Regan Smith Scheduled to Race at Winter Juniors – West (PSYCH SHEETS)

2018 USA Swimming Winter Junior Championships – West

• December 5th-8th, 2018
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, Austin, Texas
• SCY (25y) pool
• Psych Sheet

The West championship of USA Swimming’s split Junior Nationals meet covers about the same number of members as their Eastern counterparts, but includes a far broader geographical area, including the United States’ 10 largest states by area.

The biggest name in attendance is Regan Smith, who won a bronze medal in the 200 back at the 2018 Pan Pac Championships, won a pair of backstroke golds at the 2017 World Junior Championships, and is scheduled to race the 200 back at next year’s World Championships. She’s the World Junior Record holder in the 100 and 200 back in long course.

This week, Smith is scheduled to swim 4 events, and in a bit of a twist, none of them will be backstrokes. She’s swimming the 100, 200, and 500 freestyles and the 200 fly. She’s still the heavy favorite in all of these races, but it is still a different event lineup than we usually see from her. She finished 3rd in the 200 fly at Summer Nationals

In her absence, fellow US National Teamer Isabelle Stadden of the Aquajets Swim Team, also in Minneapolis, is the top seed in the 100 back, with recent NC State commit Katharine Berkoff seeded 2nd. The two also hold the top 2 seeds in the 200 back, but in the opposite order.

The headliner of the boys’ meet is Gianluca Urlando, who was the first swimmer out of team for Pan Pacs this summer. He’s entered in the 50 free, 200 IM, 100/200 fly, and 100/200 back, with the #1 seed in 3 of those events (100/200 fly, 100 back).

Other Top Names Entered:

• National Junior Teamer Ethan Harder is entered in 6 races: the 50 free, the 200 IM, the 100/200 fly, and the 100/200 back.
• National Junior Teamer AJ Pouch is entered in the 100 breast, the 200 breast, and the 200 IM, but isn’t the top seed in any of them. KING breaststroke whiz Ethan Dang holds the top seed in both the 100 (53.65) and 200 (1:55.56) breaststrokes. Another National Junior Teamer, Kevin Vargas, is also racing those breaststroke events.
• National Junior Teamer Lillie Nordmann is scheduled to swim 6 events, though likewise she’s not the top seed in any of them. Her best slot is 4th in the 100 fly: an event in which she placed 14th at last summer’s long course National Championships; and 6th in the 200 fly, which is an event where she placed 11th at Nationals last summer.
• Lindsay Looney out of the Dallas Metroplex, who is the #1-ranked 200 butterflier on the National Junior Team, is swimming 6 events. She’s seeded just 10th in her specialty race, but is due for a big drop after her long course 2:10.
• Colleen Gillilan of Fort Collins Area Swim Team holds top 5 seeds in all 6 of her entries, including top 3 seeds in 5 events. She’s the #1 seed in the 100 fly, and is scheduled for big showdowns with Zoie Hartman in both the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke.
• Kaitlyn Sims of the Magnolia Aquatic Club and Ashley Strouse of the Scottsdale Aquatic Club are scheduled for a big showdown in the girls’ mile, with both being seeded at 16:10s.
• National Junior Teamer Ethan Heasley is the top seed in the 400 IM and 500 free.