14-Year-Old Shareef Elaydi Clocks 1:45.06 200 Fly at Far Westerns, No. 2 in NAG Rankings

2024 Far Western Championships

• April 4-7, 2024
• Dolores Bengtson Aquatic Center
• Pleasanton, CA
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results on MeetMobile: “Pacific Swimming SC Far Western Champs”

Luka Mijatovic made headlines at last week’s Far Western Championships by lowering his own national age group (NAG) records in the 500-yard freestyle (4:14.83) and 400 IM (3:47.91), but there were plenty of other impressive swims at Dolores Bengtson Aquatic Center in Pleasanton, California.

Santa Clara Swim Club 14-year-old Shareef Elaydi turned heads in the 200 butterfly with a winning time of 1:45.06, passing Michael Andrew (1:45.39) in the NAG rankings to rank No. 2 behind only Thomas Heilman (1:42.77). Elaydi knocked more than a second off his own Pacific LSC record of 1:46.88 from December. 

U.S. Boys 13-14 NAG Rankings, 100-Yard Fly

1. Thomas Heilman – 1:42.77 (2021)
2. Shareef Elaydi – 1:45.06 (2024)
3. Michael Andrew – 1:45.39 (2014)
4. David Sammons – 1:47.03 (2024)
5. Cooper Lucas – 1:47.34 (2020)

Elaydi also won the 200 breaststroke in 1:59.38, just about half a second off his LSC record of 1:58.81 from last month. 

• Related: Santa Clara Swim Club’s Aquatic Center Closed Indefinitely for Repairs

Pleasanton Seahawks 15-year-old Tim Wu showed off his versatility by collecting five individual victories. In the 200 free, he outdueled Alto Swim Club 18-year-old Andy Cui (1:37.92) and Alto Swim Club 17-year-old Francisco Goya (1:38.53) to secure the win in 1:36.64. He dropped more than half a second off his previous-best 1:37.17 from December, moving up to 60th in the 15-16 NAG rankings in the process. 

Cui dropped almost two seconds in the 200 free while Goya also lowered his best time by just over a second. Goya triumphed in the 500 free (4:28.90) about a second ahead of Cui (4:29.89), taking more than half a second off his previous-best 4:29.41 from November.

Wu posted five more 1st-place finishes in the 400 IM (3:52.92), 100 fly (49.16), 200 fly (1:48.09), and 1000 free (9:13.74). He dropped more than two seconds in the 400 IM and seven seconds in the 1000 free. 

Los Altos Mountain View Aquatics 16-year-old Dar Lavrenko swept the 50 free (20.47) and 100 free (44.55) in personal bests. The Cal commit (‘25) shaved .07 seconds off his best 50 time and .42 seconds off his best 100 time. Lavrenko also earned a runner-up finish in the 100 back (50.07), slicing almost two seconds off his previous best from last month (51.97).

Girls Recap

Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics 16-year-old Kelsey Zhang climbed the NAG rankings in the 200 fly (1:53.51) and 200 IM (1:57.26) with a pair of eye-popping times at Far Westerns. 

Zhang blazed a winning time of 1:53.51 in the 200 fly, shattering Jasmine Tosky’s Pacific LSC 13-14 record from 2011 (1:54.63) and rising up to 7th in the NAG rankings. Her best time before last week stood at 1:55.08 from November. 

Zhang picked up another big win in the 200 IM, dropping almost two seconds off her previous-best 1:59.03 from last May. She now ranks 31st in the NAG rankings. 

Terrapins Swim Team 12-year-old Marina Didenko also enjoyed a huge meet with six victories in her age group. She won the 200 breast in 2:18.96, dropping more than a second to move up to 18th in the NAG rankings.

Didenko toppled Chloe Isleta’s decade-old Pacific LSC 11-12 records in the 200 IM (2:06.18) and 400 IM (4:27.24). Isleta owned the previous LSC standards at 2:06.28 from 2011 and 4:27.62 from 2010. Didenko dropped more than a second in the 200 IM and more than six seconds in the 400 IM, moving up to 33rd and 24th in the NAG rankings. 

Didenko also placed 1st in the 100 fly (57.69), 200 fly (2:08.67), and 100 IM (58.86), the latter of which catapulted her up to 29th in the NAG rankings. She lowered her best 100 IM time by more than a second, improving upon her previous-best 1:00.67 from January. 

Orinda Aquatics 14-year-old Stella Canoles put on a sprint clinic with 1st-place finishes in the 50 free (23.05), 100 free (50.20), 200 free (1:50.02), 100 fly (54.52), and 200 fly (2:02.10). She dropped about a tenth in the 200 free, almost half a second in the 100 fly, and more than five seconds in the 200 fly. 

Pleasanton Seahawks 15-year-old Rylee Hutchinson brought home wins in the 200 free (1:50.34) and 400 IM (4:14.81), both in lifetime bests. She dropped more than half a second off her previous-best 200 free time of 1:50.86 from last May’s CIF State Championships and more than three seconds off her previous-best 400 IM time of 4:17.84 from last April. Hutchinson added runner-up finishes in the 500 free (4:50.30) and 200 back (2:00.71).