Future Longhorn David Johnston Lights Up LAC Fall Classic After Commitment

2019 Lakeside Aquatic Club Fall Classic

• November 1st-3rd, 2019
• LISD Westside Aquatic Center, Lewisville, Texas
• Prelims/Finals, SCY Format
• Meet Results (FULL PDF)

University of Texas commit David Johnston, who trains with the RACE club in suburban Dallas, put on a show this weekend in Lewisville in his first meet since verbally committing to the Texas Longhorns 2 weeks ago.

The 18-year old high school senior swam lifetime bests in a whopping 8 races this weekend, including his specialty: the distance freestyles.

Johnston’s swims this weekend:

Johnston now ranks 6th nationally in the mile, among swimmers of any age, this season. The potential after his weekend swims looms huge for the Texas men, who haven’t had an NCAA scorer in the 1650 free since Clark Smith won the NCAA title in 2017 (Chris Yeager came close last season with a 17th-place finish as a sophomore). That’s a race where they gave up huge points to a Cal 3-4 finish at NCAAs last year to open the final day of competition. Cal wound up rolling on to an NCAA title, breaking a 4-year streak for the Texas men.

This meet, a prelims-finals event in the same pool that hosted an ISL stop a few weeks back, turned into a really fast 3 days of swimming, with a number of high schoolers putting in best times or near-best times.

Other Highlights from the meet:

• 14-year old Cooper Lucas, who swims for the hosts Lakeside Aquatic Club, swam a 1:50.99 in the 200 fly that jumps him to 30th all-time in that age group in the event. He also placed 2nd in the 500 free (4:31.27) and 1650 free (15:33.32) at the meet. That 500 time ranks him 35th all-time in the age group, and the mile ranks him 20th.
• 17-year old Metroplex Aquatics swimmer Alex Sanchez had a limited schedule, but performed well in his 3 events. He swam the 200 breaststroke in 1:59.94 (after a 1:59.71 in prelims) and won ahead of the aforementioned Johnson by nearly 7 seconds; won the 200 IM in 1:50.70; and finished 5th in the 100 free in 47.10. That marked a 2.6-second drop in the 200 breast and a 3.4-second drop in the 200 IM. A current high school senior, Sanchez has not yet announced a college commitment.
• The two stars of the women’s meet were Maddie Mechling and Laci Black, who both put on impressive displays of versatility as they combined to win 6 races on the weekend. Mechling won the 200 free, 100 back, and 200 IM, while Black won the 400 IM, 200 fly, and 500 free. The big throwdown came in the 200 IM late in the meet, where the two were nose-to-nose throughout the race, but where Mechling ultimately had a little bit more left at the end and won 2:03.74-2:04.27. A highlight-among-highlights for the 15-year old Black was the 200 fly, where she swam a 2:00.58 that was a lifetime best by almost 2 seconds.
• 14-year old RACE swimmer Ava Whitaker won the 100 fly in 55.79 and in the process actually beat-out Mechling (2nd – 56.61) and Black (3rd – 57.43). Whitakers’ 100 fly time was a lifetime best (by a narrow .04 seconds) – one of two personal bests for her at the meet.
• Zhenya Ingram, who came down from Oklahoma with the American Energy Swim Club, had a bunch of good races, and swept the boys’ butterfly events in 49.37 (100 yards) and 1:49.67 (200 yards), respectively. That sim in the 100 fly was a lifetime best, beating his previous top swim of 1:51.32 from last year’s Winter Junior Championships – West
• While he didn’t go any best times, Eric Stelmar of the Mansfield Aquatic Club did pick up 3 event wins. He took the 100 back (49.23), 200 back (1:47.63), and 100 free (46.59). He was also the runner-up in the 50 and 100 freestyles.