200 back with a 2:03.50. Hammer holds a personal best of 2:02.43, which he set back in March at the Federal Way Sectionals meet.

Hammer would go on from that 200 back to win the men’s 400 free on Saturday, swimming a 3:58.85. That swim was well off Hammer’s personal best of 3:53.07, though he still won the race by well over 2 seconds. Hammer would close out his meet with a victory in the men’s 1500 free on Sunday, where he swam a 15:36.69. That performance was just off his career best of 1:53.69.

Fellow King Aquatic Club swimmer Camden Doane, 18, won the women’s 200 IM on Sunday with a 2:17.30. Doane, a rising Louisville freshman, has been as fast as 2:15.48 in her career.

Rising Penn State sophomore Tylor Kim, swimming for his home team Lake Oswego Swim Club, won the men’s 50 free in 23.12. Kim clocked his career best of 22.83 back in early June.

OTHER SATURDAY/SUNDAY WINNERS

• Women’s 200 Back: Taylor McCoy (Cougar Aquatics) – 2:16.97
• Women’s 400 Free: Wren Smith (Flying Fish Arizona Swim Team) – 4:24.28
• Women’s 100 Breast: Jessica Maeda (University of Denver Hilltoppers) – 1:11.82
• Men’s 100 Fly: Campbell McKean (Bend Swim Club) – 53.54
• Women’s 1500 Free: Zayda Miehl (Corvallis Aquatic Team) – 17:10.21
• Men’s 200 IM: Jake McCoy (Cougar Aquatics) – 2:07.11
• Women’s 800 Free Relay: Phoenix Swim Club (Tomey, Burns, Clark, Gleason) – 8:33.44
• Men’s 800 Free Relay: King Aquatic Club (Coombs, Cole, Clise, Hammer) – 7:43.52
• Women’s 400 Medley Relay: Lake Oswego Swim Club (Yoon, Dodson, Vlaic, Jones) – 4:16.16
• Men’s 400 Medley Relay: Iolani Swim Club (Seminavage, Reiter, Caiserman, Arrillage) – 3:51.05