2023 USMS Spring Nationals Day 1: Grant Shoults Cracks Men’s 25-29 1000 Free Record

2023 USMS SPRING NATIONALS

• April 27 – May 1, 2023
• William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center, Irvine, CA
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Website
• Psych Sheets + Results
  • Live results also available 0n MeetMobile – “2023 USMS Spring Nationals”

The first day of the 2023 U.S. Masters Spring Nationals is in the books. The meet, which is being held at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine, CA, features many of the top masters swimmers in the country, as well as at least 23 Olympians.

The first day of the meet was slim in the schedule, featuring only the 1650 free, 1000 free, and mixed 400 free relay.

Grant Shoults, a former 14-time NCAA All-American for Stanford, set a new Masters National Record in the men’s 25-29 1000 free, roaring to a 9:03.99. A member of the 2019 World Championship team, Shoults roared to victory in the event. It was a very strong performance for the 25-year-old, who has a personal best of 8:46.79, which he set in February of 2022, when he was still at Stanford.

Another record-breaking performance came in the women’s 45-49 1650 free, where 47-year-old Heidi George sped to a 17:02.48. George not only broke the women’s 45-49 record, she also posted the fastest time of any women’s swimmer of any age in the event by over 40 seconds.

Mesa Aquatics Club – Masters swimmer Joanne Menard was the other swimmer who set a new Masters National Record in an individual event on the day, clocking a 25:09.83. At 75 years old, Menard broke the record for women’s 75-79 in the event, also taking a whopping 40 seconds off her seed time with the swim.

A quartet of relay records went down on the day as well. New York Athletic Club put up a heck of a performance in the mixed 18+ 400 free relay, roaring to a final time of 3:11.45. They squad of Austin Quinn (45.36), Zachary Fong (44.43), Caroline Gmelich (51.13), and Ally Howe (50.53) not only won the event by 11 seconds, they set a new Masters National Record for the 18+ age group. It was a star-studded relay for NYAC, as Howe was an NCAA Champion, Gmelich and Fong were both individual NCAA All-Americans at Virginia, and Quinn, who also went to UVA, was an individual NCAA qualifier.

Meanwhile, The Olympic Club also had a terrific performance, winning the mixed 25+ 400 free relay with a final time of 3:16.11. Eduardo Solaeche (45.41), Benjamin Cono (45.17), Courtney Monsees (51.60), and Allison Arnold (53.93) teamed up to get the job done. Their performance also marked a new Masters National Record in the mixed 25+ age group.

North Carolina Masters Swimming was dominant in the mixed 35+ 400 free relay, finishing in 3:23.51 to win the age group by well over 13 seconds. They also broke the record for 35+ with their time. That relay was made up of Thorn Baccich (49.64), Jennifer Mihalik (52.30), Erika Braun (52.43), and Michel Heijnen (49.14).

The final Masters National Record broken on the first day of the meet came in the mixed 75+ 400 free relay, where Puget Sound Masters put up a 5:14.51 to win the age group. Sarah Welch (1:27.31), Andrea Hunt (1:27.38), Steve Peterson (1:10.47), and Michael McColly (1:09.35) combined for the win, as well as a new record for the age group.