Presenting our Weekly Wonders from the weekend of January 18-20, 2019:
Brett Feyerick, 15, Nation’s Capital Swim Club (NCAP-PV): 200 IM, 1:51.94 – At the National Catholic High School Championships last weekend, Feyerick took over a second-and-a half of his 200 IM time, dropping from 1:53.53 to 1:51.94. His time was good for second overall, and was .9 seconds ahead of the next-fastest finisher. Feyerick’s previous best was from March of 2018, and before that, he had never been under 1:54.
Francesca Criscione, 16, Corvallis Aquatic Team (CAT-OR): 1650 free, 17:00.58 – A year before this swim, a then-15-year-old Criscione went 17:59.78 in the mile (her first PR in the event in nearly three years). She dropped that down to 17:14.57 in March 2018, and then took of 14 seconds at the 2019 43rd Annual Washington Open. At the same meet, she also went best times in the 50 free (25.61), 500 free (4:55.54), and 1000 free (10:12.37).
Jack Ballard, 14, Fort Collins Area Swim Team (FAST-CO): 200 free, 1:43.49 – Ballard ended 2017 with a 1:49.60 in the 200 free. In February 2018, he shaved off two seconds, dropping to 1:47.44; come December, he took it down to 1:44.15. At the 2019 MW Midwest All Stars last weekend, he took off even more time, going 1:43.49. The same weekend, Ballard also went a best time in his 100 free (48.35) – and he only broke :50 for the first time in November.
Mya Reed, 14, Cougar Aquatics (COUG-IE): 50 free, 24.1 – Reed broke :25 for the first time in March 2018, going 24.94. She hovered in the 24.9s and 25-mids for the majority of 2018, and then in November, dropped to 24.55 and then 24.53. Last weekend, Reed sliced off another four tenths of a second, going 24.15, and then in the same day, 24.10. At the same meet, she also broke 2:00 in the 200 free for the first time (1:59.42) and went additional lifetimes bests in the 100 back (1:03.24), 100 fly (1:05.25), and 200 IM (2:17.71).
Camden Doane, 12, University Place Aquatic Club (UPAC-PN): 200 back, 2:03.89 – Doane began 2018 having never been faster than 2:12.87 in the 200 back. After a couple mid-year 2:13s and 2:14s, she went 2:07.66 in December and then 2:06.69 in her first swim last weekend. In her second swim, Doane slashed off nearly another thee seconds, going 2:03.89, good for a 2019 Futures cut. She also went a best time in her 100 free (53.71), 100 back (56.95), 200 fly (2:08.90), 200 IM (2:07.45), and 400 IM (4:32.59 – a seven second drop from her previous best heading into the meet).
Thor Dyke, 14, TAC Titans (TAC-NC): 100 fly, 51.47 – Dyke opened 2018 with a lifetime best of of 55.13 in the 100 fly. He brought that down to 53.93 in February, then continued to shave tenths off until breaking :53 in November. In December he broke :52 as well (52.69), then continued the streak in 2019, going 51.47 last weekend. He also went PRs in the 200, 500 and 1000 free, as well as the 200 back, 200 IM, and 400 IM.
Charity Pittard, 18, Boise YMCA Swim Team (BY-SR): 100 breast, 1:01.67 – From April 6th, 2016, to April 6th, 2018, Pittard held the same best time in the 100 breast: 1:02.80. She proceeded to drop small increments of time throughout the rest of 2018, hitting 1:02.61 in December. Last weekend, she dropped a almost full second, going 1:01.67. She also went best times in her 200 free (1:49.84, breaking 1:50 for the first time), 500 free (4:59.27 and 4:56.22, her first times under 5:00), 100 back, 200 back, and 200 IM.
Reminder: The Weekly Wonders column is a celebration of age-group swimming, where new champions are made every day. Anyone can look up the top swims of the week. That’s not what we’re doing here. If we were only reporting on the week’s top swims we would feature the same handful of athletes every Wednesday. Instead, this is an opportunity to introduce the swimming community to athletes who have made great strides in the context of their own particular swimming worlds. By association, it also celebrates their coaches and their teams. The Weekly Wonders column, therefore, amounts to a pat on the back for a job well done, and hopefully encourages swimmers of all levels to continue to reach from within to get to that next level.
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