Presenting the AgonSwim Weekly Wonders for the weekends of November 25-27 and of December 2-4, 2016.
Ryan Weaver, 12, Carolina Aquatic Team: 100y free (51.09) – Swimming at the Triad Tropic Invitational hosted by STAR Aquatics, Weaver won the boys’ 11-12 50/100 free, 50 back, and 50 fly, and was runner-up in the 100 back and 100 IM. He went 6-for-6, earning PBs in all his events. Weaver improved by 2.7 seconds in his 100 free and was 7 seconds faster than he’d been a year ago.
Berit Berglund, 11, Carmel Swim Club: 100y back (1:00.35) – Berglund dropped 9/10 in her 100 back and was 8 full seconds ahead of last year’s pace with her third-place finish in the girls’ 11-12 event at the SPEEDO Music City Invitational hosted by Nashville Aquatic Club. Berglund also improved her PBs in the 50/100/500 free and 100 fly.
Kristen Romano, 17, Long Island Aquatic Club: 200y back (1:53.98) – Romano posted the #1 200 back time in the U.S. for 18-and-under girls with her third-place finish at the AT&T Winter National Championships. It was her best performance by 2.3 seconds and 4 seconds faster than at the same time last year. She also placed 10th in the 100 back and 5th in the 200 IM, the latter with a best time.
Adam McDonald, 12, Cincinnati Marlins: 100y breast (1:02.09) – Swimming at the Winter Invite hosted by Oakland Live Y’ers, McDonald took 8/10 off his previous best 100 breast time, putting himself 4.7 seconds ahead of last year’s pace. He finished the weekend with new PBs in the 50/100/200/500 free, 50 back, 100 breast, 100 fly, and 100/200 IM.
Ana Jih-Schiff, 13, Crow Canyon Country Club Sharks: 200y breast (2:19.15) – Jih-Schiff scored her first Winter Juniors cut with a best-by-1-second 2:19.15, which won the girls’ 13-14 200 breast at the Pacific Swimming Short Course 14& Under Winter Junior Olympics hosted by Santa Clara Swim Club. Jih-Schiff also picked up new times in the 50/100 free and 200 IM during the weekend.
Rebecca Waterson, 14, Davis Aquadarts Racing Team: 100y fly (55.19) – Waterson sliced 3.3 seconds off her previous best 100 fly time, and landed her first Winter Juniors cut while finishing third in the women’s open event at the 68th Annual Husky SCY Invitational. Waterson left Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center with new PBs in the 50/100 free and 100 back, in addition to the 100 fly.
Brendan Burns, 15, Upper Main Line YMCA: 200y fly (1:46.50) – Burns unleashed the #4 time among all 18-and-under boys in the U.S. for the week, in A final of the 200 fly at AT&T Winter National Championships. Burns dropped 9/10 in prelims to become the only A finalist under 17 years old; he then took another 2 seconds off that time in finals to claim fifth spot overall. Burns came away with two more PBs: 100 back and 100 fly.
Tyler Hong, 13, Great Lakes Sailfish Swimming: 200y IM (1:57.63) – Hong won the boys’ 13-14 200 IM at the Shaker Shark Invitational, going a best time by 1.8 seconds and taking 9 full seconds off his time from the same period last season. He also won the 50/500 free and 400 IM. Hong finished the weekend with new PBs in the 50/500 free, 200 back, 200 breast, and 200/400 IM.
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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I think the swims and swimmers at COR (City Of Richardson) Winter classic in Rockwall TX deserved a mention. Lighting fast swimming in the boys 13-14 age group especially.