Presenting our Weekly Wonders from the weekend of February 15th-17th, 2019:
Morgan Razewski, 14, SwimMAC Carolina (MAC-NC) – 200 free, 1:47.57: A year ago, Razewski was 1:51.15 in this event. She swam the 200 free a number of times in 2018, never breaking 1:51. But then last weekend, she shattered the 1:50 barrier, going 1:48.68, and then later the same day, 1:47.47. Razewski also went a best time in her 100 free (50.65), 500 free (4:52.61), 1000 free (9:46.94), 1650 free (16:38.61), 50 through 200 back, 200 breast, 100 fly and 200 fly.
Connor Wiedemeier, 17, Bulldog Aquatic Club (BAC-LA) – 100 free, 45.96: Last February, Wiedemeier broke :46 for the first time, going 45.99. Despite a few attempts at the end of the year, he did not break it again. But then last weekend, he matched the time and improved on it by .04, going 45.96. He also went a best in his 200 free (1:40.03), 500 free (4:35.09) and 50 back (24.76).
Andy Lee, 17, Twisters Swim Club (LGAC-MR) – 100 back, 48.98: In one day, Lee broke both :49 and :50 for the first time. Going into last weekend, his best 100 back time was 50.03. But in his first swim, he went 49.60, and then later in the day, 48.98. He also went a best in his 200 back, dropping a second to go 1:49.68.
Lily Willis, 12, TAC Titans (TAC-NC) – 200 IM, 2:09.70: Entering 2019, Willis’ best time in the 200 IM was 2:16.21. In January, she dropped it to 2:15.09. But then last weekend, she obliterated that time, throwing down a 2:09.70 for the second-fastest swim by a 12-year-old in the nation last weekend.
Manning Haskal, 15, Los Angeles Swim Club (LASC-CA) – 500 free, 4:35.21: In Feburary 2018, Haskal’s best 500 was 4:58.10. He brought it down to 4:50.95 in April, then 4:48.24 in October and 4:39.17 in November. Continuing to make big strides in the new year, Haskal dropped to 4:35.21 last weekend, hitting a 2019 Futures cut.
Sofia Plaza, 13, Aquatic Team of Mecklenburg (ATOM-MC) – 200 breast, 2:21.85: A year ago, Plaza’s best 200 breast time was 2:26.23. Her three attempts after that in 2018 were all in the 2:27-2:33 range. In her first swim last weekend, she went 2:24.08. Then later that day, slashed off more time, going 2:21.85. At the same meet, Plaza went additional lifetime bests in the 200 back (1:02.08), 200 back (2:12.62), 100 breast (1:05.92), and 400 IM (4:34.28).
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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Morgan Razewski of SwimMac is a girl, btw, which makes those times way more impressive