12-Year-Old Juan Pupo-Buch Shatters 22-Year-Old SE LSC Record in 50 Meter Free

2022 SE PCST Speedo Invitation

  • May 21-23, 2022
  • PBC Aquatic Center, Panama City Beach, Florida
  • Long Course Meters 
  • Results on Meet Mobile

The 2022 SE PCST Speedo Invitational saw a 22-year-old Southeastern LSC record fall at the hands of 12-year-old Juan Pupo-Buch, who won all 5 of his races at the meet. 

Pupo-Buch started his weekend swimming the 50 freestyle, where he threw down a blazing time of 25.96, winning the event and cutting .3 off of his personal best. With his performance, the Coastal Aquatics swimmer set a new Southeastern LSC record for the 11-12 age group in the event, shattering Brad Jones’ mark of 26.05 that was set back in 2000. In addition, Pupo-Buch’s mark stands as the fastest time in the 11-12 age group in the country this season by a half second, a wide margin in a 50, also standing as #40 all-time in the 11-12 age group. 

After his record breaking performance in the 50 freestyle, Pupo-Buch also went on to win both the 11-12 100 freestyle and 11-12 200 freestyle. In the 100 freestyle, he threw down a time of 58.56, slicing .8 off of his best time to land the 4th-fastest 11-12 year old time in the country this season. In the 200 freestyle, Pupo-Buch posted a personal best of 2:19.66, cutting 1.5 seconds from his best time. 

Pupo-Buch also led the charge in the boy’s butterfly events, topping the 50 butterfly with a time of 27.65. He later posted a personal best of 1:06.63 in the 100 butterfly as well, which ranks 25th in the country this season for the 11-12 age group. In both events, he finished well before his closest competitor, solidifying his dominant performance at the meet. 

On the women’s side, 11-year-old Avery Daigle dominated her events in the 11-12 age group as well. Swimming the same schedule as Pupo-Buch, Daigle also touched the wall first in every race she entered. 

In the 50 freestyle, Daigle swam to a time of 29.22, dropping almost a second off of her best time to break the 30 second barrier for the first time. Her performance ranks her as the 5th fastest 11-year-old in the country this season. She also dropped best times of 1:04.82 in the 100 freestyle and 2:29.84 in the 200 freestyle, with her time in the 100 freestyle ranking 10th in the country among 11-year-olds this season. 

In the 50 butterfly, Daigle swam to victory in a time of 31.98, a half second improvement on her personal best and the 12th fastest time in her age group this season. She later swam a 1:13.35 in the 100 butterfly, which ranks her 14th in the country among 11-year-olds this season. 

Other Highlights: 

  • 13-year-old Taylor Clements out of GPAC won the women’s 13-14 100 backstroke with a 4 second personal best of 1:12.34.
  • 13-year-old Ayla Bushong dominated the women’s 13-14 400 IM, winning the event by over 40 seconds in a time of 5:36.72. 
  • In the men’s 15-18 400 IM, 16-year-old Shane McElieve out of PCST dropped over 12 seconds to win the event in a time of 5:01.49. 

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About Nicole Miller

Nicole Miller

Nicole has been with SwimSwam since April 2020, as both a reporter and social media contributor. Prior to joining the SwimSwam platform, Nicole also managed a successful Instagram platform, amassing over 20,000 followers. Currently, Nicole is pursuing her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After competing for the swim …

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