NE USA 18& Under Winter Championships
- December 4-6, 2020
- The Workout Club and Wellness Center, Salem, NH
- Short Course Yards
- Results on Meet Mobile: 2020 USAS 18&Under Winter Championships
Swimmers from the New Hampshire area met in southeastern New Hampshire for the USA Swimming 18& Under Championships, which are currently occurring in pools around the country until December 14.
15-year old Caleb Maldari of Bluefish Swim Club was back in action this weekend following his breakout swim in the 200 backstroke last weekend where he posted a time of 1:45.69 to move up to #68 among the all-time fastest 15-16 year olds in the event nationally.
In his first event, Maldari swam the 400 IM, touching in a time of 3:54.85 to finish second and chop over 3 seconds off of his best time. Maldri now ranks as the top 15-year-old in the country this season, and the 4th fastest swimmer in the 15-16 age group, just behind teammate Joshua Parent.
Maldari then contested the 100 backstroke, crushing his second best time in the event in a week to put up an effort of 48.96. That dropped almost a half second off of his best time of 49.32 from last weekend. His time is currently ranked 2nd in the country among 15-year-olds this season.
In the 200 IM, Maldari finished in a time of 1:50.71 to claim a decisive victory over the field. He was just off of his best time of 1:50.52 from last weekend. Similarly, in the 200 backstroke, Maldari touched in a time of 1:45.81 to come within a few tenths of his historical effort from last weekend.
In his final event, the 100 breaststroke, Maldari put up his biggest drop of the weekend, cutting over 5 seconds off of his best time to touch in 58.74. This marked his first swim under 1:00, breaking it by a large margin.
On the women’s side, 17-year-old Reagan Lord from SOLO Aquatics also saw major drops across all of the events she swam.
In the 100 backstroke, Lord put up a time of 57.42 to improve upon her personal best of 58.71 by over a second. She also managed to claim a narrow victory over UNC commit Aislin Farris of Bluefish, out-touching her by .05.
Lord then threw down a time of 2:08.69 in the 200 IM, to cut over 2 seconds off of her best time of 2:10.93. In her final event, Lord threw down a time of 2:02.64 in the 200 backstroke. Her time was a personal best by almost 4 seconds, topping her time of 2:06.11 from late October of this year.
Lord’s backstroke has steadily improved over the last 2 years, giving her plenty of value as an uncommitted high school senior. As of 2018, her best time in the 100 backstroke stood at only a 1:03.56, while her best time in the 200 was a 2:15.26.
Other Highlights:
- The aforementioned Farris won the 200 backstroke in a best time of 1:59.24, cutting over a half second off of her previous best.
- 18-year-old Ryan Hogan, a Louisville commit, threw down a best time in the 400 IM, winning in a time of 3:54.69 to cut about a half second.
- 16-year-old Malia Amuan, who is committed to join Michigan as a member of the class of 2026 dropped a best time in the 200 freestyle, finishing in 1:48.17.
NE, just like the rest of the country is the typical story of the haves and the have-nots. Who gets a pool and time and who doesn’t???
What percentage of teams in NE are not back in the pool or have limited pool access? I’m curious. I know teams using university pools and Y’s have been impacted.
Rhode Island is on a “pause” mandated by the governor right now, so no one is in the pool from what I understand. They are supposed to be in high school season as well, but that’s on hold.
Reagan Lord… what a name!
Great swimmer and great family! Is she going to join her sister at Lehigh or branch out further? She was incredibly fast as a much younger swimmer and glad to see she’s found a new home with the powerhouse team at SOLO that actually BUILDS fast swimmers instead of swiping them from other teams with the promise of low fees.
Aislin Farris is gonna have a goddess-like NCAA career…