2016 U.S. WINTER JUNIOR CHAMPS – WEST
- Wednesday, December 7th – Saturday, December 10th
- College Station, TX (Texas A&M University)
- Psych sheets
- Meet information
- Live Results
Riptide Swim Team’s Regan Smith is back at it again, shattering National Age Group Records en route to 2016 U.S. Winter Junior Championships (West) gold. In her 2nd race of the day 3 finals session, Smith tore through the water with a 51.09 to win the 100 back. That was the 13th fastest time ever done by an American of any age.
It was a quick turnaround for Smith, as her 100 back record came shortly after she destroyed the 13-14 NAG Record in the 100 fly, setting the bar at 51.73. She didn’t show any signs of fatigue, giving her World Cup teammate Eva Merrell their pre-race “owl eyes” behind the blocks. Smith then proceeded to down Alex Walsh‘s former 13-14 NAG Record in the 100 back, which stood at a 51.62 from 2015.
Splits Comparison
| Swimmer | 1st 50 split | 2nd 50 split | Final Time |
| Regan Smith 2016 | 25.07 | 26.02 | 51.09 |
| Alex Walsh 2015 | 25.25 | 26.37 | 51.62 |
When looking at a comparison of the splits, Smith was out slightly faster than Walsh, and came home a few tenths faster as well. Compared to Smith’s 51.70 prelims swim, she was a full 3 tenths faster on each 50 tonight.
Congrats. Crazy swim.
Her NAG output is reminiscent of Beth Botsford.
This is faster than the 15-16 NAG (51.53) by nearly a half-second. 2012 Olympian Rachel Bootsma has that one. Would place 5th on the 17-18 list, ONLY behind Amy Bilquist’s NAG of 50.50 from NCAA’s and three Olympians (Missy Franklin, Rachel Bootsma, Kathleen Baker). 13th fastest American EVER. Absolutely unreal. 2017 Worlds?
Certainly not out of the question. Baker and Smoliga should still be getting better, but if either one is off by a little, there are a number of talented backstrokers ready to step up.
Don’t forget about Ms. DeLoof