2023 Middle Atlantic LSC Long Course Senior Championships
- July 6- July 9, 2023
- Keystone Aquatics Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
- Long Course Meters (LCM)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2023 Middle Atlantic Swimming LC Senior Champ”
Early last month, the Middle Atlantic LSC held their long course senior championship at the Keystone Aquatic Center, with the meet being highlighted by a quartet of record breaking performances.
The oldest swimmer competing in the meet, thirty three year old Leah Gingrich became the LSC’s fastest all-time performer in the 100 meter fly. Taking down a record was set when she was competing at the meet as a high schooler in 2007, Gingrich became the first woman from the LSC to dip below 1:00 in the race, touching at 59.76 in finals.
That time is was just off of Gingrich’s season best, set a week prior at the National Championships. At that meet, she took twentieth overall with a time of 59.43. Both of her swims were well under the Olympic Trials qualifying time of 1:00.19.
Gingrich’s swim wasn’t the only record setting performance in the event as she was joined in breaking the 1:00 barrier by Annie Jia of the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club. Breaking her own 15-16 record in the event from a year ago, Jia’s time of 59.93 now makes her the second fastest performer in the LSC alltime.
While Gingrich added her name into the LSC record book in one event, she also saw her name erased in another. Breaking the 17-18 200 fly LSC Open record by over a second was Suburban Seahawks Club’s Lainey Mullins. After coasting through prelims as the top seed with a time of 2:16.60, Mullins easily bested that in finals, touching in 2:13.10. Mullins is committed to the University of Virginia for this fall.
Joining in on the record-breaking performances of the meet was Wilmington Aquatic Club’s Rachel Bockrath. A 2024 Ohio State commit, Bockrath became the first girl in the 17-18 age group to finish the 50 free under 26.0, touching in 25.97 to set a new Middle Atlantic Open record.
While the boy’s side of the meet didn’t see any records broken, it still featured multiple notable swims.
2024 Penn State commit Marcus Papanikolaou swam a pair of event titles, topping the podium in both the 50 free and 100 free. He claimed the top spot in the 50 with a time of 23.53 and won the 100 in 51.49. He was slightly off of his lifetime bests in both races, with his best times coming from the 2022 edition of this meet.
After taking second in the 100 breast earlier in the meet, 16-year old Alex Zholob won the boy’s 200 breast in a huge lifetime best. After finishing as the top seed in prelims with a time of 2:21.91, Zholob dropped nearly four seconds in finals, touching in 2:18.12. Entering the meet, Zholob had never been faster than 2:21.72, a time that earned him thirty-ninth at last year’s Junior National Championships.
Throwing down some fast times in the good ole MIddle Atlantic LSC!!
Looks like the MA LSC record info in this article isn’t accurate: 17-18 Women 50 Free LCM record is 25.39 by Alexa Fulton, 17-18 Women 200 Fly LCM record is 2:09.96 by Leah Gingrich, Open Women 100 Fly LCM record is 59.09 by Maddie Hart. Though these are fast times, none of them broke the LSC records. Maybe these ladies only broke the MA Senior Championship Meet records? MA LSC long course records were updated on 08/15/2022 and are on Middle Atlantic Swimming website.
I love imagining a 17-year-old Leah Gingrich, saying I could go faster than that. And refusing to quit until it came true.