Our Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming series celebrates swimmers of every age and experience level with age group profiles of some recent results.
Sage Searle, 10, Crown Canyon Sharks (PC): Searle put up six best times at the Crow Canyon Sharks’ Short Course meet last weekend, including hitting 29.61 in the 50 fly and breaking 1:10 for the first time in the 100 IM (1:09.53). In the 50 fly, she took down her previous best of 29.69, set at Far Westerns in April, which ranked her 24th among 10 & unders last season. She also set PBs in the 50 free, 100 free, 50 breast and 200 IM.
Nathan Kondapalli, 12, Crow Canyon Sharks (PC): Kondapalli opened the season with five personal best times at the Crow Canyon meet, posting some notable results highlighted by the 50 breaststroke. Kondapalli clocked 29.84, dipping under his previous best of 30.01 to record a time that would’ve ranked 21st in the U.S. last season in the boys’ 11-12 age group. He also went 26.39 in the 50 fly, and added additional bests in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 back.
Finola Whelehan, 12, TAC Titans (NC): Whelehan notched a trio of best times at the TAC Titans Blue Green meet, including a 28.51 showing in the 50 back to put her well above the 800 power-point threshold (816). Whelehan added lifetime bests in the 100 back and 50 breast.
Tommy Jiang, 12, DART Swimming (SN): Jiang had a standout swim in the 100 IM at the Todd Erickson Memorial Meet in Davis (CA), cracking the top 100 all-time in the boys’ 11-12 age group in a time of 57.19. Jiang also set a noteworthy PB of 26.38 in the 50 fly (.01 quicker than Kondapalli), and he added PBs in the 100 free and 200 free.
Mikayla Tan, 13, DART Swimming (SN): Also racing at the Todd Erickson Memorial Meet, Tan opened her season with five impressive showings, including times of 1:02.95 in the 100 breast and 2:17.30 in the 200 breast. One of the fastest 13-year-old breaststrokers in history, Tan owns respective lifetime bests of 1:01.78 and 2:13.93. She also went 1:53.45 in the 200 free, jusy shy of her PB (1:53.21), and also logged a 57.21 100 fly and 53.95 100 free.
