Sophomore Andrew Maksymowski Swims 1:36.4 in the 200 Free at Mt. SAC Meet of Champions

2024 Mt. SAC Meet of Champions

• April 12-13, 2024
• Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, California
• Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals

As California gears up for a run to the May 9-10 High School State Championship meet, Northwood High sophomore Andrew Maksymowski continues his breakout run through the high school season.

His latest performance at the Mt. SAC Meet of Champions included another best time in the 200 free of 1:36.47.

That swim follows another best time of 1:36.85 done at the Clovis West Invite a week earlier, and in total he has dropped his best time this season more than two seconds from the 1:38.54 he started with.

Maksymowski’s Progression:

His latest time would have placed 3rd at last year’s California State Meet.

While the two swims from Mt. Sac and Clovis West were only a week apart, the pacing was totally different. He went out aggressively in his latest swim, splitting 22.53 on the first 50. The first 100 was a 46.96 split, relative to a 48.49 in his Clovis West swim.

While he gave a lot of that back in the back-half, the experiment worked with a four-tenths drop in just a couple of days.

He showed off his speed elsewhere in the meet with a pair of speedy relay splits as well, both on a roll: he split 20.19 on Northwood’s 200 free relay and 44.54 on Northwood’s 400 free relay. Those swims are both significantly faster than his best flat starts of 21.05 and 45.24, respectively, both of which were done in the last six weeks.

Maksymowski also flexed some range by winning the 500 free in 4:25.60, which was about two-and-a-half seconds slower than his best time from early March.

His swims led Northwood High, which finished 4th at last year’s state meet, to the invite title on the boys’ side with 520 points, 13 better than the runners-up Portola.

Also contributing to that result was Will Chen, who was 2nd in the 200 free in 1:38.44 and won the 100 free in 45.42; Elson Lee, who won the 200 IM in 1:49.82; and Derek Hitchens, who finished 2nd in the 500 free in 4:29.82.

Other star individual performers include La Canada’s Ryan Makouar, who won the 100 fly in 48.32. That’s not a best time (he was 47.66 in early March), but it does match his time that finished 9th at last year’s State Championship meet.

In the girls’ varsity meet, Woodbridge High won running away with 571 points, almost 150 clear of the runners-up from La Canada.

Woodbridge placed 21st at last year’s state meet with a roster rich with underclassmen, and those underclassmen are hitting their stride. That includes team captain Zara Masud, now a senior, who won the 200 free (1:48.18) and 100 fly (54.01) individually. The 200 free time is a new personal best for the Georgia Tech commit, and leaves her already almost nine-tenths better than her swim that placed 5th at last year’s state meet.

Other high flyers in the girls’ meet included sophomore Ava de Anda from Riverside Poly-Tech, who won the 100 free in 49.55 and was just-behind Masud in the 200 free in 1:48.24. Along with Villa Park senior Allison Mann, this race featured three possible state finalists.

Sierra Tallman from Sam Marcos High School in Santa Barbara had a big meet as well, swimming lifetime bests in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.56) and 200 IM (2:02.00). That swim in the 100 breast was a five-and-a-half second improvement on her previous lifetime best, while the 200 IM was a drop of more than three seconds (and more than five across the season).

Top 5 Team Scoring

Boys’ Varsity:

1. Northwood – 520
2. Portola – 507
3. Woodbridge – 475
4. Irvine-University – 444.5
5. Damien – 389

Girls’ Varsity:

1. Woodridge – 571
2. La Canada – 366.5
3. Northwood – 339
4. Mark Keppel – 337
5. Irvine – 324