Read about our Weekly Wonders for the weekend of June 23-25, 2017:
Leigh Faires McGee, 18, Mississippi Makos Swim Team: 100m free (57.79) – McGee picked up her first Summer Juniors cut in the 100 free at the 9th Annual Splashin the Coast meet at the Biloxi Natatorium. It was her best time by 8/10 and 1.3 seconds faster than this time last year. McGee won the girls’ 15&O 100/200/800 free, 100 fly, and 400 IM. She finished the weekend with best times in the 50/100/200 free.
Anabelle Melendez, 12, Mantas Swim Club: 100m free (1:05.62) – Swimming at the Red White and Blue Invite in Mankato, Minnesota, Melendez dropped 3.2 seconds to win the girls’ 11-12 100 free with a time that was 12.2 seconds better than she’d been at this point in the season last year. Melendez also won the 50 free and 50/200 fly, was runner-up in the 200/400 free, 50 back, 100 fly, and was third in the 200 IM. Melendez achieved PBs in all 9 of the events she swam.
Amanda Armstrong, 17, Rockwall Aquatic Center of Excellence: 100m back (1:03.62) – Armstrong picked up her first US Open cut in the 100 back at the George Block Invitational hosted by Alamo Area Aquatic Association. She dropped 8/10 and won the girls’ 15&O 100 back; she also won the 50/200 back, 50 free, and 200 IM. Armstrong went best times in all three backstroke events.
Anne Gray Oxrider, 13, Aquatic Team Of Mecklenburg: 100m breast (1:14.67) – Oxrider won the girls’ 13-14 100 breast at the SGSA Eastern Invitational, dropping 4.4 seconds and going 10.2 seconds faster than a year ago. She also placed fourth in the 200 breast, an event that she didn’t even swim a year ago. All in all, Oxrider left the meet with new PBs in the 50/100/200/400 free and 100/200 breast.
Garrett Boone, 14, Aquatic Team Of Mecklenburg: 100m fly (59.52) – Also swimming at the SGSA Eastern Invitational, Boone clocked his first sub-1:00 100 fly to win the boys’ 13-14 event with a brand new Winter Juniors cut. He dropped 5.2 seconds in the 200 fly, 4.4 in the 200 breast, 4.2 in the 200 back, 3.9 in the 100 free, and 2.1 in the 100 breast, and he finished 2nd or 3rd in all those events.
Mollie Wright, 17, City Of Midland Swim Team: 100m fly (1:03.18) – Wright won the girls’ 15&O 100 fly at the George Block Invitational, dropping 1.4 seconds and picking up her first Winter Juniors cut in the event. She was 2.1 seconds faster than she’d been at this time last year. She also won the 200 free, was runner up in the 800 free and 400 IM, and third in the 200 back. Wright finished the weekend with new PBs in the 100/200 free, 100 fly, and 400 IM.
Skyler Younkin, 16, Tri-city Channel Cats: 100m fly (57.82) – Swimming at the Sun Country Invitational hosted by Bend Swim Club, Younkin won the boys’ 100 fly with a PB by 3/10. He also won the 200/400 free, 200 fly, and 200 IM, and was runner-up in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 free. Younkin left Bend with new PBs in the 50/100/200/400 free, 100 fly, and 200 IM.
Billy Oates, 13, Rocklin Mavericks: 200m IM (2:21.71) – Swimming at the Mel Enze Memorial BB± Long Course Swim Meet in Lodi, Oates dropped 1.5 seconds in the 200 IM to notch a time that was 12.4 seconds faster than he’d been a year ago. He finished the weekend with best times in the 50/100/200 free and 200 IM.
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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In future series, please mention in which state or LSC these swimmers/teams are located… it helps, and it’s fun seeing evidence of young talent all across the USA.
What about the wee of June 16-18?
https://swimswam.com/mp-weekly-wonders-age-group-swimming-6212017/
Since the new USA swimming website version of a few months ago (“mobile friendly” but much less convenient in my opinion) we have lost the list in PDF of the top 20 age group performers in each age category from 11 to 18. It was updated in general each week. It was easy to see in the same document who was the fastest young American in each event from 11 to 18. I miss that. I will try to lobby them so that it comes back. My lobby had worked for the NAG records list so I hope it will have the same success.
We should do a kickstarter campaign to fund your efforts. USA swimming needs to go back to the PDF versions of top 20 & top 100!!!