NBAC Breaks Two More Mixed Relay National Age Group Records At Mid-Summer Classic

2023 NBAC MID-SUMMER CLASSIC

• July 6-9, 2023
• St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s, Maryland
• Long Course Meters (50m)
• Live Results

The 2023 NBAC Mid-Summer Classic was held earlier this month in St. Mary’s, Maryland. Among the top highlights of the meet was North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s mixed relay efforts, as they took down a total of three National Age Group (NAG) records.

The first record broken was in the 13-14 mixed medley relay, where the team of Julia Rommel (1:06.09), Spencer Belbot (1:09.61), Daniel Branon (56.95), and Shannon Conway (58.67) combined for a time of 4:11.32. Their swim took about half a second off of Bluefish Swim Club’s previous mark from 2019.

Three members of the medley relay returned in the mixed 400 freestyle relay. The team of Branon (54.70), Belbot (54.69), Conway (57.79), and Madeline Ryan (58.88) combined for a final time of 3:46.06. They shattered the previous mark of 3:49.55, which was also held by Blue Fish Swim Club.

Split Comparison:

NBAC’s 11-12 year-olds got in on the action on the final day of the meet, as the team of Cole Morgan (1:00.19), Willa Kulp (1:04.56), Hartley Vercollone (1:02.20), and Jude Burkhart (1:01.37) won the mixed 400 freestyle relay in 4:08.32. As with the previous two records, this one was also held by Bluefish Swim Club at 4:12.73 from 2019. 

Split Comparison:

Many members of the relays also had highly successful individual meets as well. Conway, 14, won seven events across the weekend. In the 800 freestyle, Conway dropped over 38 seconds to post a time of 9:00.17, ranking 5th among 13-14 girls this year. She also dominated the 200 IM, going a personal best of 2:21.81 to clear the field by nearly 7 seconds.

For the boys, Branon captured four victories in the 13-14 age group. He too had a fantastic race in the 800 freestyle, where he dropped 15 seconds to post a time of 8:39.71. Belbot and Branon both saw significant time drops in the 400 freestyle, with Belbot winning in 4:09.41 and Branon taking 2nd at 4:12.00.

Patrick Branon, Daniel Branon’s older brother, was a top performer among the senior men. The Notre Dame recruit collected five victories over the course of the weekend. His meet was highlighted by his time drop in the 200 freestyle, where he shaved off a second to log a 1:55.49. He also neared his personal best in the 800 free, going an 8:27.22 to narrowly out-touch Luke Brennan in 2nd (8:27.35). 

Katy Pacher, who is headed to UCLA in the fall, highlighted the senior women with a sweep of the butterfly events. Pacher dropped nearly a second from her best in both the 100 and 200 fly, swimming times of 1:01.93 and 2:18.68, respectively.