2023 CA FRAN CRIPPEN SWIM MEET OF CHAMPIONS
- April 13-16, 2023
- Marguerite Aquatic Center, Mission Viejo, CA
- Hosted by Mission Viejo Nadadores
- LCM (50 meters)
- Psych Sheet
- Day 1 Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap
- Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Recap
The third day of the 2023 Fran Crippen Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo, CA, is now in the books. Day three of the meet saw Sandpipers of Nevada 17-year-old Katie Grimes roar to a new personal best of 4:31.81 in the women’s 400 IM, which you can read more about here.
Before Grimes threw down her 400 IM personal best, she posted another personal best in the 200 free earlier in the session. Swimming a 1:57.85, Grimes finished second behind teammate Bella Sims. That performance marks Grimes’ first time under 1:58 in the event, clipping her previous best of 1:58.04, which she swam last month at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale.
Sims won the women’s 200 free in 1:57.63, touching just 0.10 seconds off her career best of 1:57.53, which she swam at the Olympic Trials Wave II in June of 2021. Notably, Sims’ swim last night was faster than her 2022 season best of 1:57.71, which is a good sign for Sims as we head into the summer.
Though Sims and Grimes were separated by just 0.22 seconds at the finish, the teammates swam very different races. Sims was, as usual, out fast, splitting 56.94 on the first 100m, while Grimes was well behind at 58.12 at the 100. Grimes then ate into Sims’ lead on the third 50, splitting 30.22 to Sims’ 30.60, which cut Sims’ lead down to 0.80 seconds with 50m to go. Grimes then roared home in 29.51, more than half a second under Sims’ 30.09, but it wasn’t quite enough and Sims got her hand on the wall first. Of note, Grimes’ 100 splits last night were 58.12/59.73, which is very tight for an LCM 200 free.
Mission Viejo Nadadores pro swimmer Trenton Julian won the men’s 400 IM in close race with MVN’s Noah Sech, 18. Like Sims and Grimes in the women’s 200 free, these teammates ended up in a close race at the finish but swam very different races. Julian was out fast, splitting 56.05 on fly and 1:10.98 on back for 2:07.03 on the first 200m, which put him way out ahead of Sech, who split 1:01.47 on fly and 1:09.79 on back for a 2:11.26 at the halfway point. Sech then flipped gears and threw down a sizzling 1:11.90 breast split, which beat Julian’s split (1:15.00) by 3.10 seconds. Sech also came home faster than Julian, splitting a speedy 59.10 on the final 100 to Julian’s 1:00.80 but Julian still managed to get his hand on the wall first.
In the end, Julian finished in 4:22.11, just ahead of Sech, who touched in 4:22.26. For Sech, the swim marked a massive lifetime best, crushing his previous PB heading into the day of 4:30.25, which he swam at Nationals last summer. Julian’s swim was a solid performance for April as well, coming in five seconds off his lifetime best of 4:17.03, which he established at 2018 Nationals.
Sech, a Princeton recruit who will begin his collegiate career this fall, also swam a lifetime best in the 200 free, finishing second in 1:50.56. Like his performance in the 400 IM, Sech’s 200 free marked a massive drop from his previous best, which stood at 1:55.34 heading into the day. He popped a 1:53.46 in prelims yesterday morning before taking another nearly three seconds off that time in finals.
It was Rose Bowl Aquatics 18-year-old Rex Maurer who won the men’s 200 free, roaring to a 1:49.55. The swim was very solid for Maurer, coming in just off his lifetime best of 1:48.97, which he swam at Junior Pan Pacs last summer.
Maurer then went on from the men’s 200 free to win the next event, the men’s 200 back, in a huge new lifetime best of 1:59.74. It was a massive performance for Maurer, who entered the day with a personal best of 2:10.48 from July of 2021. With the swim, Maurer picked up the Olympic Trials cut, which stands at 2:01.69.
Sandpipers 16-year-old Claire Weinstein won the women’s 200 back by a huge margin last night, finishing in 2:14.89. Weinstein entered the meet with a lifetime best of 2:17.54, which she swam in July of 2021. She got out to a great start, splitting 31.79 on the first 50m and 33.46 on the second 50 for a 1:05.25 on the opening 100. She then fell off that second 50 pace a bit, splitting 35.07 on the third 50 and coming home in 34.57 on the last 50.
OTHER EVENT WINNERS
- Women’s 50 breast: Nisha Kijkanakorn (UN-CA) – 32.80
- Men’s 50 breast: Man Hou Chao (NOVA) – 28.35
- Women’s 50 free: Teagan O’Dell (MVN) – 26.03
- Men’s 50 free: Jerome Heidrich (MVN) – 22.97
- Women’s 800 free relay: Sandpipers of Nevada (Hodges, Grimes, Weinstein, Sims) – 7:58.93
- Men’s 800 free relay: Sandpipers of Nevada (Ellis, Manteufel, Sullo, Clinton) – 7:55.03
NAG relay record for the 4×200 girls?
Our boy Sech about to switch commitments
1:11/59 is an elite back half. Foster was 1:10/58 at worlds last year
insane how the womens 8fr relay nearly beat the men 😮 (tbf it’s not much of a surprise when there’s three of the best swimmers in the world on that relay)