Josh Matheny Breaks Reece Whitley’s National Age Group Record in 200 Breast

2020 Winter 18 & Under Championships – Carlisle, Pennsylvania

• December 10-11, 2020*
• Keystone Aquatic Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2020 Winter 18 & Under Championships”\

The meet was originally scheduled to run from Friday through Sunday, but the state of Pennsylvania announced on Thursday new protective orders that halt all youth sports in the state beginning Saturday until January 4.

18-year old Josh Matheny of Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics has broken the 17-18 National Age Group Record in the 200 yard breaststroke.

Swimming in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Matheny on Thursday evening swam 1:51.38 in his best event. That cracks the National Age Group Record of 1:51.43 that was set by fellow Pennsylvanian Reece Whitley at the 2017 Winter National Championships.

Race Video:

Matheny’s previous best time of 1:52.12 ranked him 5th all-time in the age group. That swim was done at the Winter Juniors – East Championships last December.

The swim also makes Matheny the top swimmer so far in USA Swimming’s open-site 18 & Under Winter Championships meet, which counts all times by eligible athletes from December 1 through December 13 in its championship rankings.

Matheny, the #3 recruit in the high school class of 2021, is heading to breaststroke powerhouse Indiana University next fall. He represented the United States at the 2019 World Junior Championships, where he won gold in the 200 breaststroke and silver in the 100 breaststroke in long course meters.

Comparative Splits:

Matheny is also scheduled to swim the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 100 breaststroke at this weekend’s meet.

His was one of a number of standout swims in a fast session in central Pennsylvania on Thursday.

Other Day 1 Highlights from Carlisle:

• Tommy Janton, a 16-year old from the Western Branch YMCA Wahoos, swam a new lifetime best of 1:44.21 to top the field in the 200 backstroke. That’s his best time by more than 3 seconds and makes him one of the fastest 200 backstrokers in the high school class of 2022, or current sophomores. That time jumps him to 23rd-place in USA Swimming history in the 200 back among 15-16s. Janton, an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100 and 200 back, also swam best times in the 100 free (45.91) and 200 fly (1:51.25) on Thursday evening. He currently ranks 5th in the 18 & Under Winter Championships standings.
• Conner McBeth won the boys’ 100 free in a best time of 44.44, dropping six-tenths off his previous top swim. He out-raced a tight field to the finish that included Chris Guiliano in 2nd (44.53) and Nico Butera in 3rd (44.64). Butera’s swim was also a personal best. McBeth is committed to West Virginia next fall, Guiliano is committed to Notre Dame, and Butera is committed to Wisconsin.
• 15-year old Henry McFadden won the 200 fly in 1:48.26, which was his lifetime best by almost a second. McFadden is just a high school freshman, and now is the 2nd-ranked 15-year old in the country this season behind Lucas Cooper of the Lakeside Aquatic Club in Texas (1:47.17).
• 17-year old Annie Behm won the girls’ 200 back in 1:56.62, which is a best time for her by six-tenths of a second. She cleared the field by more than 2 seconds in a dominant swim that was competitive after 100 yards – a back-half split of 59.59 pulled her away from the field. Behm, of the Jersey Wahoos, is committed to Notre Dame.
• Behm’s Jersey Wahoos teammate Allie Fenska won the 100 free in 50.71, a best time. Like the boys’ 100 free, this was a tight race – Lainey Mullins was 2nd in 50.84 and Rachel Bockrath was 3rd in 50.86.
• The Jersey Wahoos won their 3rd-straight event when 16-year old Maddie Waggnoer won the 200 breaststroke in 2:17.32, which was a best time by over a second. That bodes well for her IM races later in the meet – she was better known as a backstroker coming into this week, and dropped 3 seconds to finish 3rd in the 200 back in 1:58.66, pulling off a tough double. Runner-up Natalia Panizzi was well back of Waggoner in 2:20.36, but swam a best time by almost 2 seconds.
• 14-year old Georgia Colborn from the Delaware Swim Team won the girls’ 200 fly in 1:58.95. That jumps her into 29th place in 13-14 history in the event, moving her ahead of, among others, 1984 triple Olympic gold medalist Tracy Caulkins.