As we kick off long course season, here are the Weekly Wonders for the weekend of April 13-15, 2018:
Jeylin Hamilton, 12, Hamilton Dynasty Swim Club: 50m free (28.48) – Hamilton notched her first sub-30 while winning the girls’ 50 free at the Seacoast-Seekonk Specialty Meet at Brown University. She improved her PB by 2 full seconds and was 2.4 faster than at this time last year. She also won the 100 free and 200 IM, was second in the 100 breast, and was 4th in the 100 back and 5th in the 400 free. Hamilton finished the weekend with PBs in the 50/100/400 free, 100 back, 100 breast, and 200 IM.
Amanda Palutsis, 18, Canton City Schools: 50m free (26.97) – Palutsis picked up her first Winter Juniors cut in the 50m free at TYR Pro Swim Series – Mesa. Seeded with a yards time (22.86), the Ohio State commit dropped 8/10 off her previous best LCM time and finished 36th out of prelims. That qualified her for the D final, where she dropped another 1/10 to tie for 28th with her teammate Parker Timken, dipping below the 27-second barrier for the first time. Palutsis left Mesa with new times in the 50/100 free and 50/100 fly.
Antonio Gurri, 13, Greater Baltimore Swim Association: 100m free (59.72) – Competing at the Spring Long Course Swim Meet hosted by Chesapeake Bay Aquatic Club, Gurri broke 1 minute for the first time with a huge 3.6-second drop to win the boys’ 13-14 100 free. He is now 5.6 seconds faster than he’d been a year ago. Gurri also lowered his PBs in the 400 free, 1500 free, and 200 fly.
Jordan Tiffany, 16, Hilltop Aquatic Swim Team: 100m back (1:00.61) – Seeded with a yards time, Tiffany dropped 2 seconds off his previous LCM personal best to make the D final in the men’s 100 back at TYR Pro Swim Series – Mesa. He then took another 5/10 off that time in finals and claimed 26th place overall. Tiffany’s time in the 100 back is now 4.7 seconds faster than it was last spring. Tiffany left the meet with PBs in the 50/100/200 back.
Athena Meneses Kovacs, 13, Eagle Aquatics: 100m fly (1:01.61) – Swimming for the Mexican Junior National Team, Meneses Kovacs scored her first U.S. Open cut in the 100 fly with 1:01.61, finishing fifth at the Arena Grand Prix de Natación Senior, Tijuana 2018. It was her best time by 1 second and 7.8 seconds faster than where she was at this point in the season last year. She also improved her times in the 50 free, 50/100 back, and 50 fly in Tijuana.
Kate McCarville, 15, Springfield Aquatics: 100m fly (1:02.57) – McCarville scored her first Winter Nationals cut in the 100 fly at TYR Pro Swim Series – Mesa when she won a swim-off for 37th place after having swum 1:04.54 in prelims. She cracked a 1:02.57 in her second swim of the morning, winning the swim-off by 2.4 seconds and earning a spot in the D final. McCarville is now 3.2 seconds faster than she was last year at this time. She also went a best time in the 1500 free, dropping 37 seconds to place 6th with 17:30.10.
William Tennison, 14, Swim Streamline at Northampton: 100m fly (1:00.88) – Tennison dropped 2.3 seconds to win the 100 fly by over 4 seconds at the PLAT/KATY IMX Meet. That puts him 5.1 seconds ahead of last year’s pace as he kicks off his long course season. Tennison also took home new times in the 100/200 back and 200 fly.
Rose Pouch, 17, Team Rebel Aquatics: 200m IM (2:19.81) – Pouch (AJ Pouch’s twin sister) had a breakout performance in the 200 IM at TYR Pro Swim Series – Mesa. Seeded with a 2:24.97, she dropped 3.3 seconds in prelims to make the B final with some real heavy hitters. She took another 1.8 seconds off in finals and finished 10th overall with a U.S. Open cut. Pouch also went a best time in the 100 back in Mesa.
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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