2024 Winter Junior Championships – East
- December 11-14, 2024
- Wednesday Finals: 4 pm EST
- Prelims: 9 am EST/ Finals: 5 pm EST
- Greensboro, NC
- SCY (25 yards)
- Psych Sheets
- Event Page
- Meet Central
- Live Results
- Live Stream
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2024 Winter Juniors East”
- Prelims Recaps: Day 2
- Finals Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2
Day 2 of the 2024 Winter Junior Championships – East is in the books. With our live recap of finals completed, this post is designed to highlight some of the great performances from the day that may have went unmentioned on the recap. Of course, what makes a great swim is subjective, and it’s easy to miss swims at a meet this size, so we’re encouraging our readers to drop any other swims they feel were missed in the comments. Now, without further ado…
Laker Swim 17-year-old Carolina Dehar had a big drop in the girls 200 IM today. Dehar was entered with a Long Course time, as her yards personal best of 2:04.80 wasn’t under the cut. In prelims, she popped a 2:01.04, marking a new career best by 2.76 seconds. Moreover, she finished 17th, qualifying for the ‘C’ final tonight, but ended up making the ‘B’ final due to a scratch. In finals, Dehar managed to drop another 0.02 seconds, going 2:01.02 and finishing 14th overall. Dehar is a senior who is set to swim at Harvard next fall.
SwimMAC Carolina 14-year-old Karina Plaza was phenomenal in the girls 200 IM today as well, swimming a 1:58.74 to win the ‘C’ final tonight. She came into the meet with a personal best of 2:00.76, and was off that time in prelims with a 2:01.22. She made up for it in finals, blowing right through the 2:00 barrier and all the way past 1:59.
In the girls 50 free, 13-year-old Penelope Lopez-Casula from Eagle Aquatics dipped under 23 seconds for the first time in her very young career, swimming a 22.96 in prelims. Not only did that time mark her first performance under 23 seconds, Lopez-Casula also was 13th in prelims, comfortably qualifying for the ‘B’ final. The youngster made the most of the opportunity, clocking a 22.89 in finals, which was good for 12th place overall. She still has the 200 free and 100 free left on her schedule for the week.
Outside of Lopez-Casula, there were some other swimmers who went under 23 seconds for the first time today. New Jersey Race Club 18-year-old Molly Cullen, a TCU recruit, clocked her career best of 22.87 in prelims, marking her best time by a quarter of a second. Memphis Thunder Aquatic Club 16-year-old Roos Rottink went 22.97 in prelims, dropping 0.32 seconds from her previous best. Rottink lowered that time in finals, going 22.91. Huntsville Swim Association’s Abby Chan, 15, dropped a massive amount of time in the 50 today. Chan entered the meet with a PB of 23.37, then went 23.04 in prelims before ripping a 22.79 in finals, marking a total improvement of 0.58 seconds today. Healthy Lifestyles Healthy Kids Seals 16-year-old Pilar King also went under 23 seconds for the first time today, swimming a 22.98 in finals.
SwimMAC Carolina 14-year-old Karina Plaza was phenomenal in the girls 200 IM today, swimming a 1:58.74 to win the ‘C’ final tonight. She came into the meet with a personal best of 2:00.76, and was off that time in prelims with a 2:01.22. She made up for it in finals, blowing right through the 2:00 barrier and all the way past 1:59.
SwimMAC Carolina 15-year-old David Sammons had a huge swim in the boys 200 IM today. Sammons entered the meet with a personal best of 1:50.02, then swam a 1:47.84 in prelims, which was good for 18th.
Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA 17-year-old Will Browne was exceptional in the boys 50 free today, swimming a 19.95. He won the ‘B’ final with that performance, which also marked his first time under 20 seconds in the event. Browne came into the meet with a personal best of 20.55, marking a total improvement of 0.60 seconds on the day.
Moving into the relays, TAC Titans 14-year-old Reina Liu led off the girls 400 medley relay with a 52.15 100 back. That performance marks a career best by half a second for the youngster. Despite dropping half a second with the swim, Liu remains 6th all-time in the 13-14 age group in the event.
17-year-old Xavier Sohovich anchored the Bolles School Sharks ‘B’ boys 400 medley relay in 42.97, marking the 2nd-fastest anchor leg in the field.
