Claire Tuggle’s 200 IM NAG Highlights Day 2 of Far Westerns

2017 Short Course Far Western Championships

• Thursday, March 30th-Sunday, April 2nd
• Hosted by Pleasanton Seahawks, Co-Sponsored by Pacific Swimming
• Live Results

Thursday, March 30, 2017

The first day of competition at the 2017 Far Western Championships in Pleasanton saw a number of multiple-event winners, beginning with 10-year-old Ethan Mindlin of Swim Neptune, who claimed titles in the 200 free (2:03.05) and 100 fly (1:02.97).

Isabella Abrajan of Rancho San Dieguito won the girls’ 11-12 100 fly (55.99) and 50 back (26.49), while Irvine Novaquatics’ 12-year-old Joel Hernandez was the top finisher in the 200 free (1:48.97) and 100 fly (55.06). Quicksilver’s Kevin Sichak also took home the top honors in the 200 free (1:43.28) and 100 fly (51.26), this time for the boys’ 13-14 division.

Zoie Hartman of Crow Canyon Country Club Sharks, swimming unattached because it’s high school season in California, won both the girls’ 15-16 200 free (1:47.67) and 200 breast (2:12.08). Her teammate Sophia Kosturos won the 200 back (2:00.02) and was third in the 200 free (1:51.29). Reno Aquatic Club’s Donna Depolo topped the field in the 200 free (1:52.01) and was runner-up in the 200 breast for 17-18 girls (2:14.81).

Friday, March 31, 2017

The highlight of Friday night’s finals session was the national age group record that 12-year-year old Claire Tuggle of Clovis Swim Club set in the girls’ 11-12 200 IM. Tuggle improved on the 2:04.31 she had gone last weekend in prelims in Orlando, dropping over a second and winning the event with 2:03.23. That eclipsed the 2008 NAG mark of 2:03.50 set by Clara Smiddy by .27 and made Tuggle the fastest 12-year-old in history in the event.

Terrapins Swim Team’s Lillian Struempf claimed a pair of victories in the 10-and-under category; she won the 100 free (56.93) and 50 back (30.10), adding to the 200 free (2:04.02) she had won on Thursday. Angelica Benitez of Fusion Aquatics took the 200 IM (2:18.96). Mindlin added two more boys’ 10-and-under titles to his previous night’s haul: 100 free (57.34) and 50 back (29.50).

In the 11-12s, Rancho San Dieguito’s Abrajan won the 200 back (2:05.20), Stephanie Sifferman of Santa Clara Swim Club was the 100 free champion (53.15), and Pleasanton’s Sydney Lu won the 50 fly (26.16). In the boys’ meet, 11-year-old Jerry Chu of Santa Clara Swim emerged victorious in the 200 IM (2:06.61), while teammate Edwin Simeon won the 100 free (51.26). William Kim of Team Century topped the field in the 200 back (2:01.05). East Bay Aquatic Club’s Ethan Russell rounded out the evening with a win in the 50 fly (25.17).

Aurora Duncan of JCC Waves won the girls’ 13-14 200 IM (2:06.50). Quicksilver’s Ella Mazurek was the champion in the 100 free (52.08). Crow Canyon’s Jessica Davis earned the win in the 200 back (2:02.81). Sichak of Quicksilver picked up his third gold medal with a 47.01 in the 100 free. Santa Clara’s Matthew Chung won the boys’ 200 IM (1:56.21), and Palo Alto Stanford’s Theodore Makler, the 200 back (1:55.59).

Crow Canyon’s Hartman added another pair of gold medals to her tally, winning the girls’ 15-16 400 IM (4:19.54) and 100 free (50.31). Crystal Murphy of The Olympic Club took home the 100 fly crown (55.89). Taito da Costa of Livermore Aqua Cowboys, who had won the 200 back on Thursday (1:50.88), was first to the wall in the 400 IM (4:01.15). Peak Swimming’s Ethan Hu won the remaining events: 100 free (46.74) and 100 fly (48.38). Hu also won the 200 free (1:42.33) on Thursday.

Hannah Womer of Quicksilver added the girls’ 17-18 400 IM (4:19.18) and 100 free (51.87) to the 200 breast (2:14.75) she’d won on Thursday. Palo Alto Stanford’s Zoe Lusk won the 100 fly (56.80). Her teammate Maximilian Pokutta was victorious in the 400 IM (4:03.81). Ty Wells of Ripon Aquatics was the 100 free champion for the 17-18 boys (47.29), while Anthony Puertas of Utah Valley Aquatics won the 100 fly (50.90).