2022 Junior Pan Pacs – Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

• August 24-27, 2022
• Mark Takai Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center
• Honolulu, Hawaii (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time)
• Prelims 9:00 AM / Finals 5:00 PM (GMT-10)
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Streaming
• Five main story lines – boys
• Five main story lines – girls

The 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, which brings together swimmers from Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, and Singapore, is being hosted by the U.S. in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is open to athletes aged 13-18 as of December 31st of the competition year. There will be an A final and a B final for each event, although only the A final will be scored. Each nation is limited to two entrants per A final and two entrants per B final.

Girls 200 Meter Freestyle – Heats

• Jr World: 1:54.79 – Summer McIntosh (2022)
• Jr Pan Pac: 1:57.73 – Dagny Knutson (2009)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Erin Gemmell, USA – 1:56.66
2. Jamie Perkins, Australia – 1:58.65
3. Kayla Wilson, USA – 1:58.78
4. Amelia Weber, Australia – 2:00.33
5. Lilly Daley, Canada – 2:00.52
6. Mia West, Canada – 2:01.14
7. Misa Okuzono, Japan – 2:01.31
8. Hinata Umeki, Japan – 2:01.48

Erin Gemmell of Team USA came within half a second of her entry time to win the final heat of 200 freestyle prelims with 1:56.66. She took more than 1 full second off the previous record of 1:57.73, set by USA’s Dagny Knutson in 2009. Teammate Kayla Wilson finished second in the heat with 1:58.78.

Australia’s Jamie Perkins went 1:58.65 to win heat 4 ahead of teammate Amelia Weber ( 2:00.33) and Misa Okuzono of Japan (2:01.31). Canada’s Lilly Daley had a big swim in heat 3, dropping 1.1 seconds to win the heat with 2:00.52. She touched out Olivia Wunsch of Australia (2:00.93) and USA’s Anna Moesch (2:01.16).

Boys 200 Meter Freestyle – Heats

• Jr World: 1:42.9 – David Popovici (2022)
• Jr Pan Pac: 1:47.65 – Drew Kibler (2018)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Flynn Southam, Australia – 1:48.35
2. Maximus Williamson, USA – 1:48.45
3. Rex Maurer, USA – 1:48.97
4. Adam Wu, Canada – 1:50.11
5. Anders McAlpine, Australia – 1:50.15
6. Yuta Watanabe, Japan – 1:50.53
7. Tatsumi Edward Scott, Japan – 1:50.77
8. Lorne Wigginton, Canada – 1:52.26

Canada came out swinging in the boys’ 200 free heats, with first Charlie Skalenda (1:54.65), then Adam Wu (1:50.11), winning heats 1 and 2 with big time drops.

USA’s Henry McFadden won heat 3 in 1:49.22 and took over the leaderboard. Behind him were Japan’s Yuta Watanabe (1:50.53) and Australia’s Marcus Da Silva (1:50.80).

The final heat was a thriller, with Australia’s Flynn Southam just touching out 15-year-old Maximus Williamson of Team USA, 1:48.35 to 1:48.45. Williamson dropped 2.1 seconds to finish in 1:48.45. Teammate Rex Maurer kicked it into another gear over the second half of the race; he, too, picked up a PB, touching third with 1:48.97.

Girls 100 Meter Backstroke – Heats

• Jr World: 57.57 – Regan Smith (2019)
• Jr Pan Pac: 59.59 – Katharine Berkoff (2018)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Maggie Wanezek, USA – 1:00.13
2. Jaclyn Barclay, Australia – 1:01.36
3. Kennedy Noble, USA – 1:01.41
4. Iona Anderson, Australia – 1:01.80
5. Ashley McMillan, Canada – 1:02.09
6. Katie Schroeder, Canada – 1:02.13
7. Chiaki Yamamoto, Japan – 1:02.40
8. Isabelle Gibson, New Zealand – 1:02.59

Jaclyn Barclay of Australia won heat 3 of 100 backstroke with 1:01.36, adding just over a second from her entry time which had her seeded second overall in the event. USA’s Kennedy Noble came to the wall .05 behind Barclay. Yuzuki Mizuno of Japan touched third in the heat with 1:02.65.

Maggie Wanezek of USA improved her seed time by .33 to win heat 4 with 1:00.13, beating teammate Natalie Mannion (1:02.06) and Canada’s Regan Rathwell (1:02.34). It was Mannion’s second consecutive event; she was the third-fastest 200 freestyler from the U.S. with 2:00.24 and qualified for tonight’s B-final.

USA’s Teagan O’Dell went 1:01.71 to win the final heat in front of teammate Berit Berglund (1:01.75) and Iona Anderson of Australia (1:01.80).

Boys 100 Meter Backstroke

• Jr World: 52.53 – Kliment Kolesnikov (2018)
• Jr Pan Pac: 54.07 – Jack Conger (2012)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Daniel Diehl, USA – 53.40
2. Josh Zuchowski, USA – 54.70
3. Hidekazu Takehara, Japan – 56.34
4. Matthew Magnussen, Australia – 56.45
5. Fergus McLachlan, Australia – 56.73
6. Tristan Jankovics, Canada – 57.05
7. Loic Courville-Fortin, Canada – 57.05
8. Gabriel Koo, Singapore – 57.53

Despite swimming an extra couple of meters while zigzagging back and forth between the lane lines, Daniel Diehl of the U.S. broke the meet record in the last heat of the boys’ 100 back with a lifetime-best time of 53.40. In doing so, he lowered his own National Age Group Record for 15-16 boys by .19. Touching second in the heat was teammate Hudson Williams (56.34). Canada’s Loic Courville-Fortin and Tristan Jankovics tied for third with 57.05.

In the penultimate heat, Keaton Jones of USA edged teammate Maximus Williamson, 55.61 to 55.83. Williamson dropped .3 to crack the 56-second barrier for the first time. Japan’s Hidekazu Takehara was third (56.34).

USA’s Josh Zuchowski clocked a 54.70 to win heat 2 with a personal best by half a second. Matthew Magnussen from Australia touched out teammate Fergus McLachlan, 56.45 to 56.73, for second place.

Girls 200 Meter Butterfly – Heats

• Jr World: 2:05.20 – Summer McIntosh (2022)
• Jr Pan Pac: 2:08.48 – Cassidy Bayer (2016)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Airi Mitsui, Japan – 2:10.18
2. Tess Howley, USA – 2:10.19
3. Alex Shackell, USA – 2:10.30
4. Bella Grant, Australia – 2:11.22
5. Yasuki Fujimoto, Japan – 2:12.14
6. Ella Jansen, Canada – 2:12.42
7. Kamryn Cannings, Canada – 2:13.35
8. Sally Vagg, Australia – 2:15.38

There were only two heats of girls’ 200 butterfly and the first went to Airi Mitsui of Japan in 2:10.18. Her teammate Yasuka Fukimoto touched second with 2:12.14, a body length ahead of Canada’s Kamryn Cannings (2:13.35).

Heat 2 featured a 1-2 Team USA finish from Tess Howley (2:10.19) and Alex Shackell (2:10.30). Australia’s Bella Grant came in third with 2:11.22.

Boys 200 Meter Butterfly – Heats

• Jr World: 1:53.79 – Kristof Milak (2017)
• Jr Pan Pac: 1:55.92 – Andrew Seliskar (2014)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Aaron Shackell, USA – 1:56.15
2. Thomas Heilman, USA – 1:57.58
3. Ei Kamikawabata, Japan – 1:58.83
4. Seiya Shinkai, Japan – 1:58.89
5. Adam Wu, Canada – 2:00.41
6. Benjamin Loewen, Canada – 2:00.55
7. Ike Martinez, Australia – 2:01.20
8. Jesse Coleman, Australia – 2:01.54

The boys’ 200 fly was slightly more populated with three heats. Japan’s Seiya Shinkai claimed the first with 1:58.89, coming to the wall a body length ahead of Canada’s Benjamin Loewen (2:00.55) and Australia’s Daniel McLoughlin (2:05.28).

Thomas Heilman of USA cracked a PB of 1:57.58 to win heat 2 in front of teammate Cooper Lucas (2:00.36). Australia’s Jesse Coleman came to the wall in 2:01.54 for third.

Aaron Shackell of USA improved his seed time by 1.27 seconds to win the final heat with the fastest time overall, 1:56.15. Shackell narrowly missed the meet record of 1:55.92 set by Andrew Seliskar of USA in 2014. Japan’s Ei Kamikawabata (1:58.83) and Tomoyuki Matsushita (2:00.32) were second and third in the heat. Matsushita dropped 2.1 seconds from his seed time. Fourth in that heat was Canada’s Adam Wu (2:00.41), who qualified for his second final with a PB by .26 seconds.

Girls 800 Meter Freestyle – Slower Heats

• Jr World: 8:11.00 – Katie Ledecky (2014)
• Jr Pan Pac: 8:28.01 – Leah Smith (2012)

Top finishers:

1. Michaela Mattes, USA – 8:35.78
2. Kayla Han, USA – 8:35.85
3. Georgie Roper, Australia – 8:50.16
4. Gracie Weyant, USA – 8:50.90
5. Naomi Slee, Canada – 8:51.43
6. Lydia Kilger, Canada – 8:55.24
7. Keira Allott, New Zealand – 9:00.72
8. Rachel Tay, Singapore – 9:53.28

USA’s Michaela Mattes had a wire-to-wire win in the second-fastest heat of girls’ 800 freestyle (the top two swimmers from each nation will swim tonight in the final). Teammate Kayla Han was just behind throughout the race. She took over the lead briefly at the 600-meter wall and held on through the 700, but Mattes took off on the bell lap and just touched out her teammate, 8:35.78 to 8:35.85. Han, who is only 13, dropped 6 seconds and jumped into the all-time top-10 list for 13-14 girls. Han now ranks eighth, passing Bella Sims. The 13-14 NAG record for the 800 free is Becca Mann’s 8:28.54 from 2012.

Georgie Roper for Australia touched out USA’s Gracie Weyant for third place.

Boys 1500 Meter Freestyle – Slower Heats

• Jr World: 14:46.09 – Franko Grgic (2019)
• Jr Pan Pac: 15:05.29 – Robert Finke (2016)

Top finishers:

1. Riku Yamaguchi, Japan – 15:28.06
2. Bobby DiNunzio, USA – 15:31.72
3. Larn Hamblyn-Ough, New Zealand – 16:09.79
4. Artyom Lukasevits, Singapore – 16:23.76

The heat of boys’ 1500 freestyle proved to be an exciting race in the middle two lanes of the pool between Japan’s Riku Yamaguchi and USA’s Bobby DiNunzio. Yamaguchi shaved nearly 22 seconds off his seed time to get the win in 15:28.06. The pair had traded leads while swimming nearly half a pool length ahead of the other contestants, New Zealand’s Larn Hamblyn-Ough and Singapore’s Artyom Lukasevits.

Yamaguchi and DiNunzio traded stroke for stroke through the 1300 when the former pulled ahead of the latter and then built a comfortable lead through to the end. Yamaguchi finished with 15:28.06, while DiNunzio was just off his seed time with 15:31.72. Hamblyn-Ough improved his sed time by 19 seconds and came in third (16:09.79).