Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming – 4/17/2019

Presenting our Weekly Wonders from April 12-14, 2019:

Jude Winnington, 13, Delaware Swim Team (DST-MA): 1650 free, 16:49.53 – In March 2018, as a 12-year-old, Jude Winnington went a then-best time of 18:15.00 in the 1650 free. In September 2018, he dropped 35 seconds, going 17:40.19, and then a month later, took off nine more seconds (17:31.40). He continued the trend in 2019, going 17:01.74 in January, but he didn’t stop there. Last week, he went 16:49.52, and was the fastest 13-year-old in the nation by nearly 15 seconds.

Erika Pelaez, 12, Eagle Aquatics (EA-FG): 400 IM, 4:30.99 – A year ago, Erica Pelaez had not been under 4:46 in the 400 IM. Last November, she went 4:37.2018, then was 4:39.23. She had no problem bringing that time back down again in 2019, however, as she went 4:30.99 last weekend. She was the fastest 12-year-old in the nation by five-and-a-half seconds for the weekend.

Julia Podkoscielny, 14, Pince Crest Swimming (PCS-FG): 200 free, 1:49.71 – Fourteen-year-old Julia Podkoscielny broke 1:50 in the 200 free for the first time. She had been 1:50.84 in December, then had been 1:51, 1:52, and 1:53 this year. Last weekend, she went 1:49.71. Podkoscielny also went a best time in the 50 free, 100 free, 500 free, 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM.

Jake Newmark, 17, Long Island Express (LIE-MR): 100 fly, 49.26 – In his first 100 fly as a 17-year-old, Jake Newmark broke :50 for the first time. After going 50.18 in December, he went both 49.62 and 49.26 last weekend, hitting a Winter Juniors cut. He also went a best time in the 100 free, where he dropped four-tenths of a second, 100 IM, which swam for the first time in four years and dropped well over 16 seconds (52.83).

Morgan Rinn, 17, Long Island Express (LIE-MR): 100 breast, 1:08.65 – For the past three years, 17-year-old Morgan Rinn now has gone a best time in the 100 breast in the first two weekends of April. In 2017, that time was 1:10.04; in 2018, it was 1:09.49; and last weekend, she went 1:08.65. Rinn also went a best time in her 100 free, 100 fly, and 100 IM. Similar to her teammate Jake Newmark, she hadn’t swum the 100 IM in five years, and dropped nearly 12 seconds (58.88).

Cash Strickland, 12, Lake Shore Swim Club (LSSC-LE): 500 free, 4:58.72 – In December 2018, 12-year-old Cash Strickland broke 5:10 in the 500 free for the first time, going 5:09.04. In January, he was first 5:010.60, and then dropped to 5:08.85. But last weekend, he blew those times away, breaking 5:00 to go 4:58.72. He was the fastest 12-year-old in the country last weekend by over eight seconds.