Presenting our Weekly Wonders for the weekends of September 22-24, 2017 and September 29-October 1, 2017:
Jason Norwood, 12, Rockwall Aquatic Center of Excellence: 50y free (24.78) – Norwood won the boys’ 50 free, 50 back, and 50 fly and was fifth in the 50 breast at the RACE Intersquad meet. He notched best times in all four events, and his 50 free, which was a PBx1.8 seconds, was 4.5 seconds faster than a year ago at this time.
Zachary McIntyre, 15, Marin Pirates: 200y free (1:45.09) – Swimming at the Lewis Cook Memorial Senior Open hosted by Marin Pirates, McIntyre posted a lifetime best by .20 in the 200 free, and was 5 seconds ahead of last year’s pace. He placed 5th overall in the 200 free, 6th in the 100 free, 8th in the 50 free, 16th in the 500, 6th in the 100 back, and 27th in the 200 IM. McIntyre finished the weekend with PBs in the 200/500 free and 100 back.
Blair Stoneburg, 13, Treasure Coast Aquatics: 500y free (5:06.59) – Stoneburg won the girls’ 13-14 500 free at the Winter Haven Stingray SC Invitational. She dropped 6.3 seconds and was 20.1 seconds faster than she’d been at this same meet a year ago. Stoneburg won all 9 events she swam and finished the meet with 9 new best times in the 50/100/200/500 free, 200 back, 100/200 fly, and 200/400 IM.
Emma Carlton, 16, Bellingham Bay Swim Team: 100y back (54.99) – Swimming unattached for Mount Vernon High School at the Mukilteo Invitational, Carlton tied her second-best ever 100 back time to win the event in 54.99. That makes her 3.5 seconds faster than she was at this time last year. She also won the 500 free (5:05.17) and swam fly (25.11) on the medley and the 100 free leadoff (52.08) on the 400 free relay.
Daniel Worth, 14, Empire KC Swim Club: 100y breast (1:00.05) – Swimming at the EKC Red/Black Intrasquad Meet, Worth went a best time by 9/10 and nearly broke 1 minute for the first time in the 100 breast. That puts him 4.8 seconds ahead of where he was a year ago. He also knocked 12 seconds off his best 500 free time.
Shae Clifton, 17, Swim Florida: 200y breast (2:26.07) – Clifton won the 200 breast, 200 IM, and 400 IM at the GCST Fall Invite hosted by Gulf Coast Swim Team. She had been hovering at 2:28-to-2:30 in the 200 breast for the last two years, so her PB by 0.08 was a nice breakthrough at the beginning of the season. Clifton also left the meet with new times in the 50 breast and 100 fly.
Julia Kereszturi, 11, Swim Neptune: 100y fly (1:02.93) – Kereszturi went 6-for-6 at the October Invite hosted by Swim Neptune. She dropped 3.4 seconds in the 100 fly and improved nearly 5 seconds from this same time last year. Kereszturi finished the meet with new times in the 100/200/500 free, 50 fly, and 100 IM, as well.
Jack Hoagland, 16, Charger Aquatics: 200y IM (1:55.71) – Hoagland swam his third-best time (he was off by 3) in winning the 200 IM at the CAQ Fall Decathlon. He was nevertheless 6.2 seconds faster than he had been at this same meet a year ago. Hoagland also won the 50/100 breast, and finished the meet with new PBs in the 100 free, 100 back, 50 breast, 50/100 fly, and 100 IM.
Reminder: The Weekly Wonders column is a celebration of age-group swimming, where new champions are made every day. Anyone can look up the top swims of the week. That’s not what we’re doing here. If we were only reporting on the week’s top swims we would feature the same handful of athletes every Wednesday. Instead, this is an opportunity to introduce the swimming community to athletes who have made great strides in the context of their own particular swimming worlds. By association, it also celebrates their coaches and their teams. The Weekly Wonders column, therefore, amounts to a pat on the back for a job well done, and hopefully encourages swimmers of all levels to continue to reach from within to get to that next level.
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