2021 Region VIII Summer Sectionals
- July 14-18, 2021
- Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center, Lenexa, Kansas
- Long Course Meters (LCM)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2021 Region VIII Summer Sectionals”
One of numerous Sectional championship meets taking place this weekend, the Section VII meet being held in Lenexa, Kansas featured some of the midwest’s top swimmers. Day 1 finals for the meet featured just three events being competed, the 100 free, 200 breast, and 200 back.
Kicking off the first day’s finals was Kobie Melton in the women’s 100 free. A rising senior at the University of Arkansas, Melton beat out Kate McCarville, a University of Tennessee commit who won two events at Wave I of Olympic Trials. It was a tight race between the pair, with Melton getting the upper hand with a time of 56.77. McCarville touched in 56.85, while Haiden Schoessel rounded out the top three in 58.15.
On the men’s side, it was a pair of recent high school graduates fighting it out for the top spot, with Benjamin Hines and Max Myers finishing first and second ahead of Noah Yanchulis, a 24-year old former member of Seton Hall’s swim team. It was Hines, who is committed to Alabama, who came away with the event win, beating out Myers with a time of 51.23 to 51.70. While Hines was off from his lifetime best, Myers was half of a second faster than he had been before. He is committed to swim at the University of Notre Dame this fall.
Moving on to the women’s 200 breast, Aubree Brouwer led a 1-2 finish for Springfield Aquatics ahead of teammate Olivia Mendenhall. Brouwer, an NC State commit, won the even by almost a second and a half in 2:35.57. While she won handily, she was still well off of her lifetime best of 2:32.35. Like Brouwer, Mendenhall was also off from her best time, touching in 2:36.86. Claire Conover rounded out the top-3 in 2:37.14.
Kalvin Hahn, one of the youngest competitors in the final of the 200 breast, easily came away with the top time in the event. Only 15-years old, Hahn beat out Eric Ji (2:20.48) and John Watson (2:21.99) to claim the top spot in 2:18.74. The swim was a huge lifetime best for Hahn, who’s previous best was only 2:22.40 from earlier this year.
The women’s 200 back featured a pair of college swimmers claiming the top-2 spots. Madesyn Ronquillio of Nebraska beat out the 100 freestyle winner from earlier in the day, Kobie Melton of Arkansas, to win the race in 2:17.04. Ronquillio was a C-finalist at the 2021 Big-10 Swimming and Diving Championships.
Finishing the first day’s finals was 14-year old Nate Thomas of River City Aquatics, who finished with a massive lifetime best of 2:06.96. That time makes Thomas the 25th fastest performer in the 13-14 age group in USA Swimming history, slightly ahead of names such as David Plummer, Daniel Carr, and Carson Foster. Touching behind Thomas was Ian Everett, a 15-year old, who stopped the clock in 2:07.60. Mizzou commit Ethan Roach rounded out the top three in 2:07.89.
36th