2023 Northwest Region Age Group Championships
- March 16-19, 2023
- Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. Federal Way, WA
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2023 Northwest Region Age Group Championships”
Olympic Cascade Aquatics hosted the 2023 Northwest Region Age Group Championships last month in Federal Way, Washington. Bellevue Club Swim Team dominated the team standings on the boys’ side of the meet, while Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club narrowly won on the girls’ side.
Team Scores – Boys:
- Bellevue Club Swim Team – 698.5
- Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club – 412
- Pacific Dragons Swim Team – 292
Team Scores – Girls:
- Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club – 551
- Bellevue Club Swim Team – 528
- King Aquatic Club – 365
13-year-old Syunta Lee from West Coast Aquatics had a terrific meet, winning all six of his individual events. Highlighting Lee’s meet was his 100 backstroke, where he dropped over a second to post a 51.93. Lee’s time ranks him 31st in the country this year for the 13-14 age group, and 3rd among 13-year-olds. He also swam a best time of 1:52.66 in the 200 backstroke, also ranking him 3rd nationally for 13-year-olds this year.
Finishing 2nd behind Lee in the 100 backstroke was Issaquah Swim Team’s Owen Stauffer. Stauffer dropped over two seconds to stop the clock at 52.08, putting him 5th nationally for 13-year-old boys this season.
Lee’s teammate Emily Garcia won six events of her own as well. Garcia, 10, dominated the 200 IM to win by over six seconds. She dropped over five seconds from her personal best time, clocking a 2:23.55 to rank her 11th this season for 9-10 year-olds. Additionally, Garcia dropped over a half a second in the 50 back (30.32) and two tenths in the 100 back (1:05.77), ranking her 5th and 6th nationally.
Rounding out Garcia’s victories was the 100 breaststroke (1:15.32), 50 breaststroke (35.67), and 100 IM (1:06.58), with all of her swims being personal best times.
Bellevue’s Tatum Enge and Pacific Dragons’ Annie Wang also secured six individual victories apiece. Enge, 12, recorded the 6th fastest time in the country this season for 11-12 girls with a 30.89 in the 50 breaststroke. She went on to drop over a second in the 100 IM (1:01.06) putting her 11th nationally, and broke the minute-barrier for the first time in the 100 fly with a 59.80.
Wang, 11, dropped over two tenths in the 50 free to post a 25.36, ranking 3rd for 11-year-olds this year. She also notched a best time in the 100 IM of 1:03.58, marking a two second drop from her previous best.
11-year-old Bryce Chen from the Pacific Dragons had a fantastic meet as well. Chen logged a best time by half a second in the 50 free to record a 24.99, topping the field by over a second. He also dropped nearly three seconds in the 100 backstroke, logging a 1:02.08 in finals.
Grant Bellin from University Place Aquatics Club and Tai Manning from Seattle Metropolitan put together outstanding meets with six wins each. Bellin’s schedule was highlighted by his best time of 26.71 in the 50 backstroke, ranking him 13th in the boys’ 11-12 age group this season. Manning, also 12, dropped nearly four seconds in the 200 fly (2:10.86) and almost nine seconds in the 400 IM (4:42.23) en route to two of his victories.