BCH vs. SAND Dual
- September 24-25, 2021
- Henderson, NV
- Short Course Yards
- Results here or on Meet Mobile, titled 2021 CA BCH vs SAND SC Dual
Nevada’s two strongest clubs, the Sandpipers of Nevada (SAND) and Boulder City Henderson (BCH) competed in a two-day, short course dual meet this past weekend in Henderson, NV. There was plenty of early-season speed on display, especially by the Sandpipers’ Team USA Olympian duo of Bella Sims and Katie Grimes.
The 16-year-old silver medalist Sims, who qualified for her first Olympic team as a member of the 4×200 Free Relay, demonstrated her versatility in her three events of the meet. She swam to a lifetime best by nearly a full second in the 100 back with a 53.85, and then followed up with a near-lifetime best in the 200 fly with a 1:55.06. In her final swim, Sims finished her session with a strong 1:57.46 in the 200 back. Notably, Sims’ 200 fly would have qualified for the B final at last year’s women’s NCAA Championship meet, in spite of her only starting her junior year of high school.
Not to be outdone, the 15-year-old Olympian Grimes swam three lifetime bests by posting a 1:48.39 in the 200 free, a 23.94 in the 50 free and a 1:54.91 in the 200 back. Grimes also swam the 400 IM, posting a very impressive early-season swim of 4:08.65. Despite being a nearly 2 second gain, Grimes’ 400 IM would have earned her a spot in the B final at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Both Sims and Grimes have clearly picked up where they left off after a strong summer resulted in both high schoolers qualifying for their first U.S. Olympic team. Sims led off the prelim 4×200 free relay in a 1:58.59 in Tokyo after finishing 5th in the 200 free at the Olympic Trials, while Grimes finished fourth in the 800 free in 8:19.38.
The Sandpipers’ Paige Kuwata, a current high school senior and a Louisville class of 2026 commit, also competed and dropped nearly 2 seconds in the 200 breast to touch in 2:27.33. Kuwata, known primarily as a distance freestyler, also posted a 2:06.37 in the 200 IM and a 4:24.87 in the 400 IM.
On the boys’ side, Ilya Kharun had a massive meet for the Sandpipers, posting lifetime events in all four of his events. His most notable swim came in the 100 fly, where he dropped nearly a full second from April to finish in 47.96. Kharun also posted a 20.74 in the 50 free, breaking the 21 second barrier for the first time, dropped over 4 seconds in the 100 back, touching in 50.16, and had a massive 8 second drop in the 100 breast to finish in 57.08.
For BCH, current high school senior, and publicly uncommitted, Daniel Nikoloff posted a 51.80 in the 100 back, a 1:54.94 in the 200 fly and a 51.24 in the 100 fly. While none of Nikoloff’s swims were lifetime bests, all three of his swims were faster than his early-season swims a year ago. For comparison, Nikoloff’s first swims of the 2020-21 season in these events were 54.52 in the 100 back in November, and 1:56.31 in the 200 fly and 52.03 in the 100 fly, both of which came in December.
Sorry, but none of Ilya’s times were lifetime best. He went 20.16 in 2021 in the 50 free, he has a 55.57 in the 100 breast, a 45.59 in the 100 fly, and in the back, his best is a 49.23. Ron and I are collaborating on software so I stay familiar with his swimmers. One reason you got it wrong it Ron is really good at having his swimmers peak when necessary and in 2022 short course he might well be pushing his swimmers through to be ready to fry bigger fish. I don’t have time right now to check all the girl’s times, but Sims has a 53.27 in the 100 back, so that was in error too.… Read more »
Hi Steve, you’re commenting on an article from September of 2021. Those swims you mentioned all happened later in the year, in December, at Winter Junior Nationals.
Lol
Wish more swimming competitions were televised
That’s a great comment. Even if the were just “televised” on Zoom or the web, it would be great.
We need a swimswam podcast with both of these young women separately! (Bella Sims and Katie Grimes)
Why the downvotes?