Here are the Weekly Wonders for the weekend of December 15-17, 2017:
Olivia Livingston, 16, Jewish Community Ctr Sailfish: 100y free (49.47) – Livingston went a PB by just a tick (0.06) to win the women’s 100 free at the 56th Annual Christmas Meet hosted by Team Pittsburgh Aquatics and Pitt. She was 1.1 seconds faster than she’d been last year at this time. Livingston also won the 50 free, was 3rd in the 200 free, and took 6th in the 100 back. She left the meet with new PBs in the 100/200 free ad 50/100/200 back.
Ella Guffey, 13, Clovis Swim Club: 200y back (2:04.23) – Swimming at the Davis Winter Invite hosted by DART, Guffey dropped 2.6 seconds from a 2-week-old PB in the 200 back and was 20.6 seconds faster than she’d been a year ago. She also updated her 200 free and 100 back times during the weekend.
Erik Fourzon, 12, Beach Swim Club: 100y breast (1:00.52) – Fourzon tore up the San Diego-Imperial Winter Age Group Championships. He took 4.1 seconds off a 1-month-old PB to win the boys’ 11-12 100 breast with a time that was 14.8 seconds faster than last year’s. He also won the 50/100 free, 50/200 breast, and 50/100 fly. He finished the meet with new times in the 50/100 free, 50 back, 50/100/200 breast, and 50/100 fly.
Jason Mathews, 18, Ohio State Swim Club: 100y breast (53.89) – Swimming unattached for Westerville North High School, Mathews dropped over a half-second to win the 100 breast with a new meet record of 53.89 at the 2017 Ned Reeb Memorial Invitational. That puts him at .65 faster than he’d been a year ago at this time. He also placed second in the 200 free with 1:39.79, a PB by 2 seconds.
Naomee Miller, 16, Racer X Aquatics: 100y breast (1:02.36) – Miller notched her first Summer Juniors cut in the 100 breast with a PB by 2 seconds to win the girls’ 15-16 event at the 56th Annual Christmas Meet. She dropped almost 5 seconds in the 200 breast and picked up her first Winter Juniors cut there, too. Miller also went PBs in the 100/200/500/1000 free.
Abi Furqueron, 14, (Spokane Waves Aquatic Team: 100y breast (1:04.29) – Furqueron dropped 3.4 seconds to qualify for the A final of the women’s 100 breast at the Washington State Senior Short Course Championships hosted by King Aquatic Club. She picked up her first Winter Juniors cut and was 5.5 seconds faster than she had been last December. Furqueron left the meet with best times in the 50/100/200 breast, 200 fly, and 200/400 IM.
Brady Cawthon, 15, City of Midland Swim Team: 100y fly (52.09) – Swimming at the King Marlin Pro-Am Classic in Lewisville, Texas, Cawthon improved his 100 fly time by a half-second and was 2.1 seconds faster than he’d been at the same meet last year. He also scored new PBs in the 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, and 200/400 IM.
Ben Patton, 17, Wichita Swim Club: 200y IM (1:48.72) – Patton swam his third sub-1:49 200 IM this month at the King Marlin Pro-Am Classic. He was just 2/10 off the PB he’d swum at Winter Juniors last weekend. He is now 3.7 seconds ahead of his last year’s pace. Patton did pick up new times in the 50/100/200 free and 200 breast at the meet.
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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