2019 Speedo Winter Junior Championships–West: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

2019 Speedo Winter Junior Championships – West

• December 11th-14th, 2019
• King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, Washington
• SCY (25y) Course
• Pre-scratch timeline
• Psych Sheets
• Real-time Results
• Saturday Prelims Heat Sheets
• Saturday Distance Heat Sheets

Day Four will feature prelims of women’s and men’s 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, and 200 fly. Distance events will begin in the afternoon.

Women’s 200 Yard Backstroke – Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 1:50.16 Katharine Berkoff 2018
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 1:51.07 Missy Franklin 2010
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 1:48.30 Regan Smith 2018
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 1:47.16 Regan Smith 2019

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Isabelle Stadden, AQJT – 1:53.72
2. Sydney Silver, TOPS – 1:57.15
3. Ana Herceg, NTRO – 1:57.20
4. Madelyn Mechling, MAC – 1:57.77
5. Maggie McGuire, SCAL – 1:57.88
6. Malia Francis, MWWM – 1:57.90
7. Melinda Johnson, FST – 158.28
8. Gabi Baldwin, SCSC – 1:58.38

Three of the top eight seeds made it through to the A final despite adding time in their prelims swims. Isabelle Stadden of Aquajets went 1:53.72 (+3.3 seconds) to lead the qualifiers, while Ana Herceg of Nitro and Malia Francis of Mid Wisconsin were less than a second off their respective seed times. That means there will be five “unexpected” faces in tonight’s final. Sydney Silver of Denver Hilltoppers took .7 off her seed time and qualified second with 1:57.15. She came in with the 11th-fastest time. Madelyn Mechling of Magnolia and Gabi Baldwin from St Croix, seeded 12th and 13th, moved into the 4th and 8th spots.

Maggie McGuire of Socal Aquatics dropped 1 second to qualify 5th in 1:57.88. Melinda Johnson of Foothills Swim Team improved her seed time of 2:02.75 to vault into the A final with 1:58.28. Top-8 seeds Tea Laughlin of Buenavista, Libby Gilbert from Socal, Greer Pattison of Scottsdale, and Abigail Ahrens of Blue Tide were all off their seed time and, with the exception of Gilbert who placed 23rd, did not make finals.

Men’s 200 Yard Backstroke – Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 1:40.79 Jacob Pebley 2011
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 1:43.15 Michael Andrew 2014
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 1:40.90 Ryan Murphy 2011
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 1:37.35 Ryan Murphy 2014

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Keaton Jones, NEP – 1:43.58
2. Tyler Lu, SMAC – 1:44.00
3. Eric Stelmar, MAC – 1:44.94
4. Nathan Quarterman, BY – 1:45.48
5. Tyler Hulet, TWST – 1:45.65
6. Harrison Lierz, EA – 1:45.67
7. Ronald Dalmacio, ROSE – 1:46.26
8. Joshua Cho, NOVA – 1:46.33

15-year-old Keaton Jones of Neptune had a monster morning swim, winning heat 9 with 1:43.58 and lowering his personal best by nearly 4 seconds. That was good enough for the top spot in tonight’s final. The Woodlands’ Tyler Hulet dropped 2 seconds to move from 15th seed to 5th qualifier with 1:45.65. Ronald Dalmacio of Rose Bowl and Joshua Cho of Novaquatics dropped a second each to make the A final.

Four of the top 8 seeds qualified for tonight’s championship: top-seeded Tyler Lu of Seattle Metropolitan, Harrison Lierz from Elevation Athletics, Eric Stelmar from Mansfield, and Nathan Quarterman from Boise YMCA.

A couple of noticeable misses from among the top 8 seeds: Nathan Hayes went from 3rd seed to 11th qualifier; #5 Mateo Miceli from Sarpy County finished 14th; Tommy Park from Swim Pasadena added 2.2 and came in 34th; and Wylie Kruse from Fort Collins placed 18th.

Women’s 100 Yard Freestyle – Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 46.29 Abbey Weitzeil 2014
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 47.67 Claire Curzan 2019
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 47.49 Gretchen Walsh 2019
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 46.09 Simone Manuel 2015

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Amy Tang – 48.36
2. Janelle Rudolph, KING – 48.78
3. Katherine Zenick, NTN – 48.94
4. Gracie Felner, BC – 49.80
5. Elizabeth Cook, THSC – 49.90
6. Riley Francis, LAC – 49.91
7. Samantha Pearson, SCAL – 50.00
8. Ella Mazurek, QSS – 50.11

4th-seeded Amy Tang knocked out a big 48.36, taking .8 off her seed time, to qualify first for finals ahead of #1 seed Janelle Rudolph of King Aquatic Club. Rudolph also dropped time, improving to 48.78. Katherine Zenick, who came into the meet 9th, qualified third for the final with a .6-second drop. Gracie Felner was half a second off her best but still qualified 4th. Elizabeth Cook of The Dolphins Portland and Riley Francis from Lakeside both improved their seed times and made the A final.

#3 seed Justina Kozan of Brea Aquatics, who had dropped the 200 back, added 1.5 seconds and qualified for the C final with 50.57 along with Scottsdale’s Ashley Strouse and Anicka Delgado of Gators Swim Club, two more top-8 seeds coming into the meet. Ella Ristic of Irvine Nova added a second and made the B final.

Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle – Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 41.23 Ryan Hoffer 2015
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 43.90 Michael Andrew 2014
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 42.67 Ryan Hoffer 2013
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 41.23 Ryan Hoffer 2015

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Lukas Miller, EA – 43.67
2. Daniel Wilson, SSC / Coby Carrozza, TXLA – 43.93
3. –
4. Bence Szabados, CWAC – 44.02
5. Matt King, BC – 44.09
6. Luke Barr, SCSC – 44.27
7. Danny Syrkin, ROSE – 44.30
8. Aiden Hayes, SSC – 44.36

Six of the top 8 seeds made the A final but it was #6 Lukas Miller who stole the show with a .87 drop to take the first spot with 43.67. Sooner Swim Club’s Daniel Wilson, fresh off his podium performance in last night’s 100 fly, took .25 off his seed time to qualify second with 43.93, tying with top-seeded Coby Carrozza of Longhorn Aquatics. Wilson’s teammate Aiden Hayes went 8/10 better than his entry time to take the 8th spot in the final with 44.36. He had been seeded 21st. Rose Bowl’s Danny Syrkin dropped 3/10 and moved from 9th seed to 7th qualifier.

Women’s 200 Yard Breaststroke – Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 2:06.02 Alex Walsh 2018
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 2:10.22 Allie Szekely 2012
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 2:06.45 Alex Walsh 2018
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 2:05.87Alex Walsh 2019

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Kaitlyn Dobler, TDPS – 2:11.53
2. Emma Weber, TOPS – 2:12.07
3. Eva Carlson, TDPS – 2:12.49
4. Zoey Zeller, SCSC – 2:13.04
5. Morganne Malloy, NOVA – 2:13.86
6. Jess Yeager, NTRO – 2:14.03
7. Melanie Julia, PASA – 2:14.19
8. Shelby Suppiger, CROW – 2:14.36

It was the morning of the breaststrokers as all but three of the top 16 finishers dropped from their entry times to make the A and B finals. #1 seed Kaitlyn Dobler from The Dolphins Portland was a mere 3/10 off her entry time with the morning’s fastest performance of 2:11.53. Qualifiers 2-6, Emma Weber from Denver Hilltoppers, Eva Carlson of Portland, Zoey Zeller from Santa Clara, Irvine Nova’s Morganne Malloy, and Nitro’s Jess Yeager, all dropped between 2.1 and 2.6 seconds to make the A final. Palo Alto’s Melanie Julia dropped 1.5 and Shelby Suppinger of Crow Canyon improved by 2/10.

#2 seed Chase Davison of Hilltoppers added 3.3 seconds and qualified for the C final. #3 Izabella Adame of Canyons was almost 6 seconds off her entry time and didn’t make it back. Ditto for Sadie Edwards of Scottsdale who added 2.7 and finished 29th. Bellevue Club’s Gracie Felner was a DFS.

Men’s 200 Yard Breaststroke – Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 1:52.37 Reece Whitley 2016
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 1:55.52 Reece Whitley 2014
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 1:52.37 Reece Whitley 2016
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 1:51.43 Reece Whitley 2017

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Ben Dillard, SMST – 1:56.13
2. Hayden Zheng, AQJT – 1:56.40
3. Ethan Dang, BC – 1:57.31
4. Alexander Sanchez, MTRO – 1:57.41
5. Zhier Fan, MTRO – 1:58.24
6. Shogo Moridaira, PASA – 1:58.72
7. Vincent Ribeiro, NTRO – 1:59.07
8. Alex Deng, AQJT – 1:59.51

Sierra Marlins’ Ben Dillard, who won the 100 breast on Friday night, improved his seed time by .12 to post the top time of the morning with 1:56.13. Hayden Zheng from Aquajets took 1.7 seconds off his previous PB to qualify second in 1:56.40.

Qualifiers 4 through 8 all dropped between 2.3 and 3.9 seconds en route to making the A final. That includes Metroplex teammate Alexander Sanchez (-2.3 seconds) and Zhier Fan (-3.9 seconds), Palo Alto’s Shogo Moridaira (-3.56 seconds), Nitro’s Vincent Ribeiro (-2.7 seconds), and Aquajets’ Alex Deng (-3.3 seconds).

Top-seeded Ethan Dang of Bellevue Club was the only A finalist to add time; he was 2 seconds off his seed time of 1:55.26.

#2 Forrest Frazier of Eastern Iowa was off his time by 5.3 seconds and qualified 17th with 2:00.64. 4th-seeded Jassen Yep from Peak made the B final with 2:00.20, adding 2.8 seconds. #7 Daniel Worth from Empire KC added 4 and finished 38th. Luke Barr from Sarpy Country, the 6th seed, was a DFS.

Women’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 1:51.24 Regan Smith 2018
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 1:55.29 Tess Howley 2019
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 1:51.24 Regan Smith 2018
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 1:51.04 Ella Eastin 2016

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Emma Sticklen, KATY – 1:57.89
2. Morgan Gore, SMST – 1:58.00
3. Sarah Kutz, ASC – 1:58.82
4. Elizabeth Cook, THSC – 1:59.01
5. Anna Ogren, RSC – 1:59.11
6. Lucy Bell, FAST – 1:59.21
7. Justina Kozan, BREA – 1:59.41
8. Sanne Dequine, DART – 1:59.46

#1 seed Emma Sticklen from Katy led the morning qualifiers with 1:57.89, 3.3 seconds off her seed time. Fort Collins Area’s Lucy Bell and Justina Kozan from Brea, the 2nd and 3rd seeds, added 3.3 and 2.9 seconds, respectively, but still made the A final. Everyone else dropped time to land in the top 8. Morgan Gore of Sierra Marlins, who came in with the 17th time (2:01.11), took 3.1 second off to qualify second in 1:58.00. Austin Swim Club’s Sarah Kutz went (-1.7 seconds), Elizabeth Cook from Tualatin Hills (-1.4 seconds), Anna Ogren of Rochester (-1.7), and Sanne Dequine of DART (-2.3 seconds) all improved on their seed times.

Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 1:40.91 Gianluca Urlando 2018
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 1:45.39 Michael Andrew 2014
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 1:40.91 Gianluca Urlando 2018
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 1:40.85 Nicolas Albiero 2018

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Aiden Hayes, SSC – 1:43.90
2. Jonathan Affeld, ALTO – 1:44.42
3. Coby Carrozza, TXLA – 1:44.73
4. Vincent Cheng, BREA – 1:45.81
5. Jordan Tiffany, HAST – 1:45.95
6. Seung Joon Ahn, KATY – 1:46.28
7. Lukas Miller, EA – 1:46.58
8. Bence Szabados, CWAC – 1:46.72

A couple of Declared False Starts (#3 Ethan Hu of Peak Swimming and #6 Ethan Heasley from Hillsboro Swim Team) and a couple of misses #5 Danny Syrkin from Rose Bowl, #7 Rush Clark from Greater Omaha, and #8 Max Kreidl from Elevation Athletics) opened up a lot of potential spots for the A final and a slew of 200 flyers took advantage of the opportunity. Aiden Hayes ripped a 1:43.90, bettering his entry time by 3.1 seconds, to qualify at the top of the heap. Alto’s Jonathan Affeld also dropped 3.1; his 1:44.42 was the second qualifying time. Coby Carrozza of Longhorn Aquatics improved his time by .6 to 1:44.73. Brea’s Vincent Cheng dropped 1.9 seconds, Katy’s Seung Joon Ahn clipped his PB by 1.1, and Lukas Miller from Elevation went 2.3 seconds faster than his PB.

Top-seeded Jordan Tiffany of Hilltop added 1.7 but still qualified 5th. Chicago Wolfpack’s Bence Szabados, the #2 seed, snagged lane 8 for the final with 1:46.72, 1.8 seconds off his seed time.

DART’s Tate Cutler came within .12 of making the A final after a 4-second drop to go 1:46.84 for the 9th-fastest performance of the morning.

Women’s 1650 Yard Freestyle – Slowest Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 15:56.39 Gabrielle Kopenski 2014
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 15:54.46 Becca Mann 2012
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 15:15.17 Katie Ledecky 2013
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 15:13.30 Katie Ledecky 2015

Top 8 Qualifiers:

Men’s 1650 Yard Freestyle – Slowest Heats

• SC Juniors Meet Record – 14:37.71 Michael Brinegar 2017
• 13/14 National Age Group Record – 15:14.17 Arthur Frayler 2008
• 15/16 National Age Group Record – 14:45.40 Sean Grieshop 2014
• 17/18 National Age Group Record – 14:34.46 P.J. Ransford 2015

Top 8 Qualifiers: