Vinny Marciano took down his 4th National Age Group record in a time trial following prelims of the NASA Showcase Classic on Saturday. He’s also the top seed in a pair of 11-12 events heading into tonight.
Joy Jiang is the top seed in two 10&under races, meaning she could boost her total to 10 wins tonight if she holds her spot.
Also competing was Michael Andrew, who seemed to cruise a pair of morning swims and will compete in the 50 fly, 100 breast and timed finals of the 400 IM tonight.
10 & Under
An 8-time winner already this weekend, Westchester’s Joy Jiang is in line for two more victories on the final day. The 10-year-old leads the 200 IM (2:21.16 in prelims) and 100 fly (1:04.46) by solid margins.
Second in both of those events is Delaware Swim Team’s Reese Thompson, who also sits atop the 50 freestyle at 26.85.
For the boys, Lance Godard continues to heat up in the 10-year-old heats. The Kansas City Blazer holds top seeds in all three races. His toughest test might be in the 200 IM, where Johnny Bradshaw, who’s been the other star of this age group, sits just a half-second back. Godard is 2:21.39 coming out of prelims to Bradshaw’s 2:21.97.
Godard also leads the 100 fly (1:04.03) and 50 frees (26.31).
For 9 & unders, Zoe Dixon leads a pair of races for Nova of Virginia. The 9-year-old went 2:32.40 to lead Grace Olsen and Allie Hathaway in the 200 IM, and holds the top seed in the 100 fly at 1:05.43. Olsen is also second in that race, and she leads Dixon by two tenths in the 50 free, 28.28 to 28.45.
Joshua Zuchowski looks to add to his win total in the 9-year-old division, leading the 100 fly (1:06.62) and 50 free (27.06). J.T. Ewing is the top seed in the 200 IM at 2:31.37.
11-12
The girls have some great showdowns set up in the 14-year-old division. In the 50 fly, it’s Olivia Bray vs. Katherine Douglass. Bray, of the Virginia Gators, went 26.13 for the top seed, while Douglass sits second at 26.34 for Westchester.
The 100 breast pits Douglass against Cuyahoga Falls’ Giovanna Cappabianca, who won a couple of races last night. Douglass is seeded at 1:05.67 to Cappabianca’s 1:06.61.
And the 200 free has the meet’s 100 free champ versus its 500 free champ. Clearwater’s Christina Ciancolo won the 100 last night and she’ll look to use her speed to overcome endurance-based Madelyn Donohoe of The Fish. The two are seeded very close, with Ciancolo at 1:55.26 and Donohoe at 1:55.82.
Vinny Marciano had another big morning for the boys. His best swim came in a time trial, where he broke Michael Andrew‘s 11-12 100 free NAG, going 47.89 to take down the old mark of 57.95.
He also took the top seed in the 50 fly, going 24.83. He’ll likely shoot for a 23 tonight; the NAG record stands at 23.65, also by Andrew. Marciano will also be in the hunt for the 200 free, where he cruised prelims to a 4th place finish but was 8 seconds off his career-best, going 1:55.61. (The top seed in that race is Adam Kerr of Poseidon at 1:52.59).
Nicholas Torres is the runaway top seed in the 100 breast at 1:04.55.
Gabriela Pierobon Mays holds two top 11-year-old seeds, 26.10 in the 50 fly and 1:09.54 in the 100 breast. For the boys, Leo Goldblatt looks towards a double, leading the 50 fly at 26.44 and the 200 free at 1:57.04.
This age group will also swim the 400 IM tonight in timed finals.
13-14
Michael Andrew is the man to beat in two of the three 14-year-old races on his last official chance to break 13-14 NAGs. His first event isn’t a NAG-hunt, though, as it’s the 50 fly where 13-14 records aren’t kept. He went 22.15 this morning to lead that race, presumably shooting for a 21-low in the evening.
Andrew also leads the 100 breast, where he cruised to a 56.13 (his NAG in the race is 53.88 and he’s probably looking to lower it out of reach of fellow 13-14 breaststroke phenom Reece Whitley).
Clearwater’s Vance Sanders sits atop the 200 free, going 1:42.68 this morning. Also in the hunt is MacFarland sprinter Daniel Krueger, who had big swims in the 50 and 100 earlier in the meet.
A great 3-way battle is shaping up for the girls age 13 50 fly. Katrina Marty went 26.19 for the top seed, but Emma Muzzy (26.53) and Kasja Dymek (26.60) both look like legitimate threats heading into tonight.
Olivia Paoletti will look for the breaststroke sweep for 14-year-olds. The Delaware Swim Teamer looks to add the 100 to her 50 and 200 championships after going 1:06.06 for the top seed.
The 13-year-old division has another great race set up, with Rabea Pfaff leading Julia Kral by just a tenth, 1:08.11 to 1:08.27.
Kristen Romano leads the 200 free after winning three 14-year-old events last night. She went 1:54.64 to take the top spot. In the 13-year-old heat, Lindsey Fanz will try to hold off Dymek after the two went 1:56.37-1:56.66 at prelims.
This age group will also swim the 400 IM tonight in timed finals, with Michael Andrew likely entering for the boys.
MA went 3:55 IM, 21.2 50 fly, 56 low 100 breast at finals
I’m very interested in the 400 IM of Mr Andrew.
His PB is 3.52.
I don’t know what to expect but something under 3.50 doesn’t look out of reach.
It would close his 13/14 career in beauty.