Presenting our Weekly Wonders for the weekend of June 3-5, 2016.
Xander Pollock, 13, Oro Valley Swim Team: 50m free (26.05) – Pollock dropped over 4/10 from his PB, which was only 2 weeks old, while winning the boys 13-14 50 free at the TYR Quest for the Rings Meet, hosted by Tucson Ford at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Pollock is now a whole 1.5 seconds faster than he was a year ago. He finished the meet with new times in the 50/100 free, 200/200 back, 100 fly, and 200 IM.
Haley Hynes, 17, Kansas City Blazers: 100m back (1:02.76) – Hynes swam the 100 back four times over the weekend during the June Invite hosted by Tennessee Aquatics. Four turned out to be the magic number for Hynes, who notched a best-by-1.1 1:02.76 and picked up an invite to Olympic Trials in Omaha at the end of the month.
Cassie Howell, 11, Performance Elite Aquatics: 100m back (1:11.04) – Swimming at the 47th Annual Dixie Classic hosted by Dynamo Swim Club, Howell destroyed her previous PB, dropping 4.5 seconds and winning the girls 11-12 100 back by 6.8 seconds. She won the 50/100/200 free, 50 back, and 50 fly, all with best times; she also earned new PBs in the 400 free and 200 IM.
Charlie Krajc, 12, Charter Oak Aquatics: 200m back (2:25.16) – Krajc dropped 1 second, and was 25 seconds ahead of last year’s pace, when he won the boys 11-12 200 back at the ZEUS Summer Sizzler at Wesleyan University. Krajc also won the 50/200 free, 50/100 back and 100 fly, all with best times. He rounded off the weekend with a new time in the 400 free as well.
Hanna Gresser, 17, Firestone Akron Swim Team: 100m breast (1:10.97) – Gresser earned her first 2016 Olympic Trials cut with a 1-second drop and a second-place finish in the 100 breast at the Spring into Summer Splash hosted by Ohio State Swim Club. In addition, Gresser picked up a new PB in the 200 free.
Morgan Friesen, 16, Loveland Swim Club: 200m breast (2:33.42) – Coming within 4/10 of her lifetime best and swimming 2 seconds faster than last June, Friesen placed fifth in the 200 breast in a star-studded field at the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite. She was also fourth in the 100 breast.
Jacques Rathle, 12, Crawfish Aquatics: 200m breast (2:47.43) – Swimming at the 14 & Under Open Meet hosted by The Woodlands Swim Team, Rathle dropped 5 seconds between prelims and finals to get a PB. He finished the weekend with new times in the 50/100/200/400 free, 100/200 breast, and 200 IM.
Zachary Smith, 16, Crimson Tide Aquatics: 100m fly (55.56) – Smith went a best time by .7 to win the 100 fly Time Trials at the Coast Aquatics Surf & Swim Classic. He was 2.7 seconds faster than he’d been a year ago, and picked up a Winter Nationals cut in the event. Smith also earned new times in the 100 free 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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