Presenting the AgonSwim Weekly Wonders for the weekend of November 4-6, 2016.
Grace Ariola, 16, Waves Bloomington/Normal Y Swim Team: 100y free (49.97) – Swimming at the Erin Block Invitational hosted by Champaign County YMCA Heat in Urbana, Illinois, Ariola swam her first sub-50 100 free dropping 7/10 off her PB and going 1.4 seconds faster than a year ago. Earlier in the session, she went 1:58.29 in the 200 back, her best mid-season performance by nearly 2 seconds.
Lleyton Plattel, 14, Pleasanton Seahawks: 1000y free (9:21.65) – Plattel won the men’s open 1000 free at the Short Course Senior Circuit meet hosted by Pleasanton Seahawks. He dropped 14 seconds, snagged a Winter Juniors cut, and turned in the 8th-fastest 1000 free in the country for 18-and-unders. He also won the 1650 with a best time (-16.8) and improved his PBs in the 200 free and 100 back.
Liberty Williams, 14, Yucaipa Swim Team: 1650y free (16:28.12) – Williams dropped a stunning 26 seconds to win the 1650 free at the Kevin B Perry Senior Invitational hosted by Golden West Swim Club. She swam the #2 time in the U.S. for 18-and-unders and picked up her first national cut, skipping over Winter Juniors and landing straight at the U.S. Open time standard.
Julia Cook, 16, Aggie Swim Club: 100y back (52.62) – Representing Bryan High School at the Bob Stallings Aggieland High School Invitational hosted by A&M Consolidated High School, Cook dropped a whopping 1.1 seconds to notch the #1 100 back among 18-and-under girls in the country for the week. She also won the 100 free (48.92), set meet records in both events, and earned the high point award with stints on Bryan’s 1st- and 2nd-place relays.
Kalli Fama, 14, Rio Salado Swim Club: 200y back (2:01.10) – Fama crushed her 200 back at the 2016 Phoenix Senior Time Trial hosted by Phoenix Swim Club. She won the event with a PB by 2.8 seconds, fully 5.4 faster than at this time last year, and earned her first Winter Juniors cut. Fama also swam the 200 free and finished third, just a half-second off her best time.
Olivia Jack, 16, Clifton Park-Halfmoon Piranhas: 100y breast (1:01.33) – Swimming unattached for Burnt Hills/Scotia combined high schools, Jack won the 100 breast and the 100 free at the New York State Girls Section II Division I Championships. Her 1:01.33 prelims swim set the Section II and Shen Pool records and was the top 18-and-under time in the country for the week.
Ming-Yuan Lo, 11, Los Alamos Aquatomics: 200y breast (2:30.93) – Lo had a big meet at the Jeff Mortensen Memorial Invite at University of New Mexico. He was runner-up in six of the eight events he swam, and went 8-for-8 with best times: 50/200 free, 50/100 back, 50/200 breast, 50 fly, and 200 IM. His 200 breast was a PB by 7.8 seconds and 13.7 faster than at this time last year.
Michael Macgillivray, 16, Club Wolverine: 200y breast (2:02.89) – Swimming at the Fall Frenzy Invitational hosted by Carmel Swim Club, Macgillivray posted four mid-season best times in the 50 free, 100/200 breast, and 200 fly. His 200 breast was the #7 swim in the U.S. for age-groupers, a PB by 1.8 seconds and fully 10 seconds faster than a year ago.
Brogan Davis, 16, River City Aquatics: 200y IM (1:48.21) – Representing Central High School from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Davis won the 100 fly and 200 IM, and swam on two state-title-earning relays at the MSHSAA Boys State HS Championships. His 200 IM was a best time by 4.4 seconds, the #2 time in the U.S. for 18-and-under boys, and 5.3 seconds better than a year ago. Davis also went a best time in the 100 fly, and secured his first Summer Juniors cuts in both the 100 fly and 200 IM.
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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