Bobby Yribarren training in Selma along with Nathan Rhea earned a combined three final swims while at the Mission Viejo Swim Meet of Champions held during the third weekend of June. Our five TNT swimmers competed alongside swimmers representing club and collegiate teams both from across the United States and countries such as Korea, Japan and Canada.
Bobby Yriabarren swam to the highest place finish of any TNT swimmer on the team with a consolation finish of 16th in the 200 meter butterfly event, and a time of 2:12.93. Nathan Rhea was our only other finalist, swimming fast enough to earn two second swims in the bonus heat for each of the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Nathans 2:34.55 in the preliminary heats for the 200 meter breaststroke event was fast enough for a 17th place seed into the bonus final heat. His 1:12.11 for the 100 meter breaststroke earned a 24th place finish in that event. Additionally, Nathan set a new team record in the 800 meter freestyle event with a 8:56.53, shaving just under former team record holder Sam Hansens time of 8:57.10 that was set last year at the Junior Olympics.
Time improvements were led by Nathan Rhea who improved 5 of 7 events, Colin Landweer, improving 2 of 3, and Bobby Yribarren who also improved 2 of 3 events. An additional time improvement came from Jordan Morillo improving her 200 IM time (2:35.52), and Sam Hansen in the 100 meter freestyle (59.26) as he earned his spot on the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. This year, Wesley Coles joined Nathan Rhea, Colin Landweer and Sam Hansen as first-time qualifiers to the meet.