2022 TXLA 11& Over Long Course Kick Off
- April 22-24, 2022
- Austin, TX
- Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center
- LCM (50m)
- Full Results
Long course season has officially kicked off, bringing with it some impressive “early-season” swims and time drops on the club level.
Last weekend, Longhorn Aquatics hosted the TXLA 11&Over Long Course Kick Off. The meet featured clubs from the Southern Texas area, including several swimmers from the University of Texas.
Sonny Wang of Waterloo Swimming posted a 51.01 in the 100m freestyle. He dropped .88 seconds off his previous best time of 51.89, which was from summer of 2021. This time qualifies him for the 2022 Speedo Junior National Championships, and he is now just .52 seconds off the qualifying time for the Phillips 66 National Championships later this summer.
Wang is committed to swim for Harvard as part of the class of 2027. His primary events are sprint freestyle and butterfly, but he also swam the 200m freestyle last weekend. He dropped 2.60 seconds off his best, going a 1:59.43.
In February, he competed in the Texas UIL 6A State Championship (SCY) where he won the 100 freestyle in a personal best of 43.38. In the 50 free, Wang swam a best time of 20.00 in prelims to drop .03 off his previous best from December 2021. At finals, he swam a 20.05, placing second. Later in the meet, Wang led off the 200 free relay in a 19.99, breaking 20 seconds for the first time.
At the Long Course Kick Off, 16-year-old Andrew Zou from Longhorn Aquatics came in second overall in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.39. Although this is over half a second off his best time of 1:03.80, this swim is the 5th fastest in the 15-16 age group this year.
The majority of the events were won by swimmers from the University of Texas. Several of these athletes swam well for this point in the season, posting times that are just off of their personal bests.
Zac Van Zandt won the 50 freestyle in 23.04, .20 seconds shy of his best time (22.84) which was set in May of 2021.
Christopher O’Connor swam both the 100 and 200 meter backstrokes, winning both. In the 100 he was 1.17 seconds slower than his best time of 54.85, set at last summer’s Olympic Trials. In the 200, he swam a 2:04.12. He was seeded with a 2:03.48, but his best time (also from Olympic Trials) is 2:00.96.
The 2021-2022 season was O’Connor’s first season with the Texas Longhorns. He transferred to the University of Texas last July after one year at the University of Alabama.
Cole Crane (listed in the results as Sterling Crane) threw down a best time in the 50m freestyle, clocking a 23.37. This is nearly a second faster than his previous best of 24.28, and is only .28 off the Phillips 66 National Championships qualifying time. Crane also swam the 200m butterfly, posting a 1:59.80. This was 1.47 seconds slower than his best time 0f 1:58.33, but still significantly under the qualifying time for Nationals.
On the women’s side, Grace Cooper won the 50 free in a 25.81. This is .65 slower than her best time of 25.16, which was swum back in 2019. At the Olympic Trials last summer, she swam a 25.98.