2015 Short Course Far Westerns: Day Four Finals – Two More NAGs to Close Very Fast Meet

2015 Short Course Far Westerns Championships

• Dates: Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12, 2015
• Times: prelims 9 am, finals 5 pm (PDT)
• Location: Morgan Hill Swim Club Makos, Morgan Hill, California
• Live Results: (on Meet Mobile)
• Championship Central

The Far Westerns short-course championship meet is the end-of-season taper meet for a large number of teams in the Western Zone, and specifically so for their 14-and-under swimmers. The format is prelims/finals, but with only ten swimmers scoring in one heat of finals.

1000 Freestyle – Timed Finals

Lakeridge Swim Team’s Christopher Miller kicked off the final session of the 2015 Far Westerns Championships with a win in the boys’ 17-18 1000 free, going 9:31.36, his second-fastest and just 7 seconds off his personal best. Runner-up Robert Scott* of Pleasanton Seahawks dropped over 13 seconds to get his best time of 9:48.36.

Santa Clara Swim Club’s Mark Gorelik* won the boys’ 15-16 age group with 9:44.18, his best by over 14 seconds. Teammate Oli Holt* was second in 9:49.09. Nicholas Sullivan* of Seaside Aquatic Club improved by over 15 seconds and placed third with 9:58.23.

Mitchell Stoddard* of College Area Swim Team won the 13-14 race with a 6.7 second improvement over his seed time, going 9:45.99. Neptune Swimming’s David Mertz came in second, dropping 8.5 for 9:47.74.

In the 11-12 race, both Lleyton Plattel of Pleasanton (10:15.91) and Daniel Morris of Clovis Swim Club (10:24.91) had big drops; Plattel improved by 9, while Morris went nearly 22 seconds better than his seed time.

500 Freestyle – Finals

Moriah Simonds* of Pleasanton Seahawks won the girls’ 17-18 final with 4:53.75. Alyssa Greymont of host team Morgan Hill Swim Club edged Iris Brand* of Pleasanton, 5:08.49 to 5:08.79 for second. Lakeridge’s Miller made it two-for-two on the day with a win in the boys’ race, touching in 4:31.00. Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics’ Daichi Matsuda was runner-up in 4:33.64, while Ripon Aquatics’ Christian Britton went a personal-best 4:41.91 for third.

Santa Clara Swim Club’s Sophie Krivokapic-Zhou* held onto her top seeding and finished first in the 15-16 race with 4:52.96. A great race for second ensued among PASA’s Chloe Isleta* (4:58.31), Lauren Green* of Quicksilver Swimming (4:58.95), and Reno Aquatics Club’s Mckenna Meyer (4:59.50). Christopher Jhong* of Pleasanton (4:35.91) eked out a close one over PASA’s Andrew Cho* (4:36.49) and Irvine Novaquatics’ Andrew Koustik* (4:37.09).

400 Individual Medley – Finals

Peak Swimming’s Vivian Wang* dropped another 6 seconds, after the 2.5 in prelims, to win the 13-14 girls’ race with 4:19.68. Runner-up Miranda Heckman of Pleasanton had a big drop, too; after taking 8.5 seconds off her seed time in prelims, she went another 4 seconds faster in finals, ending up with 4:22.98. On the boys’ side it was Irvine NOVA’s Kevin Tu with the win in 4:06.19, his best by 5.5 seconds. Second place went to Nathan Yates* of Santa Clara, whose 4:08.15 beat his previous PB by almost 8 seconds. Similarly, third-place Lucas Hess of Park City Swimming dropped 7.7 seconds to win up with 4:08.59.

After the 5.7 seconds she dropped in prelims, Bianca Yongyuth of Santa Clara Swim Club took off another 3.3 in finals to win the girls’ 11-12 race with 4:29.88. Teammate Nadia Bouraoui (4:36.77) was runner-up. Lars Hanna of Aces Swim Club smashed his personal best by 10 seconds and broke the meet record, winning the boys’ race in 4:17.73. Alexander Pascual of Napa Valley Swim Team went 4:28.30 for second.

100 Individual Medley – Finals

The recent trio of National Age Group record-breakers shifted spots a bit but still finished at the top of the girls’ 10-and-under 100 IM: Mia Tandingan of Pikes Peak Athletics led with 1:01.59; she was followed by Miriam Sheehan of Phoenix Swim Club (1:2.19) and Claire Tuggle of Yosemite Marlins (1:03.72). Both Tandingan and Sheehan were under the previous meet record.

Ronald Dalmacio of Rose Bowl Aquatics broke not only the meet record with his winning 1:01.21, but the National Age Group Record as well. The old NAG mark had belonged to Michael Andrew since 2010. Runner-up was Ricky Kurosawa of Boulder City Henderson in 1:07.04, just ahead of Santa Clara’s Lorenzo Martinelli (1:07.28).

200 Individual Medley – Finals

Reno Aquatic Club’s Madeleine Hurst won the girls’ 17-18 200 IM with 2:03.56; Aquabears teammates Brittany Usinger* (2:04.67) and Danielle Taylor* (2:05.58) were second and third. PASA’s Joe Molinari broke the boys’ 17-18 meet record for the second time in one day, winning the final in 1:48.76. Alexander Kapphahn of Foothill Area Sharks Swim Team beat Daichi Matsuda* of PASA by 7/100 for second, place, 1:53.81 to 1:53.88.

In 15-16s, Isleta* of Palo Alto Stanford went 2:00.25 for first, while Shelby Koontz of Douglas Dolfins (2:04.36), Han Nguyen of Ukiah Dolphins (2:04.76), and Hannah Womer* from Quicksilver Swimming (2:04.81) battled for second. PASA’s Benjamin Ho*lowered his own meet record, set last year, with 1:48.86. Pleasanton’s Christopher Jhong* was second in 1:52.86. Dagen Kipling of Lakeridge was third in 1:54.55.

50 Freestyle – Finals

Aquabears’ Usinger won the 17-18 race in 23.36. She was followed by teammate Taylor* (23.55) and PASA’s Alex Grimes* (24.29). PASA’s Albert Gwo* set the boys’ 17-18 meet record with 20.19. Second place went to Arjun Sharma* of Walnut Creek (21.25), while Nathan Wallace of Southern Utah placed third (21.53).

Lauren Green* of Quicksilver Swimming dropped .6 from prelims to finals and won the 15-16 race in 23.37. Santa Clara’s Krivokapic-Zhou* finished second with 23.45, and Emma Cottrill* from Crow Canyon Country Club Sharks took third with 23.68. Benjamin Ho* of PASA set the 15-16 meet record with his winning 20.64. David Noyes* of Santa Clara was second with his first sub-22, 21.87. Mark Tran* from Milpitas Tidal Waves was third in 22.00.

In the 13-14 girls, Isabelle Henig* of PASA improved her PB by another 2/10 and set a meet record with 23.07. Foothill Aqua Sharks’ Chloe Clark took second in 23.39. PASA’s Milan Hilde-Jones touched out Santa Clara’s Cathy Teng* 23.72 to 23.73 for third. Hunter Hitchens* of Irvine NOVA and Santa Clara’s Yates* shared the gold medal in the boys’ race, both touching in 21.59. Ethan Luc* of Valley Splash took third in 21.87.

Pleasanton’s Mackenzie Lee won the 11-12 race in 24.94, just .06 ahead of Abby David from Solano Aquatic Sea Otters (25.00). Kailyn Winter of Cabrillo Threshers was third in 25.05. Winn Aung of Redding Swim Team lowered the boys’ 11-12 meet record he had set in prelims by 2/10, going another personal best in finals with 22.09. Justin Culetu (22.89) and PASA’s Jerry Yang (23.91) were second and third.

50 Butterfly – Finals

After breaking the meet record in prelims, Miriam Sheehan broke the National Age Group record in finals. Sheehan improved her previous best time by over a second, clocking a 26.64 in finals. Mia Tandingan of Pikes Peak Athletics was also under the old meet record with 27.72, while Sydney Lu of Pleasanton finished third in 28.65.

Irvine NOVA’s Humberto Najera won the boys’ race with 28.40, a second ahead of Anthony Fong from Terrapins Swim Team (29.46) and Bryce Halterman of Indian Wells Valley (29.63).

100 Breaststroke – Finals

Cayla Whetstone of Piranha Swimming won the girls’ 11-12 race with 1:06.78. Nadia Bouraoui of Santa Clara dropped another 3/10 in finals for a total of .6 to finish with 1:07.22. Caraline Baker of Flatiron Athletic Club was third in 1:07.60.

Canyons Aquatic Club’s Keane Alejandro improved his seed time by a second and broke the meet record with 1:02.66. Sean Swift of Foothill Aqua Sharks (1:03.62) and Napa Valley’s Alexander Pascual (1:04.97) finished second and third. Swift was also faster than the previous meet record.

200 Butterfly – Finals

Santa Clara’s Teng* dropped 2.7 seconds from prelims to finals and won the girls’ 13-14 race in 2:01.03. Emily Lo* from Terrapins went 2:02.34 for second. Sarah Savage of Peak Swimming placed third in a PB of 2:06.08. NOVA’s Hitchens won the boys’ contest in 1:52.15, a PB by over 2 seconds. Runner-up was Park City’s Hess in 1:54.62, while Alex Aung of Redding Swim took third with 1:55.36.

DACA’s Jessica Chu won the 11-12 contest with 2:10.81. Stephanie Shao of Pleasanton went 2:14.63 for second, while Jordan Foster of Aces Swim Club placed third with 2:15.31. Redding’s Winn Aung broke the meet record but fell short of his 11-12 NAG record with 1:56.81. Lars Hanna of Aces was second with 2:01.88. Pleasanton’s Plattel took third in 2:07.86.

50 Freestyle – Finals

In a thrilling finale to a very fast 2015 Far Westerns, the NAG trio of Tangingan, Sheehan and Tuggle put on one last show. All three beat the previous meet record. Pikes Peak’s Tandingan won in 25.41; she was followed by Phoenix’s Sheehan (25.58) and Yosemite Marlins’ Tuggle (25.72).

Rose Bowl’s Dalmacio won his final event, clocking a 25.40. Mitchell Schott of Irvine Novaquatics touched second in 26.86, ahead of Santa Clara’s Martinelli (27.03).

800 Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

Irvine Novaquatics (Amanda Hsieh, Ayla Spitz, Karen Najera, and Mackenzie Degn) took the title in the girls’ 13-14 race over Palo Alto Stanford, 7:41.43 to 7:43.53. NOVA won the boys’ race, too: Hunter Ingram, Sean Slusiewicz, Christopher Mykkanen, and Kevin Tu beat Peak, 7:16.19 to 7:19.16.

200 Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

The meet ended with the 11-12s contesting the 200 free relay. In the girls’ race, Walnut Creek Aquabears were victorious, with Jessica Davis, Shelby Suppiger, Sophie Lurie, and Ana Jif-Schiff touching 4/100 in front of Scottsdale Aquatic Club and .56 ahead of De Anza Cupertino.

PASA (Theodore Makler, Ryan Kim, Guy Zamir, and Jerry Yang) touched out Canyons, 1:38.54 to 1:38.62.

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*swimming unattached for high school season