Presenting the AgonSwim Weekly Wonders for the weekend of October 21-23, 2016.
Ben Hines, 13, Berzerker Swimming: 50y free (22.55) – Hines won the men’s open 100 free, was runner-up in the 50 free and 100 breast, finished third in the 100 fly, and was top-6 in the 200 free and 100 back and the SPA Fall Halloween Classic. He improved his 50 free time by .26 and was 1.2 seconds faster than he’d been at this time last year.
Madison Hall, 13, Great Wolf Swim Team: 100y free (52.98) – Swimming at the WOLF All about that Race meet, Hall won the girls’ 13-and-over 50 free and 100 free, and was runner-up in the 500 free, 100 breast, 200 breast, 100 fly, and 400 IM. She dropped 7/10 in the 100 free and improved by 1.5 seconds over last year’s time.
Emily Lundgren, 12, South Bay Aquatics: 1000y free (10:45.19) – Lundgren won the girls’ 11-12 1000 free and 400 IM at the Manta Ray Aquatics Mini/Distance Meet. She whacked 6 seconds off her previous best 1000 free and was 32.6 seconds ahead of where she’d been last year in the event.
Tyson Tucci, 12, Redbird Swim Club: 1650y free (17:23.71) – Tucci dropped 9 seconds en route to winning the boys’ 11-12 mile at the 2016 FAST Monster Splash Invitational in Fishers, Indiana. He was 32 seconds faster than at this time a year ago. Tucci also won the 11-12 50/200/500 free, and 50/100 breast, and was runner-up in the 100 free, 50/100 back, and 200 IM.
Kate Douglass, 14, Westchester Aquatic Club: 100y back (55.72) – Swimming at the Tina Ficarelli Meet hosted by Westchester Aquatic Club, Douglass posted the #1 times in the country for all girls 18-and-under in the 50 free, 100 back, and 100 breast. She went her best 100 back by 1 second and came away with a first-time qualification for Winter Juniors in the event.
Madeline King, 15, Cape Cod Swim Club: 200y back (2:02.72) – King won the 200 back and had top 8 finishes in the 50 free, 200 free, and 100 free at the Trials & Finals Meet hosted by Greenwood Swimming at WPI. She was only .35 off her PB in the 200 back; it’s the best she’s been in almost two years in the event.
Darien Betances, 12, Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA: Betances won the boys 11-12 100/200 free, 100/200 breast, 50 fly, and 100 IM at the Fall Harvest International hosted by Ocean County YMCA. He dropped 1.8 seconds off his PB in the 100 breast, broke 1:00 for the first time in the 100 IM, and 2:00 for the first time in the 200 free.
Edenna Chen, 15, Colorado Springs Swim Team: 100y breast (1:05.20) – Competing at the CSST Gian Luc Jordan Fall Open, Chen was a mere 4/10 off her best time in the 100 breast but a full 2.3 seconds faster than she’d been a year ago, as she won the girls’ 15-and-over 100 breast with a new meet record. She did earn PBs in the 50/100/200 free and 100 back.
Reminder: The Weekly Wonders column is a celebration of age-group swimming, where new champions are made every day. Anyone can look up the top swims of the week. That’s not what we’re doing here. If we were only reporting on the week’s top swims we would feature the same handful of athletes every Wednesday. Instead, this is an opportunity to introduce the swimming community to athletes who have made great strides in the context of their own particular swimming worlds. By association, it also celebrates their coaches and their teams. The Weekly Wonders column, therefore, amounts to a pat on the back for a job well done, and hopefully encourages swimmers of all levels to continue to reach from within to get to that next level.
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