2023 Southeastern Swimming LSC Championships
- July 14-16, 2023
- Huntsville Aquatic Center, Huntsville, Alabama
- Long Course Meters (50 meters)
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2023 SE Southeastern LC Championships” or search “Huntsville”
A massive drop from Logan Robinson and a celebratory victory from Levenia Sim highlighted day 1 of the 2023 Southeastern Swimming LSC Championships on Friday in Alabama.
Robinson, a 17-year-old representing the Greater Pensecola Aquatic Club, won the 200 free by almost two seconds, swimming 1:52.13.
He entered the meet with a best time of 1:57.31 from June, and dropped that first to 1:55.30 in prelims and then to his winning 1:52.13 in finals for a total of 5.18 seconds of improvement on the day.
His total 2023 calendar year drop in the event is even more staggering: his previous best time was 2:01.56, marking an eight-and-a-half-second improvement. All of that improvement has come since he committed to Florida State for the class of 2024, as did a pretty big drop in yards (from 1:39.4 to 1:37.7 in March), and another in the 200-yard fly (1:49.9 to 1:45.2 in March). The Seminoles’ only three ACC scorers in the 200 free last season will both be graduated by the time Robinson arrives on campus.
Robinson now ranks 15th among American 17-and-unders this season in the 200 free.
Among the other day 1 winners was Levenia Sim from TNT Swimming, who won the 50 fly in 27.65. This is her first meet since committing to Stanford earlier in the week.
She also finished 2nd in the 100 back in 1:02.43, placing behind 15-year-old Roos Rottink (1:02.37). Rottink is half of a pair of rising age group twins from the Memphis Thunder Aquatic Club. That swim is a four-tenths improvement on Rottink’s personal best and moves her up to 5th so far this season among American 15 & unders.
Roos (56.94) and her sister Eva (59.38) combined with teammates Raine Boles (59.98) and Evelynn Munz (1:00.50) to win the 400 free relay.
Other Day 1 Winners:
- Lauren Wetherell, a Brit and rising Tennessee junior, won the 200 free in 2:02.49. That’s almost a nine-tenths improvement on her personal best in the event. That’s her first drop in this event since 2019.
- Zoe Summar won the girls’ 100 breaststroke in 1:12.52, about six-tenths off her personal best. Bryce Winzenread won the 13-14 girls’ race in a new best time of 1:14.87.
- Ian Call is on a quest for possible National Age Group Records this weekend before aging up later this summer, but was just-shy of his best in the 13-14 boys’ 100 breast. He still grabbed a win in 1:04.32, one of the best 13-14 times in history, missing his own best of 1:03.78 and the record of 1:03.23.
- 18-year-old Mark Underwood of the Birmingham Swim League won the boys’ 100 breast in 1:03.69. That’s a new best time for the senior commit to the University of Alabama.
- Cal swimmer Evan Petty, who missed the spring semester for the Golden Bears, has been having a bounceback summer, including a new best time of 55.19 in the 100 back on Friday, a second Olympic Trials-clearing standard in this event. He had not been better than 56.72 before this summer.
- Alabama undergrad Laci Black won the 400 IM in 5:02.96, while Luke Waldrep from the Baylor Swim Club won the boys’ race in 4:27.61. Waldrep’s time was an eight-and-a-half second improvement from his previous personal best done last summer, which follows a big drop to 3:55 in the 400 yard IM during the short course season.
- Nashville Aquatic Club’s Spencer Nicholas won the boys’ 50 fly in 24.54. That’s just .16 seconds shy of the personal best for the Virginia commit.
Great swim! But Is no one going to talk about Luke Waldrep?
He came to this meet prepared and ready to race! Luke Waldrep was my favorite swimmer to watch throughout the entire weekend! There was a lot of chatter about him in the stands, and I overheard someone say that he just turned 17 this week and will be a high school Junior. If he continues on the trajectory he is currently on under the new staff at Baylor, this kid is going to be great! I think he may have even had a PB in every single race he swam…including the 200 IM in finals on night 3 about 1.5 hours after a huge drop in the 1500. He’s definitely on my watchlist!
Warchant intensifies. GO NOLES🍢