Potomac Valley Swimming 2024 Long Course 13 & Over Championships
- Thursday, July 18th – Sunday, July 21st
- Jeff Rouse Swim & Sports Center – Stafford, Virginia
- LCM (50M)
- Women’s Results
- Men’s Results
While much of the world was gearing up for the Olympics in Paris, the Potomac Valley LSC was hosting its 2024 Long Course 13 & Over Championships. Hosted by Occoquan Swimming (OCCS) at the Jeff Rouse Swim & Sports Center in Stafford, Virginia, the four-day meet saw many of the fastest 13-year-olds in the region compete.
Rockville Montgomery Swim Club’s Jeremiah Germosen, who just aged 13, wowed the crowd and the national rankings by posting a mark of 24.30 in the 50-yard free. Entering the meet with a PB of 25.47, the youngster dropped an impressive .31 off that mark to swim 25.16 in prelims but exploded in the finals, dropping an additional .86 off that mark to stop the clock in 24.30.
That time vaults him up the 13-14 National Age Rankings to tie for 67th with Greg Brocato and Blake TeBeest. Still just 13, Germosen has at least a year to move up further in the NAG, with Thomas Heilman‘s 22.95 occupying the top spot.
The Rockville Montgomery swimmer’s mark is the 9th fastest time in the age group this season, and among 13-year-olds, it stands alone as the fastest. Germosen equaled this feat in the short course yards version of the event, where his 21.88 tops the list.
Germosen’s PBs were not contained to the freestyle events alone, however. In addition to a 55.90 100 free, he also recorded new best in the 100 breast (1:16.09), the 100 fly (1:01.58), and the 200 IM (2:23.48). Despite the remarkable swims, Germosen placed only as high as second as Finn O’Shea of Nation’s Capital Swim Club out-touched Germosen in the 50 by the slimmest of margin, .01. The pair both undercut the Resident Record of 24.56 set by Brock Park back in 2004.
O’Shea, whose team won the meet ahead of Rockville, 1080 to 674, also recorded a new PB in the 50 free and sits tied for 63rd in the NAG rankings. The 14-year-old also won the 100 Free (54.18, 53.48 in prelims) and the 100 back (1:01.70) as well as placing 5th in the 100 fly (1:00.28).
The pair were not the only two to launch themselves up the NAG rankings as Dragon Swim Team’s Justin Shi, 14, in winning every event he swam, dropped multiple PBs, including a 2:09.22 200 IM that places him 43rd amongst 13-14-year-olds. His 100 fly time of 56.51 would rank 34th had he not swum a 55.96 earlier in the season, a time that slots him in as the 21st fastest ever. Shi was the male high-point winner, raking in 140 points.
Excitement wasn’t limited to the men’s 50 free, however. On the women’s side, All Star Aquatics’ KaiLi Ji (14) won by a large margin. Her 26.69 was over half a second clear of the runner-up’s time of 27.22 and ranked her 18th this season amongst 13-14-year-olds.
Ji also won the 100 free in 59.71 and had two other podium finishes, taking 3rd in both the 200 IM (2:30.02) and in the 100 back (1:09.20), both of which appear to be personal bests.
NCAP’s Jilly Shifflett was runner-up in the 50-yard free. Like Germosen, she is just 13 and finds herself near the top of the 13-year-olds this season, as her new personal best of 27.22 ranks her 12th this season. Shifflett was a part of NCAP’s winning 200 free relay and 200 medley relay teams, where she anchored both in splits of 26.84 and 27.29, respectively.
While Ji and Shifflett were posting tome times in their events host team, Occoquan Swimming’s Ariana Aldeguer walked away with the meet’s high point award, scoring 122 points. Aldeguer cleaned up in the longer events, winning the 200 IM (2:29.61), 400 IM (4:17.82), and the 200 fly (2:23.98), as well as placing 2nd in the 400 free (4:37.41) and 3rd in the 800 free (9:42.27).
Much like on the men’s side, NCAP ran away with the meet title, scoring 1520 points, more than three times that of runner-up All-Star Aquatics’ 472 and 3rd place finishers, Rockville, who was just behind them at 471.
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