Welcome to the new year! One of the nice side effects of weekends where there aren’t too many meets going on is that we get a lot of new names to watch. Over the first two weekends of the 2015 we saw a range of events, from all-star meets to distance meets to intrasquads to regular age group meets. Below are our AgonSwim Weekly Wonders for January 2-4 and 9-11, 2015.
Frank Genna, 11, Bethpage PAL Barracudas Swim Club: 50y free (24.62) – Genna set the meet record in the boys 11-12 50 free at the SSC January Splash Invitational. He also set the meet record in the 100 free (55.67) and notched personal bests in the 50 back and 200 free.
Ridge Livermore, 14, Rice Aquatics: 50y free (21.84) – Swimming at the Gulf January Open Meet sponsored by DADS Club Swim Team, Livermore won the boys 13-14 50 free, 100 back, 100 fly, and 1000 free – all with best times and all by huge margins. His 50 time was a PB by just a tick, but 2.2 seconds faster than at the same meet a year ago.
Drew Kibler, 14, Washington Township Swim Club: 100y free (46.21) – Representing Team Indiana at the 31st Annual Mid-States Championships at the IUPUI Natatorium, Kibler won the boys 13-14 50/100/200 free, 100/200 back and 100 fly. He broke meet records in the 50 (21.42), 100 (46.21), and 200 (1:42.38) free, 100 back (52.65) and 100 fly (52.14).
Jack Leuthold, 13, Billings Aquatic Club: 100y free (50.04) – Leuthold lopped .61 off his seed time and was a full second faster than last year when he placed second the 100 free at the Hardin Otters Red Hot Meet in Hardin, Montana. Leuthold won the 500 free with a PB of 5:01.40, and the 100 fly and was runner-up in the 50 fly.
Leah Braswell, 14, York YMCA: 200y free (1:49.83) – Braswell dipped under the 1:50 barrier for the first time winning the girls 13-14 200 free at the SPY Swimming Winterfest; she was 1.7 seconds faster than at the same meet a year ago. Braswell also picked up new PBs in the 100/200 back, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 400 IM.
Jamie Viotto, 17, Unattached (Morris County Swim Club): 400m free (4:10.22) – Vitto broke two Morristown High School records in his team’s loss to Seton Hall Prep. He lowered his own 200m free record to 1:57.91, then took down the 400 free record with 4:10.22. Outside of high school swimming, Viotto swims for Morris County Swim Club.
Josh Cohen, 13, Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA: 500y free (4:46.31) – With a 42-second year-over-year drop, Cohen registered a best time and won the boys 13-14 500 free at the Winter Splash at Raritan Bay YMCA in Perth Amboy, NJ. He also won the 100 back, 1000 free, 100 fly, and 200 fly, with PBs in the latter three.
Janika Perezous, 12, Snow Swimming: 1000y free (11:06.67) – Perezous dropped more than 43 seconds from her seed time in the 1000 free at the PVS January Distance Meet hosted by Blue Wave Swim Team. The following weekend she logged another 5 personal bests at the MAKO Winter Invitational: 50/100/200 free, 100 breast, and 50 fly.
Anna Francisco, 16, Ocean County YMCA: 100y back (56.19) – Francisco picked up her first-ever National cut by dropping 1.2 seconds off her 100 back at the SPY Winterfest. She also went best times in the 50 free (24.36), 100 free (53.57), and 50 back (26.91r).
Remington Oland, 15, Frederick County Y Tidal Force: 200y back (1:52.44) – Oland began the new year with seven new PBs, all of which he achieved at the SPY Winterfest. Just a tick better than his seed time in the 200 back, he was nonetheless 6 seconds faster than he was a year ago. The weekend also produced new times in the 50/100 free, 100/ back, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 400 IM.
Ben DuFauchard, 14, University of Denver Hilltoppers: 200y breast (2:09.40) – Less than a second off his best time, DuFauchard won the boys 13-14 200 breast by a country mile at the Midwest All Stars held at Elkhorn NE Common Ground. He also won the 200 IM and 400 IM, and finished in the top 8 in both the 100 fly and 200 fly.
Andy Huang, 12, Peak Swimming: 100y fly (54.07) – Representing Pacific Swimming at the Pacific Coast All-Star Meet in Commerce, Huang won the boys 11-12 500 free, 100 back, 100 fly, 100 IM, and 200 IM. He went lifetime bests in the 50/200/500 free, 100 fly and 100 IM.
Jessica Epps, 14, Mission Viejo Nadadores: 200 IM (2:03.54) – The fastest 200 IM in the country among all girls 11-18 was swum by Epps at the Pacific Coast All-Star Meet. Representing Southern California Swimming, Epps won the girls 13-14 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM. She picked up new PBs in the 100 free, 100 breast, 100 fly, and 200 IM.
12-year-old Regan Smith from South Metro Storm Swim Club
2.00.92 in the 200 back
Awesome that Remington was mentioned. I am kind of surprised his 15 year old training partner, John Pressly, who won the open 100 fly wasn’t featured as well. Still, congratulations!