Here are the Weekly Wonders for the weekends of November 24-26 and December 1-3, 2017:
Matthew Tannenberger, 15, Swim Streamline at Northampton: 200y free (1:40.98) – Competing at the Southern Senior Championships Invitational hosted by The Woodlands Swim Team, Tannenberger was runner-up in the 200 free with a PB by 3 seconds. He was 4.5 seconds faster than he’d been at this time last year. Tannenberger was also runner-up in the 400 IM, 3rd in the 1000 free, 4th in the 1650, 6th in the 200 fly, and 14th in the 200 breast. He left the meet with new PBs in the 200/1000/1650 free, 100/200 back, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 400 IM?
Andrew Navarro, 14, Bluefin Aquatics: 200y free (1:43.06) – Navarro dropped 2.2 seconds and was 5.7 seconds faster than he’d been a year ago when he qualified for the C final at the 69th Annual Husky Invitational at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. He placed 4th in the 400 IM and 15th in the 500 free and earned PBs in the 100/200/500 free and 100/200 fly.
Laci Black, 13, Rockwall Aquatic Center of Excellence: 1650y free (17:02.60) – Black dropped 13 seconds and was more than 1 minute faster than her time from last year when she won the 1650 free at the COR Classic Invitational. Black also won the 200 fly and 400 IM, was runner-up in the 500 free, and placed 4th in the 200 IM. She earned best times in the 100/500/1650 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 200/400 IM.
Austin Lane, 14, Clovis Swim Club: 100y back (50.17) – Lane swam the 100 back three times at the 69th Annual Husky Invitational, notching his first three Winter Juniors cuts in the event. His fastest time came while leading off the CLOV 400 medley relay; it was a PB by 1.2 seconds, and was 4.1 seconds faster than at this time last year. Lane pocketed new PBs in the 50/100 free, 50/100/200 back, 100 fly, and 200 IM during the weekend.
Natalie Mannion, 13, Commonwealth Swimming: 100y back (56.23) – Swimming at the OLY Winter invite hosted by Oakland Live Y’ers at the IUPUI Natatorium, Mannion scored her first Winter Juniors cut with a PB by 1.2 seconds. She also took 7/10 off a three-week-old PB in the 200 back and picked up her first Winter Juniors cut in that event, going 2:01.00, an improvement of about 5 seconds year-over-year. In addition, Mannion notched best times in the 50/200/500 free, 50 back, and 100 fly at IUPUI.
Emma Hixenbaugh, 16, Cardinal Aquatics: 100y back (57.04) – Hixenbaugh won the girls’ 100 back at the Cardinal Christmas Classic hosted by Cardinal Aquatics at the Ralph Wright Natatorium, going a best time by 1.8 seconds and improving by 4.8 seconds over the last year. She won the 50 free and 200 back, was runner-up in the 100 free, and took third in the 200 IM, taking home PBs in all five events.
Maurilio Saddoud, 16, Upper Palmetto YMCA Stingrays: 100y breast (57.61) – Saddoud snagged his first-ever Winter Juniors cut when he dropped .13 in prelims to qualify for the A final of the boys’ 15-and-over 100 breast at the 25th Annual YOTA/Arena Capital Classic hosted by YMCA of the Triangle Area. Saddoud is now 2.3 seconds faster than he was last year at this time. He also finaled in the 100 free, 200 breast, 100 fly, and 200 IM, and finished the weekend with new PBs in the 50/100 free, 100/200 breast, 200 fly, and 200/400 IM.
Ana Rojas, 13, Colorado Springs Swim Team: 100y fly (56.07) – Rojas whacked 7/10 off a two-week-old personal best time in the 100 fly while swimming at the Colorado Swimming Pioneer Open hosted by Hilltoppers Swimming at University of Denver. That puts her 4.6 seconds ahead of last year’s pace. She also dropped time in the 50 free and 100 free, and is now 1 second and 3.3 seconds faster than she’d been at this time last year in those respective events.
Anna Ogren, 14, Rochester Swim Club: 100y fly (55.89) – Ogren was the top 100 fly finisher in the club teams division at the 2017 Minnesota Invitational at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. She dropped 7/10 and to pick up her first Winter Juniors qualification, going 2.2 seconds faster than she’d been a year ago. She also went best times in the 100 free and 200 fly.
Reminder: The Weekly Wonders column is a celebration of age-group swimming, where new champions are made every day. Anyone can look up the top swims of the week. That’s not what we’re doing here. If we were only reporting on the week’s top swims we would feature the same handful of athletes every Wednesday. Instead, this is an opportunity to introduce the swimming community to athletes who have made great strides in the context of their own particular swimming worlds. By association, it also celebrates their coaches and their teams. The Weekly Wonders column, therefore, amounts to a pat on the back for a job well done, and hopefully encourages swimmers of all levels to continue to reach from within to get to that next level.
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Kids are just too fast these days!