While most of us had our eyes on the U.S. Olympic Team Trials over the weekend of July 1-4, there were a few other meets going on around the country that produced big swims of their own. Take a look at our Weekly Wonders for July 6, 2016:
Logan Ingerick, 12, Berkeley Barracudas: 100m free (59.84) – Ingerick won the boys’ 11-12 100/200/400 free, 50/100 back, 50/100 fly, and 200 IM at the July 1,2,3 meet hosted by St. Petersburg Aquatics. He went his best 100 free time by 1.3 seconds, dipping under the 1:00 mark for the first time, and was 5.6 seconds faster than he’d been a year ago. Ingerick also earned PBs in the 50/200 free and 100 fly.
Carl Bloebaum, 12, Mason Manta Rays: 200m free (2:07.25) – Swimming at the Peppe Bruce Invitational hosted by Ohio State Swim Club at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Bloebaum won every boys’ 11-12 event he entered: 50/100/200/400 free, 100 back, 100 fly, and 200 IM. His 200 free time was a personal best by 2.3 seconds, and nearly 10 seconds faster than at the same time last year. Bloebaum finished the weekend with new times in the 50/100/200/400/800/1500 free, 50/100 back, 50/100 fly, and 200 IM.
Joy Field, 17, Magnolia Aquatic Club: 800m free (8:36.06) – Field improved her seed time by more than 4 seconds in prelims of the women’s 800 free at U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha. She wound up 11th out of 80 participants, and was 5.5 seconds faster than she’d been a year ago.
Alexa Pappas, 12, Weston Swimming Inc.: 100m back (1:10.91) – Competing at the June 100’s hosted by Chelsea Piers Aquatic Club, Pappas dropped 2 seconds from her seed time in the 100 back and was fully 4.7 seconds faster than during the same weekend last year. Pappas left the meet with new PBs in the 100 free, 100 back, and 100 fly.
Eva Merrell, 16, Aquazot Swim Club: 200m back (2:10.21) – Merrell was one of the small number of swimmers at U.S. Olympic Team Trials to notch a best time, and she did it decisively, dropping 3.3 seconds off her seed time in the 200 back. Merrell left Omaha nearly 5 seconds faster than she had been in December at Winter Nationals, and 7.5 seconds faster than she’d been last summer. Merrell also went a best time in the 100 free.
Claire Tuttle, 14, Hudsonville Eagles Aquatics Team: 100m breast (1:16.91) – Tuttle dropped an astounding 4.3 seconds in the 100 breast at the Calvin Summer Classic hosted by East Grand Rapids Aquatics. She first improved her seed time by .8 seconds in prelims, then by another 3.5 in finals to win the consolation of the women’s open 100 breast event. Tuttle finished with new PBs in the 50/100/200 free, 100/200 breast, and 200/400 IM.
Zoe Bartel, 15, Fort Collins Area Swim Team: 200m breast (2:28.17) – Bartel was another member of the minority best-times club at U.S. Olympic Team Trials, dropping 2 seconds in the 200 breast to finish 5.2 seconds ahead of her best time from last summer. Bartel was the youngest semi-finalist in the event by 4 years, and the only 18-and-under in the top 16. She also picked up a best time in the 200 IM.
Tyler Sesvold, 17, St Charles Swim Team: 100m fly (55.72) – Sesvold time-trialed the 100 fly at U.S. Olympic Team Trials and earned a PB by .6, breaking 56 for the first time and picking up a Winter Nationals cut. In the last few months Sesvold has improved his LCM times in the 50 free, 50/100 back, and 50/100 fly.
Rhianna Hensler, 14, Liquid Lightning: 100m fly (1:04.79) – Hensler lopped a total of 1.7 seconds off her 100 fly at OSSC’s Peppe Bruce Invitational. She won the girls’ 13-14 100 fly and was an A-finalist in the 50/100 free, 100 back, and 200 IM. Hensler finished the weekend with new times in the 100 back and 200 IM, and is now 6.5 seconds faster in the 100 fly than she was at this time a year ago.
Brennan Pastorek, 17, Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team: 200m IM (2:02.40) – Pastorek had one job to do at U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, and he did it well. He dropped 1.8 seconds and jumped from 63rd seed to 21st among all the men in the 200 IM, almost earning a semi-final swim.
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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