SwimSwam’s The Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming – 3/12/2014

The short course season is winding down in most parts of the country and many LSCs held their age-group championships this past weekend. Here are our Daring Dozen of the week:

Andrea Santander, 12, Unattached: 50 free (23.95) – Santander won the girls’ 11-12 50, 100 and 200 free, the 50 fly, and the 100, 200, and 400 IM at the Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympics hosted by Coral Springs Swim Club. Her 50 free time marked her first time under 24 seconds. It was a personal best by .3, and good enough to break the LSC record.

Isaac Grinberg, 11, Sylvania Tsunami Swim Club: 100 free (51.29) – At the Ohio 14 & Under Junior Olympics hosted by Ohio State Swim Club, Grinberg won the 50/100 free, and 50/100 fly. He set meet records in the 50 free and both flys, and an LSC record in the 100 fly. His 100 free time represented a 5.5 second drop since the same weekend last year, and it propelled him to the number two position for 11-year-old boys in the country this year.

Paul Delakis, 15, Eau Claire YMCA Marlins: 200 free (1:39.32) – Delakis won High Point Award for 15-16 boys at the Wisconsin 13&Over Short Course State Championship hosted by Pleasant Prairie Patriots, thanks to his victories in the 100/200 free, 100/200 breast, and 200/400 IM. His 200 free time was his best by nearly 6 seconds.

Jason O’Brien, 18, North Coast Aquatics: 500 free (4:19.58) – Swimming at the American Short Course Championships at the University of Texas, O’Brien posted the top prelims time of 4:19.58, his best swim by nearly 5 seconds and the number six swim in the country for 18-year-old boys this year.

Madelyn Donohoe, 12, The Fish: 1000 free (10:08.18) – Donohoe knocked just over 30 seconds off her seed time to take second in the women’s 1000 at the Potomac Valley Swimming Short Course Senior Championships hosted by NCAP. Donohoe now owns the fastest 1000 in the nation for 12-year-old girls… by 20 seconds.

Christian Imbus, 14, Cincinnati Marlins: 1650 free (15:56.97) – Grender improved his time by 1 minute and 6 seconds since this same meet last year, and finished second in the boys’ 13-14 mile at Ohio 14 & Under Junior Olympics hosted by Ohio State Swim Club. Both he and teammate Joshua McDonald finished under the previous JO record time of 16:01.60 (set in 2006 by Aaron Buchanan, now of Olivet Nazarene and the 2014 NAIA National Champion in the 200 fly).

Haley Hynes, 15, Kansas City Blazers: 100 back (54.25) – Hynes won the 100 back at the Central Zone Speedo Champions Series meet in Jenks, Oklahoma, with a personal best of 54.25. She also picked up best times in the 100 and 200 free, and the 100 fly at the meet.

Noelle Peplowski, 13, Peoria Area Water Wizards: 100 breast (1:02.09) – Peplowski finished second in the 100 breast at the Speedo / Illinois Swimming Senior Championships hosted by CATS Aquatic Team and Westmont Swim Club. She went her best time by 2.8 seconds and earned “Rookie of the Meet” honors for her performance.

Austin Temple, 17, Tide: 200 breast (1:58.86) – Temple won the 100 and 200 breast at the Virginia Short Course Senior Championships. His 200 time was his best by 6 seconds. Temple broke the meet record by 1.5 seconds with the swim, and came within .8 of the Virginia state record.

Sophie Housey, 11, Pointe Aquatics: 100 fly (58.89) – Swimming at the Michigan 12 & Under State Champions Housey won the 200 and 500 free, 200 back, 100 fly and 200 fly. Her 100 fly time was a personal best by 1.4 seconds; her first time under 1:00, she went crashing through straight to a 58-high.

Cassidy Bayer, 14, Nation’s Capital Swim Club: 200 fly (1:57.60) – Just a tick off her personal best, Bayer nonetheless cranked out the nation’s fastest 18-and-under 200 fly time of the week at the Potomac Valley Swimming Short Course Senior Championships hosted by NCAP.

Danny Kovac , 13, Fort Collins Area Swim Team: 200 IM (1:55.67) – Kovac dropped a monster 8.6 seconds off his seed time (3.1 in prelims and another 5.5 in finals) to win the boys’ 13-14 200 IM at the Colorado State 14 & Under Age Group Championships.

Special thanks to Lyle Campbell for his assistance in putting this list together.