Regan Smith, 16, Drops 50.84 100 Back to Re-Break Own NAG Record

2018 CENTRAL ZONE SECTIONALS – AKRON

• March 22nd-25th, 2018
• Ocasek Natatorium, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio
• Results on Meet Mobile “2018 Speedo Sectionals Section 3 Central Zone”

Riptide 16-year-old Regan Smith has been on fire this weekend at the Akron Sectionals, and tonight is no different. After going 51.28 this morning to clip her own 15-16 NAG record of 51.30 by two hundredths, tonight, she’s improved upon that substantially with a 50.84.

SPLIT COMPARISON

Smith evidently made a conscious decision to attack the race tonight in finals, going out sub-25 (24.72), and it wasn’t at a cost– she still came home faster than her other back half 50s.

Smith’s time of 50.84 is very good. For some context, that time would have finished 6th at the NCAA Championships. Let’s go to pretend land for a moment– if Smith raced the 100 back (6th) and 200 back (her 1:48.30 from this weekend would’ve been 2nd), Team Smith would’ve tied Arkansas with 30 points for 27th place at the meet. Her 51.63 in the 100 fly this weekend would’ve also scored 13th at NCAAs, so that would be another 4 points, meaning she’d tie with Arizona State for 23rd.

Back to normal, though, if that’s possible with the mind-numbing times being swum across the country this weekend. Smith’s 50.84 is already 3rd in the 17-18 rankings behind Amy Bilquist (50.50) and Rachel Bootsma (50.54). Both women posted those times as freshmen in college, while still 18.

Smith is now the 16th-fastest American, ever, in the 100 yard back, and the 20th-fastest female swimmer, ever.