13-Year Old Gracie Weyant Wins 200 Breast to Close Plantation Sects.

2019 SOUTHERN ZONE SOUTH SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 7th-10th, 2019
• Plantation Aquatic Complex, Plantation, Florida
• LCM
• Results on Meet Mobile – “Southern Zone South Sectional Championships”
• Day 1 Results
• Day 2 Results
• Day 3 Results
• Day 4 Results
• Full Meet Results
• Final High Point (Individual)
• Team Scores After Day 4

Both Bruno Fratus and Alia Atkinson were scratches from the final day of competition (aside from an Atkinson 57.15 leadoff on the winning* 400 free relay for South Florida). Fratus apparently intended to swim the 100 free, but overslept because his clock didn’t update for Daylight Savings:

Their absence left most of the final day’s medals to the teenagers.

*Editor’s Note: the top time in the women’s 400 free relay of 3:20.18 is probably an error.

That includes Atkinson’s teammate Mary Smutny, a Texas commit, who won the 200 fly in 2:15.05.

She opened a big lead on the field in that race with a 1:04.4 on her first 100, and held that lead to defend her title. Last season, she won while racing with the AquaKids Sharks in a slightly-faster time: 2:14.97. Her pace on Sunday, while still big compared to the field, was a full second slower to the 100 than it was in the win last season (in spite of an ultimately-similar time).

Also of note on the girls’ side of the pool was a win in the 200 breaststroke by 13-year old Sarasota YMCA swimmer Gracie Weyant. She swam a 2:38.22 that is the fastest 13 & under time in the nation by almost 5 seconds. Her sister Emma Weyant was one of the stars of the meet, winning the 200 free, 400 free, and 200 IM individually and placing 2nd in individual high-point scoring, but Gracie joined the family tradition on the final day of the meet.

Other Race Winners:

• Costa Rican swimmer Bryan Alvarez won the men’s 200 fly in 2:05.63, overcoming Alexander Gusev (2:05.97) on the final 50. Alvarez, who was 47th in the 100 fly at the 2017 World Championships, was in 5th place at the turn before roaring-home to the win.
• French international Marie Wattel, who is training with Loughborough Swimming in the UK, won the women’s 100 free in 55.21. Her teammate Emily Crane was 2nd in 57.02, while the top junior was Talia Bates in 57.05. 15-year old Micayla Cronk from Hydro4Swimming was 4th in 57.15 – that time ranks her 4th among 15 & unders nationally this season.
• Chilean 19-year old Gabriel Araya won the boys’ 100 free in 51.80, leading a bunched finish with the fastest final 50 split. Kent Olsen-Stavrakas, a 27-year old from the Colorado Stars, was 2nd in 51.93, while Sidrell Williams was 3rd in 51.97. This was another come-from-behind win on the boys’ side: Araya was 6th at the turn. Araya was the boys’ individual high point award winner at the meet with 167 – 20 better than Gusev, the runner-up.
• Ryaan Hatoum of Berkeley Aquatics won the boys’ 200 breaststroke running-away from the field in 2:23.21. His 3rd 50 broke the race wide open (he held a 37.05, while the rest of the field faded to 38s and 39s) and won by more than 4 seconds.
• Caitlin Brooks of the Gator Swim Club finished off a clean-sweep of the backstroke races by winning the 200 in 2:13.77. That adds to previous wins in the 50 (28.92) and 100 (1:01.96). Brooks didn’t swim in this meet last season.
• Loughborough’s Dan Cross swam a 2:05.74 to run away with the men’s 200 back.
• Azura Florida Aquatics won the men’s 400 free relay in 3:32.68
• 15-year old Anna Auld of the East Coast Aquatic Club won the 800 free in 8:55.35. She held off a furious finish from Sarasota’s Christina Cianciolo, who took 2nd in 8:55.43.
• Sarasota’s Zachary Szmania won the boys’ 1500 free in 16:12.99, beating-out the defending champion Ryan Staunch of Swim Florida who took 2nd in 16:13.51. Szmania dropped 28 seconds from his seed for the win.

Final Team Scores

Girls’/Women’s Top 5:

1. Sarasota YMCA Sharks – 1421
2. East Coast Aquatic Club – 1067
3. South Florida Aquatic Club – 844
4. (TIE) Barrington Swim Club/Blue Dolfins – 611.50
5. –

Boys’/Men’s Top 5:

1. Azura  Florida Aquatics – 116.50
2. Sarasota YMCA Sharks – 861
3. South Florida Aquatic Club – 776
4. Colorado Stars – 735
5. Gator Swim Club – 472