2026 Walnut Speedo Sectionals
- July 16-19, 2026
- Walnut — CA
- LCM (50 Meters)
- Live Results Available on Meet Mobile: “2026 CA/NV Summer Speedo Sectionals @ BREA -“
- Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2
Day three of the Walnut Speedo Sectionals delivered some solid performances. Leading the way were several age-group standouts, among them Mikayla Tan, Michael Powell, and Katrin Otaegi.
Tan, 16, competed in a pair of events on day three, winning one and finishing 3rd in the other. Her win came in the women’s 100 breast, surging to a 1:09.29, more than two and a half seconds faster than the rest of the field. That time still sits over a second off of her best time of 1:08.16 from the Pro Swim Series in Sacramento in May. That time ties her for 9th all-time in the 15-16 national age-group rankings.
She also raced the 100 fly, finishing 3rd in 1:02.38, just over a second off of winner Katrin Otaegi, who managed to lower her career best from 1:01.35 at the Sacramento Pro Series in May. Otaegi, a fellow 16-year-old, managed to outlast University of Denver swimmer Julia Saxman with a big final 50 of 32.99 to hold off Saxman’s efforts in 1:01.50.
One of the top performances of the day on the men’s side came at the hands of class of 2027 Virginia commit Michael Powell, who swam to a major career best in the 400 free to take the win in the lone sub-4:00 time of 3:58.13. Powell had previously swum a lifetime best in the prelims of 4:00.49, which at the time marked a major drop from his former top time at the Speedo Junior National Championships in August of last year, when he clocked a 4:04.38. Powell was followed closely by Sullivan Benes, the 15-year-old from Desert Storm Swimming, clocking 4:00.45, a near three-second time drop in his own right from his previous best of 4:03.48 from the Western Zone Senior Championships last July.
Stanford’s Daniel Li took the win in the men’s 100 breast, touching in the only swim under 1:02 in the final in 1:00.57, also found himself swimming a career best in Walnut, slicing over a second off of his former best time of 1:01.57 from the Sacramento Pro Series just a few months ago.
Other Event Winners:
- Men’s 100 Fly: Hamish McLellan (TOPS) – 53.88
- Women’s 400 Free: Alyssa Ton (NOVA) – 4:19.27
- Women’s 200 Back: Lindsay Barnes (TROJ) – 2:12.55
- Men’s 200 Back: Hayden Kwan (ALTO) – 2:02.81
- Women’s 400 Free Relay: Irvine Novaquatics – 3:51.67
- men’s 400 Free Relays: Alto Swim Club – 3:26.59
Tan is starting to plateau. Not a single PB at sectionals. She should’ve never left PLS.
I thought the Tans didn’t join you at PLS?
at her level of swimming and talent season isnt over yet, so the jury is still out until her last meet of the season Go Mykayla
I think 1:00.57 is a newsworthy enough performance to be in the headline.
Especially with it being a 1 second PB