Speedo West Juniors: Maximus Williamson Goes Even Lower with 1:31.37 in 200 Free
Maximus Williamson already torched the national age-group record in the 200 freestyle once this week.
Make it twice.
Williamson won the 200 free at the Speedo Winter Juniors West Championships, going 1:31.37. It takes down the record of 1:32.00 that he set on Wednesday off the front of the 800 free relay, which takes down the NAG that Maxime Rooney set in 2017 at 1:32.18.
- Speedo West Winter Juniors Results
- Winter Junior Nationals: Thomas Heilman, Maximus Williamson Put on 200 Free Show at Separate Sites, Both Set NAG Records
- Thomas Heilman Lowers His 200 IM NAG, Ties 50 Free Mark at East Winter Juniors; Charlotte Crush Blasts NAG
- Speedo Juniors West: Maximus Williamson Breaks NAG Record to Win 200 IM
Williamson’s margin of victory was a ridiculous four seconds, over his teammate Cooper Lucas. Williamson finished the night by going 19.46 off the front of the 200 free relay teaming with River Paulk, Lucas and Jack Hernandez to go 1:19.35.
Williamson’s swim took the headline from an impressive double from Leah Hayes. Swimming for Fox Valley, Hayes swept the 400 individual medley and 200 free.
Hayes went 4:03.82 in the IM, setting a pool record. She won by more than six seconds over Camden Doane (4:10.16), followed by Carli Cronk.
Hayes dropped a time of 1:44.47 to take the pool mark in the 200 free. This races was closer, with Bailey Hartman less than a second back in 1:45.22. Ella Crosgrove finished third in 1:46.03.
Annika Parkhe set a meet record in the 100 butterfly, the 18-year-old from Patriot Aquatics going 51.58. That time was well ahead of Caroline Larsen’s 52.15. Larsen was .01 up on Teagan O’Dell and .03 up on Kelsey Zhang. Hartman finished fifth in that swim before taking on the 200 free.
Piper Enge outdueled the top seed from prelims, Raya Mellott, in a thrilling 100 breaststroke. Enge won in 59.51, .02 up on Mellott, who had been the only swimmer under a minute in prelims. Larsen finished third in 1:00.07, with O’Dell fifth.
O’Dell ended up with three individual A finals on the day, finishing second in the 100 back. Maggie Wanezek of Elmbrook Swim Club won that one in 51.20, defending her top seed from prelims. O’Dell was second in 51.84, with Grace Rabb third in 52.09.
Somehow O’Dell found the energy to anchor the 200 free relay in 21.95 to help Mission Viejo to a win. Teia Salvino, Gracyn Aquino, Chloe Stinson and O’Dell went 1:29.37. That swim is .02 off last year’s meet record by the Nadadores, with Justina Kozan instead of Aquino.
Friday, that was enough to outdistance Enge’s Bellevue Swim Club, which finished second in 1:31.78, a tenth ahead of Crow Canyon.
Cooper Lucas had a fast start to the meet for Lakeside, dominating the 400 IM in 3:42.63. It’s a pool record, within three seconds of Williamson’s meet mark from last year. Campbell McKean was second, followed by Luke Stibrich, the only swimmers to break 3:50.
Logan Noguchi won the 100 fly for Rose Bowl Aquatics in 46.53, edging out Glacier Swim Club’s PJ Foy by .23 seconds. August Vetsch also cracked 47 seconds with his 46.84.
Jake Eccleston was a half-second clear of the field in the 100 breast, winning in 52.74. The Fort Collins Area swimmer outdistanced Daniel Li of Rose Bowl Aquatics’ 53.24. Li was .06 up on Abram Mueller. B final winner Brady Johnson had the fourth-fastest time of the night in 53.39. (Johnson also won the B final of the 100 back.)
Ben Bricca prevailed in the 100 back, his time of 46.75 holding off a charge from Marre Gattnar. Gattnar finished second in 46.95, ahead of Luke Logue’s 47.28 and a 47.47 from Edward Huang. Noguchi was eighth.
Johnson helped FMC Aquatics finish second in the 200 free relay behind Lakeside. Dominic Mazurek had the fastest split at 20.00. Noguchi’s 19.71 helped Rose Bowl finish third in 1:21.20.