Leah Shackley Hits 2:11.93 200 Fly Best Time On Day 1 of YMCA Nationals

2023 YMCA Long Course Championships

• July 25-29, 2023
• Greensboro, NC
• Greensboro Aquatic Center
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Live Results

NC State commits Leah Shackley and Daniel Diehl were the two most high-profile names to earn wins on the opening day of the YMCA Long Course Championships, which kicked off on Tuesday from the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

Shackley, who represents the Blair Regional YMCA Swim Team, topped the girls’ 200 butterfly in a time of 2:11.93, lowering her personal best of 2:12.41 set in May.

Shackley, who recently turned 17, narrowly missed cracking the top 100 all-time in the girls’ 17-18 age group with her performance, while her previous PB ranks 70th among 15-16s.

She also raced the 100 freestyle on Tuesday, first clocking 58.25 in the heats before taking fourth in the final in 57.73, marking her first two career swims sub-1:00. Shackley hadn’t raced the event since July 2021 when she put up a time of 1:00.44.

Winning the girls’ 100 free was 16-year-old Katie Lawrence, who competes for Wyckoff Family YMCA, as she touched in 56.52 to mark her first time sub-57. The runner-up was Upper Main Line YMCA’s Alexa Fulton (56.98).

Cumberland YMCA’s Diehl won the boys’ 100 free in a time of 50.00, the fourth-fastest performance of his career and within eight-tenths of the lifetime best he produced at U.S. Nationals last month (49.23).

Diehl’s swim dipped under the Championship Record he set last year of 50.05.

The Greater Somerset County YMCA duo of Garrett Gould (51.66) and Kenneth Barnicle (51.67) placed second and third in the event, both setting new personal best times.

OTHER WINNERS

• Western Branch YMCA’s Katelyn Fitzgerald topped the girls’ 800 free in a time of 9:03.66, dropping nearly five seconds from her previous best set last summer (9:08.20).
• Powel Crosley’s Nathan Spietz (8:23.56) used a quick final 50 (28.85) to earn a narrow win over Lynchburg YMCA’s JC Gordon (8:23.69) in the boys’ 800 free.
• In another tightly-contested battle, Lynchburg’s Jack Mills (2:02.37) edged out Greater Monmouth’s Charlie Rennard (2:02.52) to win the boys’ 200 fly.
• Greater Somerset’s Meghan Sharma (32.61) was the victor in the girls’ 50 breast, with Fanwood Scotch Plains’ Emily Constable (32.96) the runner-up. Sharma was within 12 one-hundredths of the meet record set by Jessie McMurray in 2018 (32.49). Thirteen-year-old Hania Jernigan notably won the ‘B’ final in 34.07.
• Oshkosh’s Drew Gaerthofner, 16, powered to a victory in the boys’ 50 breast in 29.05, more than two seconds under his PB coming into the meet (31.20). He initially set a best time of 29.53 in the prelims.
• The Fanwood Scotch Plains girls set a new meet record in the 200 medley relay, as Clare Logan (28.61), Constable (32.57), Billie Sherratt (28.07) and Catherine Ritter (26.28) combined for a time of 1:55.53, lowering the mark of 1:55.88 established by Greater Somerset County YMCA last year.
• The boys’ 200 medley relay was won by York YMCA in 1:44.37, with Nathan Welker (26.55), Will Parker (28.73), Roman Torres (26.16) and Carlos Hidalgo (22.93) securing the victory over Ridley Area (1:44.97).

GIRLS’ TEAM SCORES – TOP 5

1. Greater Somerset County YMCA / York and York County YMCA, 107
2. –
3. Fanwood Scotch Plains YMCA, 104.5
4. Upper Main Line YMCA, 92
5. Greater Spartanburg YMCA, 64

BOYS’ TEAM SCORES – TOP 5

1. York and York County YMCA, 84
2. Ridley Area YMCA, 81
3. Lakeland Hills Family YMCA / Greater Somerset County YMCA, 72
4. –
5. Western Branch YMCA, 68