13-Year-Olds Ekk, Campagnola Shine At Speedo Holiday Classic In Gainesville

2021 Speedo Holiday Classic

• December 3-5, 2021
• O’Connell Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2021 Speedo Holiday Classic”

A pair of 13-year-olds lit up the O’Connell Center pool in Gainesville over the weekend, as Owen Ekk and Joey Campagnola put up some elite swims in the 13-14 age group.

Ekk, who swims for the Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club, picked up a win in the 200 IM (1:56.89) and added five more top-three finishes despite being in the younger half of the age category.

Ekk’s 200 IM time ranks him 48th all-time among 13-year-olds, but his top performance came in the 200 freestyle. His time of 1:43.36, which earned him a tight runner-up finish behind 14-year-old Bolles School swimmer Xavier Sohovich (1:43.02), ranks 17th-fastest among 13-year-old boys. It was also a best time by nearly three seconds relative to his PB coming into the day (1:46.10).

Ekk also had a notable performance in the 200 back, clocking 1:54.69 to tie for 63rd all-time among 13-year-olds.

Campagnola, who competes for West Florida Lightning Aquatics, rocketed to the win in the boys’ 13-14 400 IM, clocking 4:08.84 to become the 49th-fastest 13-year-old ever.

Campagnola notably only recently entered the 13-14 ranks, having hit what was his previous best time of 4:15.16 in late November while still 12 years old. That time ranks him 10th all-time in the boys’ 11-12 age group.

Campagnola ended up recording new bests across eight events at the meet, with his 1:55.35 200 back (82nd-fastest among 13-year-olds) another one of the highlights.

Tampa Bay Aquatic Club’s Andrew Taylor put up some noteworthy in the men’s open category, earning wins in the 200 free, 1650 free and 400 IM.

In the 1650, Taylor clocked in at 15:09.21 to rank 53rd all-time among 17-year-olds. In the 400 IM, his 3:49.78 ranks 64th.

In the 200 free, he used a blazing 24.75 last 50 to earn the win in a new best time of 1:38.59 in a race that saw the top six finishers all within a half-second of one another.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

• A pair of 14-year-old boys out from the Bolles School Sharks had strong swims in the breaststroke events. Kevin Liu won the 13-14 100 breast in a time of 58.67, while Louis Joos hit a time of 2:06.89 to the lead the 200 breast in the age group.
• Other Bolles swimmer that had notable swims age group-wise were 15-year-old Alston Qin in the boys’ 200 free (1:40.16) and 14-year-old Lila Higgo in the girls’ 100 back (56.28).
• University of Florida swimmers Dylan Brisco, 22, and Billy Jones, 19, had some of the top performances in the men’s open category, with Brisco winning the 200 IM (1:47.43) and 200 breast (1:58.54), both best times (though his 200 breast time tied his current PB). Jones edged out Brisco in the 100 breast, 54.98 to 55.10, to establish a new lifetime best.
• 11-year-old Brinkleigh Hansen, swimming for Saint Petersburg Aquatics, won four events in the girls’ 11-12 age group, highlighted by her 5:14.38 effort in the 500 free. That time slots her into 60th all-time among 11-year-olds.