Bella Sims Wins Two, Katie Grimes Moves to 12th All-Time in 400 IM at Austin Juniors
Sandpipers of Nevada teammates and U.S. Olympians Bella Sims and Katie Grimes have been the dominant swimmers so far at the Austin Junior Nationals meet, and that continued in Friday’s finals. Grimes just missed a National Age Group record in the women’s 400 IM while moving to 12th all-time in the event, while Sims finished first in back-to-back finals, posting a 1:42 in the 200 free in the second race.
First on Sims’ schedule was the women’s 100 fly, where the 16-year-old future Florida Gator pulled away from Fort Collins’ Lucy Bell to win by four tenths in 52.21. Bell placed second in 52.65, and Patriot Aquatic Club’s Annika Parkhe took third in 52.80.
1 Sims, Bella 16 Sandpipers Of Ne 53.14 52.21 20
r:+0.58 24.51 52.21 (27.70)
2 Bell, Lucy 17 Fort Collins Are 52.85 52.65 17
r:+0.67 24.54 52.65 (28.11)
3 Parkhe, Annika 16 Patriot Aquatic- 53.32 52.80 16
r:+0.71 25.05 52.80 (27.75)
4 Crom, Katie 18 Una SET-CA 53.57 52.82 15
r:+0.66 24.80 52.82 (28.02)
5 Schalow, Maggie 17 Irvine Novaquati 53.48 53.13 14
r:+0.64 24.64 53.13 (28.49)
6 Noble, Kennedy 17 Phoenix Swim Clu 53.76 53.24 13
r:+0.67 24.96 53.24 (28.28)
7 Quan, Angela 16 Santa Clara Swim 53.51 53.46 12
r:+0.65 24.82 53.46 (28.64)
8 Gillilan, Renee 17 Fort Collins Are 53.41 53.94 11
r:+0.62 25.08 53.94 (28.86)
The next women’s final saw Sims lead wire-to-wire over a tough field in the 200 free. She came in with a time of 1:42.92, a bit off her best time of 1:42.58 but still faster than all but one swimmer at last year’s NCAA Championships. Sims won by more than a second, with Fox Valley Park’s Leah Hayes coming in second at 1:44.13.
Irvine Novaquatics’ Teagan O’Dell placed third in 1:44.13, while fourth went to another Sandpipers swimmer, 14-year-old Claire Weinstein. Weinstein put up a time of 1:44.72. On Friday, she lowered her lifetime best from 1:47.61 to 1:46.01 in prelims and now this 1:44, which puts her third all-time among 13-14 girls behind only Sippy Woodhead and Missy Franklin. Grimes, meanwhile, ended up fifth in 1:45.64, swimming this race not long after her 400 IM.
1 Sims, Bella 16 Sandpipers Of Ne 1:44.31 1:42.92* 20
r:+0.59 24.15 49.92 (25.77)
1:16.55 (26.63) 1:42.92 (26.37)
2 Hayes, Leah 16 Fox Valley Park- 1:44.69 1:44.13 17
r:+0.82 24.33 50.56 (26.23)
1:17.53 (26.97) 1:44.13 (26.60)
3 O'Dell, Teagan 15 Irvine Novaquati 1:45.85 1:44.62 16
r:+0.77 24.01 50.12 (26.11)
1:17.01 (26.89) 1:44.62 (27.61)
4 Weinstein, Claire 14 Sandpipers Of Ne 1:46.01 1:44.72 15
r:+0.79 25.00 51.54 (26.54)
1:18.27 (26.73) 1:44.72 (26.45)
5 Grimes, Katie 15 Sandpipers Of Ne 1:45.83 1:45.64 14
r:+0.62 24.87 51.52 (26.65)
1:18.67 (27.15) 1:45.64 (26.97)
6 Kozan, Justina 17 Una SET-CA 1:45.71 1:46.21 13
r:+0.70 24.67 51.37 (26.70)
1:18.77 (27.40) 1:46.21 (27.44)
7 Smith, Sydney 16 Dads Club Swim T 1:46.88 1:46.41 12
r:+0.70 25.10 51.95 (26.85)
1:19.25 (27.30) 1:46.41 (27.16)
8 Hodges, Macky 17 Una SET-CA 1:46.07 1:48.32 11
r:+0.71 24.94 52.24 (27.30)
1:20.47 (28.23) 1:48.32 (27.85)
In the women’s 400 IM, Grimes blasted a 4:00.66 to beat Olympic Trials finalist Justina Kozan by six seconds. Grimes tied Katie Hoff, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the 400-meter IM and a two-time world champion in the event, for 12th-fastest all-time in the event. She finished just four hundredths off the 15-16 National Age Group record of 4:00.62, set by Dagny Knutson in 2008. Grimes’ previous best time was 4:06.24, set in April, as she showed that her skills go far beyond the distance freestyle in which she made her mark on the national and international level.
During this breakout year, Grimes finished second to Katie Ledecky in the 800-meter freestyle at Olympic Trials and then fourth in the event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Meanwhile, Kozan could not stick with Grimes, and she ended up finishing second in 4:06.74, about a second behind her best time, while Fort Collins’ Lucy Bell took third in 4:10.78.
1 Grimes, Katie 15 Sandpipers Of Ne 4:07.17 4:00.66* 20
r:+0.65 25.79 54.78 (28.99)
1:24.25 (29.47) 1:53.50 (29.25)
2:29.77 (36.27) 3:06.02 (36.25)
3:33.78 (27.76) 4:00.66 (26.88)
2 Kozan, Justina 17 Una SET-CA 4:12.11 4:06.74 17
r:+0.74 25.89 56.03 (30.14)
1:28.05 (32.02) 1:59.83 (31.78)
2:34.86 (35.03) 3:11.00 (36.14)
3:39.08 (28.08) 4:06.74 (27.66)
3 Bell, Lucy 17 Fort Collins Are 4:13.86 4:10.78 16
r:+0.72 26.41 56.32 (29.91)
1:29.26 (32.94) 2:01.37 (32.11)
2:36.77 (35.40) 3:13.34 (36.57)
3:42.36 (29.02) 4:10.78 (28.42)
4 Hazle, Kathryn 17 North Coast Aqua 4:14.68 4:11.80 15
r:+0.71 27.26 58.28 (31.02)
1:31.74 (33.46) 2:04.68 (32.94)
2:39.17 (34.49) 3:14.20 (35.03)
3:43.23 (29.03) 4:11.80 (28.57)
5 McCarthy, Katie 17 Edina Swim Club- 4:16.93 4:15.38 14
r:+0.74 27.05 58.52 (31.47)
1:31.43 (32.91) 2:03.23 (31.80)
2:40.18 (36.95) 3:18.42 (38.24)
3:47.94 (29.52) 4:15.38 (27.44)
6 Doane, Camden 15 King Aquatic Clu 4:18.24 4:16.72 13
r:+0.71 26.94 57.50 (30.56)
1:30.20 (32.70) 2:02.77 (32.57)
2:39.54 (36.77) 3:17.36 (37.82)
3:47.52 (30.16) 4:16.72 (29.20)
7 Kuwata, Paige 17 Sandpipers Of Ne 4:18.47 4:16.96 12
r:+0.68 27.47 57.63 (30.16)
1:30.04 (32.41) 2:01.53 (31.49)
2:40.16 (38.63) 3:19.13 (38.97)
3:48.66 (29.53) 4:16.96 (28.30)
8 Cronk, Carli 15 Alamo Area Aquat 4:18.65 4:18.14 11
r:+0.83 27.21 57.59 (30.38)
1:30.53 (32.94) 2:03.01 (32.48)
2:40.68 (37.67) 3:19.46 (38.78)
3:48.78 (29.32) 4:18.14 (29.36)
In the next event, Williamson put up a time of 3:42.22, an amazing accomplishment for a swimmer whose best time going into the day was 3:52 before swimming his 3:47 in prelims. In the final, Williamson blasted out ahead of the field on the backstroke leg and then pulled away. He swam a 3:42.22 to finish just 0.14 behind the National Age Group record, a 3:42.08 held by Michael Phelps. Williamson, who has more than a year remaining in the age group, could certainly pull off the rare accomplishment of beating a Phelps record within the next year, especially given his remarkable improvement.
Lakeside Aquatic Club’s Cooper Lucas took second in 3:46.26, four seconds behind Williamson, while Humberto Najera was third in 3:47.33.
1 Williamson, Maximus 15 North Texas Nada 3:47.33 3:42.22* 20
r:+0.74 23.63 50.83 (27.20)
1:18.49 (27.66) 1:45.69 (27.20)
2:18.53 (32.84) 2:51.52 (32.99)
3:17.43 (25.91) 3:42.22 (24.79)
2 Lucas, Cooper 16 Lakeside Aquatic 3:49.31 3:46.26 17
r:+0.68 23.27 50.65 (27.38)
1:19.39 (28.74) 1:47.79 (28.40)
2:20.33 (32.54) 2:53.71 (33.38)
3:20.80 (27.09) 3:46.26 (25.46)
3 Najera, Humberto 16 Una SET-CA 3:50.75 3:47.33 16
r:+0.60 23.82 50.93 (27.11)
1:19.52 (28.59) 1:47.50 (27.98)
2:20.08 (32.58) 2:53.84 (33.76)
3:21.30 (27.46) 3:47.33 (26.03)
4 Jones, Keaton 17 Swim Neptune-AZ 3:48.81 3:47.55 15
r:+0.84 23.79 51.55 (27.76)
1:20.08 (28.53) 1:47.96 (27.88)
2:22.54 (34.58) 2:57.12 (34.58)
3:23.22 (26.10) 3:47.55 (24.33)
5 Brill, Kyle 18 Una CANY-CA 3:48.62 3:47.80 14
r:+0.73 24.74 53.37 (28.63)
1:22.61 (29.24) 1:51.48 (28.87)
2:22.77 (31.29) 2:54.95 (32.18)
3:21.96 (27.01) 3:47.80 (25.84)
6 Barrieault, Brice 17 Sandpipers Of Ne 3:50.92 3:52.92 13
r:+0.63 23.99 52.37 (28.38)
1:22.65 (30.28) 1:52.12 (29.47)
2:24.90 (32.78) 2:58.60 (33.70)
3:26.54 (27.94) 3:52.92 (26.38)
7 Edmund, Mason 17 North Texas Nada 3:50.20 3:54.31 12
r:+0.80 24.43 52.30 (27.87)
1:22.78 (30.48) 1:51.60 (28.82)
2:26.35 (34.75) 3:01.10 (34.75)
3:28.34 (27.24) 3:54.31 (25.97)
8 Morgan, Keller 17 Evolution Racing 3:51.56 4:01.03 11
r:+0.70 25.06 54.31 (29.25)
1:25.14 (30.83) 1:55.66 (30.52)
2:29.28 (33.62) 3:03.44 (34.16)
3:32.85 (29.41) 4:01.03 (28.18)
In the men’s 100 fly, Sandpipers’ Ilya Kharun took down a National Age Group record of his own. He dominated the field by seven tenths and recorded a time of 45.59. That clipped the 15-16 NAG record of 45.61 held by current Georgia Bulldog Luca Urlando. Only three swimmers aged 16 or younger have ever broken 46 in the 100 fly, and two of those performances happened on this particular Friday between Kharun’s swim in Austin and Thomas Heilman swimming a 45.81 during his second record-breaking 100 fly swim of the day in Greensboro.
Alamo Area’s Connor Foote placed second here in 46.31, and Bellevue’s Brian Lee finished third in 46.81.
1 Kharun, Ilya 16 Sandpipers Of Ne 46.50 45.59 20
r:+0.72 21.23 45.59 (24.36)
2 Foote, Connor 17 Alamo Area Aquat 46.87 46.31 17
r:+0.69 21.44 46.31 (24.87)
3 Lee, Brian 17 Bellevue Club Sw 47.00 46.81 16
r:+0.66 21.56 46.81 (25.25)
4 McKenna, Conor 18 Lakeside Aquatic 47.62 47.00 15
r:+0.68 21.86 47.00 (25.14)
5 Halterman, Bryce 17 Paseo Aquatics S 46.96 47.28 14
r:+0.68 21.76 47.28 (25.52)
6 Smith, Holden 18 Una SET-CA 47.60 47.30 13
r:+0.63 21.90 47.30 (25.40)
7 Filipovic, Alec 17 St Charles Swim- 47.50 47.56 12
r:+0.63 22.12 47.56 (25.44)
8 Schmitt, David 16 Evolution Racing 47.56 47.76 11
r:+0.67 22.40 47.76 (25.36)
The men’s 200 free went to Inspire Swim Team’s Nate Germonprez, who fended off a challenge from Rose Bowl’s Rex Maurer to win 1:34.19 to 1:34.59. Third went to another Rose Bowl swimmer, Zach Larrick, in 1:35.27.
1 Germonprez, Nate 17 iNspire Swim Tea 1:35.54 1:34.19 20
r:+0.69 21.64 45.46 (23.82)
1:09.81 (24.35) 1:34.19 (24.38)
2 Maurer, Rex 17 Rose Bowl Aquati 1:35.58 1:34.59 17
r:+0.74 21.80 45.64 (23.84)
1:10.28 (24.64) 1:34.59 (24.31)
3 Larrick, Zach 17 Rose Bowl Aquati 1:35.83 1:35.27 16
r:+0.71 22.16 46.12 (23.96)
1:10.48 (24.36) 1:35.27 (24.79)
4 Mueller, Chase 17 Foothills Swim T 1:36.64 1:35.52 15
r:+0.78 22.51 46.52 (24.01)
1:11.10 (24.58) 1:35.52 (24.42)
5 Jones, Keaton 17 Swim Neptune-AZ 1:36.78 1:35.94 14
r:+0.78 22.46 46.42 (23.96)
1:11.50 (25.08) 1:35.94 (24.44)
6 Williamson, Maximus 15 North Texas Nada 1:36.12 1:36.15 13
r:+0.73 21.71 45.79 (24.08)
1:10.92 (25.13) 1:36.15 (25.23)
7 Quarles, Samuel 16 Coronado Swim As 1:37.01 1:36.50 12
r:+0.70 22.32 46.63 (24.31)
1:11.57 (24.94) 1:36.50 (24.93)
8 Lucas, Cooper 16 Lakeside Aquatic 1:36.43 1:37.01 11
r:+0.68 22.03 46.53 (24.50)
1:11.87 (25.34) 1:37.01 (25.14)
Two swimmers finished under 1:00 in the women’s 100 breast as University of Denver Hilltoppers’ Emma Weber touched first in 59.03, and Springfield’s Aubree Brouwer claimed second in 59.37. Top seed Piper Enge of Bellevue touched third in 59.68, but she was disqualified for a false start, so Colorado Springs’ Caroline Bricker earned third-place honors with her 1:00.37.
1 Weber, Emma 17 Univ of Denver H 1:00.59 59.03 20
r:+0.70 27.82 59.03 (31.21)
2 Brouwer, Aubree 17 Springfield Aqua 1:00.01 59.37 17
r:+0.66 28.14 59.37 (31.23)
3 Bricker, Caroline 16 Colorado Springs 1:01.04 1:00.37 16
r:+0.63 28.25 1:00.37 (32.12)
4 Codevilla, Mary 17 Elevation Athlet 1:01.04 1:00.82 15
r:+0.71 28.28 1:00.82 (32.54)
5 Brito, Bella 14 Beach Cities Swi 1:00.62 1:01.05 14
r:+0.69 28.44 1:01.05 (32.61)
6 Tu, Gillian 16 Seattle Metropol 1:00.85 1:01.11 13
r:+0.70 28.06 1:01.11 (33.05)
7 O'Dell, Teagan 15 Irvine Novaquati 1:01.23 1:01.26 12
r:+0.73 28.60 1:01.26 (32.66)
-- Enge, Piper 15 Bellevue Club Sw 59.83 DQ
False start
r:+0.62 28.09 DQ (31.59)
Bellevue’s Charlie Arnold recorded a stellar 53.22 in the men’s 100 breast to take the victory, while First Colony”s Logan Brown placed second in 53.57. Also under 54 were CSP Tideriders’ Kledi Kadiu (53.72) and Inspire’s Kael Mlinek (53.82)
1 Arnold, Charlie 17 Bellevue Club Sw 53.80 53.22 20
r:+0.70 24.92 53.22 (28.30)
2 Brown, Logan 16 First Colony Swi 54.34 53.57 17
r:+0.64 25.40 53.57 (28.17)
3 Kadiu, Kledi 18 CSP Tideriders-O 53.67 53.72 16
r:+0.65 24.85 53.72 (28.87)
4 Mlinek, Kael 17 iNspire Swim Tea 54.02 53.82 15
r:+0.63 24.68 53.82 (29.14)
5 Rivers, Hank 18 Golden West Swim 54.10 54.00 14
r:+0.66 25.46 54.00 (28.54)
6 Gissendaner, Luca 18 Scottsdale Aquat 53.79 54.36 13
r:+0.63 24.71 54.36 (29.65)
7 Bonnett, Will 18 Parkway Swim Clu 54.38 54.49 12
r:+0.63 25.64 54.49 (28.85)
8 Kistler, Drew 18 Spokane Waves Aq 54.40 54.97 11
r:+0.70 25.71 54.97 (29.26)
Phoenix Swim Club’s Kennedy Noble earned a win i na tight final of the women’s 100 back. Noble exploded on the second half to pull ahead of Aquajets’ Emma Kern, who touched second in 52.83, while Parkhe earned her second top-three finish of the night with a 53.15 for third.
1 Noble, Kennedy 17 Phoenix Swim Clu 52.93 52.62 20
25.36 52.62 (27.26)
2 Kern, Emma 16 Aquajets Swim Te 53.33 52.83 17
25.21 52.83 (27.62)
3 Parkhe, Annika 16 Patriot Aquatic- 53.83 53.15 16
25.99 53.15 (27.16)
4 Moses, Casaundra 18 Springfield Aqua 53.53 53.57 15
25.41 53.57 (28.16)
5 Rojas, Ana 17 Colorado Springs 54.09 53.59 14
25.74 53.59 (27.85)
6 Wilson, Charlotte 15 Univ of Denver H 53.70 54.00 13
26.06 54.00 (27.94)
7 Zhang, Amy 16 Rancho San Diegu 54.12 54.42 12
26.18 54.42 (28.24)
8 Bales, Sydney 17 Front Range Barr 54.10 54.88 11
26.50 54.88 (28.38)
Lake Oswego’s Nick Simons touched out Pikes Peak’s Quintin McCarty to win the men’s 100 back, 46.39 to 46.55. The duo was well ahead of the field as Kyle Brill ended up third in 47.37.
1 Simons, Nick 17 Lake Oswego Swim 46.65 46.39 20
22.41 46.39 (23.98)
2 McCarty, Quintin 18 Pikes Peak Athle 47.19 46.55 17
22.26 46.55 (24.29)
3 Brill, Kyle 18 Una CANY-CA 47.49 47.37 16
23.03 47.37 (24.34)
4 Mueller, Chase 17 Foothills Swim T 47.80 47.64 15
23.30 47.64 (24.34)
5 Jones, Keaton 17 Swim Neptune-AZ 48.10 47.92 14
23.59 47.92 (24.33)
6 Williamson, Maximus 15 North Texas Nada 48.27 48.12 13
23.42 48.12 (24.70)
7 Gentry, Marcus 17 Superior Stingra 47.95 48.14 12
23.15 48.14 (24.99)
8 Roder, Tommy 18 Orinda Aquatics- 48.19 48.21 11
23.42 48.21 (24.79)
The Sandpipers squad of longer-distance specialists showed off some sprint speed in the 200 free relay as Sims,Grimes, Audrey Yu and Weinstein pulled out a victory in 1:31.10, while Irvine Novaquatics took second in 1:31.38.
1 Sandpipers Of Ne-CA 'A' 3:19.50 1:31.10 40
1) Sims, Bella 16 2) r:+0.32 Grimes, Katie 15
3) r:+0.28 Yu, Audrey 17 4) r:+0.30 Weinstein, Claire 14
r:+0.62 22.74 45.75 (23.01)
1:08.46 (22.71) 1:31.10 (22.64)
2 Irvine Novaquati-CA 'A' 3:22.68 1:31.38 34
1) O'Dell, Teagan 15 2) r:+0.30 Ervin, Lindsay 17
3) r:+0.44 Schalow, Maggie 17 4) r:+0.25 Yeh, Phoebe 17
r:+0.76 22.60 45.42 (22.82)
1:08.39 (22.97) 1:31.38 (22.99)
3 Elevation Athlet-CO 'A' 3:23.19 1:32.06 32
1) Lukinac, Morgan 18 2) r:+0.14 Codevilla, Mary 17
3) r:+0.33 Bank, Karolina 17 4) r:+0.40 Armon, Indigo 17
r:+0.66 23.05 45.69 (22.64)
1:08.88 (23.19) 1:32.06 (23.18)
Rose Bowl Aquatic Club, with Maurer, Ronald Dalmacio, Larrick and Nathan Kim, won the men’s 200 free relay in 1:20.71.
1 Rose Bowl Aquati-CA 'A' 2:58.95 1:20.71 40
1) Maurer, Rex 17 2) r:+0.26 Dalmacio, Ronald 17
3) r:+0.29 Larrick, Zach 17 4) r:+0.08 Kim, Nathan 16
r:+0.70 20.36 40.30 (19.94)
1:00.56 (20.26) 1:20.71 (20.15)
2 Lakeside Aquatic-NT 'A' 2:59.05 1:21.13 34
1) Vanzandt, Jon 17 2) r:+0.25 Zettle, Andrew 17
3) r:+0.31 Lucas, Cooper 16 4) r:+0.62 McKenna, Conor 18
r:+0.60 20.55 40.94 (20.39)
1:01.12 (20.18) 1:21.13 (20.01)
3 Coronado Swim As-SI 'B' 3:01.83 1:21.14 32
1) Quarles, Samuel 16 2) r:+0.31 Woolsey, Cash 18
3) r:+0.38 Ladman, Adam 18 4) r:+0.16 Brown, Lucius 17
r:+0.67 20.47 40.96 (20.49)
1:01.71 (20.75) 1:21.14 (19.43)
