Regan Smith & Claire Curzan to Face Off at Cary Sectionals

2019 Cary, North Carolina Sectionals

• March 7th-10th, 2019
• Cary, North Carolina
• SCY (25y pool)
• Psych Sheets

In addition to the usual cast of elite national-caliber swimmers from North Carolina, a group of interlopers are scheduled to compete at this weekend’s Cary, North Carolina Sectional Championships.

With scheduled highs of 19 degrees on Thursday in Minneapolis when the meet starts, Riptide Aquatics from Minneapolis has snuck down to the Atlantic Coast, where it will be about 35 degrees warmer.

That means we’ll get a showdown between the country’s best 13-14 backstroker/butterflier Claire Curzan of the host TAC Titans; and the country’s best age group backstroker/butterflier at any age, 17-year old Regan Smith of Riptide.

The two are scheduled for 4 head-to-head matchups on the weekend. In the 100 back and 200 back, Smith will be the top seed; in the 50 free and 100 fly, those honors go to Claire Curzan.

Last year, Riptide traveled for Sectionals as well, but on that occasion it was to Akron, Ohio, where Smith broke a National Age Group Record in the 100 back.

While that will be the top story of the meet, there are several other highlight swimmers in attendance. That includes 2-time Open Water World Champion Ashley Twichell, who will swim the 500, 1000, and 1650 freestyles. She’s just 2 months away from the first step of the U.S. Olympic Open Water Trials: the US National Championship from May 3rd-5th in Miami.

Other Names to Watch:

• Tyler Silver, a junior at Florida, is the top seed in the 200 back by almost 3 seconds and the 100 back by over a second.
• 16-year old Marlins of Raleigh swimmer Abigail Arens is the top seed in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. At NCSA Junior Nationals last year, she was 1:00.00 and 1:00.01, which remain her best times.
• Alabama commit Liam Bell is entered in just 1 event, the 100 breaststroke, where he’s seeded in 53.31. That ties him as the 34th-best time in 17-18 age group history.
• Noah Henderson from Star Aquatics has the top seed in 3 events, including a 47.13 in the 100 fly and a 1:46.10 in the 200 fly. The senior is committed to stay close to home and swim at NC State in the fall.
• Jackson Harvin from the Athens Bulldog Swim Club will come across the border for 7 races, including his specialty: the 200 IM. He’s seeded at 1:48.99 – 3 seconds ahead of the field. He’ll head to Georgia Tech in the fall: a program that is known for their IMers.