AgonSwim Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming – 3/18/2014

The short course-to-long course transition is upon us and it will be about a month of final short course championship meets overlapping with long course season openers. Winter high school meets are all but over, and now we’re left with just those few states (like California) for whom high school swimming is a sprint sport. Here are our AgonSwim Weekly Wonders for the weekend of March 13-15, 2015:

David Curtiss, 12, Tri-Hampton YMCA Swim Team: 50y free (22.69) – Curtiss dropped .91 and set the meet record while winning the boys 11-12 50 free at the Middle Atlantic Junior Olympic Age Group Championships at GCIT. He also won the 100 free, 200 free, 50 back, 100 back, and 50 fly, and took home new times in all those events, plus the 50 breast and 200 IM.

Alayna Connor, 15, The Dolphins: 50y free (23.11) – At Speedo Sectionals at Federal Way hosted by Bellevue Club Swim Team, Connor swam the 50 free three times and recorded her first-ever national cuts in the event, three times. Coming into the meet with a 23.58, Connor went 23.33 in prelims to place third, then 23.24 in finals, and then she led off The Dolphins’ 200 free relay in 23.11. Connor also got her first national cut in the 100 free (50.95) leading off the 400 free relay.

Gabrielle Ivey, 11, Biloxi Elite Swim Team: 100y free (55.02) – Ivey won the “B” final of the girls 11-12 100 free at the Eastern Section Southern Zone Age Group Championships hosted by Southern Crescent Aquatic Team and Buzz Swimming. She entered the meet with a 57.52 and proceeded to drop 1.5 seconds between prelims and finals. Ivey also went best times in the 50 free, 200 free, 500 free, 100 back, 200 back, and 50 fly.

Michael Jensen, 17, Unattached (Upper Dublin Aquatic Club): 200y free (1:35.31) – Swimming at the PIAA Boys AAA Swimming & Diving Championship, Jensen broke the Pennsylvania state meet record in the 200 free with 1:35.31, winning the event by over 2 seconds. The Upper Dublin High School junior also won the 100 free (43.29).

Will Barao, 13, South Shore YMCA Strypers: 400m free (4:08.73) – Barao opened long course season with a Winter Juniors bonus cut in the 400 free at Speedo Sectional Championships hosted by Plantation Swim Club. Barao placed tenth in the event, improving his seed time by 5.5 seconds in prelims and another .4 in finals for a total of nearly 6 seconds. Barao also finaled in the 200 free, 200 fly and 400 IM. He also dropped nearly 47 seconds to finish fifth in the 1500 with 16:27.39, the exact cutoff time for the Summer Juniors bonus cut.

Tevyn Waddell, 16, Mitchell Aquatic Club: 100y back (54.20) – Waddell set a meet record when she won the 100 back at Speedo Sectionals in Iowa City hosted by Iowa Flyers Swim Club. Waddell also won the 200 back and 100 fly, and finished second in the 500 free, second in the 1000 free, and third in the 100 free. Waddell picked up new times in the 100/500/1000 free over the course of the weekend.

Joy Jiang, 11, Westchester Aquatic Club: 200y back (2:07.79) – Jiang placed second in High Point rankings for 11-12 girls at Metro Swimming’s 14 & Under Junior Olympics hosted by Long Island Aquatic Club. She had top-8 finishes in the 50/100/200 back, 50/100/200 fly, and 100/200/400 IM. She came away from the meet with new personal bests in all nine events. Furthermore, Jiang ranks in the top 5 in the country in each of those events, and is the Number One 11-year-old girl in the 400 IM.

Emma Schanz, 17, Unattached (Spokane Waves Aquatic Team): 200y breast (2:09.03) – Schanz improved her personal best by 1.8 seconds and won the 200 breast at Speedo Sectionals in Federal Way. She also won the 100 back, 200 back, and 200 IM, and placed third in a very exciting 100 breast, separated by only .08 from the winner. Schanz notched personal bests in all five events during the weekend.

Alexa Cuomo, 13, Mason Makos Swim Team: 100y fly (54.57) – Cuomo went a best time by 1.7 seconds and got her first-ever national cut when she won the girls 13-14 100 fly at the Potomac Valley 14&U Junior Olympics Championships hosted by Machine Aquatics at the University of Maryland. Cuomo also won the 100 free (52.58) and finished second in the 50 free and 100 back. She left the meet with new PBs in the 100/200 free, 100 back, and 100/200 fly.

Brendan Burns, 13, Upper Main Line YMCA: 200y fly (1:52.87) – Swimming at Middle Atlantic JOs, Burns dropped 1.2 seconds in prelims of the boys 13-14 200 fly, then another 2 second in finals, to win the event by nearly 8 seconds. He jumped to the top of the national rankings for 13-year-old boys for the season, and now sits at 56th on the all-time list for 13-14 boys in the event. Burns fell just shy of the Middle Atlantic LSC record of 1:52.44. Last March he was a 2:05 200-butterflier.

Michael Petro, 14, Alligator Aquatics: 200y IM (1:53.36) – Petro won the boys 13-14 200 IM by 5/100 at the Illinois Swimming Discover Student Loans SC Age Group Championships hosted By Academy Bullets. It was his best time by 3.7 seconds and moved him to 8th for the season nationally, for 14-year-old boys. Petro also won the 100 free, 200 free, and 100 fly.

Tristan Furnary, 17, Multnomah Athletic Club: 400y IM (3:52.60) – Furnary picked up a bronze medal in the 400 IM at Speedo Sectionals in Federal Way by knocking 2.76 seconds off his seed time. Furnary was also a top-8 finalist in the 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly, and 200 IM, and a B finalist in the 100 free. He finished the weekend with new PBs in the 50 free, 200 free, 100 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM.