16 Year Old Topher Stensby Posts 23.30 50 Free at Pleasant Prairie

PLEASANT PRAIRIE SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

• March 8-11th
• Pleasant Prairie RecPlex, Pleasant Prairie, WI
• Long course meters (50m course)
• Championship Central
• Results on MeetMobile

TEAM STANDINGS (TOP 3)

WOMEN

1. Barrington Swim Club – 724.5
2. Phoenix Swimming – 435
3. Patriot Aquatic Club – 379

MEN

1. Colorado Stars – 448
2. Phoenix Swimming/Chicago Wolfpack Aquatic Club – 334
3. –

COMBINED

1. Barrington Swim Club – 880.5
2. Phoenix Swimming – 769
3. Colorado Stars – 634

14 year old Malia Francis won the women’s 200 back with a huge lifetime best of 2:17.50 on the final day of the Pleasant Prairie Sectional Meet. She was out fast, hitting the 100 wall at 1:05.99, and then settling in at 35.7 for the final 2 50s. Her time cracked the all-time top 100 for 13-14 girls, coming in at 82nd, right behind Ally Howe. Also in that A final was 12 year old Margaret Wanezek, who went a lifetime best of 2:23.54 for 6th place. That time brought Wanezek up to 37th in the all-time rankings for 11-12 girls.

Nicholas Jasinski won the men’s 200 back in a tight race with Tadzio Kurka, touching in 2:09.30 to Kurka’s 2:09.60. The pair was virtually tied at the 100 mark, with Jasinski flipping at 1:02.75 and Kurka at 1:02.70. The 3rd 50 was where Jasinski won the race, splitting a 33.45 to Kurka’s 33.89. Kurka then slightly outsplit Jasinski on the final 50, 33.01 to 33.07, but it wasn’t enough to get back into the lead.

Maxine Parker, a 15 year old, won the women’s 50 free in her 2nd fastest time ever, 25.95. That marks the 2nd time Parker was under 26 seconds, with her best time sitting at 25.82 from January. Her best time also sits at 42nd in the 15-16 girls all-time rankings, and she isn’t 16 yet.

16 year old Topher Stensby went a best time 23.30 to win the men’s 50 free by nearly a second. Stensby, who is fresh off wins at the IHSA Boys State Finals and the Illinois Swimming Senior Championships, shaved about a tenth of a second off his previous best time, moving up to 28th in the all-time 15-16 rankings, where he is tied with Justin Lynch.

Isabelle Pelka won the women’s 200 fly in a best time of 2:20.51, finishing 3 seconds ahead of the field. Pelka was on pace to break through the 2:20 barrier, splitting 31.50, 35.51, and 35.84 on the first 3 50s, putting her on pace for a 2:18, but she fell off a little on the final 50, posting a 37.66. Riley Darling won the men’s 200 fly in a tight race with Bence Szabados, touching in 2:06.15 to Szabados’ 2:06.45. Szabados was charging at the end of the race, splitting 33.69 to Darling’s 34.35 on the final 50, but ultimately fell short.

15 year old Emily Ecker dropped about 15 seconds to win the women’s 1500, posting a 17:13.46. She really kicked it into gear on the final 200, splitting 2:12.48 (1:06.17/1:06.31) compared to the 2:19-2:20 200 pace she was swimming in the middle of the race. Jacob Furlong won the men’s 1500 in a tight race with 15 year old Dylan Moffatt, touching in 16:29.44 to 16:30.09. Furlong was leading throughout the race, then Moffatt threw down an incredible 59.82 split on the final 100, creating a much tighter finish. Both swimmers were off their best times considerably however, with Furlong’s personal best sitting at 16:05.53, and Moffatt’s at 16:15.72.