WEST FARGO WINTER SECTIONALS
- March 9-13, 2023
- West Fargo, ND
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Mobile: “2023 Winter Sectionals (North) – West Fargo”
- Day One Recap
Day two of the 2023 Speedo Sectional meet in West Fargo, ND, is in the books. The second day of the Long Course Meters (LCM) competition featured the 200 back, 100 free, 200 fly, and 400 free.
In the women’s 200 back, Phoenix Swimming’s Isabella Schneider, 16, clocked a 2:16.54 to win the race convincingly. The performance marks a huge personal best for Schneider, blowing away her previous mark of 2:20.15 by nearly four seconds. On top of that, Schneider picked up a Summer Junior Nationals cut with the swim.
Also of note, Sioux Falls Swim Team 13-year-old Rachel Ritter came in second with a 2:22.15. The swim was also a personal best for Ritter, taking nearly a second off her previous time.
The men’s 200 back saw Barrington Swim Club’s Luke Bucaro win in a tight race over Phoenix Swimming’s William Carrico. The splits for the race are incomplete, but we can see that Bucaro was leading Carrico 1:01.55 to 1:02.11 at the 100-meter turn. Carrico closed the gap slightly on the back half, but still stayed in second. At the finish, Bucaro was 2:05.25 and Carrico was 2:05.59. The swims marked massive time drops for both swimmer. They also both picked up Summer Junior Nationals cuts in the event.
Barrington Swim Club’s Jenna Kerr, 17, won the women’s 100 free in 57.47. The swim is a new personal best for Kerr by about half a second, beating out her previous mark of 57.94, which she had swum last March. Additionally, Kerr came in unde the Summer Junior Nationals cut of 57.59 with the performance.
West Fargo Flyers 15-year-old Brody Engelstad had a huge swim to win the men’s 100 free last night. Engelstad roared into the finish in 52.83, touching out Sioux Falls Swim Team 18-year-old Eli Pelzer (52.90). The splits are unavailable, however, it was a truly massive swim for the 15-year-old, as his previous best in the LCM 100 free was a 57.03, which he swam last July.
Phoenix Swimming’s Skylar Knowlton, 16, won the women’s 200 fly by a huge margin, swimming a 2:15.48. She took three seconds off her previous best of 2:18.60 with the swim. Knowlton also earned a Summer Junior Nationals cut with the performance last night.
Knowlton then went on to win the next women’s event: the 400 free. She swam a 4:19.07, winning the race by well over three seconds. With a very short turnaround between the 200 fly final and the 400 free, Knowlton managed to clock another lifetime best, breaking 4:20 in the event for the first time in her career. Despite the short turnaround, Knowlton also managed to swim a consistently paced race, going 2:09.13 on the first 200 meters then coming home in 2:09.94.
Linn-Mar Swim Team 16-year-old Mason Turner took the men’s 200 fly in a tight race with Bellingham Bay Swim Team’s Wyatt Carlton. Turner swam a 2:05.17, beating Carlton (2:05.26) by 0.09 seconds. Again, the splits are incomplete, however, we know that Carlton was leading Turner slightly at the halfway mark, hitting the 100-meter turn in 1:00.18 to Turner’s 1:00.77. Turner’s performance marked a new lifetime best in the event.
Turner almost pulled off the back-to-back wins, turning around after the 200 fly final and coming in a very close second in the men’s 400 free. Barrington Swim Club’s Rylan Anselm won the race, touching in 4:05.76, just ahead of Turner (4:05.92). Bellingham Bay Swim Team’s Miles Cratsenberg was right in the mix as well, finishing third in 4:06.03, just 0.27 seconds behind Anselm. It was Cratsenberg who was in the lead halfway through the race, flipping at the 200-meter turn in 2:01.11, a bit ahead of Anselm’s 2:01.84 and Turner’s 2:02.04.