2021 MOC Championship Finale
- Date: March 26-28, 2021
- Location: North Charleston Aquatic Center
- Format: LCM-Friday; SCY-Saturday and Sunday
Top Girls’ Performances
Swimming in the mixed 100m backstroke event on Friday, 16-year-old Kiley Wilhelm of Life Time North Carolina Swim Team destroyed her PB, dropping 2.25 seconds to clock a 1:00.97 and qualify for Olympic Trials Wave II. Her previous time in the event dated from 2018 Summer Juniors, when she led off SwimMAC’s 400 medley relay. Wilhelm also won the 100 yard back in 53.66, just off her PB from the 2021 NCHSAA 4A State Championships, where she was runner-up to Claire Curzan with 53.48.
On Saturday and Sunday, which were swum in SCY format, Wilhelm won the won 200 free by 3.4 seconds with 1:47.22, only .4 off her best time. She won the 100 fly with a PB of 52.60, improving by .13. She crushed her previous lifetime best in the 200 back (1:56.47), winning the event with 1:52.71. She came within .9 of her PB in the 200 IM, going 1:57.67 for the fastest time in the final. Her best time of 1:56.77 dates from the 2020 NCHSAA 4A State Meet, where she broke both the 4A and North Carolina state records with 1:56.77. (They were then broken at 2021 4A States.)
Kaylee Hamblin (MSA) won the 200 breast with 2:13.43, a couple of seconds off her PB. Teammate Caroline Kudela improved her seed time by 1 second to finish with 2:16.01. Hamblin also won the 100 breast (1:01.28) ahead of Kudela (1:03.10) and Zoe Summar (XCEL). Summar notched a PB of 1:03.46, beating her old time by 1.3 seconds.
In the 100 fly, SCSC’s Kendal Chunn finished second Wilhelm with 55.25, notching a PB by a hair. Teammate Jill Smiley followed (55.54), not far off her best time. XCEL’s Summar dropped 2 full seconds to finish fourth with 55.82. Her teammate Meredith DiPasquale (55.70) was only .01 off her previous PB.
In the 200 IM, there were several strong performances following Wilhelm’s. MSA’s Emily Knorr clocked a prelims time of 2:04.56, 1.8 seconds faster than her old PB. Hamblin picked up a new time of 2:05.77, 2.5 seconds better than her seed time. And Kudela notched a 2:05.60 in prelims, dropping 1.6 from her entry time.
Knorr won the 500 free with 4:50.80. She was runner-up in the 200 back to Wilhelm and dropped 1.8 seconds to score a new PB of 1:57.38.
MSA’s Lindsay Flynn won 50 free with 22.18, just off her lifetime best. Teammate Teresa Ivan touched second in 22.64, also not PB. They both put down 21s on the third and fourth leg of the mixed 200 free relay that set the NAG Record for 17-18s. Their 16-year-old teammate Emilee Hamblin improved from 23.61 to 23.50 in the 50 free, finishing third. Flynn and Ivan also were 1-2 in the 100 free (49.02, 49.66), both a bit off their PBs.
Top Boys’ Performances
Mecklenburg Swim Association’s Garrett Boone came within .07 of a Wave I cut in the 100m fly, winning with a PB of 54.26. He also narrowly missed the 50 free Wave I cut, swimming .05 shy of the mark with 23.24. His MSA teammates Coleman McCreery (24.42), Kenan Dean (24.71), and Nathan Powell (24.86) all cracked 25 for the first time. Dean and Powell had never been under 26 seconds before.
Boone and McCreery swam the first two legs of the NAG Record-breaking mixed 200 free relay.
Boone won the 200 yard free with 1:36.31, .01 off his PB. He also won the 50 free (20.37) and 200 IM (1:48.38).
McCreery dropped nearly 2.6 seconds in the 200 breast to win with his first sub-2:00, 1:59.94. Teammate Powell improved by 1.8 seconds to place second in 2:02.11. Ethan Griffith of South Carolina Swim Club dropped 2.1 seconds to finish third with 2:03.72.
McCreery was runner-up in the 50 yard free with 21.03, improving his seed time by .47. Powell (21.17) dropped .4 to finish third. Owen Kirkpatrick (MSA) went 21.53, a drop of .2. Tobey Lima (SMRT) touched fourth in 21.67, lowering his PB by .05.
AJ Fair from XCEL won both the 100 back (49.80) and 200 back (1:47.32). He dropped 1.3 seconds in the 100 band 2.5 in the 200. LTNC’s Alex Wilhelm was runner-up in both events with 50.57 and 1:47.61. His previous time in the 200 back was 1:52.36. Wilhelm improved his time by 2.6 seconds in the 200 IM with his 1:50.35 runner-up finish to Boone.
There is something wrong with the times “She also took a tenth off her PB in the 200 IM, going 1:57.67 for the fastest time in the final. Her old time of 1:56.77 dated from the 2020 NCHSAA 4A State Meet, when she broke both the 4A and North Carolina state records with 1:56.77.” How your old time can be 1.56.77, improve by a tenth, and swim 1:57.67?
This is cool! But where is the 400IM A Final race video from women’s NCAA’s last week?