2021 YMCA Spring Festival – Greensboro
- Wednesday, March 31 – Saturday, April 3, 2021
- Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
- Theme: Superheroes!
- SCY
- Championship Format
- Results on Meet Mobile as “2021 YMCA Swimming Festival – Greensboro”
The Greensboro site of the YMCA Spring Festival got underway today at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. You can read more about the YMCA Spring Festival here, but it will serve as a sort of multi-site unofficial YMCA championship (one not officially sponsored or endorsed by the national organization) after the official national championship was canceled.
Spartaquatics Swim Club (YSSC) opened up the night by going 1-2 in the girls 500 free. Kirsti McEnroe held off a late charge by Jenna Bridges to get her hand on the wall first, 4:53.42 to 4:53.55, with both swimmers hitting new lifetime bests. Kirsti’s sister Annika McEnroe, a Cal commit, made it two in a row for YSSC, and another 1-2 finish, with a 2:00.08 win the 200 IM, while 14 year-old teammate Hayden Penny took 2nd in 2:01.51, clocking a new best by 1.32s.
Spartaquatics came within a tenth of a second of making it a clean sweep in the girls individual events, but YMCA of the Triangle Area (YOTA)’s Hailey Hicks, a Georgia commit, touched out Spartaquatics’ Camrynn Wilson, 23:49 to 23:58.
Finally, Spartaquatics closed out the girls side of the evening’s competition with a 1:44.38 win the 200 medley relay. Denison commit Sophie Kannee led off in 27.15, Meredith Rice nearly went sub-30 on the breaststroke leg, with a 30.01 split, and Annika (24.46) and Kirsti McEnroe (22.76) brought it home on the back half.
On, the boys side, Greensboro Community YMCA (GCY)’s Dax Harris kicked off the evening with a big 4:28.55 win the 500 free, touching ahead of the 2nd place finisher, YSSC’s Nick Bracall, by nearly ten seconds, and lowering his lifetime best by a second. YOTA got a 1-2 sweep in the 200 IM as John Reese Taylor matched his prelims time almost exactly with a 1:51.76, finishing three-tenths of a second ahead of teammate Ross Noble (1:52.06).
GCY made it two out of three with Robert Tars‘ 20.85 victory in the 50 free. Tars, a UNCW commit, won by 0.34s, while setting a lifetime best by 0.40s, but it was a tight race behind him, as the 2nd through 4th place finishers all touched within 0.05s, led by YOTA’s Michael Volpe at 21.19.
YOTA wrapped up the night with a nearly-three second victory in the 200 medley relay with a 1:31.41. Noble led off with a 23.71, followed by Volpe with a 25.72 breaststroke split. Lucas Ansede split 21.58 on the fly leg, while Ryan Hardy anchored in a strong 20.40, after finishing 3rd in the 50 free with a 21.22
The competition continues tomorrow with the 200 free relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, and the 400 medley relay.
