Weinstein, Kharun Lower Best Times at Sandpipers Pumpkin Invite

by Riley Overend 7

October 16th, 2022 Club, News

2022 Sandpipers Pumpkin Invite

  • October 14-16
  • Pavilion Center Pool
    • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Results on Meet Mobile: “2022 Sandpipers Pumpkin Invite”

Several Sandpipers of Nevada standouts were back in action this weekend at the club’s annual Pumpkin Invite.

Katie Grimes triumphed in the 1000 free with a time of 9:29.20, about five seconds slower than her personal best from last year’s Pumpkin Invite. Fellow U.S. International Team member Claire Weinstein was close behind in second place with a 9:32.23, taking nearly five seconds off her previous best from last December. Weinstein won the 200 back (2:05.11) and 500 free (4:48.67), but she was well off her best times in both events. USC commit Macky Hodges posted a huge 32-second time drop to claim third place in 9:57.06. 

In a battle between Tokyo Olympians, Bella Sims edged Grimes by less than a second in the 100 fly, reaching the wall first in 53.96. Sims also earned wins in the 200 IM (1:58.52) and 1650 free (15:59.59). The 17-year-old placed second in the 200 breast (2:19.84) behind 16-year-old Lucy Warnick (2:16.81), who dropped more than a second off her previous best from last December to claim the victory. 

In the 100 free, 17-year-old NC State commit Madeleine Hebert (51.01) beat out Washington State commit Maddy Parker (51.76) for first place. Hebert also posted a 4:51.00 in the 500 free that placed second and a 2:09.89 in the 200 IM that placed fifth. Behind Grimes (52.04) and Weinstein (52.51) in the 100 free was fifth-place finisher Helen Yee (52.88), a 31-year-old sports reporter competing for the first time in 16 years. Yee was less than a second slower than her personal best from the 2009 Nevada 4A State Championships.  

On the boys side, Arizona State commit Ilya Kharun tallied four first-place finishes while setting a personal best along the way. The 17-year-old clocked a 9:02.06 in the 1000 free to shave about half a second off his previous best time. Kharun also picked up victories in the 100 butterfly (46.94), 200 breaststroke (2:04.17), and 200 IM (1:49.87). He had a breakout performance at this meet last year, notching nine personal bests — all wins. 

In the 500 free, 15-year-old Daniel Benson of Brea Aquatics lowered his personal best by nearly five seconds and cruised to a first-place finish in 5:01.14. 

Seventeen-year-old Will Jones of Olympus Aquatics secured a victory in the 200 back with a personal-best time of 1:46.05, taking almost half a second off his previous mark. Jones also shaved more than a second off his personal best in the 100 fly (50.66) to secure a runner-up finish behind Kharun. Jones added a third personal best in the 200 breast (2:10.38), where he dropped just over a tenth of a second. 

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Tomek
1 year ago

This article first states that “Bella Sims edged Grimes by less than a second in the 100 fly, reaching the wall first in 53.96”. Then it goes on to state “Behind Grimes (52.04) and Weinstein (52.51) in the 100 fly was fifth-place finisher Helen Yee (52.88)”. So who won 100 fly, Sims at 53.96 or Grimes at 52.04…

Last edited 1 year ago by Tomek
SwimmerNotSwammer
Reply to  Tomek
1 year ago

It says 100 free not 100 fly babes xoxo

swimmerTX
Reply to  SwimmerNotSwammer
1 year ago

It was corrected after Tomek made the comment.

Last edited 1 year ago by swimmerTX
Sherry Smit
1 year ago

Macky Hodges also dropped over 30 seconds from her PB in the 1000 free

Yozhik
1 year ago

Don’t even know what to expect from Claire Weinstein. She came to the spotlight this year by winning the right at Trials to race individual 200FR for US team and showing promising 1:56.7 at WC. But I cannot even tell you what her speciality is.
26.47 – 56.31 – 1:56.71 – 4:09.39 – 8:29.34 – 16:22.78
She is slow as a sprinter and isn’t really good at long distance.
This big 15 years old girl reminds me somehow Ciera Runge.
The main hope now about this swimmer is the improving her personal best at 200m distance by 1.5sec to become the very important contributor to American gold winning relay in Paris. Therefore I’m waiting for the… Read more »

Sherry Smit
Reply to  Yozhik
1 year ago

I find it interesting that she’s on the national team in the 200/800/1500 and not the 400. I know it’s more to do with where an athlete ranks amongst others, but it’s still interesting that she would be a better 200/800 freestyler than 400. Emma Nordin was a bit of the same in a sense, 200/400/1500 and not 800 free

Jeepers
Reply to  Yozhik
1 year ago

This comment is ridiculous and should be removed immediately.

About Riley Overend

Riley is an associate editor interested in the stories taking place outside of the pool just as much as the drama between the lane lines. A 2019 graduate of Boston College, he arrived at SwimSwam in April of 2022 after three years as a sports reporter and sports editor at newspapers …

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