Presenting our Weekly Wonders for June 14-16, 2019:
Summer Eaker, 16, SwimMAC Carolina (MAC-NC): 1500 free, 17:14.40 – Sixteen-year-old Summer Eaker has swum one 1500 free per year for the last four years, and each time, she’s dropped a minimum of 25 seconds. In her first attempt, as a 13-year-old, she went 20:24.48; as a 14-year-old she went 18:37.81; and a 15-year-old she went 17:49.81; and then last weekend’s swim took her to 17:14.40. She also went best times in the 200, 400, and 800 free as well as the 100 back at the 2019 Charlotte UltraSwim Meet.
Josh Parent, 14, Bluefish Swim Club (ABF-NE): 400 IM, 4:38.00 – Then 13-year-old Josh Parent ended the 2018 long course season with a best time of 4:51.92 in the 400 IM. In March, he dropped all the way to 4:40.04, then was back in the mid-4:40s in April and May. In his first swim last weekend, Parent went 4:42.17, and then later the same day. 4:38.00. He also went a best time in the 50 and 400 free as well as the 200 back, 200 breast and 100 fly.
Bella Answeeney, 14, Team Velocity (TV-FL): 200 fly, 2:14.72 – As a 13-year-old, Bella Answeeney ended the 2018 long course season with a best time of 2:22.51 in the 200 fly. In January, she dropped that to 2:19.27 in her first swim last weekend, then left that time in the dust later in the day, going 2:14.72. That time was good for her first 2019 Summer Juniors cut.
Quinn Caputo, 12, Crimson Aquatics (CRIM-NE): 100 back, 1:04.96 – Last year, Quinn Caputo dropped roughly right seconds over the course of the season in 100 back, ending up with a 1:08.88. In his first swim of 2019, Caputo jumped to 1:05.52. In prelims last weekend, he was 1:06.06, and then in finals, all the way back down to 1:04.96. Caputo also went a best time in the 200 and 400 free as well as 200 back, 100 breast, 100 and 200 fly, and 200 and 400 IM.
Ethan Rincon, 13, Brea Aquatics (BREA-CA): 100 free, 56.28 – After entering May with a best time of 59.49 in the 100 free, 13-year-old Ethan Rincon kicked off the season with a 58.78 in the 100 free. Last weekend, he raced it three times between relays and individual swims, going 58.49 (relay), 56.75, and 56.28 by the time the weekend was over, hitting a quadruple-A cut. Rincon also went best times in the 50 and 200 free as well as the 200 and 400 IMs.
Taylor Carey, 15, Rose Bowl Aquatics (ROSE-CA): 200 breast, 2:41.88 – Then 14-year-old Taylor Carey ended the 2018 summer season with a best time of 2:51.12 in the 200 breast. In her first attempt of 2019, back in early May, she went 2:43.59, and by the end of the month, she was 2:42.14. In her first swim last weekend, Carey was 2:42.86, then followed that up with a 2:41.88 performance, good for a quadruple-A time. She also went best times in the 100 and 200 free.