Keian Lam Takes Down 100 BR/400 IM Meet Records As Multiple Marks Fall At Circle City Classic

2025 Circle City Classic

• January 23-26, 2025
• IU Natatorium — Indianapolis, IN
• 25 Yards (SCY)
• Full Results

Club swimmers from six states descended on Indianapolis, Ind., for the 2025 Circle Classic on Jan. 23-26. The 42nd edition of the classic held timed finals for distance events on Friday. The rest of the weekend featured timed finals for 12& under swimmers and prelims/finals for the 13 and over swimmers.

Boys’ Highlights

Multiple meet records went down on the boys’ side of the meet.

Senior Keian Lam, a Princeton commit who swims for Fox Valley Swim Team, broke the meet record in the 100 breaststroke and 400 IM. He clocked 54.43 to break the 100 breaststroke record on his way to a sweep of the breaststroke events (54.43/1:59.96). His 3:51.03 meet record in the 400 IM established a new lifetime best for Lam, improving on the 3:52.96 he swam in February last year. Lam also added a lifetime best in the 200 fly, swimming 1:51.61.

Another senior, Max Goettsch, reset the boys’ 200 backstroke record. Goettsch is committed to Cal next fall and will look to take his place in a long line of backstroke excellence. He swam a lifetime best of 1:47.92 to lower the meet record as he soared under the 1:50 barrier for the first time in his career. Goettsch has seen a breakthrough in this race over the last 18 months; in October 2023, his lifetime best was 1:55.68, 7.76 slower than his time from the Classic.

Junior Elliot Rijnovean, Indiana 2026 commit, had a strong showing as well. He’s primarily a backstroker who can also sprint freestyle and butterfly and flexed his sprint freestyle skill by breaking the 100 freestyle meet record. He swam 45.18 in prelims, establishing a new meet record. He was slightly slower in the final, but still earned the win and completed his sweep of the sprint freestyle events after winning the 50 free in a lifetime best 20.98. Rijnovean also picked up the 100 backstroke win (48.46) and swam lifetime bests in the IMs (1:53.27/4:10.40).

13-year-old Blake Torpey had a strong outing at the Circle City Classic, winning the boys’ 13&over and open high point awards. He swam six lifetime bests as he won five events, highlighted by a 1:55.92 meet record in the 200 IM. Torpey shattered his lifetime best with the swim; he’d broken 2:00 previously, but his meet record marked a 2.09-second drop.

He also dropped over two seconds in the 100 breaststroke, clocking 1:00.16 and nearly breaking the 1:00 barrier.

Finally, Brayden Chen took over the meet record in the boys’ 11-12 100 breaststroke, swimming 1:04.67 to win the race by almost five seconds. Chen has been faster in his career; his lifetime best stands at 1:03.38 from the Indiana Mid-States All-Star Championships last month. Chen also won the 50 breaststroke (30.27) and swam lifetime bests in the 100 fly (1:05.90) and 200 IM (2:17.00).

Nine-year-old Gabriel Brown also shined, winning five events—the 100 free, 200 free, 50 back, 100 back, 200 IM—in the boys’ 10&under meet. Three of Brown’s swims were lifetime bests, as he hit 1:05.18 in the 100 back, 59.05 in the 100 freestyle, and 2:08..34 in the 200 freestyle. He tied with Maverick Swim Club’s Lincoln Andrlik for 2nd in the open high-point rankings as the two boys scored 133 points, finishing one point behind Torpey’s 134 points for the win.

Andrlik, 12, won the boys’ 11-12 high point award. He won five events as he amassed 133 points, sweeping the 50/100 freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly. All his swims were lifetime bests, including his victory in the 500 freestyle.

Boys’ Open High Point Top 5

1. Blake Torpey (FVST) — 134
2. Gabriel Brown (FAST)/Lincoln Andrlik — 133
3. (Tie)
4. Kajus Eidukevicius (FMC) — 130
5. Reid Maher (MSC) — 124

Girls’ Highlights 

Notre Dame commit Tess Heavner shined in the 200 backstroke, swimming a new lifetime best in the 200 backstroke and breaking 2:00 for the third and fourth times in her career. Heavner was the lone swimmer to break the 2:00 barrier in the event, and she edged under 1:59 with a 1:58.96. The swim lowered her lifetime best of 1:59.46 from March 2023 by a half-second and would make her the second-fastest swimmer on the Fighting Irish’s roster so far this season. She also just missed the meet record, coming .11 seconds from the mark Emmy Meyer–who placed 2nd–established last year.

Heavner, the reigning MHSAA Division II state champion in the 100 back and 200 IM, added lifetime bests in the 100 and 200 butterfly. The senior lowered her 100 fly best twice at the meet, first stimming 56.16 in prelims, then 56.02 for 2nd place in finals. She was back on top of the podium in the 200 fly, clocking 2:02.50.

13-year-old Kam Gardiner from Peoria Area Water Wizards earned a handful of lifetime bests as she finished 2nd to Sydney Kail in the girls’ 13-14 high point standings. A versatile swimmer, Gardiner’s 57.63 lifetime best in the 100 backstroke and 56.97 in the 100 fly stood out. However, she also swam lifetime bests in the 200 backstroke (2:05.50), 200 fly (2:06.87), and 400 IM (4:30.28). She won all these events except the 100 backstroke—where she placed 2nd—and added 1st place finishes in the 100 butterfly and 200 IM.

Kail, 14, won the girls’ 13-14 and open high point awards, scoring 130 points. She beat the 10& under winner, Maryn Varga, for the open award by nine points. Kail only touched first in the 200 freestyle but earned the award by never placing lower than 5th across her eight events. She lowered her lifetime bests in the 100/200/500 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly, and 400 IM.

Kail’s FMC Aquatic Club teammate Helen Manak had a strong meet too. Manak, 14, tore up the 50 freestyle. She came into the meet with a lifetime best of 24.81, which she blew past with a 24.45 in prelims. She undercut her best again in finals, winning the race in a 24.08. Kail’s swim in the finals means that she chopped .73 seconds off her time over the course of the day.

Girls’ Open High Point Top 5

1. Sydney Kail (FMC) — 130
2. Maryn Varga (FFYS) — 121
3. Giddel Resendiz (LTI) — 117
4. Sophia Papzov (FMC) — 115
5. Audrey Perkins (BSC) — 112