Announcing our Weekly Wonders for the weekend of April 29-May 1, 2016.
Grace Johanns, 14, from Burlington, Iowa: Johanns swims for Burlington Bullsharks, a prospective new USA Swimming team. Competing at the NCASB Blind Meet at Williamson County Indoor Sports Complex, Johanns won the 50y free (29.28), 500y free (6:28.53), and 200y IM (2:42.49) by huge margins. She set new NCASB (North Central Association of Schools for the Blind) records in all three events, eclipsing marks that had stood since the 1980s.
Kate Krolikowski, 16, Unattached (Aquazot Swim Club): 200m free (2:02.03) – Krolikowski nabbed her first 2016 Olympic Trials cut in the 200m free during prelims at the TYR/MVN Fran Crippen Memorial, also known as the Swim Meet of Champions (SMOC) hosted by Mission Viejo Nadadores. She went on to place fourth in the event in 2:02.26, also under the OT standard. Krolikowski finished the weekend with new times in the 100/200 free, 100 fly, and 200 IM.
Agustin Rodriguez, 11, City Of Hialeah Storm Swim Team (2:12.85) and Matthew Tarafa, 11, City Of Hialeah Storm Swim Team (2:12.87): 200m free – Teammates Rodriguez and Tarafa went 1-2 in the boys 11-12 200 free at the IMX / IMR Challenge hosted by SOFLO. Rodriguez dropped 6.6 seconds and Tarafa dropped 12.5, and they finished within .02 of each other. The pair also dropped a ton of time in the 400 free, 50 back, 50/100 breast, 50/100 fly, and 200 IM.
Erica Sullivan, 15, Sandpipers of Nevada: 400m free (4:11.72) – Sullivan dropped a whopping 6.4 seconds and landed her first invitation to 2016 Olympic Trials in the 400 free with her leadoff in the 800 (she split it 4:11.72/5:11.24) at SMOC. She also dropped 4.8 seconds to get an OT cut in the 400 IM with 4:54.03. In addition, Sullivan picked up new PBs in the 200/1500 free and 200 fly.
Taylor McCoy, 16, Gold Medal Swim Club: 100m back (1:04.26) – Swimming at the May Flowers Meet hosted by the Bellevue Club Swim Team, McCoy came within .22 of her 2-week-old lifetime best in the 100 back and won the event by 3 seconds. She also won the 200 back by a large margin, and picked up a new time in the 50 free.
Mariah Denigan, 12, Northern KY Clippers: 200m back (2:20.21) – Denigan made her first national cut at SMOC with a 14th-place finish in the 200 back. She had a very successful weekend in California, picking up new times in the 100/800/1500 free, 100/200 back, and 400 IM.
Matthew Goldsmith, 15, American Energy Swim Club: 100m breast (1:10.59) – Swimming at the Early Bird Meet hosted by Extreme Aquatic Team, Goldsmith won the boys 15-16 100 breast with his first sub-1:11. Goldsmith dropped 2.1 seconds in the 100 back and came in fourth. That said, Goldsmith’s breast beat his back by 7/10, the sign of a true breaststroker.
Claire Nguyen, 15, Nation’s Capital Swim Club: 200m fly (2:16.79) – Nguyen won the Women 15 & Over 50 free, 100 free, and 200 fly and was runner-up in the 100 fly at the Early Bird Long Course Invitational at Fairland Aquatics Center. Nguyen picked up new personal bests in all four events and landed her first Summer Juniors cut in the 200 fly.
Kyle Farrow, 13, East Pennsboro Aquatic Club: 400m IM (5:01.48) – Farrow dropped 4.6 seconds and finished 6th in the men’s senior 400 IM at the May Maelstrom hosted by Delaware Swim Club. He won the boys 13-14 400 free and 200 back and was runner-up in the 200 IM. All in all, Farrow left the meet with new PBs in the 400 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 200/400 IM.
Wyatt Davis, 14, Carmel Swim Club: 400m IM (4:50.70) – Davis dropped an astounding 14 seconds to finish 5th in the boys open 400 IM at Kentucky Swimming’s 2016 Derby Invite. Davis crashed through the 5:00 barrier for the first time, and almost skipped the 4:50s altogether. He also broke the 2:00 barrier in the 200 free, dropping 2.8 seconds, and went a best time by 2 in the 400 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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