2022 U.S. Junior Nationals Day 2: Finals Live Recap

2022 SPEEDO JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

• August 1 to 5, 2022
• William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, Irvine, California
• Long Course Meters (50m)
• Meet Central
• Event Page
• Psych Sheets
• Live Stream (USA Swimming)
• Live Results (OMEGA) (also can be found on MeetMobile)

Night two of US Junior Nationals kicks off at 5 PM Pacific time this evening. On the schedule this evening is finals swims in the 100 free, 400 IM and all heats of the 800 free relay.

Kristina Paegle, an Indiana commit who swims for Indiana Swim Club, dropped a half second this morning to take the top seed in the girl’s 100 free. On the boy’s side, Henry McFadden, fresh off an A final appearance in the 200 fly last night, comes in as the top seed after posting a 50.24 this morning.

Scarlet Aquatics’ Chloe Kim comes in as the top qualifier in the girl’s 400 IM after dropping over four seconds during the prelims, though Team Greenville’s Lilla Bognar is close on her heels. In the boy’s 400 IM, Baylor Swim Club’s Drew Hitchcock dropped nearly 7 and a half seconds to qualify first in 4:24.28, but the top four qualifiers all finished within a second of each other this morning, setting up a potentially thrilling final tonight.

The session will close with the 800 free relays, with Carmel holding the top seed on the girl’s side and SwimMac holding the top seed in the boy’s race.

TUESDAY FINALS HEAT SHEET

GIRL’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 52.70, Penny Oleksiak (2016)
• Meet Record: 54.03, Missy Franklin (2009)
• 13-14 NAG: 54.03, Missy Franklin (2009)
• 15-16 NAG: 53.55, Claire Curzan (2021)
• 17-18 NAG: 53.25, Simone Manuel (2014)

Top 8 finishers:

1. Kayla Wilson (Tide): 55.09
2. Kristina Paegle (Indiana Swim Club): 55.15
3. Alex Shackell (Carmel): 55.38
4. Annika Parkhe (Patriot): 55.53
5. Gigi Johnson (Swim Atlanta): 55.70
6. Alex Fulton (Upper Main Line Y): 55.76
7. Zara Zallen (Loveland): 55.90
8. Kirsti McEnroe (Y-Spartaquatics): 56.55

Tide’s Kayla Wilson took home the junior national title in the 100 free, tying her lifetime best of 55.09 to narrowly outtouch Indiana Swim Club’s Kristina Paegle, who finished second in 55.15.

Paegle was out fast, flipping first at the 50 with a 26.29, but Wilson closed hard in a 28.44 to take the crown. Notably, there was only a 1.8 second difference between Wilson’s 2 50s.

Rounding out the top three was last night’s 200 fly champion Alex Shackell. The Carmel Swim Club product also used a quick back half to post a new lifetime best of 55.38.

BOY’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 47.13, David Popovici (2022)
• Meet Record: 49.06, Vlad Morozov/Andrei Minakov (2010)
• 13-14 NAG: 51.12, Thomas Heilman (2021)
• 15-16 NAG: 49.28, Caeleb Dressel (2013)
• 17-18 NAG: 48.69, Jack Alexy (2021)

Top 8 finishers:

1. Thomas Heilman (Cavalier Aquatics): 49.67
2. Henry McFadden (Jersey Wahoos): 49.72
3. Will Mogdlin (Zionsville): 49.97
4. Chase Mueller (Foothills): 50.13
5. Nate Germonprez (iNspire): 50.30
6. Brendan Whitfield (Lynchburg Y): 50.48
7. Lucca Battaglini (East Carolina): 50.53
8. Roman Jones (Jersey Flyers): 50.76

15 year old sensation Thomas Heilman of Cavalier Aquatics led wire-to-wire in the 100 free, taking the junior national title in 49.67. Heilman flipped at 24.00 and closed in 25.67, very tight splits. The swim also makes him the 3rd fastest 15-16 boy in US history.

Stanford commit Henry McFadden of the Jersey Wahoos, who was the top seed out of the prelims, settled for the silver in 49.72. McFadden was noticeably behind the field on both the start and the turn, perhaps a hint at even further potential in the future.

Rounding out the top three was Zionsville’s Will Modglin, who finished in 49.97, his first time under the 50 second barrier.

GIRL’S 400 IM – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 4:29.01, Summer McIntosh (2022)
• Meet Record: 4:38.97, Ella Eastin (2013)
• 13-14 NAG: 4:39.76, Becca Mann (2012)
• 15-16 NAG: 4:32.67, Katie Grimes (2022)
• 17-18 NAG: 4:31.78, Elizabeth Beisel (2011)

Top 8 finishers:

1. Chloe Kim (Scarlet): 4:43.45
2. Kathryn Hazle (North Coast): 4:45.01
3. Avery Klamfoth (SwimMac): 4:45.72
4. Lilla Bognar (Team Greenville): 4:46.00
5. Abby O’Sullivan (Mission Viejo): 4:49.10
6. Emily Brown (Dublin Community): 4:50.28
7. Emily Thompson (Greater Somerset Y): 4:50.42
8. Hana Shimizu-Bowers (Badger): 4:51.35

Chloe Kim of Scarlet Aquatics used a blistering back half to take home the junior national title in the 400 IM, swimming a new lifetime best of 4:43.45. Kim took the lead on the breaststroke leg and then stretched her lead on the free, not surprising given her top 8 finish in the 800 free last night.

Finishing second out of lane 3 was Kathryn Hazle of North Coast Aquatics. Hazel dropped over 3.5 seconds from her prelim swim.

Avery Klamfoth of SwimMac finished 3rd in 4:45.72, marking a 4 second drop from prelims. The swim moved her up to 9th all time in the 13-14 age group.

BOY’S 400 IM – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 4:10.02, Ilya Borodin (2021)
• Meet Record: 4:14.51, Gunnar Bentz (2014)
• 13-14 NAG: 4:24.77, Michael Phelps (2000)
• 15-16 NAG: 4:14.73, Carson Foster (2018)
• 17-18 NAG: 4:09.09, Michael Phelps (2003)

Top 8 finishers:

1. Diego Nosack (Tualatin Hills): 4:20.20
2. Drew Hitchock (Baylor): 4:22.29
3. Own McDonald (Dynamo): 4:22.33
4. Ryan Healy (King Marlin): 4:22.35
5. Raymond Prosinksi (Loggerhead): 4:24.19
6. Mason Edmund (Unattached): 4:26.51
7. Andrew Taylor (Tampa Bay): 4:27.53
8. Eric Lee (Scarlet): 4:27.96

Diego Nosack, who came into the meet as the top seed but qualified 6th this morning, dominated in the final to win in a new lifetime best of 4:20.20. The Northwestern commit used a dominant back half, including a 1:14 breaststroke split, to pull away from the field.

Baylor Swim Club’s Drew Hitchcock, who came in as the top seed after the prelims, settled for the silver in 4:22.29. The swim marks a breakout of sorts for Hitchcock, who came into the meet with a lifetime best of 4:31.67, a 9 second drop on the day.

Dynamo’s Owen McDonald rounded out the podium with a 4:22.33 after being just outtouched by Hitchcock. McDonald opened an early lead on the fly leg, but fell back to the field on the backstroke leg.

GIRL’S 800 FREE RELAY – FINALS

• 15-18 NAG: 8:01.75, North Baltimore (2011)

Top 8 finishers:

1. Carmel: 8:14.23
2. Elmbrook: 8:15.46
3. Irvine NOVA: 8:16.27
4. Longhorn: 8:17.13
5. Mission Viejo: 8:17.91
6. Scarlet: 8:20.35
7. Rose Bowl: 8:23.11
8. North Baltimore: 8:24.05

Top-seeded Carmel Swim Club emerged victorious in the girl’s 800 free relay, holding off Elmbrook to win by just over a second. Carmel was led by Vivian Wilson, who split a 2:02.61 on the third leg, the fastest split on the relay.

Elmbrook finished second overall and challenged Carmel for the entirety of the race, with the Indiana club only pulling away over the final 100 meters.

Rounding out the top three was Irvine Nova, which swam out of the last heat. Irvine was led by Teagan O’Dell’s 2:01.41 lead off split and was ahead of Carmel’s pace at the 700 turn, but anchor Lindsay Ervin couldn’t hold onto the pace.

BOY’S 800 FREE RELAY- FINALS

• 15-18 NAG: 7:22.13, SwimMac (2021)

Top 8 finishers:

1. Longhorn: 7:25.36
2. SwimMac: 7:26.44
3. Nitro: 7:27.59
4. Carmel: 7:31.93
5. SwimAtlanta: 7:32.81
6. Dynamo: 7:33.99
7. Gold Medal: 7:34.47
8. Rose Bowl: 7:35.15

Longhorn Aquatics pulled off the upset in the 800 free, beating top seed SwimMac by a second. Longhorn was led by a pair of 1:50 splits by Daniel Li and Truman Armstrong.

SwimMac settled for the silver with a 7:26.44. Anchor Norvin Clontz attempted to mount a comeback, posting a 1:50.07 split, but ran out of room to run down Longhorn. Rounding out the top three was Nitro Swim Club with a 7:27.59. Nitro was led by Oliver Rowe, who split 1:50.42 on the 3rd leg.