2023 SPEEDO SECTIONALS – COLLEGE STATION
- March 2-5, 2023
- College Station, TX
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheet
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2023 Speedo Sectionals Championship Series”
Texas Ford Aquatics won three of the four relays, a collegiate star showed up in a new cap, and massive personal bests fell in the 1000 yard freestyles to kick off the 2023 College Station Sectionals.
The Texas Ford girls’ 200 medley relay included a pair of post-grad swimmers, one of whom is a new face for the suburban Dallas team. Morgan Scott, an All-American from Alabama who concluded her collegiate season early to deal with a torn labrum, has now shown up in the training group of former Alabama coach Coley Stickels.
Scott first trained with Stickels at Indiana, and then followed him to Alabama. Stickels and Alabama parted ways mid-season in December 2020 after just 18 months at the helm, but Scott stayed in Tuscaloose for another two years before swimming her last collegiate meet in November in this same pool.
She split 24.01 leading off the 200 medley relay, and another post-grad Miranda Tucker split 26.59 on the breaststroke leg, Marina Spadoni split 23.43 on the fly leg, and Lily Powell split 23.68 on the anchor. Powell, a high school junior, is the only junior-aged swimmer of the group.
That 1:37.71 swim was less than a second away from the the North Texas LSC Record in the event.
Scott then swam a 48.94 leadoff leg on the 400 free relay, combined with Spadoni (49.99), Tucker (50.36), and Powell (52.71) for another win, this time in 3:22.00. Three other teams were all within half-a-second.
Other fast splits include a 49.55 leadoff leg from Longhorn Aquatics’ Amelia Bodenstab (Louisville commit) and a 49.96 from AAAA’s Jada Scott (Alabama commit). Scott was the Texas 6A State Champion in the 100 breast and 50 free two weeks ago.
In the boys’ 200 medley relay, Texas Ford won again led off by post-grad Jacob Molacek (21.68), with Travis Gulledge (24.82), Jacob Wimberly (20.97), and Brayden Jones (20.69) following to a 1:28.16 win.
In the night’s final relay, the boys’ 400 free relay, First Colony Swim Team was able to crack the code, winning in 2:57.63 – .03 seconds ahead of Texas Ford Aquatics. The winning relay was Logan Brown (44.02), Hayden Bellotti (42.77), Kyle Kulow (44.96), and Jack Boysen (45.88).
Bellotti’s monster split comes off a successful Texas high school season where he won the 100 fly State Championship two weeks ago. Bellotti is a high school senior committed to Virginia.
Boysen hit the water just two-tenths ahead of the Texas Ford Anchor Andrew McEachern (45.75), and managed to out-battle him for the win. Texas Ford also got a 43.16 split from Jacob Wimberly.
Dads Club was 3rd in that relay in 3:00.76 led off by a 42.85 from Cade Duncan. That jumps him to 30th in the all-time US 17-18 rankings. He’s headed to Northwestern in the fall.
The lone individual races of the night were the 1000 yard frees. The girls’ race was highlighted by Longhorn Aquatics’ Jillian Cox, who won that race in 9:27.87. That was a new personal best by 10 seconds and won the race by more than 30.
That now moves her into the top 10 all-time in the 1000 yard free in the 17-18 age group. Cox will stay close to home and swim for the University of Texas next fall.
In the boys’ race, Dean Jones of the Magnolia Aquatic Club. He was in a dead-heat with Connor Fry for most of the race, but Jones split 51.85 to Fry’s 53.07 to power away for the win.
Jones finished in 8:59.12 and Fry was 2nd in 9:01.55. Jones now moves into the top 50 all-time in the age group, while Fry ranks 76th all-time.
The top three in that event all dropped double-digit time. Jones dropped 21.5 seconds, Fry dropped 11.5, and Jones Lambert (9:05.38) dropped 22.6 seconds. All three are only 17 years old.
How do the club coaches in attendance feel about these post grads swimming on relays at this meet?
This debate happens every time pros/post-grads/really fast juniros pop up at Sectionals. It was a hot topic in Florida fora while, because Troy would often take his post-grad group to Sectionals.
The change is often jarring for coaches and they get pretty pissed off, but eventually everyone adjusts and adapts.
I think there are pros (chance to race their idols, raising the level of competition, bringing energy to the meets) and cons (knocks a few developing teens out of D finals, knocks a few wins off peoples’ resumes). I think the net is a positive, especially given that most club coaches are still hyper-focused on times and not places.
I got no problem when it’s an all post-grad relay or a college team for that matter, but it’s when coaches throw post-grads on relays with club age group swimmers to get a higher rank that’s doesn’t sit well with me.
What the hell could have happened at Alabama that Scott would rather go race random club meets than finish out the season with her team? Just a bizarre end to a college career. I know Coley’s training works really well for some people, but if she was going to keep swimming and not get surgery, how would an additional 2 months at Bama before moving to train with Coley not be the move?
When the best two sprinters leave a program, rest assured there is more to the story.
Bruh those girls followed Coley from Indiana you really think he wasn’t in their ear every day undercutting Margo?
The Margo effect…