2023 CSC Winter Invitational
- Friday-Sunday, January 13-15, 2023
- IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, IN
- SCY (25 yards)
- Prelims/finals format
- Results on MeetMobile “2023 CSC Winter Invitational”
Carmel Swim Club’s Winter Invitational is underway this weekend at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis. The meet is run in a prelims/finals format, however, Friday night’s events were competed as timed finals.
On Friday night, Carmel 15-year-old Lynsey Bowen won the girls 1650 by a huge margin, clocking a 16:19.60. It was a huge swim for Bowen, whose personal best was 17:39.82, a time which she swam in March of 2021. Her 1000 split was also well under her personal best. Bowen split 9:49.16 on the first 1000 of the race, which is much faster than her 10:03.14 official personal best.
Another Carmel 15-year-old, Lewis Zhang, won the boys 1650 free, swimming a 15:53.76. It wasn’t a personal best for Zhang, coming in 12.89 seconds off his best of 15:40.87, which he swam in late October of 2022.
Carmel’s Lexie Ward, 15, won the girls 400 IM last night in 4:18.93. The performance marked a huge personal best for Ward, taking 7.53 seconds off her previous mark. She took the race out in 59.07 on fly, then split 1:05.53 on back, 1:16.55 on breast, and came home in a speedy 57.78 on free. Teammates Vivian Wilson and Meghan Christman were the next two swimmers in, touching in 4:20.14 and 4:25.10 respectively. Both swims marked huge personal bests.
Lakeside Swim Team (KY) 16-year-old Thomas Mercer took the boys 400 IM in 3:52.59. It wasn’t a personal best for Mercer, coming in half a second off his top mark. He was great on the front half of the race, splitting 51.47 on fly and 58.52 on back for a 1:49.99 on the first 200 of the race. Carmel’s Sean Sullivan, a Florida recruit, came in second with a 3:53.52, taking five seconds off his best time in the event.
Carmel 16-year-old Alex Shackell won the girls 500 free in 4:47.06, marking a lifetime best for the rising star. It was Shackell’s first time under 5:00 officially, as her previous best was listed at 5:02.33 from 2021, though it’s possible she’s been under 5:00 in a high school meet before, which wouldn’t show up in USA Swimming’s database. 15-year-old teammate Molly Sweeney clocked a 4:51.50 for second place. That was a huge swim for Sweeney too, also marking her first time under 5:00 in the event. Her previous best was a 5:06.37, a time which she swam at this meet last year.
It was a Shackell sweep in the 500s last night, as Alex’s older brother, Aaron Shackell, won the boys 500 free in 4:19.27. A Cal recruit, Shackell was off the 4:16.49 he swam at Winter Juniors East last month, however the swim does mark just the second time he’s been under 4:20 in the event. Notably, Thomas Mercer, the 400 IM winner, came in third with a 4:32.53, taking nearly ten seconds off his personal best in the event.
Club Wolverine 13-year-old Jayla Kuzak won the 13-14 girls 400 IM in 4:27.40, taking five seconds off her lifetime best of 4:32.43, which she had just swum last weekend at the Mid States 14&U All Star Championships in this very pool. Kuzak’s splits for the race aren’t available, but she was the only swimmer in the event under 4:30.
Lakeside’s Wilson York, 13, won the 13-14 boys 400 IM with a massive swim, clocking a 4:04.44. He blew the field away, winning the race by nearly eight seconds, despite only being 13. He was particularly great on the back half of the race, splitting 1:06.95 on breaststroke and 59.14 on freestyle, for a 2:06.09 on the final 200 of the race. He was out in 55.63 on butterfly and split 1:02.72 on backstroke, both of which are very good splits as well. The swim also marks a personal best by 15 seconds, which is made more impressive by the fact that York’s previous best of 4:19.67 was set just last month.
Club Wolverine 14-year-old Annabelle Balazer won the 13-14 girls 500 free in 5:00.85. That swim comes in just under her personal best of 5:01.28, which she swam at the MHSAA D2 Girls High School Championships in November.
Carmel 14-year-old Brian Qian won the 13-14 boys 500 free, swimming a 4:41.29. He won the race handily, taking eight seconds off his previous best with his performance. Notably, Wilson York, the 13-year-old who won the 13-14 400 IM, came in sixth, swimming a 4:53.93, which marked his first time under 5:00 in the event.
Chicago Wolfpack Aquatic Club’s Joy Cheng won the 11-12 girls 200 IM in 2:13.67, taking four seconds off her best time. Mason Manta Rays’ Gabriel Trujillo took the 11-12 boys 200 IM in 2:14.88. Trujilo was just off his personal best of 2:13.72.
Club Wolverine’s Maria El-Koudsi posted a 5:14.26 to win the 11-12 girls 500 free. El-Koudsi’s swim came in well under her previous best of 5:19.35.
Club Wolverine made it a sweep of the 11-12 500s, as Justin Okopny won the 11-12 boys 500 free in 5:14.84. The performance marked a personal best for Okopny by 18 seconds.
Any more updates from that meet?