Presenting our Weekly Wonders from the weekend of March 8th to 10th, 2019:
Gracie Weyant, 13, Sarasota YMCA (SYS-FL): 200 breast, 2:38.22 (LCM) – Weyant is now the fastest 13-year-old girl in the nation in the long course 200 breaststroke this season by nearly five seconds. Her previous best time of 2:40.21 was from August of last year, when she was 12. She had only swum it once between that time and last weekend, and gained four seconds in that effort. Last weekend, she took of 1.99 seconds to go 2:38.22.
Ryan Hwang, 12, Team Suffolk (TS-MR): 400 IM, 4:23.80 – Not only did Hwang swim just the second 400 IM of his young career last weekend, but he did so in nation-leading time. He dropped almost 15 seconds off his previous best of 4:38.76 to go 4:23.80, making him the fastest 12-year-old in the country last week. Hwang went a best time in a slew of other events last weekend, including the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM.
Claire Reinke, 13, Hurricanes Swim Team (HURR-MN): 100 fly, 55.87 – Reinke broke 1:00 for the first time in March 2018, going 59.83. She continued to shave off time throughout the year, ending 2018 with a best time of 57.85, swum in November. Last weekend, in prelims, she shaved off over a second, going 56.73. Reinke didn’t stop there, however. In finals, she almost took off another full second, going 55.87. Reinke also broke 1:02 for the first time in the 100 IM last weekend, just squeaking under at 1:01.99.
Tyson Tucci, 14, Bloomington Normal Swim Club (BNSC-IL): 1000 free, 9:45.67 – As an 11-year-old in 2015, Tucci went a 10:42.93 100 — an impressive 992 power point swim. As a 12-year-old, he dropped that time to 10:12.54, and then as a 13-year-old, he took it further down to 10:02.58 in March of last year. After having only swum it once in 2017, and then going the best time in March, Tucci was back up at 10:28.12 in November 2018. But in his first swim of 2918, he wasted no timing getting back on track, and went 9:45.67. He was the fastest swimmer aged 15-and-under in the U.S. last weekend.
Grace Hanson, 15, High Tides (HTSC-MN): 100 free, 50.61 – Hanson broke :52 for the first time ever in November 2017, going 51.99 and 51.59 on the same day. She shaved off a little more in March, and then almost exactly a year after breaking:52. she broke :51. In fact, the swim was her fastest on a day she swam four 100 freestyles, three of which were under her previous best, with the fastest coming at 50.83. She kept the pattern going this March, dropping over two tenths to go 50.61 last weekend.
Mateo Miceli, 16, Sarpy County Swim Club (SCSC-MW): 200 back, 1:47.01 – In March 2018, Miceli’s best time in the 200 back was 1:55.72, as a 15-year-old. In October, he shaved off over five seconds, going 1:50.22. Last weekend, he broke 1:50 for the first time, and in a big way: in prelims at Columbia sectionals, he was 1:48.05, and in finals, 1:47.01. That time made him the fastest 16-year-old in the nation last week. He also went a best time in his 100 free (48.03), 50 back (23.61), 100 back (49.90) and 50 fly (22.97).
