2022 Summer Junior Nationals: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2022 SPEEDO JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

• August 1 to 5, 2022
• William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, Irvine, California
• Long Course Meters (50m)
• Meet Central
• Event Page
• Psych Sheets
• Live Stream (USA Swimming)
• Live Results (OMEGA) (also can be found on MeetMobile)

WEDNESDAY FINALS HEAT SHEET

The 3rd finals session of the 2022 Summer Junior Nationals is upon us! In addition to finals of this morning’s prelims events, tonight’s session will also feature timed finals of the 200 free relays.

Right off the bat we’ll have the women’s 400 free, where all eyes should be on Longhorn Aquatics 17-year-old and future Texas Longhorn Jillian Cox. After an incredible performance in the 800 free on Monday night, it would seem Cox is poised to break through the 4:10 barrier in the 400 free for the first time in her young career tonight. Fellow 17-year-old Hayden Miller out of Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club clipped her lifetime best this morning, swimming a 4:12.44. The Future Florida Gator could have another personal best in store tonight and give Cox a good race.

The men’s 400 free should be an exciting race as well. 15-year-old Norvin Clontz out of SwimMAC Carolina had a fantastic swim this morning, taking the top seed for tonight with a 3:53.64. He’ll have plenty of guys in the field to push him tonight, however, starting with Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team 18-year-old Matthew Chai. Soon-to-be a Cal Golden Bear, Chai won the men’s 1500 on Monday night, and has been as fast in 3:53.75. Also in the heat will be Henry McFadden, a 16-year-old out of Jersey Wahoos. McFadden took 2nd in the 100 free last night, breaking 50 seconds for the first time in his career. 200 fly champion Aaron Shackell is also in the heat and has proven he’s liable to pop one off at any time.

16-year-old Annika Parkhe out of Patriot Aquatic Club gave 200 fly champion Alex Shackell a great race in prelims this morning, taking the top seed for tonight with a 58.71. She moved up to #8 all-time in the 15-16 girls age group, just ahead of Shackell at #9. Also keep an eye out for Jersey Wahoos 12-year-old Audrey Derivaux in the ‘C’ final. This morning, Derivaux swam a 1:01.88, touching just 0.13 seconds off Cassidy Bayer‘s 11-12 NAG of 1:01.75.

Thomas Heilman, the 15-year-old star out of Cavalier Aquatics swam a 53.36 to finish 3rd this morning. Heilman no doubt has his eyes on the 15-16 NAG of 52.40, which is held by Luca Urlando. It was Paseo Aquatics Club 17-year-old Bryce Halterman who led prelims this morning, chipping 0.16 seconds off his personal best to touch in 53.11. Scotty Buff, another 17-year-old out of Greater Toledo Aquatic Club, was 2nd this morning in 53.19, also swimming a new personal best. Halterman will be starting his collegiate career at Michigan shortly, while Buff will be beginning at Florida next fall.

Fishers Area Swimming Tigers 17-year-old JoJo Ramey and Irvine Novaquatics 15-year-old Teagan O’Dell are set for what should be a great race in the women’s 200 backstroke. Neither swimmer was on their personal best this morning, however, Ramey led the field with a 2:11.77, while O’Dell was 2nd in 2:12.37. Both girls are the only swimmers in the field to have been under 2:10 before. It’s not out of the question that Kylie Stewart‘s meet record of 2:09.04 could go down tonight.

Kings Academy 18-year-old Josh Zuchowski, soon-t0-be a Stanford Cardinal, led prelims of the boys 200 back in 1:59.81 this morning. The race looks like Zuxhowski’s to lose tonight, as he’s the only swimmer in the field to have been under 2:00 before, and his personal best sits at 1:58.44. He swam personal bests in prelims and finals of the 200 fly on Monday, so we have no reason to think Zuchowski won’t be even faster than his prelims 1:59.81 tonight.

GIRLS 400 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 3:58.37, Katie Ledecky (USA) – 2014
• Meet Record: 4:07.26, Gillian Ryan (2012)
• 13-14 NAG: 4:07.15, Sippy Woodhead (1978)
• 15-16 NAG: 3:59.82, Katie Ledecky (2013)
• 17-18 NAG: 3:58.37, Katie Ledecky (2014)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Jillian Cox (Longhorn Aquatics) – 4:08.27
2. Hayden Miller (Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club – 4:12.20
3. Kathryn Hazle (North Coast Aquatics) – 4:13.84
4. Sophia Knapp (Tide Swimming) – 4:14.41
5. Kayla Wilson (Tide Swimming) – 4:14.49
6. Katie McCarthy (Edina Swim Club) – 4:16.43
7. Chloe Kim (Scarlet Aquatics) – 4:16.59
8. Kate Hurst (Scarlet Aquatics) – 4:18.30

17-year-olds Jillian Cox and Hayden Miller broke away from the field on the first 100 of the race, and shortly thereafter, it was all Jillian Cox. After a dominant performance in the women’s 800 free on Monday night, it felt like Cox had a big swim in the tank, and, boy, did she ever.

After getting out to a 59.91 on the first 100 of the race, Cox dialed in at mid and high 31s on each of her 50s, until she came home in a sizzling 30.43 on the final 50. In it’s entirety, her 100 splits respectively were 59.91, 1:03.00, 1:03.54, and 1:01.82.

The 4:08.27 is a massive swim for Cox, who will be representing the U.S. at the Junior Pan Pacs in just a few weeks. She hadn’t yet been under 4:10 before in her career, and blew through that barrier tonight. She also moves up to #20 all-time in the 17-18 girls rankings, and keep in mind that she’s done so while still being just 17. She’ll also get another stab at lowering her time even further in just a few weeks at Junior Pan Pacs.

For Miller, the 4:12.20 she clocked to take 2nd marks her 2nd personal best of the day in the event. In total, Miller dropped 0.65 seconds in the event today. She went out with Cox on the first 100, but just wasn’t able to hold up with Cox’s speed, particularly at the end of the race.

Notably, both Scarlet Aquatics and Tide Swimming had two swimmers in this ‘A’ final. For Tide, Sophia Knapp and Kayla Wilson, the 100 free champion, took 4th and 5th respectively, both swimming lifetime bests as well. Scarlet Aquatics sa 400 IM champion Chloe Kim and Kate Hurst take 7th and 8th respectively. For Kim, the swim tonight was a personal best by 2.01 seconds. Hurst was off her prelims time of 4:15.49, however, her prelims swam did mark a personal best by 2.49 seconds to get her into the ‘A’ final.

Crow Canyon Country Club Sharks 16-year-old Bailey Hartman took the ‘B’ final decisively, swimming 5 seconds faster than her prelims performance. Hartman touched in 4:15.41, which would have been good for 6th in the ‘A’ final, in addition to marking a new personal best by over a second.

BOYS 400 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 3:44.60, Mack Horton (AUS) – 2014
• Meet Record: 3:51.44, Alex Zettle (2017)
• 13-14 NAG: 3:57.61, Evan Pinion (2009)
• 15-16 NAG: 3:50.68, Larsen Jensen (2002)
• 17-18 NAG: 3:46.08, Larsen Jensen (2004)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Norvin Clontz (SwimMAC Carolina) – 3:50.82
2. Sean Green (Long Island Aquatic Club) – 3:54.21
3. Henry McFadden (Jersey Wahoos) – 3:54.74
4. Aaron Shackell (Carmel Swim Club) – 3:55.38
5. Jack Luken (Gold Medal Swim Club) – 3:56.06
6. Gary J0nes (Magnoliansfield Aquatic Club) – 3:57.48
7. Oliver Rowe (Nitro Swimming) – 3:57.57
8. Matthew Chai (Fast Swim Team) – 3:59.93

A race quickly developed in the middle of the pool in the ‘A’ final between Norvin Clontz, Henry McFadden, Aaron Shackell and Sean Green. Clontz took the race out far more conservatively than much of the rest of the field, flipping 5th at the 50m mark, but had worked his way into 1st by the 150m turn.

Clontz would pull away from the rest of the swimmer on the 3rd 100 of the race, keeping his 50 splits well under 30 seconds. The 15-year-old Clontz would ultimately shatter the Junior National meet record, vaulting himself up to #2 all-time in the 15-16 boys age group as well. Clontz is also now the fastest 15-year-old in American history with that performance.

Fellow 15-year-old Sean Green out of Long Island Aquatic Club also had a massive performance, kicking it into gear at the end to get into the finish in 3:54.21. Green entered today with a personal best of 3:59.91, marking a total improvement of 5.70 seconds over the course of today for the youngster. Green now rises to #21 all-time in the 15-16 rankings, as just a 15-year-old as well.

100 free runner-up Henry McFadden also swam another personal best tonight, taking 3rd in 3:54.74. McFadden was out early with Clontz, but fell off his pace in the middle of the race.

Mason Edmond, an unattached 18-year-old out of North Texas Nadadores, took control of the ‘B’ final, roaring to a huge new personal best of 3:54.60. Edmund’s 3:58.90 from this morning was his personal best in the event. Prior to today, the soon-to-be Ohio State Buckeye had been as fast as 3:59.48, marking an improvement of just under 5 seconds over the course of today.

GIRLS 100 BUTTERFLY – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 56.43, Claire Curzan (USA) – 2021
• Meet Record: 58.59, Dakota Luther (2017)
• 13-14 NAG: 58.61, Claire Curzan (2019)
• 15-16 NAG: 56.20, Claire Curzan (2021)
• 17-18 NAG: 55.66, Torri Huske (2021)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Alex Shackell (Carmel Swim Club) – 58.33
2. Annika Parkhe (Patriot Aquatic Club) – 58.71
3. Ella Jablonski (Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club) – 59.69
4. Anna Boemer (Solo Aquatics) – 59.76
5. Gigi Johnson (SwimAtlanta) – 59.85
6. Elizabeth Tilt (Chattahoochee Gold) – 1:00.05
7. Sydney Lu (Pleasanton Seahawks) – 1:00.25
8. Edie Simecek (Flatiron Athletic Club) – 1:00.61

Carmel Swim Club 15-year-old Alex Shackell completed her sweep of the women’s fly events at these Championships, blasting a new personal best of 58.33. Not only does the swim take half a second off Shackell’s personal best, it moved her up to #6 all-time in the 15-16 girls age group. Annika Parkhe tied her time from this morning, swimming a 58.71 again. Parkhe had moved up to #7 in the all-time 15-16 rankings this morning, but Shackell jumped back over her tonight, moving her down to #8.

Seattle Metropolitan’s Ella Jablonski, also 15, took 3rd in a new personal best of 59.69.

Rice University’s Arielle Hayon had a great swim to take the ‘B’ final, roaring to a new personal best of 59.66. That swim would have been good for 3rd overall tonight, also coming in well under Hayon’s previous best coming into today, which stood at 1:01.24.

12-year-old Audrey Derivaux out of Jersey Wahoos did it again, putting up a stunning performance. After some crazy fast swims for a 12-year-old on the first two days of the meet, Derivaux finally broke an 11-12 girls NAG, finishing 3rd in the ‘C’ final tonight with a 1:01.41. That swim brought her in well under the 11-12 NAG, which was held at 1:01.75 by Cassidy Bayer. SwimAtlanta’s Katie Christopherson (16) also had a huge swim in the ‘C’ final, winning in a new personal best of 1:00.39.

BOYS 100 BUTTERFLY – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 50.62, Kristof Milak (HUN) – 2017
• Meet Record: 52.57, Michael Andrew (2015)
• 13-14 NAG: 53.27, Thomas Heilman (2021)
• 15-16 NAG: 52.40, Luca Urlando (2018)
• 17-18 NAG: 51.10, Michael Phelps (2003)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Bryce Halterman (Paseo Aquatics Swim Team) – 52.33
2. Thomas Heilman (Cavalier Aquatics) – 52.44
3. David Schmitt (Evolution Racing Club) – 53.32
4. Scotty Buff (Greater Toledo Aquatic Club) – 53.37
5. Conor McKenna (Lakeside Aquatic Club) – 53.68
6. Connor Foote (Streamline Aquatics) – 54.11
7. Nate Germonprez (Inspire Swim Team) – 54.27
8. Zachary Tamusaitis (Blast Sharks) – 54.56

Bryce Halterman got it done again, shedding more time from his personal best to beat out Thomas Heilman at the finish. The meet record that is posted of 52.57 is incorrect, as Andrei Minakov swam a 51.88 to win the event back in 2018. Nonetheless, it was an incredible performance from Halterman, and one that lifts him to #5 all-time in the 17-18 age group.

Thomas Heilman also swam a new best time by half a second, narrowly missing Luca Urlando‘s 15-16 NAG of 52.40. That’s not really such a big deal, as Heilman only just turned 15 at the end of January, and thus, has plenty of time left to break that record. He moves up to #2 all-time in the 15-16 age group.

17-year-old David Schmitt had a fantastic swim tonight, posting his 2nd lifetime best of the day to take 3rd. Schmitt entered the meet with a best time of 54.89, then swam a 53.96 in prelims to make the ‘A’ final. He lowered that time again to 53.32 tonight, marking a total improvement of 1.57 seconds today.

Notably, 14-year-old Rowan Cox out of Longhorn Aquatics swam a 54.53 in the ‘C’ final, brining him up to #2 all-time in the 13-14 age group, behind only Heilman.

GIRLS 200 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 2:03.35, Regan Smith (USA) – 2019
• Meet Record: 2:09.04, Kylie Stewart (2013)
• 13-14 NAG: 2:09.16, Missy Franklin (2009)
• 15-16 NAG: 2:05.10, Missy Franklin (2011)
• 17-18 NAG: 2:03.35, Regan Smith (2019)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. JoJo Ramey (Fishers Area Swimming Tigers) – 2:09.80
2. Lilla Bognar (Team Greenville) – 2:11.11
3. Teagan O’Dell (Irvine Novaquatics) – 2:11.16
4. Maggie Wanezek (Elmbrook Swim Club) – 2:12.20
5. Catie Choate (Dynamo Swim Club) – 2:13.43
6. Finley Anderson (University of Denver Hilltoppers) – 2:13.96
7. Sarah Rodrigues (North Jersey Bluestreaks) – 2:15.79
8. Erica Jaffe (Sierra Marlins Swim Team) – 2:16.43

JoJo Ramey got out to the early lead and never looked back, roaring into the finish first by well over a second. While the swim tonight was off Ramey’s personal best of 2:08.90, it was her fastest time of the year in the vent by nearly a second, and her first time under 2:10 this year as well.

Team Greenville 15-year-old Lilla Bognar had a fantastic race as well, grabbing 2nd at the finish with a 2:11.11. Bognar has been as fast as 2:10.62, but her time tonight was significantly faster than the 2:14.40 she swam this morning. She swam a well-split race as well, going out in 1:04.22 and coming home in 1:06.89.

Teagan O’Dell, the only swimmer in the field other than Ramey who has been under 2:10 before, was just behind Bognar at the touch, taking 3rd. O’Dell just didn’t seem to be quite on top of her game tonight, missing some of the closing speed we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from her. That’s not to say she split the race poorly. In fact, she was stunningly consistent, splitting 31.10, 33.33, 33.54, and 33.19 by 50.

BOYS 200 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 1:55.14, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) – 2017
• Meet Record: 1:58.83, Alex Katz (2013)
• 13-14 NAG: 2:00.28, Keaton Jones (2019)
• 15-16 NAG: 1:57.03, Aaron Peirsol (2000)
• 17-18 NAG: 1:55.15, Aaron Peirsol (2002)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Josh Zuchowski (Flood Aquatics Swim Team) – 1:58.42
2. Caleb Maldari (SwimMAC Carolina) – 1:59.92
3. Will Modglin (Zionsville Swim Club) – 2:00.85
4. Brandon Miller (North Carolina Aquatic Club) – 2:00.83
5. Humberto Najera (The Swim Team) – 2:03.24
6. Jonny Marshall (Firestone Akron Swim Team) – 2:03.64
7. Tommy Hagar (Commonwealth Swimming) – 2:03.69
8. Luigi Franco (Unattached-FL) – 2:05.14

There was never any doubt Josh Zuchowski was going to win this title. He immediately took over control of the race, getting into the 100m turn in a speedy 57.46. He held on well to his pace on the 3rd 50, getting into the 150m turn at 1:27.77. It looked as though Zuchowski might just dip under 1:58 for the first time in his career, as he exploded through the final breakout. He did ultimately fade just a bit on the final 50, swimming a 30.65. The performance also marks a personal best for Zuchowski by 0.02 seconds. He stays at #15 all-time in the 17-18 age group.

17-year-old Caleb Maldari out of SwimMAC Carolina swam a personal best of 2:00.83 this morning, then doubled down, breaking through the 2:00 barrier tonight. He took 2nd in 1:59.92, getting out to a 58.78 on the first 100, and coming home in 1:01.14. He actually closed the gap on Zuchowski a bit on the final 50, coming home in 30.26. Maldari moves up into a tie for #42 all-time in the 17-18 boys all-time rankings.

GIRLS 4×50 FREE RELAY – TIMED FINALS

• 15-18 NAG: Carmel Swim Club, 1:42.99 (2014)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Elmbrook Swim Club – 1:42.87
2. Carmel Swim Club – 1:44.40
3. Elevation Athletics – 1:44.79
4. University of Denver Hilltoppers – 1:45.30 (tie)
5. Aquajets Swim Team – 1:45.30 (tie)
6. Mission Viejo Nadadores – 1:45.57
7. Phoenix Swimming – 1:45.93
8. Fishers Area Swimming Tigers – 1:45.96

Elmbrook Swim Club was dominant in the women’s 200 free relay, cracking the 15-18 National Age Group Record as well. Maggie Wanezek got her team out to the early lead, splitting 25.99 on the lead-off leg. They didn’t take their foot off the gas, as Lucy Thomas went next with a sizzling 25.36 to put the team into the 100m wall at 51.35. Campbell Stoll went 3rd, splitting 26.06, then Abby Wanezek anchored in 25.48, leaving no doubt EBSC would be standing at the top of the podium.

Carmel Swim Club took 2nd, fueled by a great anchor leg out of Alex Shackell, who roared home in 25.36.

The fastest split of the event went to Fishers Area Swimming Tigers anchor Julie Mishler, who anchored in a smoking 25.24.

BOYS 4×50 FREE RELAY – TIMED FINALS

• 15-18 NAG: Spartan Aquatic Club, 1:32.43 (2021)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Dynamo Swim Club – 1:32.26
2. Irvine Novaquatics – 1:32.76
3. Mason Manta Rays – 1:32.95
4. Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics – 1:33.21
5. Nitro Swimming – 1:33.28
6. Rose Bowl Aquatics – 1:33.51
7. SwimMAC Carolina – 1:33.74
8. Lakeside Aquatic Club – 1:34.09

Dynamo Swim Club broke the National Age Group Record in the boys 15-18 200 free relay tonight. Owen McDonald got the team out to a 23.68 on the lead-off, then Leo Roden held the team steady with the leaders, splitting 22.96. Cooper Cook went 3rd, splitting 23.36, then Idris Muhammad anchored in a blistering 22.26 to bring his team to victory, with NAG to boot.

Muhammad is actually a rising sophomore at Purdue, he’s just young for his academic class. He’s been home training at Dynamo this summer, and as an 18-year-old, he’s eligible to be competing at this meet.

Other notable splits include Irvine Novaquatics’ Mitchell Schott, who anchored his relay in 22.68. SwimMAC’s Tiesyn Hadji anchored his relay in 22.60 as well. Texas Ford Aquatics’ Jacob Wimberly swam a 22.55 on the 2nd leg of his team’s relay.