2024 18&U Spring Cup – Elkhart: Leah Hayes and Josh Bey Among Midwest Stars Entered

2024 18 & Under Spring Cup – Elkhart

• Thursday-Sunday, May 2-5, 2024
• Elkhart Aquatic Center, Elkhart, IN
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Page
• Psych Sheet
• Live Stream
• Individual Event Results

The 2024 18 & Under Spring Cups kicked off last night in 3 sites across the US. At the Elkhart, IN site, last night featured a short distance session to open the meet. The girls 800 free saw Columbia Swim Club 18-year-old Macey Hansen pick up the win with a 9:00.98.  Hansen, a Wyoming recruit, was just off her career best of 9:00.22, which she swam at the Speedo Sectionals meet in Columbia in mid March.

Razorback Aquatic Club Aquahawgs 17-year-old Conner Boatright claimed victory in the boys 1500 free, swimming a 15:58.84. The Mizzou recruit was a bit off his personal best of 15:44.84, which he swam at Summer Junior Nationals last year.

Moving into the first full day of the meet, there should be some great racing. Fox Valley Park District Riptides 18-year-old Leah Hayes is entered in the meet. Hayes, a 2022 World Championships medalist and a 2023 World Junior Champion, is set to race the 200 free, 400 IM, 200 breast, and 200 IM this weekend. She’s the top seed in each of those events. The 200 IM is the event in which Hayes earned the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, so we’ll want to keep a close eye on her there as we move ever closer to the Olympic Trials. Hayes is set to begin her collegiate career at Virginia in the fall.

Another swimmer set to be off to college in the fall is Patriot Aquatic Club 18-year-old Annika Parkhe, who is a Stanford recruit. A talented sprint freestyler and butterflier, Parkhe is the top seed in the girls 50 free (25.57), 100 free (55.53), and 100 fly (58.71). She’s the #2 seed in the 200 fly (2:12.54) and 200 free (2:01.01), and is seeded deeper in the 100 back and 200 IM. Of note, Parkhe is just 0.12 seconds off the Olympic Trials cut in the 200 free, so she may be able to add a 5th event to her Trials schedule this weekend.

Iowa Flyers 17-year-old Jacob Pins should be one of the stars of the meet as well. One of the top recruits in the 2024 class, Pins is signed with Arizona State for the fall. Pins is only entered in the 200 free (1:53.08), 400 free (3:57.90), and 800 free (8:10.92), and he is the top seed in the 200 free and 800 free. It looks like Pins should be racing with 1500 free champion from last night Conner Boatright all weekend. Boatright is seeded right behind him in the 200 free (1:53.58) and 800 free (8:11.06), while he’s the top seed in the 400 free with a 3:56.77.

There’s a ton of great girls breaststrokers entered in this meet. The top 4 seeds in the girls 100 breast all come in under 1:10, including top seed Mary Cespedes out of Valparaiso Swim Club, who has been as fast as 1:08.81. Cespedes will be a freshman at Indiana in the fall. 16-year-old Elizabeth Nawrocki from Academy Bullets is the 2nd seed with a 1:09.27, while teammate Bridget McGann (18) is 3rd with a 1:09.81. NASA Wildcat Aquatics 14-year-old Grace Koenig-Song is 4th with a 1:09.97.

Highland Hurricanes Swim Club 17-year-old Josh Bey, an Indiana recruit for the class of 2025, is the top boys breaststroker entered in the meet. Bey has already been 1:01.45 in the 100 breast in his career, which makes him the top seed at this meet by over a second. He’s the top seed in the 200 breast by nearly 3 seconds, entering with his personal best of 2:13.21.