Sarah Paisley Owen Breaks 22-Year-Old Georgia LSC Record at Age Group Champs

2023 Georgia Age Group State Championships

• Feb. 16-19, 2023
• McAuley Aquatic Center
  • Atlanta, GA
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results on MeetMobile: “2023 GA Age Group State Championship”

Metro Atlanta Aquatic Club 14-year-old Sarah Paisley Owen took down one of the oldest Georgia Swimming LSC records at the Georgia Age Group Championships in February.

Owen clocked a 49.48 in the 100 free, erasing an LSC 13-14 record that lasted for 22 years since 2001. Three-time Olympian Amanda Weir owned the previous mark at 49.53. Owen’s previous best was a 51.06 from December, meaning she skipped over 50 seconds entirely with her massive time drop. She now ranks as the second-fastest in her national age group (NAG) this season behind Charlotte Crush (48.81) and No. 18 in the all-time rankings after previously being outside the top 100.

Owen broke another LSC record in the 50 free with a 22.75, shaving a tenth off Gaby Van Brunt’s 22.85 from 2019. She dropped more than half a second off her previous-best 23.32 from December. She also added victories in the 100 fly (55.09) and 200 free (1:51.36) as well as new lifetime bests in the 200 IM (2:08.12) and 500 free (5:07.77), where she finished second and third, respectively.

Stingrays 14-year-old Evelyn Jezerinac tallied three individual victories and two personal bests during the meet. She dropped about two seconds in both the 200 breast (2:17.86) and 100 IM (58.04), but was just off her best time in the 100 breast with a 1:02.75. At the GHSA 7A State Championship earlier this year, Jezerinac posted a 1:02.27 to come within a tenth of Jaclyn Hill’s LSC record (1:02.18) from 2014.

Savannah Swim Team 12-year-old Allie Pearson dropped almost a full second from January in both the 50 free (23.98) and 100 free (54.23) en route to a pair of wins.

Girls’ Team Scores

1. Swim Atlanta – 3,677
2. Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club – 1,987
3. Dynamo Swim Club – 1,910
4. Aiken-Augusta Swim League – 947
5. Athens Bulldog Swim Club – 912

On the boys’ side, SwimAtlanta 14-year-old Collin Holgerson put up an impressive performance highlighted by five individual wins and seven personal bests. He showed off his versatility by triumphing in the 100 back (50.26), 200 back (1:51.22), 200 breast (2:05.86), 100 IM (52.54), and 200 IM (1:51.83). Holgerson shaved over two seconds off his previous best in the 100 IM, 200 back, and 100 fly (50.93 for second place) while also dropping over three seconds in the 200 IM.

Holgerson’s SwimAtlanta teammate, 13-year-old Connor Christopherson, also had some big time drops in a pair of victories. He reached the wall first in the 100 free, improving by nearly two seconds with a 47.15. His second title came in the 200 free, where he dropped nearly three seconds with a 1:43.30.

The 200 back featured a fun battle between Dynamo 13-year-olds Eric Xu (1:53.26) and Tom Cui (1:55.50). Xu now ranks fifth in the nation this season among 13-year-old boys while Cui ranks 14th.

Boys’ Team Scores

1. SwimAtlanta – 3,073.5
2. Dynamo Swim Club – 2,548
3. Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club – 1,650
4. Spartans Aquatic Club – 994
5. Aiken Augusta Swim League – 990