Northwestern’s Justine Murdock Clocks 2:12.0 200 BK to Close out IL Senior Champs

2022 IL LCM Senior Championships

• July 28-31, 2022
• FMC Aquatic Center, Westmont, IL
• Hosted by Illinois Swimming
• LCM (50m)
• Results on MeetMobile

Team Scores (Top 5)

COMBINED

1. FMC Aquatic – 825.5
2. Reach Aquatics Swim Club – 739.5
3. St Charles Swim Team – 601
4. NASA Wildcat Aquatics – 532.5
5. Fox Valley Swim Team – 377

MEN

1. Reach Aquatics Swim Club – 503.5
2. FMC Aquatic – 388.5
3. St Charles Swim Team – 318
4. Fox Valley Swim Team – 303
5. Peoria Area Water Wizards – 295

WOMEN

1. FMC Aquatic – 437
2. Hinsdale Swim Club – 291
3. Reach Aquatics Swim Club – 290
4. St Charles Swim Team – 283
5. NASA Wildcat Aquatics – 266.5

The last day of the 2022 Illinois Swimming LCM Senior Championships saw FMC Aquatic, swimming out of their home pool, win the combined team title as well as the women’s title. They came in 2nd in the men’s standings, behind Reach Aquatics Swim Team.

The final session of the meet saw Northwestern rising sophomore Justine Murdock beat out World Championships Bronze medalist Leah Hayes, a 16-year-old out of Fox Valley Park District Riptide, to claim the victory in the women’s 200 back. It was a fun race, with Murdock speeding to a 2:12.07. That swim comes in just off her personal best of 2:11.73, which she swam at the International Team Trials in April. Murdock was aggressive on the front half of the race, splitting 1:04.58. Although her 2nd 100 split of 1:07.49 was 3 seconds slower than her first 100, Murdock was actually very consistent with her splitting, posting times of 33.44, 33.97, and 33.52 on the final 3 50s respectively.

Hayes clocked a 2:13.61, marking a new personal best for the IM specialist. She was out with Murdock, splitting 1:04.76 on the first 100, but wasn’t able to hold on quite as well as her competitor. Hayes split 34.34 and 34.51 coming home, for a 1:08.85 on the 2nd 100. Later in the meet, however, Hayes would power her team to a 2nd place finish in the women’s 400 free relay with a sizzling 55.22 split on the anchor.

Northwestern’s Connor LaMastra had a solid performance in the men’s 200 fly, taking the event in 2:00.39. That swim comes in off LaMastra’s best of 1:57.49, but we also don’t know if he rested at all for this meet or not. He was out quick, splitting 56.66 on the first 100. His 2nd 50 split of 29.92 was promising, however, he then split 31.30 and 32.43 coming home, for a 1:03.73 on the final 100.

The men’s 1500 free was a great race as well, but for different reasons. The field showed up and showed out, dropping a ton of time. 17-year-old Josh Fujimoto out of Waves Bloomington/Normal Y and St Charles Swim Team 16-year-old Kyle Algrim were locked in a battle early on, but Fujimoto broke away in the middle of the race. He would go on to win the event in 16:11.99, with Algrim a few seconds behind in 16:16.87. Fujimoto swam a consistent race, splitting 5:21.27 on the first 500, 5:25.36 on the 2nd 500, and 5:25.36 on the final 500 meters.

For both boys, the swims marked huge personal bests. Fujimoto entered the meet with a best time of 16:45.52, improving on that time by 33.53 seconds. Moreover, it was just the 2nd time the 17-year-old had swum the race, with his first career 1500 having just come at the beginning of the month at the Erik Namesnik Open in Ann Arbor, MI. For Algrim, the performance marked a personal best by 28.90. He entered the meet right behind Fujimoto, with a personal best of 16:45.77.

Behind the leading duo, the event saw even more massive drops. Fox Valley Swim Team’s Alexander Parkinson, 16, took 3rd in 16:33.62, shredding his previous best of 16:55.61. Bloomington Normal Swim Club’s Kenneth Wills, also 16, took a whopping 30 seconds off his personal best, finishing 4th in 16:40.83. Another St Charles swimmer and 16-year-old, William Deutmeyer, was 5th in 16:46.73, taking 17.96 seconds off his best time. Chicago Wolfpack Aquatic Club 15-year-old George Ivascu was 6th overall, swimming a 16:47.31, which marks another 30-second time improvement for this field. We saved the best for last, because Fox Valley’s Chase Maier, a 15-year-old, took 55.86 seconds off his previous best. Entering the meet at 17:44.90, Maier swam a 16:50.04, finishing 7th overall.

Other Sunday Event Winners

• Women’s 200 fly: Avery Watson (Reach Aquatics) – 2:25.08
• Women’s 1500 free: Ashley Strouse (NASA/Northwestern) – 17:23.58
• Women’s 100 free: Molly Leubner (FMC) – 58.06
• Men’s 100 free: Ben Forbes (NASA/Northwestern) – 51.62
• Women’s 400 free relay: FMC Aquatic – 3:56.43
• Men’s 400 free relay: FMC Aquatic – 3:29.50