AgonSwim Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming – 4/27/2016

Announcing our Weekly Wonders for the weekend of April 22-24, 2016.

Dylan Champagne, 14, Team Suffolk: 100m free (57.45) – Champagne knocked 4 seconds off his previous best time while winning the Boys 13-14 100 free at the LIAC Speedo Long Island Challenge. He also won the 200 free, 200 back, and 200 IM, and finished the weekend with new times in the 100/200 free, 200 back, 100/200 fly, and 200 IM.

Kevin Kyi, 12, King Aquatic Club: 100m back (1:05.55) – Kyi dropped 8/10 and won the Boys 11-12 100 back with a new meet record at the 9th Annual Dick LaFave Long Course Kickoff hosted by South Snohomish County Dolphins at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. He also won the 50 free, 50 back (meet record), 50 fly, and 100 fly, and was runner-up in the 200 fly.

Grace Kayal, 14, The Atlantic Club: 200m back (2:19.35) – Kayal dropped 10.3 seconds, earned a Winter Juniors cut, and won the Girls 13-14 200 back at the Carol Chidester Memorial Meet hosted by the Naval Academy Aquatic Club. She also won the 400 free and 100 back and left Annapolis with new PBs in the 50/100/400 free, 100/200 back, and 200 IM.

Morgan Liberto, 15, Columbia Aquatics Association: 200m back (2:17.40) – Liberto posted the second-fastest 200 back in the country for 18-and-under girls at the NAAC Carol Chidester Memorial Meet. She won the Girls 15 & Older 200 back, but also the 100 fly and 400 IM, and she was top 8 in the 50 free and 1500 free. Liberto went PBs in both freestyles and the 400 IM.

Bryce Soriano, 14, Valley Aquatics: 100m breast (1:09.56) – Also swimming at the 9th Annual Dick LaFave Long Course Kickoff at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Soriano won the Boys 13-14 100 breast with a new meet record and a PB by 4/10. He won the 100 free, 100 fly, and 200 breast as well, and set a meet record in the latter.

Mia Bullock, 17, Fairport Area Swim Team: 100m fly (1:01.62) – Bullock went her second-fastest 100 fly ever and posted the number 1 time in the country for 18-and-unders while winning the women’s open event at the LIAC Speedo Long Island Challenge. Bullock also placed third in the 100 breast.

Maggie Aroesty, 17, Long Island Aquatic Club: 200m fly (2:16.50) – A month and a half after breaking the NAG in the 100 yard breast, Aroesty is tearing it up in long course meters. She dropped a stunning 10.5 seconds in her 200 fly en route to winning the event at LIAC Speedo Long Island Challenge with the top time in the country for the weekend. Aroesty also went a PB in the 50 free.

Miku Takabayashi, 16, Blue Devil Aquatics: 200m IM (2:20.39) – Also swimming at LIAC Speedo Long Island Challenge, Takabayashi finished second to Aroesty in the 200 IM with 2:20.39, only .6 off her best time and about 2 seconds faster than a year ago. Takabayashi was also an A finalist in the 200 free and 400 IM, and earned a new PB in the 200 free.

Katelyn Buono, 12, Sparks Piranhas Swim Team: 400m IM (5:28.00) – Swimming at the SMST Spring Splash Buono crushed her previous personal best and won the girls’ 11-12 400 IM by over 15 seconds with 5:28.00, her PB by almost 33 seconds. Buono also won the 100 breast and improved her times in the 50/200 free, 100 breast, and 50 fly.

While much of the country has moved on to long course competition, Alaska held it short course Junior Olympic Championships over the weekend. Here are a few of our favorite performances:

• Caleb Law, 15, Northern Lights Swim Club: 50y free (21.53) – Every time Law swims the 50 he gets a little better; he’s now 2.4 seconds faster than he was last April. Law finished 3rd in the Boys 15 & Over 50 free at AK JOs , the only 15-year-old in the A final. He was also top-8 in the 100/500 free, 200 breast, and 200 IM, and won the consolation in the 200 free and 100 breast.
• Izzy Powers, 14, Chugiak Aquatic Club: 50y free (24.07) – Powers won the Girls 13-14 50 free by more than a second, only .03 off her PB. She also won the 100/200 free, 100/200 back, and 200 IM and was runner-up in the 1000 free.
• Emmie Jennings, 18, Northern Lights Swim Club: 100y free (51.18) – Jennings posted the top SCY time in the country when she won the Girls 15 & Over 100 free by 1.4 seconds. She also won the 50/200 free, 100/200 back, 100 fly, and 200 IM.
• Talon Lindquist, 16, Kodiak Kingfishers: 500y free (4:30.69) – Lindquist won the Boys 15 & Over 100/200/500/1000 free and 100/200 back, and was runner-up in the 50 free. He set Boys 15-16 AK age group records in the 100, 500, and 1000 freestyles and improved his PBs by .7 seconds in the 100, 6.3 in the 500 and 11.8 in the 1000.
• Bergen Davis, 15, Glacier Swim Club: 100y breast (58.13) – Davis won the Boys 15 & Over 200 breast with a best time by 6.3 seconds. He also won the 100 breast (first sub-59 and best time by .7), 200 IM (-3.5 seconds), and 400 IM (-4.3 seconds) and was runner-up in the 100 back (-2.5) and 200 back (-.1).
• Spencer Holt, 15, Glacier Swim Club: 100y fly (51.21) – Holt picked up new PBs when he won the Boys 15 & Over 100 fly (best by .3 seconds) and 200 fly (best by 1.4). He also finished top-8 in the 200 free and 400 IM and won the consolation of the 100 free and 200 IM. Holt also earned new best times in the 100 free and 200 free.

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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