KNOXVILLE, Tennessee, December 8. BOLLES' Caeleb Dressel shot down a historic U.S. National Age Group record to close out the U.S. Winter Short Course Junior Nationals held on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
Women's 1650 free
Lakeside's Leah Stevens swept the distance freestyle events at the meet. After having already won the 500 free in a 4:43.25 to start the meet, she checked in with a 16:07.77 in the mile for the victory. Her swim this evening cut nine seconds off her lifetime best of 16:16.13 set just a year ago at this meet. Early on, Stevens was on pace to take a run at the meet record, but could not keep up with the 16:02.79 set by Amber McDermott back in 2008. Sandpipers' Erin Emery placed second in 16:11.96, while Bolles' Ashley Neidigh turned in a third-place 16:13.51.
Mason Manta Rays' Zoe Thatcher (16:19.37), Nashville's Miriam Stinson (16:25.41), Gator's Hannah Burns (16:29.10), Crimson's Ashlee Korsberg (16:32.64) and Patriot's Morgan Dickson (16:37.94) snared the rest of the podium spots.
Men's 1650 free
Similar to the women, the men featured a distance sweep with North Texas' Jonathan Roberts earning the 1650 free title out of the early heats with a 15:12.01 after winning the 500 free on night one. Roberts cuts a ridiculous amount of time off his personal best of 15:35.43 from sectionals in March 2011 with his triumphant time tonight. Crimson's Liam Egan took second in 15:12.84 from the final heat, while Sandpipers' Adam Henley finished third in 15:21.36.
Kingfish's Nick Arakelian (15:21.38), La Mirada Armada's Ryan Kao (15:21.56), Crimson's Josh Beals (15:22.90), Santa Clara's Aidan Burns (15:23.79) and Dayton Raiders' Clifford Goertemiller (15:24.08) picked up the rest of the top eight finishes.
Women's 200 back
SwimMAC's Kathleen Baker, who could swim upwards of 20 times weekend, touched out Raleigh's Hannah Moore, 1:54.31 to 1:54.46, for the win. Baker cut two seconds off her lifetime best of 1:56.22 from last year's Juniors, while Moore cleared 1:55 for the first time, besting her personal record of 1:55.87 also from Juniors a year ago. Lakeside's Asia Seidt rounded out the top three on the podium with a 1:57.03.
Jeffco's Alex Malazdrewicz (1:57.14), Carmel's Claire Adams (1:57.16), AK Sharks' Clara Smiddy (1:57.97), Carmel's Lacey Locke (1:58.69) and Carmel's Hanna House (2:01.96) finished fourth through eighth in the finale.
Men's 200 back
Hennessey Stuart made his preliminary top-seed hold up with a touchout triumph in front of North Texas' Aaron Greene, 1:43.64 to 1:43.74. Mobile's William Glass also was in the hunt with a third-place 1:43.96. Stuart had posted his lifetime best with a 1:44.09 in prelims, before clearing that for the win tonight. Greene's previous best had been a 1:44.80 from last year's Juniors.
SwimMAC's John Manchester (1:44.84), DU Hilltoppers' Carter Griffin (1:45.18), Sean Lehane (1:46.57), Palo Alto's Curtis Ogren (1:46.75) and Mount Pleasant's Zach Lierley (1:47.12) completed the championship heat.
Women's 100 free
North Mecklenburg's Emily Allen just missed Samantha Tucker's 2008 meet record of 48.71 with a sizzling 48.73 this evening. Not only did Allen post a sub-49 time, it was the first time under 50 seconds for the 15-year-old. Her previous best had been a 50.29 from the North Carolina High School State Championships in February. Orange County's Lindsey Engel, who won the 50 free on night one with a 22.24, took second in 48.96, while Osprey's Linnea Mack touched third in 49.26.
Santa Clara's Catherine Ladd (49.55), SwimMAC's Lauren Rhodes (49.74), Rancho San Dieguito's Rochelle Dong (50.24), Scottsdale's Victoria Toris (50.45) and SwimMAC's Kathleen Baker (53.58) rounded out the top eighth. Canyon's Abbigail Weitzeil won the B final in 49.85.
Men's 100 free
Bolles' Caeleb Dressel, 16, took down a legendary 15-16 U.S. National Age Group record in the event with a victorious time of 43.29. That performance bettered Joe Hudepohl's 43.83 set way back in 1990, but just fell short of Vlad Morozov's meet record of 43.27 from 2009. North Texas' Brett Ringgold took second in 43.44 this evening, while Bolles' Santo Condorelli placed third in 43.70.
Davie Nadadores' Dylan Carter (43.84), High Tide's Wesley Olmsted (44.28), Metro's Julian Ballestas (44.80), Crow Canyon's David Morgan (44.85) and Northern Dutchess' Julian Mackrel (44.88) also vied for the junior national title. SwimMAC's Kyle Darmody won the B final in 43.81.
Women's 200 breast
Crow Canyon's Heidi Poppe cruised to victory in the distance breaststroke event with a time of 2:13.14, cutting nearly a second from her lifetime best of 2:14.02 from last year's Juniors. That gave her a sweep of the breaststroke events after winning the 100 earlier. Ozaukee's Katherine Drabot raced to second in w time of 2:14.45, while Neptune's Taylor Young earned third in 2:14.95.
Brea's Ashley Tse (2:15.11), Sandpipers' Isabella Goldsmith (2:15.26), Lakeside's Peyton Greenberg (2:14.33), Rancho San Dieguito's Sherri McIntee (2:15.69) and Frisco's Destiny Nelson (2:19.66) placed fourth through eighth in the finale. Palo Alto's Sarah Kaunitz won the B final in 2:15.54, while Nashville's Andrea Kyriakidis posted the second-fastest time overall with a C final win of 2:14.25.
Men's 200 breast
Orinda's Steven Stumph eclipsed the meet record in the event with a 1:55.88. That swim beat the 1:56.46 set by Cody Miller back in 2008. Stumph chopped his personal best of 1:57.00 from May 2012. Palo Alto's Curtis Ogren turned in a second-place 1:58.25, while Panama City's Michael Duderstadt finished third in 1;59.15.
The Dolphins' Cole Hurwitz (1:59.47), Mobile's Marlin Brutkiewicz (1:59.54), Loveland's Nicolas Hatanaka (2:00.23), Powel Crosley's Jonathan Rutter (2:01.61) and Davis Aquadarts' Matt Whittle (2:02.01) completed the top eight. CLASS' Hunter Cobleigh won the B final in 1:59.61.
Women's 200 fly
Mount Pleasant's Megan Kingsley went out hard and held on for a meet-record in the distance fly event, as she knocked off Kingfish's Madison Wright, 1:55.50 to 1:55.94. Both swimmers beat Tanja Kylliainen's meet mark of 1:56.01 from 2010. The time cut Kingsley's lifetime best of 1:56.34 from prelims, while Wright's best was a 1:57.54 also from prelims. Sandpipers' Olivia Barker placed third overall in 1:56.37.
Firestone's Katelyn Miller (1:57.27), Parkway's Heather Lundstrom (1:58.48), SwimMAC's Caitlin Casazza (1:58.80), Metro's Isabella Paez (1:59.40) and Conejo's Anna Quinn (1:59.66) also swam in the championship heat. SMAC's Remedy Rule topped the B final in 1:59.27.
Men's 200 fly
Bolles' Joseph Schooling had some outside smoke with a 1:45.00 to win out of lane 1 in the finale. He just missed William Hamilton's 2010 meet record of 1:44.46 after winning the 100 fly last night, but did manage to clip Schooling's personal best of 1:45.08 from last year's Juniors. Memphis' Pace Clark touched second in 1:45.96, while Stingrays' James Yoder placed third in 1:46.86.
Nashville's David Charles (1:46.88), Dayton Raiders' Josh Quallen (1:47.73), Parkway's Nickolaus Orf (1:47.75), Baylor's Robert McHugh (1:48.47) and Joseph Carbone (1:51.51) rounded out the championship finale field. Aggie's Walter Jones captured the B final in a 1:48.25.
Women's 400 free relay
SwimMAC's Kathleen Baker, Lauren Rhodes, Jessica Merritt and Nora McCullagh cruised to victory in the relay with a 3:21.65, just off Bolles' 2009 meet record of 3:21.45. Palo Alto's Jennifer Campbell, Ally Howe, Carly Reid and Sarah Kaunitz placed second in 3:22.02, while Bolles' Claire Rasmus, Leela Hodgson, Siwan Thomas-Howells, and Kasey Schmidt claimed third in 3:23.39.
Orange County (3:23.61), Santa Clara (3:23.69), Saint Andrew's (3:24.27), Michigan Lakeshore (3:24.72) and Patriot (3:25.20) also earned top eight spots in the timed final event.
Men's 400 free relay
Bolles' Josh Booth, Caeleb Dressel, Santo Condorelli and Joseph Schooling posted a meet record in the event with a 2:55.89 for the win, while SwimMAC's Matt Josa, John Manchester, Michael Chadwick and Kyle Darmody took second in 2:57.69. Crow Canyon's Cody Tanabe, Dillon Williams, Bryan Hughes and David Morgan wound up third in 3:03.65.
Phoenix (3:03.90), Michigan Lakeshore (3:04.07), Santa Clara (3:04.78), North Texas (3:04.89) and Dayton Raiders (3:05.34) placed fourth through eighth, while Bolles' B squad even finished ninth in 3:05.95.
