Noah Beladi, Lane White Post US Open Cuts at LAC Fall Classic

2020 LAC Fall Classic

• November 6-9, 2020
• Westside Aquatics Center, Lewisville, TX
• SCY (25 yards) 
• Full Meet Results (PDF)

Teams from around Texas gathered for one of the largest meets in the country since the coronavirus pandemic shut down teams around the country. 

With a total of 20 teams in attendance, Lakeside Aquatics’ fall classic did not disappoint, with two swimmers posting US Open cuts and several others earning top-level qualifying times. 

14-year-old Max Hatcher had a very strong meet, cutting time in every event he swam. Some of Hatcher’s best swims came in the distance events, where he posted some of the nation’s top times. 

Hatcher began the weekend in the 200 freestyle, where he finished 8th overall. Swimming a time of 1:41.49 in finals, Hatcher demolished his best time of 1:46.11, earning a Futures cut in the process. 

Following major cuts in the 200, Hatcher returned in the 500 freestyle. After taking out the race in a 51.29, Hatcher held consistent :55 splits for the next 300 yards, closing in a split of 52.89 to post a blistering 4:31.51. With this, Hatcher knocked almost 10 seconds off of his best time and earned another Futures cut. 

However, Hatcher saved arguably his best swim for last. In the 1650 freestyle, Hatcher once-again produced extremely consistent splits, holding 56-57 seconds per 100 throughout the duration of the race to touch the wall in a time of 15:30.83. This demolished his best time of 15:53.38 by over 22 seconds, getting Hatcher under the Summer Juniors cut as well. 

All three of Hatcher’s swims also rank in the top-3 in the country for the 13-14 age-group. His 200 currently ranks 3rd, while his 500 and 1650 both rank 1st. Notably, his 1650 time is currently the fastest in his age group by over 40 seconds, and ranks 15th all-time in the 13-14 age group. 

16-year-old Lane White from Texas Ford Aquatics lit up the sprint freestyle events. After qualifying 4th overall in the 50 freestyle prelims, White demolished the field in finals, dropping almost a second off of his time from the morning to finish in 20.57. With this, White knocked over a half-second off of his best time in the event, dipping under the US Open cut to earn his first qualifying time for the meet. 

White returned in the 100 freestyle the next morning. Swimming a best time by .3 seconds in prelims, White entered the final seeded 2nd overall with a time of 46.19. He quickly took control of the field, finishing in a time of 45.53 to drop almost a second off of his best time entering the day (46.47), earning a Futures cut in the process. 

17-year-old Texas A&M commit Noah Beladi also scored a US Open cut over the weekend in the 100 breaststroke. In prelims, Beladi posted a time of 56.94 to take the second seed heading into finals. That night, he returned to the pool, crushing a best time in the event, finishing in a time of 55.87. With this, Beladi cut over a half second off of his best time, which stood at a 56.54. 

Other Highlights: 

• 15-year-old Cooper Lucas posted a time of 1:38.62 to come within .04 of his best time (1:38.58). His time now ranks #2 in the country among 15-year-olds.
• 17-year-old Conor McKenna dropped almost 2 seconds in his 200 butterfly to post a time of 1:46.27, earning a Summer Juniors cut in the event. McKenna is currently a junior in high school and has not committed to swim for a college yet. 
• 17-year-old Mark Eberhard dropped over a second in the 100 breaststroke to touch in a time of 56.06. He later posted a time of 2:02.01 in the 200 breaststroke to drop over a half-second off of his best time. Like McKenna, Eberhard has not committed to a college program yet either. 
• 15-year-old Jerry Fox dropped .11 off of his best time in the 50 freestyle to post a time of 21.35 in the event.