SwimSwam’s The Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming – 7/23/2014

As we move further into championship season the times are getting faster and faster. Here’s who caught our eye for the weekend of July 18-20, 2014.

Mark McGlaughlin, 16, Iowa Flyers Swim Club: 50 free (23.50) – McGlaughlin was the only under-18 championship finalist in the men’s 50 free at the Central Zone Sectionals in Iowa City. McGlaughlin also picked up his first national cut in the 200 back at the meet, going 2:08.09.

Levente Bathory, 14, Enfinity Aquatic Club: 200 free (1:56.21) – Bathory dropped three seconds winning the boys 13-14 200 free at the North Carolina 14 & Under Long Course Championships hosted by TAC Titans. He also went best times in the 50/100/400 free, 100/200 back, and 400 IM. Bathory achieved a Winter Juniors standard in the 200 free, and got his first-ever Summer Juniors cut in the 100 back.

Taylor Ault, 15, La Mirada Armada: 400 free (4:14.73) – Ault had an outstanding weekend at Los Angeles Invitational hosted by Southern California Swimming and Trojan Swim Club. She earned a spot at Summer Nationals in the 400/800/1500 free, dropping a cumulative total of 50 seconds in the three events (4.7, 14.3 and 30, respectively).

Scott Pekarske, 12, TJCC Stingrays: 800m free (9:08.11) – Pekarske went a best time in his 800 free and squeezed into the third spot overall for 12-year-old boys nationally at the Arizona Age Group Long Course State Championships. Pekarske’s time breaks the Arizona LSC record by ten seconds.

Taylor Pike, 14, Razorback Aquatic Club Aquahawgs: 1500m free (16:52.37) – Pike dropped 46 seconds in the 1500 en route to her first-ever Summer Nationals cut at the Region VIII Speedo Sectionals in Columbia, Missouri. Pike won both the 1500 and the 800 at the meet, as well as the 200 fly. She came home from Columbia with national time standards in the 400/800/1500 free and 100/200 fly.

Kobie Melton, 13, Huntsville Swim Association: 100m back (1:05.58) – Entered with a 1:08.01, Melton dropped .9 in prelims and another 1.6 in finals at the Tennessee Aquatics-hosted Long Course Southeastern Championship, to achieve a Winter Juniors time standard in the 100 back. She also made winter cuts in the 50 free (best time by 1.2 seconds) and 100 free (best by 1.7).

Cassidy Brennan, 15, Tualatin Hills Swim Club: 200m back (2:15.19) – Swimming at the Speedo Western Sectionals hosted by Mt Hood Aquatics, Brennan won a very close 200 back in her second-best lifetime 200 back (she was only off her best time by .3). Her best swim of the season, Brennan earned a Summer Nationals time standard.

Josh Matheny, 11, Upper St Clair Swim Club: 200m breast (2:53.37) – Matheny was just about a whole 50 faster (well, 30.5 seconds) than he was a year ago at the Allegheny Mountain Junior Olympics hosted by Team Pittsburgh Aquatics. Matheny had quite a meet; in addition to the 200 breast he achieved best times in the 50/100/200/400 free, 50/100 breast, 100 fly, and 200/400 IM.

Here’s an interesting race. At the Georgia Long Course Age Group State Champs at Georgia Tech Natatorium, the top four finishers in the girls 12U 100 fly all made the national top-ten list from their finals swim. That includes national #1 Addie Rose Bullock, 12, Tidal Wave Swimming (who dropped 1.5 seconds and is 6 seconds faster than last year with her 1:04.82; #2 Anna Case, 12, Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club (whose 1:04.88 was a 2.8-second improvement, and 8.4 better than a year ago); #3 Tristen Ulett, 12, Dynamo (who dropped 3.2 for a 1:05.25, which is 5.2 better than last year); and #7 Tori Rucker, 12, of Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team (who dropped .9 with her 1:05.93, a 4-second improvement since last summer).

Siaka Weidenbaum, 11, Excel Aquatics: 100m fly (1:05.76) – At the Long Course Southeastern Championship in Knoxville, Weidenbaum won the boys 11-12 100 fly with a new personal best by .4, and fully 5.5 seconds faster than he was at the same meet a year ago. He also dropped in the 100 free and 50/100 backk. Weidenbaum is now second in the country (to Winn Aung, see below) for 11-year-old boys in the 100 fly.

Winn Aung, 11, Redding Swim Team: 200m fly (2:18.10) – Aung dropped 3.5 seconds off his already-incredibly 200 fly time at the Sierra Nevada Junior Olympics. Aung, at 11, now occupies the 14th spot on the all-time list for boys 11-12 200 fly. And he still has another year to move up. Other personal bests Aung picked up at SN JOs: 50 free and 50 fly. Aung is the nation’s top 11-year-old in the 50/100/200/400 free, 50/100/200 fly, and 400 IM.

Dane Florea, 14, Columbia Swim Club: 400 IM (4:37.98) – With a drop of 3.2 seconds, Florea punched his ticket to Summer Juniors at the Columbia Sectionals. Florea made finals in the 200 fly, and 400 IM and finished top-eight in the 1500. He picked up best times in the 400/1500 free, 200 back, 200 fly, and 400 IM.

Special thanks to Lyle Campbell for his assistance in putting this list together.