2025 Winter Junior Championships – West: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2025 Speedo Winter Junior Championships – West

• December 10-13, 2025
• West: Lee & Joe Jamil Texas Swimming Center (Austin, Texas)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 9:00 am CT / 10:00 am ET
  • Finals: 5:00 pm. CT / 6:00 pm ET
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet

The opening day of the 2025 Winter Junior Championships – West got underway this afternoon with timed final heats in the 1000 free before we’ll see the 200 medley and 800 free relays tonight.

Sydney Schoeck of the CSP Tideriders clocked 9:32.29 to upset La Mirada Armada’s Kayla Han in the girls’ 1000 free, while on the boys’ side, Tsunami Swim Team’s Ellis Crisci claimed the victory in 8:54.70.

Find a full recap of the 1000s and tonight’s relays below:

Girls’ 1000 Free — TIMED FINAL

• 13-14 NAG Record: 9:29.81 – Katie Ledecky, 2011
• 15-16 NAG Record: 9:14.22 – Katie Ledecky, 2013
• 17-18 NAG Record: 8:59.65 – Katie Ledecky, 2015

Top 8 Finishers

1. Sydney Schoeck (CSP) — 9:32.29
2. Kayla Han (RMDA) — 9:36.80
3. Zayda Miehl (CAT) — 9:41.16
4. Paige Downey (GM — 9:47.74
5. Anne Dickinson (SSTY) — 9:47.78
6. Morgan Farlow (TFA) — 9:51.41
7. Malia Groen (SCSC) — 9:51.92
8. Cassie Espinoza (RMDA) — 9:54.59

CSP’s Sydney Schoeck won the West 1000 in a huge way, touching in 9:32.29 to overtake La Mirada Armada’s Kayla Han, who was the favorite coming into the race.

Schoeck’s previous best time was 9:44.05 from March of this year, marking a near 12 second drop in the event. She held very consistent splits throughout the race, only swimming one 50 that was over 28 seconds.

Schoeck, a Texas commit for the fall, was out almost a second behind Han at the 200 mark, splitting 1:51.94 to Han’s 1:50.99, but she held her splits while Han dropped to 29-mids which allowed her to easily secure the win.

She was out in 4:44.33 at the 500 mark and came home in 4:47.96, nearly even splitting her race.

Han, who is committed to Indiana, swam 9:36.80 about six seconds off her lifetime best 9:30.10 from November of 2024. She was out in 4:44.55 for her 1st 500 and split 4:52.25 on the 2nd 100.

Corvallis Aquatics 15-year-old Zayda Miehl swam 9:41.16 to drop more than six seconds from her previous best 9:47.53 from just a few weeks ago. Her preseason best in the event was 9:53.18 from January.

Boys’ 1000 Free — Timed Final

• 13-14 NAG Record: 8:46.50 – Luka Mijatovic, 2023
• 15-16 NAG Record: 8:37.01 – Luka Mijatovic, 2025
• 17-18 NAG Record: 8:42.25 — Ethan Ekk, 2025

Top 8 Finishers

1. Ellis Crisci (TST) — 8:54.70
2. Evan Gluck (COR) — 8:56.62
3. Michael Powell (LO) — 9:00.55
4. Whitaker Steward (TST) — 9:02.69
5. Lucas Jue (NOVA) — 9:02.99
6. Kai Joyner (RSC) — 9:04.54
7. Kannen Crossland (PACK) — 9:05.72
8. Ashton Joswiak (SAC) — 9:06.14

Tsunami Swim Team’s Ellis Crisci dropped a little under a second to earn the West Winter Juniors title in the men’s 1000 freestyle, swimming 8:54.70 to come in two seconds ahead of the rest of the field and drop from his previous best 8:55.28.

Crisci, a Texas commit for 2027, was out fast, splitting 49.07 at the 100 mark to hold the lead. He stayed in the 26 mid-high range for the first 400 before dropping to 27s at the 450 mark. His 1st 500 was 4:23.04.

From there, he stayed pretty consistent in the 27-low splits until the final 300 where he had a few 27-mid splits before dropping back down. He came home in 26.95/26.41 to split 53.55 on his last 100 and 4:31.66 on his 2nd 500.

Evan Gluck from COR Swimming finished 2nd in 8:56.62, a new best time by nearly nine seconds from the 9:05.22 he swam in March of this year.

Gluck, who is committed to UNC, was out a bit behind Crisci splitting 51.01 on his 1st 100 and 4:27.51 at the 500 mark. He came home strong, though, dropping to 27-low splits until the 800 meter mark, where he started splitting 26s.

His final 100 was 52.55, and he was 4:29.11 on his final 500, coming in only a second-and-a-half slower than his 1st 500.

Ladera Oaks’ Michael Powell, a UVA commit, finished 3rd in 9:00.55, an 11 second drop from his previous best 9:11.86.

Girls 200 Medley Relay — Timed Finals

• West Meet Record: 1:37.26 – Beach Cities Swimming (Herr, I. Brito, Arnold, G. Brito), 2024
• 13-14 NAG Record: 1:41.57 – TAC Titans (Liu, He, Nixon, Whelehan), 2024
• 15-16 NAG Record: 1:39.21 – Virginia Gators (Muzzy, Kulp, Bray, Hamilton), 2017
• 17-18 NAG Record: 1:38.98 — Nashville Aquatic Club (Hurt, Walsh, Massey, Walsh), 2020
• 15-18 Relay NAG Record: Carmel Swim Club (Berglund, Sweeney, Shackell, Christman), 2022

Top 3 Teams

1. Beach Cities ‘A’ — 1:38.76
2. Bellevue ‘A’ — 1:39.66
3. Lakeside ‘A’ — 1:40.09

Beach Cities Alpha took the top time in the 200 medley relay, coming in at 1:38.76,  just over a second off their West meet record from last year.

15-year-old Gabi Brito led them off in 23.86, securing a solid lead for the team that they maintained for the rest of the race.

Andi Taylor swam the breaststroke in 28.04. Eryn Arnold was on fly in 24.15, and Sora Koike swam free in 22.71 to bring the team home a little under a second ahead of the rest of the field.

Bellevue Club Swim Team finished 2nd with their team of Sutton Forbis (24.77), Gracyn Kehoe (28.15), Clare Watson (23.86), and Hailey Weiler (22.88) touching in 1:39.66 as they maintained their 2nd place position throughout the race.

Lakeside Aquatic Club sat behind 4th place team Irvine Novaquatics after the breaststroke leg with Lily Andruss leading off in 25.79 and Ella McWhorter swimming breast in 27.79. They came back to take the 3rd place spot with Emma Bibza‘s 24.17 fly split and Kennedi Southern‘s 22.34 on freestyle. Southern’s split was the 2nd fastest in the field after Stella Canoles split 22.16 with Orinda Aquatics.

Boys 200 Medley Relay — Timed Finals

• West Meet Record: 1:27.11 – Scottsdale Aquatic Club (Hoffer, Gage, Van Deusen, Blake), 2016
• 13-14 NAG Record: 1:34.61 – Carmel Swim Club (Lancaster, Malicki, Haig, Enoch), 2020
• 15-16 NAG Record: 1:28.85 – Mason Manta Rays (C. Foster, Van Gorp, McDonald, Chaney), 2018
• 17-18 NAG Record: 1:25.94 – Nashville Aquatic Club (Amlicke, Schumann, Nicholas, Dong), 2024
• 15-18 Relay NAG Record: 1:25.94 – Nashville Aquatic Club (Amlicke, Schumann, Nicholas, Dong), 2024

Top 3 Teams

1. Waterloo Swimming ‘A’ — 1:26.96 **New Meet Record
2. Quicksilver Swimming ‘A’ — 1:27.66
3. Lakeside Aquatic Club ‘A’ — 1:28.48

Waterloo Swimming Broke the Winter Juniors West Meet Record in the boys 200 medley relay, coming in at 1:26.96 to take down Scottsdale Aquatics Club’s 2016 record of 1:27.11.

Benjamin Jaggers led the Waterloo relay off in 21.63 to take over the lead which they maintained for the rest of the race. Max Laine swam 24.25 on the breaststroke leg. Austin Ross was 21.38 on the fly, and Julian Rusk split 19.70 on the free.

They came in about a second ahead of Quicksilver Swimming who swam 1:27.66 with their team of Isaac Litwiller (22.45), Jack Cameron (24.12), Nathan Foucu (21.69), and Tyler Porter (19.42).

The bronze medal went to the Lakeside Aquatics Club ‘A’ relay with their time of 1:28.48. Abhinav Angihotri swam the backstroke in 22.52. Will Currey was 24.55 on the breast. Maxwell Stanislaus split a huge 20.98 on the butterfly, and Bale Temiz was 20.43 on the freestyle.

GIRLS 800 FREESTYLE RELAY – TIMED FINALS

• West Meet Record: 6:52.66 — Sandpipers of Nevada (Sims, Grimes, Hodges, Weinstein), 2022
• 13-14 NAG Record: 7:18.96 – NOVA Aquatics (G. Sheble, C. Sheble, Erickson, Ackerly), 2017
• 15-16 NAG Record: 7:08.94 – Nation’s Capital (Duncan, Spink, Wall, Gemmell), 2020
• 17-18 NAG Record: 7:06.69 – Nation’s Capital (Duncan, Wall, Spink, Gemmell), 2022
• 15-18 Relay NAG Record: 6:52.66 — Sandpipers of Nevada (Sims, Grimes, Hodges, Weinstein), 2022

Top 3 Teams

1. Empire KC Swim Team ‘A’ — 7:15.71
2. Bellevue Club Swim Team ‘A’ — 7:15.84
3. Edina Swim Club ‘A’ — 7:16.31

Empire KC won the 800 freestyle relay by just over a tenth ahead of Bellevue Club, touching in 7:15.71 to Bellevue’s 7:15.84.

Lani Tietjen led off for Empire KC while Sutton Forbis led off for Bellevue. Tietjen was out more than a second behind at the 100 meter mark, splitting 53.04 on her opening 100 to Forbis’ 51.92, but she came homs trong to touch just two tenths behind. Forbis touched in 1:49.49 to lead Empire KC Tietjen’s 1:49.66.

Tietjen’s lifetime best is 1:47.73 from December of 2023 and Forbis has been 1:48.10, which she swam about a month ago.

The 2nd legs saw Kinley Baber from Empire KC and Gracyn Kehoe from Bellevue. After this leg, Kehoe took a huge lead for Bellevue, splitting 1:47.81 to Baber’s 1:50.35 to hand off a near three second lead going in to the 3rd leg.

Clara Seemann swam 3rd for KC while Eliza Seibert took the spot for Bellevue. Seemann started turning the tide in KC’s favor, splitting 1:48.48 to make up more than two seconds on Seibert’s 1:50.86.

The anchor legs saw Lucy Velte from KC and Clare Watson battle for the lead, with Watson leading by three tenths at the 700 mark. Ultimately, Velte’s 1:47.22 was just enough to bring KC ahead of Watson’s 1:47.68, earning the win.

Edina Swim Club finished 3rd with Adalynn Biegler (1:46.48), Libby McCarthy (1:50.57), Lydia Cameron (1:51.11), and Faith Lamah (1:48.15) swimming 7:16.31.

Gabi Brito led off Beach Cities Alpha’s relay in 1:46.70, and they ultimately finished 4th.

BOYS 800 FREESTYLE RELAY – TIMED FINALS

• West Meet Record: 6:20.34 – Lakeside Aquatic Club (Williamson, Lucas, Hatcher, Paulk), 2023
• 13-14 NAG Record: 6:51.02 – SwimMAC (Sammons, Sweet, Hamid, Cagle) 2024
• 15-16 NAG Record: 6:30.45 – Rose Bowl Aquatics (Dalmacio, Kim, Larrick, Maurer), 2021
• 17-18 NAG Record: 6:20.34 – Lakeside Aquatic Club (Williamson, Lucas, Hatcher, Paulk), 2023
• 15-18 Relay NAG Record: 6:20.34 – Lakeside Aquatic Club (Williamson, Lucas, Hatcher, Paulk), 2023

Top 3 Teams

1. Lakeside Aquatic Club ‘A’ — 6:29.54
2. Irvine Novaquatics ‘A’ — 6:31.72
3. Quicksilver Swimming ‘A’ — 6:33.17

Lakeside took home the top time in the boys 800 freestyle relay by more than two seconds over Irvine Novaquatics, picking up their first win of the meet.

Aiden Tokarski led the team off in 1:38.09, a little more than two seconds behind Irvine’s Andrew Maksymowski, who split 1:35.70 on the 1st 200. Tokarski’s swim was a lifetime best by about four tenths from the 1:38.45 he swam just last month. Maksymowski has been 1:35.51, which he did in May of 2024.

On the 2nd leg, Maxwell Stanislaus took over the lead for Lakeside, which they held on to for the remainder of the race. He split 1:34.23 to give William Zhang about a second lead over Irvine. Zhang extended that lead, splitting 1:38.23, and Able Temiz anchored the relay in 1:38.99 to lock up the event win in 6:29.54

Peter Vu swam the 2nd leg for Irvine Novaquatics in 1:37.61 before handing of to Lucas Jue on the 3rd leg. Jue was 1:39.30 and Michael Wang split 1:39.11 on the final leg. They ultimately touched about two seconds back in 6:31.72

Quicksilver Swimming finished 3rd overall in 6:33.17 with their team of Nathan Foucu (1:35.06), Eduardo Lasso (1:40.31), Clark Apuada (1:40.66), and Isaac Litwiller (1:37.14).

Team Scores After Day 1

Girls Top 10

1. Bellevue Club Swim Team — 72
2. Beach Cities Alpha — 70
3. Empire KC Swim Club — 62
4. Lakeside Aquatic Club — 61
5. Irvine Novaquatics — 58
6. Edina Swim Club — 56
7. Santa Clara Swim club — 46
8. CSP Tideriders — 44
9. Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics — 42
10. Gold Medal Swim Club — 37

Boys Top 10

1. Irvine Novaquatics — 76
2. Lakeside Aquatic Club — 72
3. Quicksilver Swimming — 66
4. Texas Ford Aquatics — 52
5. Tsunami Swim Team of K.C. — 45
6. Waterloo Swimming — 42
7. Academy Bullets Swim Club — 32
8. Beach Cities Alpha/Gold Medal Swim Club — 30
9. —
10. Mesa Aquatics Club — 29