This weekend, not only did Regan Smith of the Riptide Swim Team take down seven Minnesota LSC 13-14 Age Group Records, but she even outswam some of the 15-16 and 17-18 records set by local talent like Rachel Bootsma.
Smith, a 14-year-old, won every individual event she swam at the 2016 Minnesota LSC Senior State Meet, often outswimming athletes three, four, or five years her senior.
Perhaps her most impressive swims of the weekend came in the 200 free and the 200 back. In both events, she took down the Minnesota 13-14 LSC record by a big margin, but even more impressively, she outswam both the Minnesota 15-16 and 17-18 records as well. In the 200 free, her 1:46.77 took down Courtney Evensen‘s 1:49.92 13-14 mark, while also coming in faster than the 15-16 record 1:48.79 set by Hannah Bowen and the 17-18 1:47.22 set by Bootsma, a 2012 Olympian. Smith’s 200 back from this weekend, a 1:55.23 outdid her own 1:55.94 13-14 mark, along with McKayla Hinkle‘s 15-16 1:56.60 and Tess Behrens‘s 17-18 1:58.09.
The below chart shows all of Smith’s individual swims in comparison to the old 13-14 Minnesota LSC age group records and the records in the next two age groups up.
| Event (SCY) | Smith’s Time | Old MN 13-14 Record | MN 15-16 Record | MN 17-18 Record |
| 200 free | 1:46.77 | Courtney Evensen: 1:49.92 (-3.15) | Hannah Bowen: 1:48.79 (-2.02) | Rachel Bootsma: 1:47.22 (-.45) |
| 500 free | 4:53.15 | Kallyn Barkey: 4:55.27 (-2.15) | Kiera Janzen: 4:51.41 (+1.74) | Brooke Zeiger: 4:39.50 (+13.65) |
| 100 back | 52.58 | Regan Smith: 53.65 (-1.07) | Rachel Bootsma: 51.53 (+1.05) | Rachel Bootsma: 50.76 (+1.82) |
| 200 back | 1:55.23 | Regan Smith: 1:55.94 (-0.71) | McKayla Hinkle: 1:56.60 (-1.37) | Tess Behrens: 1:58.09 (-2.86) |
| 200 fly | 1:59.73 | Bre Thorne: 2:01.78 (-2.05) | Rachel Bootsma: 1:58.53 (+1.20) | Rachel Bootsma: 1:55.57 (+4.16) |
| 200 IM | 2:00.28 | Regan Smith: 2:01.55 (-1.27) | Madison Preiss: 2:01.91 (-1.63) | Rachel Bootsma: 1:58.16 (+2.12) |
| 400 IM | 4:15.80 | Madeleine Eden: 4:22.80 (-7.00) | Kallyn Barkey: 4:18.65 (-2.85) | Brooke Zeiger: 4:06.63 (+9.17) |
You can see the full results from the meet here.
And, you can look at the full list of Minnesota Swimming state records here.
A amazing girl did a unbelievable job. She always has perfect performance in swimming so far. I saw her in August this year, she is around 5’7″ tall, but I hope you can grow up more than 5’10” !!!!!!!!!!
Training in a 50 meter pool would definitely help this young lady, but Mike Parratto is a master when it comes to training for long course in a short course pool.
Her team has a pretty good SCY facility at the Bluewater Aquatic Center, but she needs a 50-meter pool in the metro area. Rochester has a newly renovated 50-meter indoor pool, but it’s 90 miles away from the Twin Cities. There are conversations about building new (indoor) 50-meter pools in the metro area but nothing has yet materialized. Hope she can get consistent practice lanes at the U and/or Rochester until it’s warm enough to swim in outdoor LCM pools.
I’ll jump on this bandwagon. To the fine folks in Minnesota that control long course pools…PLEASE find a way to provide long course practice lanes to this kid this Spring. Getting even 3 days a week would make a major difference.
I COMPLETELY agree. That’s the rub. Getting long course space at the University of Minnesota in April/May requires a LOT of luck and cooperation. I hope the Minnesota Swimming “powers that be” supports this kid.
I agree. The only long course pool in Minneapolis is the U. There is no other option for her. Somehow Bootsma managed to make the team. I hope they find a way for this kid. She’s alot of fun to watch, and while quite tall, she is not mature physically. So much room for improvement as she gets older. So many great swimmers in Minnesota, and nowhere to train long course…….
I’ve watched her swim up close and here’s what I see. She has trained under Parratto for only 11 months. Major progress in this time frame. Tremendous cardiovascular improvement. Her fly, back and free are beautiful. Breast has always been her weakness and even that is now improving at a fairly impressive rate. Split 37.45 in her 200IM which is a personal best I believe by maybe 3/4 of a second. If she can move down to the 35-36 range it’ll help a lot. Although she’s now top 2-5 in both 200/400IM (13-14 age group) even WITH that breast split. BOBO mentioned Alex and Regan breaking a minute. I think they BOTH go 59 low. Remember, they finished 1-2 at… Read more »
It’s an honor to have her from Minnesota Swimming and Riptide
Always love your numbers and analysis, Bobo! Watched her swim last weekend and will again this weekend in MN’s AG state meet. Records are made to be broken and Regan has broken MANY! Her goal is to do well in her first OT and hopefully make the team. After these SCY meets, her focus will be on training in LCM. She does have great coaches but I do hope she can train in a good LCM pool, which, unfortunately, is not so easy to find in Minnesota.