There were many, many fast swims over the weekend of March 20-22, but they tended to be concentrated in just a handful of meets, including the NCSA Spring Championships in Orlando, Florida, and the Northwest Region Age Group Championships at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. The following are our AgonSwim Weekly Wonders for the weekend of March 20-22, 2015:
Chloe Clark, 13, Foothill Aqua Sharks Swim Team: 50y free (23.28) – Clark notched her first national time standard in the 50 free at the Sierra Nevada 14 and Under Junior Olympics hosted by Sierra Marlins Swim Team and Sierra Nevada Swimming. She improved her seed time by .6 seconds and was 1.5 seconds faster than at the same meet last year. Clark also went best times in the 100 breast and 200 IM.
Casey Fanz, 16, Poseidon Swimming: 50m free (25.78) – At the NCSA Spring Championships, Fanz placed fourth in the 50m free and picked up her first Olympic Trials cut, going a best time by half a second. She finished the meet with new times in the 100/200y back, 50/100y fly, and 50/100m free, 100/200m back, and 50m fly.
Antony Demott, 12, Americus Blue Tide: 100y free (50.44) – Demott took a whole second off his previous PB, swimming at Georgia Swimming’s Southwest Divisionals. In addition to the 100 free, Demott earned new best times in the 50 free, 200 free, 500 free, 100 back, 50 fly, 100 fly, and 200 IM during the weekend.
Caroline McTaggart, 18, All Star Aquatics: 100m free (55.62) – McTaggart finished second in the 100m free at the NCSA Spring Championships with an Olympic Trials cut of 55.62, improving upon her best time by 8/10. The UCLA-bound senior finaled in all her events, winning the 50m fly, and picking up new times in the 50/100/200y fly, and 50/100/200m free and 50/100/200m fly.
Blayze Kimble, 13, Terre Haute Torpedoes: 200y free (1:46.16) – Kimble knocked 5.5 seconds off his seed time and placed second in the boys’ 13-14 200 free at the Indiana Age Group State Championships. Kimble finished top-8 in the 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 100 breast, and 200 breast, and won the consolation final in the 200 IM. He finished the weekend with new PBs in the 50/100/200/500 free, 100/200 breast, and 200 IM.
Allie Wooden, 18, Cincinnati Marlins: 1650y free (16:24.64) – Wooden, who plans to swim for USC in the fall, improved by 22 seconds and earned her first national cut in the 1650, finishing fourth at the NCSA Spring Championships. In addition to the mile, Wooden went best times in the 500y free, 100y back, 100m free, and 200m free.
Vinny Marciano, 13, Morris County Swim Club: 100y back (50.83) – Marciano picked up his very first Junior Nationals cut at the New Jersey Short Course Junior Olympics hosted by Berkeley Aquatic Club. He won the boys’ 13-14 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 back, and 200 back, notching best times in all five events.
Ethan Harder, 14, Billings Aquatic Club: 100y back (51.89) – Harder improved his seed time by 2.1 seconds and won the boys’ 14 100 back at the Northwest Region 2015 Short Course Age Group Championships hosted by Valley Aquatics. He also won the 200 back with a new PB of 1:52.22, and picked up new times in the 100/200/500 free and 200 IM.
Alice Treuth, 18, Coastal Aquatics Swim Team: 200m back (2:14.11) – Notre Dame-bound Treuth went a best time by 1.4 second to place third in the 200m back at NCSA Spring Championships. She also added new personal bests in the 100m back, 50y back, and 200y IM.
Jonathan Cook, 14, West Coast Aquatics: 100y breast (57.26) – At the Northwest Region Age Group Championships at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Cook won the boys’ 14 100 breast with a new Northwest Age Group record. He also won the 50 free, 200 breast, 200 IM, and 400 IM, setting records in the 200 breast and 200 IM.
Max McHugh, 15, Door County YMCA: 200y breast (2:02.41) – McHugh cracked the top-ten among 15-year-old boys for the year when he clocked a 2:02.41 at the Wisconsin YMCA State Meet at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center. McHugh also finished the weekend with best times in the 50 free and 100 breast.
David Madej, 15, SwimStrongsville: 100y fly (49.49) – Madej earned his first national cuts in the 100y fly at NCSA Spring Championships, first by cracking the 50-second barrier with 49.92, then by taking another half-second off to wind up with a Winter Nationals time standard. In addition to the 100 fly, Madej went best times in the 50/100y back, 50y breast, 100m free, 50/100m back, 50m breast and 50m fly.
Grace Knutsen, 13, La Grande Swim Club: 200y fly (2:05.85) – Knutsen won the girls’ 13 200 fly at the Northwest Region Championships, improving her time by 3.7 seconds over last year, and missing the Northwest record by .10. She also won the 200 IM and 400 IM, and finished the weekend with new times in the 200/500 free, 100/200 fly, and 200/400 IM.
Honorable Mention: just a quick note to recognize the Greater Omaha Aquatics boys’ 13-14 relay swimmers, who broke all 5 team and Midwestern Swimming LSC relay records at the MWS Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska. That includes the 400 MR (Luke Hemmingsen, Colin LaFave, Evan Thorell and Kayden McCullough, 3:40.39, -11.95 seconds); 800 FR (McCullough, Stephen Amato-Hanner, Thorell and Hemmingsen, 7:29.91, -1.79 seconds); 200 FR (McCullough, Hemmingsen, Thorell and Charlie Magee, 1:29.61, -2.51 seconds); 200 MR (Hemmingsen, LaFave, Thorell, McCullough, 1:42.28, -3.09 seconds); and 400 FR (Hemmingsen, McCullough, Thorell and LaFave, 3:19.87, -6.05 seconds).