Class of 2025 Makes a Splash at Western Zone Senior Championship

2024 Short Course Senior Zone Championships

• April 3-6, 2024
• St. George, UT
• 25 yards (SCY)
• Meet Central
• Results
• Individual Scores
• Team Scores

The high school class of 2025 proved that they are one to watch in the pool as members of the class had a hand in taking down five meet records at the Western Zone Senior Championship in Utah. Known for bringing together “the best in the west”, the meet served as the backdrop for a number of top performances by leading age group swimmers to close out the short course season.

New meet records were posted in back-to-back races by juniors as both the boys’ and girls’ 1650 free saw the winners race far ahead of the pack to secure their victories and topple records.

Gherman Prudnikau, a member of Mission Aurora Colorado Swimming, shattered the previous meet record by nearly 12 seconds, winning in a time of 15:39.46. Despite being five seconds off of his personal best, Prudnikau’s performance propelled him into the wall almost 14 seconds ahead of runner-up Easton Mousser and easily took down the meet record that had been set just last year by Miles Cratsenberg.

The girls’ 1650 title went to Utah Valley Aquatics’ Avery Bulkley, who won with a time of 16:56.33 to take down the meet record. She shaved just under two seconds off the previous record of 16:58.01, set in 2023 by Addison Sala, and lowered her own personal best by an astonishing 18.25 seconds. Sala placed 4th at this year’s championship.

The final individual meet record to fall was knocked down by Veronica Black in the girls’ 200 breast. A member of Wasatch Front Fish Market, Black won the event in a time of 2:13.68, lowering the previous record from its time of 2:14.80, which was set last year by Camden Doane. Black, who is a junior committed to San Diego State University, currently holds the 56th fastest time in the 200 breast this season from a meet back in December, where she swam a time of 2:13.58.

Two more meet records were established in the relays, where members of the class of 2025 continued to post top swims contributing to the success of their teams.

In the boys’ 200 medley relay, the Aquawolves Swim Team broke the meet record by a full second, throwing down a time of 1:30.12 to best the previous time of 1:31.18 swam by Lake Oswego Swim Club in 2023. The team of Oliver Schimberg, Patrick Deevy, Brodie Johnson and Bronson Smothers jumped to an early lead thanks to junior Schimberg’s opening split of 22.25 seconds, which they held onto throughout the race.

The University of Denver Hilltoppers took home the title and established a new meet record in the women’s 200 free relay. The team of Charlotte Burnham, Elise Ramsden, Taetum Fuller and Riley Mills secured their victory with a time of 1:33.10, narrowly breaking the previous record of 1:33.48 set by the Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club in 2022.

Junior Mills posted the fastest split in the field with her closing leg of 23.05, while teammates Burnham and Ramsden, both University of California commits, also posted two of the fastest splits, throwing down a 23.31 and 23.34 respectively. Burnham will head to California in the fall, while Ramsden will follow the year after.

Other Notable Performances

• Bozeman Barracudas Swim Club’s Julia Huffmaster racked up five individual victories and five personal best times over the course of the competition. She swept the sprint and mid-distance freestyle events, winning the 50 (23.14 – PB), 100 (49.97) and 200 (1:48.82 – PB). Committed to University of Southern California, Huffmaster also won the 200 fly (1:59.98 – PB) and 200 IM (2:01.60).
• Junior Jade Garstang, a University of Arizona commit, swept the backstroke events, winning the 100 in a time of 54.50 and the 200 in a personal best time of 1:57.10. A member of Wasatch Front Fish Market, she also won the 100 fly in a time of 54.08 and was the runner-up in the 200 fly with a best time of 2:01.44.
• Michael Hochwalt, a member of Spokane Waves Aquatic Team and University of Arizona commit, racked up 188 points for his team. He won five individual events, which included all 200s of stroke and both IM races. Hochwalt took home victories in the 200 back (1:45.35), 200 breast (2:01.34), 200 fly (1:46.78), 200 IM (1:47.34) and 400 IM (3:50.96).
• 14-year-old Treyvn Krauss made a splash by being one of the youngest competitors at the meet. He accumulated 28 points for the University of Denver Hilltoppers, with his highest finish being a 7th-place finish in the 500 free in a personal best time of 4:36.35. Krauss posted another best time in the 200 IM, finishing 34th in a time of 1:58.29.

Top 10 Girls’ Team Scores

1. University of Denver Hilltoppers – 864
2. Denver Swim Academy – 740.5
3. Lake Oswego Swim Club – 470
4. Wasatch Front Fish Market – 418
5. ACES Swim Club – 404
6. Fort Collins Area Swim Team – 404
7. Lakeridge Swim Team – 397
8. Bozeman Barracudas Swim Club – 353
9. Aquawolves Swim Team – 352
10. Olympus Aquatics – 336

Top 10 Boys’ Team Scores 

1. Olympus Aquatics  – 1,031.5
2. University of Denver Hilltoppers – 877.5
3. Aquawolves Swim Team – 626.5
4. Lake Oswego Swim Club – 592
5. Boulder City Henderson Heatwave – 418
6. Academy Swim Club (Hawaii) – 303
7. Spokane Waves Aquatic Team – 264
8. Skyline Swim Club – 259
9. Cottonwood Heights Aquatics – 250.5
10. Lakeridge Swim Team – 217