2021 YMCA LONG COURSE SWIMMING FESTIVAL
- July 22-25, 2021
- Triangle Aquatic Center, Cary, North Carolina
- Long Course Meters (LCM)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2021 NC AP YMCA Long Course Swimming Festival”
The Triangle YMCA in Cary, North Carolina is playing host to the YMCA Long Course Swimming Festival this weekend as the Triangle Aquatic Center welcomes 43 teams and over 500 swimmers from around the country to compete. Earlier this year, at the short course edition of the meet, athletes competed virtually, with teams sending in their times swum during the month of March.
Sarah Eldridge kicked off the finals session with a win in the women’s 400 freestyle. Entering the finals as the 3rd seed, Eldridge finished six seconds faster during finals on her way to a time of 4:20.46. Her time in finals also marks a huge lifetime best for the 16-year old, as coming into the meet her fastest performance in the race had been a 4:25.57 from the 2019 YMCA National Championship meet. Eldridge is committed to join Navy’s freshman class in the fall of 2022.
The YMCA of Greater Monmouth swept the 400 freestyle, as Theo Rennard came away with the win on the men’s side. Like Eldridge, Rennard had a big time drop from prelims to finals as he finished in 4:05.70. His swim was also a lifetime best in the race, over a second faster than his previous best from the 2019 YMCA National Championships.
Grabbing her second win in as many days was Grey Davis in the women’s 100 fly. Only 15, Davis was exactly a second faster in finals than she was in prelims, improving from the second seed to finish in the top time of 1:00.75. Davis was slightly off of her lifetime best in the race, a 1:00.22 from April this year at the Spring Cup meet in Richmond.
Joining Davis in winning multiple events this week was Thomas Heilman, who claimed his third individual win of the week as he captured the 100 fly title by over a second. Heilman finished in 54.43. That further lowers Heilman’s 13-14 National Age Group record in that event, with his previous record standing at 54.45.
2022 Harvard commit Anya Mostek finished with the fastest time on the women’s side of the 200 back. After swimming a lifetime best in prelims (2:18.10), she further lowered her time to finish in 2:17.16 in finals. Lorelai Page took second in the event in 2:18.55, while Devyn Sargent rounded out the top-3 in 2:18.83.
James Curreri of the Lakeland Hills YMCA powered to the win in the men’s 200 back with a time of 2:03.77. The UPenn commit was three seconds faster during finals than he was in prelims, as he finished in 2:03.77
In the 800 free relay, it was the team of Julia Meisner, Emily Thompson, Caitlyn Hughes, and Catherine Meisner that won the women’s event for Greater Somerset County YMCA. The quartet finished in 8:25.52, ten seconds clear of runner-up Greater Monmouth YMCA. For the men, it was the Blue Ash YMCA’s team of Bryce Menchhofer, Erik Menchhofer, Drew Held, and Jason Zhao that came away with the gold medal in a time of 7:50.03.
Charlottesville representing well in the Olympic and age group pools this week!
I’ve gotta be honest, this is why I love swim swam. Do I care about the YMCA National Festival? Not really, though that record by Heilman yesterday was cool. But you know that there are young swimmers out there who want to know what’s happening at this meet, and you’re servicing them – even with the Olympics going on.
Non stop. Y’all are the best. Keep it up.