In our GMX7 Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming series, we celebrate swimmers of every age and experience level with age group profiles of some recent results.
Morgan Wendler, 11, Terrapins Swim Team (TERA-PC): Wendler makes his second consecutive appearance in Weekly Wonders, and for good reason. At the Terrapins’ C/B/BB+ meet, Wendler recorded seven lifetime best times, highlighted by a 1:04.10 in the 100 fly that makes him the fourth-fastest 11-year-old male swimmer in U.S. history. Wendler also went 2:25.94 in the 200 fly to rank 15th all-time among 11-year-olds, and his 200 IM sits 28th after clocking 2:27.89. The other bests came in the 200 free (2:12.79), 100 back (1:09.11), 200 back (2:30.63) and 50 breast (35.96), all ranking in the top 75 historically among 11-year-olds.
Emerson Callis, 13, Quest Swimming (QSTS-VA): Competing at last weekend’s EZ Super Sectionals (LCM) in Richmond, Callis broke into the top-100 all-time rankings in the girls’ 13-14 age group despite being on the younger side of the age category. Callis became the 14th-fastest 13-year-old girl in U.S. history with her 1:01.61 swim in the 100 butterfly, also slotting her 65th among 13-14s. In the 200 fly, she clocked 2:16.44 to move into 21st-fastest ever for 13-year-olds and 89th among 13-14s. Both swims marked sizeable lifetime bests, as the Quest Swimming product came into the meet with respective PBs of 1:03.35 and 2:21.18 in the 100 and 200 fly. She hit best times in three other races, including a near-six-second drop in the 400 IM down to 4:58.30.
Kenneth Barnicle, 15, Greater Somerset County YMCA Storm (GSCY-NJ): Also racing at the EZ Super Sectionals, Barnicle established lifetime bests in four events, all multi-second drops from his previous PBs (not including a 200 free swim that appears to be his first time racing the LC event). The highlight for Barnicle came in the 100 back, where he lowered his best time down from 59.14 to 57.50, becoming the 39th-fastest 15-year-old male swimmer of all-time in the U.S. He also produced a sizeable drop in the 200 back, going from 2:09.34 to 2:06.57 to rank fourth among 15-year-olds in the 2021-22 season.
Sarah Paisley Owen, 13, Metro Atlantic Aquatic Club (MAAC-GA): Owen, racing at last weekend’s Atlanta Classic, dropped more than a second from her personal best time in the 50 freestyle, clocking 26.65 to move into a tie for 32nd all-time among 13-year-old girls (she came in with a best of 27.71). The Metro Atlantic Aquatic Club member added four other bests in Atlanta, including dipping under the 1:00 barrier for the first time in the 100 free, bringing her best down from 1:00.27 to 58.40, ranking her third among 13-year-old girls in the U.S. this season.
Marre Gattnar, 16, Northbay Aquatics (NBA-PC): Gattnar swam back-to-back lifetime bests in the boys’ 100 back at the CIF Championships last weekend, tying for second in the final in a time of 48.30. Having come into the meet with a best of 48.93 (and entered the season with a best of 51.95), Gattnar moves into 78th all-time among 15-16 boys in the event. The Tamalpais junior who represents Northbay Aquatics in club swimming also neared his 50 free best at the competition, placing fifth in 20.39 after clocking 20.07 back in March — a swim that ranks him tied for 38th all-time among 15-16s.
Chloe Teger, 12, Orange Regional Competitive Aquatics (ORCA-CA): Racing at Mission Viejo’s “May BB Min LCM” meet, Teger raced the 1500 freestyle for the second time ever and dropped over 19 seconds in 18:16.54, cracking the top 100 all-time among 11-12 girls (98th). It also ranks her third among 11-12s this season. Teger also established best times in the 400 (4:40.93) and 800 free (9:36.06) at the meet, ranking third and fourth, respectively, in the 11-12 age group in 2021-22.
David McCagg, World Champion swimmer and GMX7 Founder
About GMX7
Founded in 2018, GMX7 is based in St. Petersburg, Florida and is dedicated to changing the world of swimming by empowering competitive swimmers with the best aquatic resistance training devices ever created. GMX7 was founded by David McCagg, a 7-time gold medalist, former world record holder and winner of multiple national championships. The first device on the market by GMX7 is the X1-PRO. Designed by ROBRADY Engineering, it has already been the recipient of several awards including the 2020 International Design Excellence Award and the 2020 Red Dot Award for product design.
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