Grimes And Brinegar Win Elite 10k In Las Vegas, Join Open Water National Team

LAS VEGAS OPEN WATER CHAMPIONS CUP

• Friday, October 8th – Sunday, October 10th, 2021
• Lake Las Vega, Henderson, NV
• Open water
• Results (Also available on MeetMobile)
• Women’s 10k Results
• Men’s 10k Results

Following the 10k elite race at the Las Vegas Open Water Championships, 5 women and 5 men were officially named to the 2021-2022 US Open Water National Team.

On the women’s side, Olympian Katie Grimes, Brooke Travis, Mariah Denigan, Leah DeGeorge, and Blair Stoneburg were named to the team, while on the men’s it was Olympian Michael Brinegar, David Heron, Brennan Gravley, Simon Lamar, and Dylan Gravley.

Additions to the 2021-2022 US Open Water National Team

• Katie Grimes
• Brooke Travis
• Mariah Denigan
• Leah Degeorge
• Blair Stoneburg
• Michael Brinegar
• David Heron
• Brennan Gravley
• Simon Lamar
• Dylan Gravley

The team was chosen based on the top 5 American finishers in each 10k event (Abby Dunford placed 5th in the women’s race but represent Canada internationally). They will join the 3 swimmers already named to the team in Jordan Wilimovsky, Haley Anderson, and Ashley Twitchell. Those athletes made the team based on their performances at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

According to USA Swimming’s press release, this marks the first National Team selection for Lamar, DeGeorge, and Travis, while Heron has been selected 8 times before, Michael Brinegar and Brennan Gravley have made 3, and Dylan Gravley 2. Denigan and Stoneburg on the women’s side meanwhile have each qualified for 1 Open Water National Team before.

Additionally, while most swimmers here were not yet on the National Team this year, Tokyo Olympians Katie Grimes and Michael Brinegar had already claimed spots in pool swimming. Both had previously been named to the team in both the 800 and 1500 freestyles.

During the 10k race in Las Vegas, Grime and Brinegar each managed to a winning swim as Grimes took first place in the race with a 1:56:23.87 to hold off Brooke Travis who was more than half a minute behind her in a 1:57:11.45. Mariah Denigan and Leah DeGeorge seem to have somewhat of a race for third place, having touched only 5 seconds apart with their times of 1:57:59.35 and 1:58:04.13, respectively.

Canada’s Abby Dunford and 6th place national team-qualifier Blair Stoneburg were a little further away from the leading pack, touching in a 2:03:08.97 for Dunford and a 2:05.17.29 for Stoneburg.

Women Senior 10k Elite Open Water Results

1. Katie Grimes – 1:56:23.87
2. Brooke Travis  – 1:57:11.45
3. Mariah Denigan – 1:57:59.35
4. Leah Degeorge – 1:58:04.13
5. Abby Dunford – 2:03:08.97
6. Blair Stoneburg – 2:05:17.29
7. Hildegard George – 2:05:19.42
8. Julissa Arzave – 2:05:38.50
9. Carlie Rose – 2:06:16.78
10. Cadence Fort – 2:07:24.26
11. Brynn Stoneburg – 2:10:45.05
12. Erin Miller – 2:11:08.25
13. Samantha Hamilton – 2:12:31.17
14. Savannah Du Puis – 2:17:19.96
15. Audrey Repko – 2:19:46.17

Brinegar had less of a lead at the end of the race than Grimes did but still posted the quickest time in the field by roughly 24 seconds. The real race was for 3rd as David Heron and Brennan Gravley finished less than a second apart. Simon Lamar and Dylan Gravley each came in a second after Heron and Gravley, also touching less than a second apart. The top 5 was significantly ahead of the rest of the field as 6th place finisher Gordon Mason came in around 50 seconds after Dylan Gravley with a 1:42:28.62.

Men Senior 10k Elite Open Water Results

1. Michael Brinegar – 1:40:22.79
2. David Heron – 1:40:46.75
3. Brennan Gravley – 1:40:47.61
4. Simon Lamar – 1:41:18.83
5. Dylan Gravley – 1:41:19.72
6. Gordon Mason – 1:42:28.62
7. Theodore Smith – 1:44:02.83
8. Joshua Brown – 1:45:05.37
9. Joseph Tepper – 1:46:02.71
10. Alexander Ayers – 1:48:03.43
11. Ilya Kharun – 1:48:06.91
12. Jacob Pishko – 1:50:28.06
13. Cameron Castro – 1:50:40.06
14. Skyler Kao – 1:50:40.42
15. Alan Shaaban – 1:55:06.19
16. Austin Metzler – 1:55:24.03
17. Gavin Formon – 1:57:20.73
18. Aidan Pflieger – 1:57:32.23
19. Thomas Brunner – 2:00:38.18
20. Adam Shaaban – 2:01:36.22