2024 18 & UNDER SPRING CUP – MESA
- May 2-5, 2024
- Mesa, Arizona
- LCM (50 meters)
- Psych Sheets
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2024 USA Swimming 18&U Spring Cup – Mesa”
- Day 1 Recap
- Day 2 Recap
Day three of the Mesa 18 & Under Spring Cup took place on Saturday at the Skyline Aquatic Center. This penultimate finals session featured the 200 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, and 400 freestyle.
Bailey Hartman, a Virginia commit, kicked off the session with a 200 fly victory. She won the race by nearly three seconds in 2:14.67, which is over four seconds shy of her fastest career marker (2:10.58). She opened strongly with a time of 1:03.62 through the first half before closing in 1:11.05. Her splits by 50 were 29.58, 34.04, 35.45, and 35.60.
Hartman later won the 400 free with a time of 4:18.91, but that win didn’t come quite as easy. 15-year-old Paige Downey, who represents Gold Medal Swim Club in Arizona, notched a 2nd place effort of 4:19.61. While Hartman led for the entire race, Downey swam side-by-side just a few tenths behind the whole way. Both swimmers were a bit off their fastest-ever times, with Hartman owning a best of 4:10.59 and Downey being as quick as 4:16.91 in the past.
Hartman was also a double event winner on Friday where she won the 200 free and 100 fly. The 200 free was first on her Friday schedule, and she faced a tough battle with both Ella Cosgrove and Amelia Mason. Hartman ultimately grabbed the win at 2:01.86 ahead of Cosgrove (2:02.07) and Mason (2:02.68). Hartman won the 100 fly in 1:00.59, which garnered her victory by 1.84 seconds.
16-year-old Aiden Hammer took on the same 200 fly/400 free double as Hartman. The King Aquatic Club swimmer won the 200 fly in 2:03.27, which obliterated his previous best of 2:05.05 from the San Antonio Pro Swim Series last month. His time drop came strictly from the last 100, as he closed in 1:03.21 compared to the 1:06.08 split from San Antonio.
Hammer later nabbed 2nd place in the 400 free behind Raymond Hesser. Hammer led through the first 300 meters but Hesser’s closing 100 split of 56.78 was too much for Hammer to overcome. Both swimmers negative split their races by 200 and just missed their respective lifeitme bests. See a full splits comparison below.
Splits Comparison:
| Raymond Hesser | Aiden Hammer | |
| First 100 | 57.79 | 57.75 |
| Second 100 | 1:58.68 (1:00.89) | 1:58.65 (1:00.90) |
| Third 100 | 2:59.55 (1:00.87) | 2:58.90 (1:00.25) |
| Final 100 | 3:56.33 (56.78) | 3:56.73 (57.83) |
Hesser won the 200 free on Friday with a time of 1:50.88, where he opened in 54.30 before closing in 56.58 over the final 100 meters. That swim represented a new best time for the 18-year-old, who cleared his previous standard of 1:51.66 from March. Hesser is committed to swim with the California Golden Bears next season.
In his first event of the meet, 18-year-old Marre Gattnar (23.28) won a close battle in the men’s 50 free. The North Bay Aquatics athlete was exactly a tenth shy of his best time from the Winter Junior National Championships in December. John Thumann (23.32) touched the wall just 0.04 behind Gattnar to place 2nd. August Vetsch (23.45), Ian Everett (23.83), and Jason Sugihara (23.94) rounded out the top five with sub-24 second swims. Thumann would go on to win the 100 back later in the night (57.97).
14-year-old Stella Canoles won the women’s 50 free in 25.71, which eclipsed her previous lifetime best of 26.11. Notably, her winning time was just 0.02 outside of the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying standard of 25.69. Canoles swims for the Orinda Aquatics Swim Team, which is located about 11 hours away in California. Three other competitors joined Canoles under 26 seconds with Liberty Clark (25.93) grabbing 2nd ahead of Kamryn Meskill (25.97) and Sophia Sunwoo (25.99).
The women’s 100 back was the closest race of the night, where Sunwoo and Meskill renewed their battle from the 50 free. The pair touched just 0.02 apart in the 50 free and that same margin separated them in this 100 back. Sunwoo got the better of Meskill this time around though, winning in 1:03.47 to Meskill’s 1:03.49. Sunwoo missed her lifetime best of 1:03.08 while Meskill broke 1:04 for the first time in her career. Sunwoo is committed to swim at Princeton University while Meskill is headed to the University of North Carolina. Both athletes will arrive on those respective campuses in the fall of 2025.
World Junior Championships medalist Piper Enge was given a scare in the women’s 200 breast. She did win the event with a time of 2:34.43, but 14-year-old Adelyn Burns (2:34.68) and 16-year-old Raya Mellott (2:34.82) finished within a half second of her at the finish. Enge’s career record stands at 2:27.86, so she was about 7 seconds off that mark tonight.
Enge snagged victory during Friday’s 100m distance as well, which gives her a sweep of the breast races in Mesa. The Texas commit produced a winning time of 1:08.19 there, which checks-in about a second off her 1:07.27 best time from the Federal Way Sectionals in March. She is entered to race the 100 free and 200 IM to close out the meet on Sunday.
After winning the men’s 100 breast (1:04.14) on Friday, NC State commit Hudson Schuricht doubled up on breast wins as well. He stopped the clock in 2:20.18 to win the 200m distance, which cleared the field by over two seconds.