2015 Speedo Winter Juniors West: Drabot, Grieshop, Hoffer Each Double on Day 3

2015 Speedo Winter Junior Championships – West

• University of Texas’s Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center -Austin, TX
• Wednesday, December 9 – Saturday, December 11
• (Bonus long course meter time trials on Sunday, December 12)
• Prelims 9AM / Finals 5PM (Th-Sat), Wed. Timed Finals 6PM (U.S. Central Time)
• Meet Page
• Psych Sheets
• Live results

Girls’ 400 Yard IM – Final

Another event, another win for Ozaukee Aquatics’ Katie Drabot. Drabot was in lane 5, having qualified second for the final after prelims. She had shut down the competition over the second half of the race in the morning, so when she took it out 2 seconds faster in the 100 fly, it was clear she was going to be a contender.

Isabella Goldsmith of Sandpipers of Nevada was the early leader from lane 8, but the field caught her after the first 50 of backstroke. Drabot pulled away from the field after the first few strokes of breaststroke, and was up by a couple of body lengths at the breast-to-free wall. Bailey Kovac of Fort Collins Area Swim Team had also split a strong breaststroke and was now in second place.

It was all Katie Drabot over the final 100. She split a 57-mid and finished with 4:08.67, over 3 seconds ahead of second-place Regan Barney of Nitro (4:11.87). Kovac picked up the bronze medal with 4:15.09.

Boys’ 400 Yard IM – Final

From the onset it was a battle between Nitro’s Sean Grieshop and Jeffco Hurricanes’ Michael Zarian. Zarian took the early lead, but Grieshop pulled even in the backstroke. The Texan increased his lead over the field in the breaststroke, turning into the freestyle leg with about a three-body length lead.

Meanwhile, Zarian’s teammate Keegan Foulke had moved into second place with the fastest breaststroke split of the field (1:03.4). The Hurricanes duked it out over the final 100 yards, and Zarian got the touch with 3:49.34 to Foulke’s 3:50.49.

Girls’ 100 Yard Butterfly – Final

Having won the first four individual events of the meet, Ozaukee’s Drabot extended her streak to five with an amazing second half in the 100 fly. Seeded fourth for finals, Drabot was swimming in lane 6. She turned third at the 50 wall, behind Cailey Grunhard of Kansas City Swim Academy and Victoria Edwards of Longhorn Aquatic Club. Edwards had set the West meet record in prelims with the fastest qualifying time of 52.92.

Half the heat turned together at the 75 wall, but it was Drabot’s last 25 yards that made all the difference. She came home a half-second faster than anyone else, and won with a new West record of 52.37. Edwards was second in 52.74, and Brea Aquatics’ Alexis Margett was third in 52.84.

Boys’ 100 Yard Butterfly – Final

Having been edged by Indie Swimming’s Michael Andrew in prelims, Ryan Hoffer of Scottsdale Aquatic Club was leaving nothing to chance in the final. He took off like he had been shot out of a cannon, and was already 3/10 in the lead at the 50 turn.

Hoffer continued to outpace Andrew and the rest of the field, coming home another half-second faster. Hoffer lowered the West meet mark to 45.46, besting the overall meet record which he set last year, by .96.

Andrew placed second with 46.23, his best time and a new 15-16 national age group record by 2/100. He lowered the mark that had just been set an hour earlier at the East meet by Camden Murphy of Kingfish Aquatic Club.

Third place went to Jack Xie of Peak Swimming with 47.26.

Girls’ 200 Yard Freestyle – Final

Drabot tried to extend her winning streak to six in a row, but ran up against Taylor Ruck of Scottsdale Aquatic Club in the 200 free. Drabot gave it a valiant effort, nevertheless, and very nearly pulled it off. Ruck led from the outset, turning a half-second ahead of Drabot at the 50 and 100 walls. Drabot pulled to within 1/100 of a second at the 150 wall, and battled Ruck down the stretch. The Canadian Ruck finished 5/100 faster, though, and earned the junior national title with 1:44.39 to Drabot’s 1:44.46. Both were under the previous meet record.

Evie Pfeifer, who had scratched the 400 IM to concentrate on the 200 free final, finished third in 1:47.01.

Boys’ 200 Yard Freestyle – Final

There was terrific racing going on in the final of the boys’ 200 free, as the entire field moved in unison through the 50, and only barely began to separate at the 100. Bryce Mefford of Sierra Marlins and Jack LeVant of North Texas Nadadores led at the halfway mark, trailed by Corban Rawls of Nitro and Andrew Loy of Redbird Swim Club.

Nitro’s Grieshop pulled even with LeVant and passed everyone else over the third 50; both trailed Mefford by a second. Grieshop then kicked it into another gear and came home in 23.97 for a 1:36.52-to-1:36.71 victory over Mefford, and his second national title of the night. LeVant earned the bronze with 1:37.35.

Girls’ 100 Yard Breaststroke – Final

Zoe Bartel of Fort Collins Area Swim Team led wire-to-wire in the girls’ 100 breast and got the win with the only sub-1:00 swim in the meet, East or West. Bartel was out in 28-mid and home in 31-low for 59.84. Grace Zhao of Palo Alto Stanford was second in 1:00.65, also posting a superb second half.

Ingrid Wall of New Trier Swim Club managed to get her hand to the wall just ahead of the next wave, touching in 1:01.20 for third place. Behind her were Loveland’s Morgan Friesen (1:01.35), Buenaventura’s Alicia Harrison (1:01.52), and Greater Nebraska’s Olivia Calegan (1:01.53).

Boys’ 100 Yard Breaststroke – Final

Having set a 15-16 national age group record in prelims with a field-leading time of 52.50, Andrew of Indie Swimming was in lane 4 for the final. He jumped out to an early lead, turning with nearly a body length-lead over Jeremy Babinet of Palo Alto Stanford at the 50. Andrew came to the wall in 52.21 for a new 15-16 NAG record and the junior national title.

Babinet hung on to his position as runner-up, clocking a 53.85. Mitch Hovis of King Aquatic Club was third in 55:11.

Girls’ 100 Yard Backstroke – Final

There could almost not have been a tighter field coming into the 100 back final, with only 1 second separating first from eighth after prelims. But Lucie Nordmann broke free from the competition and clocked a 52.49 in the final, winning the event by 1.2 seconds.

Regan Smith of Riptide was second in 53.65, just 3/100 ahead of Wasatch Front Fish Market’s Rhyan White (53.68).

Boys’ 100 Yard Backstroke – Final

Hoffer came into the meet seeded first with 47.19 and promptly dropped 6/10 in prelims, leading the qualifiers for finals with 46.57. The 17-year-old took it to a whole new level in finals, though, coming to the wall with a blazing 45.58 for the fourth-fastest time in history in the 17-18 age group. Hoffer has another year to chase Ryan Murphy’s national age group record of 44.63; so far Murphy is the only 18-and-under boy to have broken the 45-second barrier.

King Aquatic Club’s Thomas Anderson picked up the silver medal with a person-best 46.46. He, too, is only 17. That swim puts him ninth in history, and he has another year to improve on his ranking.

15-year-old Jason Park of Metroplex Aquatics took third in 48.02. With a 1.7-second improvement from his previous personal best, Park catapulted up to the 13th spot on the all-time list for 15-16 boys.

Girls’ 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

Ozaukee Aquatics came from behind to eke out a tie for first, catching the leading Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics over the last 25 yards. Both teams touched at 1:31.63, establishing a new West meet record. For OZ it was Skylar Fore (23.25), Lillie Hosack (22.79), Mallory Fox (23.17), and Drabot (22.42). PASA’s relay included Zhao (23.02), Chloe Isleta (22.82), Brooke Schaffer (23.26), and Isabelle Henig (22.53).

Boys’ 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

A DQ for Palo Alto Stanford rearranged the podium in the boys’ relay. Scottsdale Aquatic Club was the gold medal team with a combined 1:21.13 from Jack Blake (20.09), Ray Van Deusen (21.21), Sebastian Gutierrez (20.71), and Hoffer (19.12).

Iowa Flyers (Will Scott, Aidan Keen, Nick Saulnier, and Mark McGlaughlin) beat North Texas Nadadores (LeVant, Jason head, Austin Whalen, and Adam Koster) by 1/100, 1:22.38 to 1:22.39.