In our GMX7 Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming series, we celebrate swimmers of every age and experience level with age group profiles of some recent results.
Jiawen Xue, 12, Aquajets Swim Team (AQJT-MN): Xue registered four lifetime bests at NSAC’s Movember Mayhem meet two weeks ago, including a pair of impressive showings in the backstroke events. The Aquajets Swim Team member clocked 26.68 in the 50 back and 2:01.85 in the 200 back, ranking him third and second, respectively, among 11-12 boys so far this season. The 200 back showing also cracks the top 100 all-time for 11-12 boys in the U.S. (97th).
Penelope Lopez-Casula, 11, Eagle Aquatics (EA-FG): Lopez-Casula scored best times in all four 50s at the Piranhas Turkey Classic in Florida, highlighted by a sizzling 24.55 effort in the 50 free. That time not only marks a drop by nearly a second, improving on her 25.44 from March, but also ranks her as the 18th-fastest 11-year-old ever in the U.S.
Shareef Elaydi, 13, Santa Clara Swim Club (SCSC-PC): Elaydi has been on a tear over the last few weeks, setting four impressive best times two weekends ago at the Joyce Lanphere Invitational and three more at last week’s DART Short Course Dual. Elaydi moved into a tie for 16th all-time among 13-year-old boys in the 100 fly (51.39), 20th in the 200 IM (1:55.15), 34th in the 100 breast (59.19) and 43rd in the 200 breast, showing off incredible range and versatility.
Patty Tang, 12, Long Island Aquatic Club (LIAC-MR): Competing at the NOVA Mid-Atlantic Age Group Championships in early November, Tang earned new best times across five events. Among those was a 53.47 effort in the 100 freestyle, which ranks her second this season among 11-12 girls, having broken 54 seconds for the first time just two weeks prior at 53.57. Tang also set new PBs in the 50 back (28.40), 100 back (1:00.83), 200 back (2:12.77) and 100 IM (1:02.12).
Jacob Hamlin, 18, Boone High School (HIGH-FL): Hamlin broke a pair of 42-year-old Boone school records at the FHSAA 4A State Championships in Stuart, Fla., dropping more than five seconds to clock 4:22.04 in the 500 free and knocking off more than three (excluding his prelim swim) in the 200 free, getting down to 1:36.29. A University of Tampa commit, Hamlin broke Boone record that had been on the books since 1980, held by Mike Beam.
Ava De Anda, 14, Riverside Aquatics Association (RAA-CA): de Anda reeled off a pair of very impressive swims in the freestyle events at the Kevin Perry Senior Invite in La Mirada, Calif., clocking 50.42 in the 100 free and 1:49.07 in the 200 free. The 100 free swim not only was her first time under 51 seconds, but also moved her into first this season among 13-14 girls. In the 200 free, the 14-year-old Riverside Aquatics member dropped six-tenths to move into third this season in the 13-14 age group.
About GMX7
Founded in 2018, GMX7 is based in St. Petersburg, Florida and is dedicated to changing the world of swimming by empowering competitive swimmers with the best aquatic resistance training devices ever created. GMX7 was founded by David McCagg, a 7-time gold medalist, former world record holder and winner of multiple national championships. The first device on the market by GMX7 is the X1-PRO. Designed by ROBRADY Engineering, it has already been the recipient of several awards including the 2020 International Design Excellence Award and the 2020 Red Dot Award for product design.
GMX7 is a SwimSwam partner.
#noticeevanpanwang
Ava’s last name is spelled De Anda!