2021 NJCAA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- April 28 – May 2, 2021
- Anne Wilder Aquatic Complex
- Ft. Pierce, Florida
- Defending Champs: Indian River (Men/Women)
- Results Available on Meet Mobile Under “2021 NJCAA Swimming & Diving Champs”
After only 2 days of racing at the 2021 NJCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, the Indian River men and women look to be unbeatable this year and will likely be adding to their respective 46 and 38 straight titles.
Helping the women to assert their dominance over the field, the Indian River women swept all 4 individual events on day 2 in the form of the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, and 50 back. The men also had a solid showing by winning 3/4 events and sweeping the podium of 2.
Team Scores After Day 1 (Top 5)
Men
- Indian River State College – 614 Points
- Iowa Central Community College – 336 Points
- Southwestern Oregon CC – 275 Points
- Barton Community College – 272 Points
- South Georgia State College – 117 Points
Women
- Indian River State College – 630 Points
- Southwestern Oregon CC – 329 Points
- Iowa Central Community College – 286 Points
- Jamestown Community College –158 Points
- Erie Community College – 91 Points
Rylee Woelk improved upon her silver medal performance in the 200 IM to win the 400 IM with a 4:31.96 for Indian River. Teammates Esther Rydbeck and Samantha van Vuure joined her on the podium with Rydbeck hitting a 4:34.72 and van Vuure a 4:38.45.
On the men’s side of the 400 IM, Aramis Rivera picked up his second win for the team, having previously taken gold in the 200 IM on day 1. Rivera posted a 3:54.56 to win the 400 which is an improvement upon his PB in the event of 3:55.68 which he set at last year’s championships. Rivera was joined on the 400 IM podium by Kyle McKenzie from Iowa Central (3:56.00) and Emile Dost from Southwestern Oregon (4:00.42).
Night 1’s 200 IM champion Taryn Dailey made it back to the podium for Indian River as she won the 100 butterfly in a 55.32 as the only sub-56 swimmer. While she took gold in the event, she was actually a bit slower than she was in the prelims where she hit a 54.90. Ella Gates and Erifylli Maroutsou made it another sweep for Indian River by hitting a 56.16 and 58.13 for silver and bronze, respectively.
Indian River’s Brennan Hammond was also back on the podium on night 2, moving up from bronze in the 200 IM to gold in the 100 fly with a 48.79 to just out-touch teammate Liam Henry‘s 48.82. Nicholas Fauteux rounded out the top 3 with a 49.75 for bronze.
In the women’s 200 freestyle Victoria Ortiz swam her way to a commanding victory for Indian River as she hit a 1:52.24, finishing more than 3 seconds before teammate Kailea Green (1:55.47). That’s a little slower for Ortiz than her best time in the event which sits at a 1:50.62 from 2019. As was the case in the 400 IM and 100 butterfly, Indian River claimed the top 3 spots in the event as Lillian Lewis managed to hit a 1:56.22 for bronze.
On the men’s side, it was Caleb Brandon who took the 200 freestyle title with his 1:38.50, shaving a second off his best time of 1:39.54 from earlier this year. Teammates John Zeiger and Luke Altmann also managed to dip under 1:40 as Zeiger hit a 1:39.56 for silver while Altmann was a 1:39.96 for bronze.
The Indian River women made sure that they would take all possible individual medals for their team on night 2 as they went 1-3 in the 50 backstroke, along with the 400 IM, 100 fly, and 200 free. Catherine Royden-Turner lead the way in the backstroke, swimming a 25.73 for gold while Ella Gates followed in a 26.65 and Erifylli Maroutsou claimed bronze with a 27.14.
The only individual event that Indian River didn’t end up winning was the men’s 50 backstroke in which Alejandro Robles Ruiz claimed gold for Southwestern Oregon. Ruiz swam a 23.13 for the victory with Indian River teammates Jhon Moncada and Marco Cabera Duarte following closely with a 23.76 and 23.83, respectively.
To bookend the session, Indian River won all four relays in the form of the men’s and women’s 200 freestyle and 400 medleys. Their winning splits and time were as follows:
- Women’s 200 Free: Taryn Dailey (24.06) / Sydney Weatherspoon (24.27) / Catherine Royden-Turner (23.98) / Kailea Green (24.84) – 1:37.15
- Men’s 200 Free: Nicholas Fauteux (20.70) / Dean Walker (20.02) / Luke Altman (20.08) / John Zeiger (20.77) – 1:21.57
- Women’s 400 Medley: Catherine Royden-Turner (56.55) / Rylee Woelk (1:06.68) / Taryn Dailey (56.12) / Sydney Weatherspoon (54.18) – 3:53.53
- Men’s 400 Medley: Jhon Moncada (50.70) / Michael Deans (53.47) / Brennan Hammond (48.66) / Dean Walker (44.76) – 3:17.59