2023 Allegheny Mountain Swimming Age Group Championship
- July 20-23. 2023
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- LCM (50 meters)
- Results
The 2023 Allegheny Mountain Swimming Age Group Championship was held this past weekend at the University of Pittsburgh. Dominating the team scores was Team Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics, who put up a combined total of 1121 points.
Team Scores (Combined):
- Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics – 1121
- Racer X Aquatics – 595
- Allegheny North Swim Club – 582
- Fox Chapel Killer Whales – 551
- Steel City Aquatics – 331
Pitt’s group of athletes was led by Marcin Goraj, who took first in the 100 backstroke with a 55.94 in finals to break his own Allegheny Mountain open record. His teammates Stepan Goncharov and Guy Frimis won an event each as well, with Goncharov taking the 100 free in 50.87 and Frimis winning the 200 free with a 1:53.56. On the women’s side of their group, Jessica Strong took 1st in the 100 breast with a personal best time of 1:12.62 in prelims.
Cornell recruit Haihan Xu posted four wins in the 15 & over category. He swept both the breaststroke and IM races, hitting best times in all four. His largest improvement was in the 200 breaststroke, where he dropped over two seconds from the U.S. Open in December to go a 2:21.11.
Among the top age group performers of the meet was 12-year-old Augustin Zhan, who collected a total of 61 points with nine individual victories. He dropped over three seconds in both breaststroke events, going best times of 1:18.04 and 2:53.94, respectively. Zhan also dominated the 200 IM, where he touched 1st in a best time of 2:31.72 to win the event by almost seven seconds.
12-year-old Elyse Brenenborg from Racer X Aquatics had a fantastic meet, as she secured six wins over the course of the weekend. Brenenborg’s races were highlighted by her performances in the distance freestyle events. She opened her meet with a personal best and Allegheny Mountain record time of 18:06.35 in the 1500, which moves her up to 74th on the all-time rankings for 11-12 girls.
Later in the meet, Brenenborg dropped over ten seconds to to post a time of 9:31.92 in the 800 freestyle, which also marks an Allegheny Mountain record for the age group. She closed out the competition with a best time of 4:41.08 in the 400 free, winning the event by 10 second margin.
Her younger brother, Ian Brenenborg, also secured a handful of wins himself. The 11-year-old took 1st in the 800 freestyle with a best time of 10:01.08, as well as won the 200 backstroke (2:35.40) and 200 fly (2:38.55).
12-year-old Delaney O’Toole climbed the national rankings in the 50 freestyle. She led off her team’s 200 freestyle relay with a best time of 27.18, moving O’Toole to 36th all-time in the age group. She also led off the 200 medley relay with a 31.62 on backstroke, and hit a best time of 1:00.68 in prelims of the 100 freestyle.
Among the top swims in the 13-14 age group was Katie Bookwalter‘s 100 breaststroke, where she dropped over a second from last summer to go 1:16.21. For the boys, Jackson Edwards had the top swim with a 1:00.75 in the 100 backstroke. Edwards is the LSC record holder in the event, with his personal best standing at 1:00.10 from this June.
Leading the way for the 10 and under girls was Maiia Zaikina from Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics. Zaikina scored 43 points and won five of her individual events. Dylan Galloway from Peters Township came away with 55 points to top the 10 & under boys. Galloway won five events, including winning the 400 free, 200 free, and 50 free.
University kids dominant in age group meet.