MP Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming – 5/16/2018

To be honest, most of this past weekend’s best swims came out of the various LSCs that make up the state of California, which is still in the midst of SCY high school season. We looked at the long course landscape, as well, though. So here are our Weekly Wonders for the weekend of May 11-13, 2018:

Abby Samansky, 16, Clovis Swim Club: 100y free (49.90) – Representing Clovis West High School at the CIF Central Section D1 Championships, Samansky won the 100 free (49.90) and 200 free (1:47.79) individually, and led off the winning 200 free and 400 free relays. She broke meet records in all four events.

Zach Van Zandt, 15, CCAT Swimming:100y free (44.92) – Crespi Carmelite High School sophomore Van Zandt took 6/10 off a 3-month old PB and scored his first national time standard while winning the 100 free at CIF Southern Section Division I Championships. He was runner-up in the 200 free (1:37.80) with his first Summer Juniors cut and the third-fastest time in the country for 18&U boys for the weekend. 6 months ago he was a 1:45.43 200 freestyler.

Casslyn Treydte, 16, Fusion Aquatics: 200y free (1:48.22) – Treydte, a junior at Los Osos High School, broke 1:50 twice, first in prelims, then in finals of the 200 free at CIF Southern Section Division II Championships. Her second-place finish landed her a first Summer Juniors cut in the event. A year ago she went 1:51.30 at CIF. Treydte was also runner-up in the 500 free (4:49.26).

Alana Barthel, 15, Aulea Swim Club: 200m back (2:20.98) – Barthel lopped 7.7 second off her previous best time in the 200 back at the Hawaii Senior Meet, breaking an age group record held by Christel Simms since 2008. She also won the 100 back (1:05.37) and dropped 1.5 second to pick up her first-ever Winter Juniors cut.

Ben Dillard, 16, Sierra Marlins Swim Team: 100y breast (54.31) – Oak Ridge High School sophomore Dillard won the 100 breast and the 200 IM at the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Championships and posted the nation’s top times for 18&U boys for the weekend in both events. In the breast, he went a PB by 1/10 and was 1.9 seconds faster than he’d been at the same meet a year ago. The IM was a PB by 2 seconds and earned him his first Summer Juniors cut in the event.

Junseo Kim, 15, Scarlet Aquatics: 200m fly (2:19.18) – Swimming at the LIAC Spring Kickoff Invitational, Kim added a first Winter Juniors cut in the 200 fly to the long list of national cuts she already owns in freestyle and IM. She dropped 9/10 from the same meet last year and posted the top 18&U time in the country for the weekend. She also won the 100 free and 200 free and was runner-up in the 800 free, 200 back, and 200 breast.

Aliya Decker, 13, Lake Central Barracudas: 200m fly (2:29.40) – Decker went a best time by 2.7 seconds and was 13.6 seconds faster than she had been a year ago, while winning the girls’ 13-14 200 fly at the LCB Making Waves Invitational. She also won the 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 200 IM, and 400 IM, and finished the weekend with new PBs in the 200 free, 100/200 breast, 100/200 fly, and 200/400 IM.

Matthew Gray, 15, Radnor Aquatic Club: 400m IM (4:52.63) – Gray dropped 5 seconds and was 22.6 seconds ahead of where he’d been at the same meet last year when he placed fourth in the 400 IM at the 2018 Abby Seeger Memorial Invitational. He won the 200 breast and finished third in the 100 breast and 200 IM, and took home new PBs in the 400 free, 100/200 back, 200 breast, 100 fly, and 200/400 IM.

Reminder: The Weekly Wonders column is a celebration of age-group swimming, where new champions are made every day. Anyone can look up the top swims of the week. That’s not what we’re doing here. If we were only reporting on the week’s top swims we would feature the same handful of athletes every Wednesday. Instead, this is an opportunity to introduce the swimming community to athletes who have made great strides in the context of their own particular swimming worlds. By association, it also celebrates their coaches and their teams. The Weekly Wonders column, therefore, amounts to a pat on the back for a job well done, and hopefully encourages swimmers of all levels to continue to reach from within to get to that next level.

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