Isaac Newman Shatters Diving Record at NM HS State Championships

2020 NMAA State Swimming Diving Championships

• Swimming and Diving
• February 21st-22nd, 2020
• Albuquerque Academy Natatorium, Albuquerque, NM
• Short Course Yards
• Results

TOP 5 TEAM SCORES

GIRLS

1. Abq Academy – 390
2. Eldorado – 220
3. Clovis – 196
4. La Cueva – 176
5. Albuquerque – 163

BOYS

1. Los Alamos – 377
2. Abq Academy – 372
3. La Cueva – 246
4. Eldorado – 232
5. Cleveland – 153

Albuquerque Academy won the girls title at the New Mexico HS state meet this past weekend, while Los Alamos took the boys title.

GIRLS RECAP:

Albuquerque Academy won the girls meet by a dominant 170 point margin. They won 2 of the 12 events competed at the meet, taking the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay. In the medley, sophomore Coralie Norenberg led off in 27.78, with sophomore Asiana Lee (31.29), junior Sowang Kundeling (26.59), and junior Sofia Taylor (24.66) following for a 1:50.32. The Academy narrowly beat Eldorado High School (1:50.56), who had built up a large lead over the first half of the race.

Albuquerque Academy also won the 200 free relay with a time of 1:39.12. Sofia Taylor led that relay off in 25.36, with junior MacKenzie Jarrell splitting 24.87 on the 2nd leg, Sowang Kundeling splitting 25.05 on the 3rd leg, and junior Allison Bernier anchoring in 23.84.

The other relay, the 400 freestyle, was won by Eldorado in 3:36.60. Junior Emma Gehlert (53.08), senior Randi Peters (56.70), junior Brynn Quintana (54.29), and senior Grace Gehlert (52.53) combined to finish a second before runner-up Albuquerque Academy. Emma Gehlert won the 200 IM earlier in the meet, swimming a 2:06.75. Alburquerque Academy junior Allison Bernier nearly ran Gehlert down on the final 50 of the race, splitting 29.61 on freestyle to Gehlert’s 31.77. Bernier touched 2nd with a 2:07.08. Bernier was the defending champion in the event, having swum a 2:05.61 to win last year, while Gehlert was 3rd in 2:08.01. Gehlert went on to win the 100 breast, swimming a 1:04.02, defending her title in the event. Last year, she swam a 1:05.07 to win the event. Emma’s sister Grace Gehlert took the 50 free with a 24.33.

Hope Christian had a double event winner in freshman Reece Hinnerichs, who swam to victory in the 200 and 500 free. Hinnerichs took the 200 free decisively, clocking a 1:52.09 to get her hand on the wall first by over 2 seconds. She was out very quick, flipping at the 100 mark in 52.92. Hinnerichs went on to win the 500 free with a 5:01.85, using a strong middle 300 build a lead. Defending champion Allison Bernier came in 2nd this year, swimming a 5:04.64. Bernier swam a 4:59.30 to win the event last year.

Sandia Prep’s Emma Kelley, a sophomore, won the 100 back, swimming a 58.42. Defending champion Fiona Trotz-Chavez came in 2nd this year with a 58.67. Last year, Trotz-Chavez won the race with a 57.90. Trotz-Chavez, a Sandia HS junior, won the 100 fly this year, swimming a 57.82.  La Cuerva junior Hannah Meek took the 100 free with a 52.34, using a strong back half of 26.73 to get to the wall first. Meek came in 3rd last year with a 52.83.

Albuquerque HS took 1 meter diving with sophomore Nadine Coulie, who tallied up a final score of 471.95 to beat the field by 70 points.

BOYS RECAP:

Albuquerque Academy was the biggest winner in the boys meet from an event standpoint, claiming victory in 4 of 12 events. They won the final event of the meet, the 400 free relay. Senior Ethan Fricke led the relay off in 48.45, with junior Aidan McKinley splitting 48.29, junior Sam Papenguth splitting 48.03, and senior Jake Hand anchoring in a blistering 45.07. The team finished in 3:09.84, narrowly missing the state record of 3:09.39, which is held by Eldorado HS from 2018.

Jake Hand, a University of Arizona recruit, was a double event winner at the meet. He kicked off his meet by winning the 200 IM with a time of 1:53.37, touching the wall first by nearly 3 seconds. The defending champion in the event was Jack Hoagland, who is currently rounding out a very successful freshman season at the Unviersity of Notre Dame. Hoagland swam a 1:48.01 to win the event last year, setting a new New Mexico state record. Hand was well off his own personal best of 1:49.38, which he swam in prelims of the meet.

Hand went on to win the 100 breast, swimming a 56.43. Hand improved massively over last year, where he swam a 59.16 to come in 2nd. He was faster this year than the 2019 champion, Pierce Holler, was to win the event last year (56.56). Hand also led the winning Albuquerque Academy 200 free relay off in a personal best 21.15, giving his team a huge lead. Behind Hand were Ethan Fricke (22.25), Aidan McKinley (21.67), and Sam Paenguth (21.35), swimming a 1:26.42 to win the race by 2.01 seconds.

La Cuerva picked up the win in the other relay, the 200 medley, with a 1:36.70. Sophomore Mario Sumali (24.64), sophomore Henry Li (27.15), senior Quanwei Lei (23.50), and junior Greyson Ulibarri (21.41) teamed up to win by over half a second. The La Cuerva squad posted the fastest splits in the field on the backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle legs. Sumali went on to win the 100 back with a 52.00, out-splitting the field on both 50s. Sumali was 3rd last year as a freshman, swimming a 52.60.

Eldorado HS picked up 3 wins on the meet, with junior Darien O’Donnell taking the 50 free and 100 fly. O’Donnell swam a 21.08 to win the 50 free, taking the race by just under half a second. O’Donnell came in 3rd last year with a 20.94. That time still stands as a personal best for O’Donnell. Darien went on to win the 100 fly with a 50.66, defending his title in the event. He won last year with a 49.42, which also stands as his personal best to this day. Eldorado also picked up a win in the boys 1 meter diving, where senior Isaac Newman posted a jaw-dropping win. Newman racked up a final score of 624.65, beating the field by nearly 200 points. Newman broke both the pool record and NM state record with his score.

Las Cruces picked up a win in the 100 free, with Asa Mynatt taking the title with a 47.01. Mynatt made huge improvement over last year, where he swam a 49.55 to take 7th at this meet. Cibolas HS picked up a win in the 200 free. sophomore Jamin Harlin won the 200 free with a 1:41.27, narrowly beating Los Alamos sophomore Orion Henderson, who touched in 1:41.61. Harlan got out to the early lead, out-splitting Henderson on the first 2 50s to flip in 48.31 at the 100, while Henderson flipped at 49.25. Henderson went on to win the 500 free, swimming a 4:38.42.