Luka Mijatovic And Tim Wu Climb 13-14 All-Time Rankings At Far Westerns

2023 FAR WESTERNS SC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 30 – April 2, 2023
• Morgan Hill Aquatics Center
• Morgan Hill, CA
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

The 2023 Far Westerns Championships wrapped up earlier this month in Morgan Hill, California. 

Headlining the meet was 13-year-old Luka Mijatovic from the Pleasanton Seahawks, who lowered his own National Age Group (NAG) record in the 500 freestyle by over two seconds (4:22.50). Mijatovic additionally won the 200 backstroke (1:51.18), 200 freestyle (1:38.21), and 400 IM (3:55.73), with his 200 freestyle performance moving him to 3rd all-time in the 13-14 age group. 

Mijatovic’s teammate, Tim Wu, also had an outstanding meet. The 14-year-old posted best times in the 50 free (20.99), 200 free (1:39.71), 100 back (50.56), 200 fly (1:47.56), and 200 IM (1:48.59). His 200 freestyle moves him to 2nd this season behind Mijatovic, while his 200 fly and 200 IM both take the top spot. In the all-time rankings for 13-14 boys, Wu is now 26th in the 200 free, and 4th in both the 200 IM and 200 fly. 

Crow Canyon’s Caitlyn Offenberg and Ladera Oaks’ Clara Young tallied seven wins apiece on the girl’s side of the meet. Offenberg, 10, recorded the top time in the country this season for 9-10 girls in the 50 backstroke with a 29.22 in prelims. Additionally, she cracked the top ten in the 100 back (1:04.25, 2nd),  200 IM  (2:19.66, 4th), 50 fly (29.19, 6th), 100 IM (1:05.60, 4th), and 50 breast (34.14, 5th). 

Young, 12, logged best times in six of her seven individual events. She clocked best times of 54.15 and 1:57.65 in the 100 and 200 freestyle, with her 200 free being a four and a half second improvement from December. Additionally, she set best times across the fly events, hitting times of 26.54, 59.16, and 2:10.52. Her 200 fly moves her to 10th this season for 11-12 girls. She also moved up to 7th in the 100 IM with a best time of 1:00.38.

12-year-old Morgan Wendler of the Terrapins won seven events in the boys’ 11-12 age group. Wendler’s meet was highlighted by his victory in the 500 freestyle, where he dropped over five seconds to log a 4:55.47, moving him to 2nd this season. He also posted a best time of 2:01.13 in the 200 IM, also good for 2nd this season. Additionally, he won and set personal bests in the 100 back (56.93), 200 breast (2:16.63), 100 fly (53.99), and 200 fly (2:03.09).

13-year-old Mia Su from Santa Clara threw down a best time of 2:13.42 to win the 200 breaststroke. Her swim ranks her 3rd this season among 13-14 girls, and 26th on the all-time rankings. She also won the 100 breaststroke in a best time of 1:02.81, moving her to 4th this season in the age group.

10-year-old Vincent Casciaro of Irvine Novaquatics captured the high point award for his age group, totaling 61 points with six wins. He logged a personal best time in the 100 fly, touching first at 1:03.80 to clear the field by over two seconds.

Other Standout Swimmers:

• Crow Canyon’s Daniela Linares Danzos and Pleasanton Seahawks’ Rylee Hutchison each won three events in the girls’ 13-14 age group. Linares logged personal best times in all her events, highlighted by a two-second time drop to win the 200 backstroke (2:00.16). Hutchison posted a best time of 4:17.84 to win the 400 IM, moving her to 4th this season for the age group.
• 15-year-old Brooke Bennett from the Pleasanton Seahawks won two events and finished top three in three other races. She dropped over 20 seconds to win the 1000 in 10:11.74, and also improved her 400 IM by over five seconds touch first at 4:18.56.
• Ethan Harrington, a Stanford commit, won two events. He set a personal best time in the 100 fly of 47.21, dropping a few hundredths from what he went at Sectionals a few weeks prior.
• Princeton recruit Arthur Balva also captured two victories. Highlighting his meet was the 500 freestyle, where he dropped over two seconds to record a 4:28.59.