Tule Nation Tritons had 26 swimmers enter the Arena Grand Challenge meet at Clovis in mid-July, and 18 of them, or nearly 70%, earned a second swim in one of three final heats. Nine of our swimmers performed well enough for a spot in the championship heat.
Sixteen year old Joseph Cobarrubias of Fig Garden doubled up his championships swims with a pair of 7th place finishes, one in the 50 meter freestyle (25.34) and the other in the 100 free (55.73), while 16-year old teammate of Fig Garden, Lauren Davis, also doubled up her championship swims with a 5th place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:18.24), and a 3rd place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:42.49). Lauren is our current team record holder in the 200 breaststroke, and is on the verge of obtaining a Winter and Summer Junior National cut in that event that stand as 2:40.09 and 2:39.49 respectively. Our Fresno Pacific collegiate swimmer who returned to compete for TNT for the summer, Wesley Coles, finished 4th in the 100 fly (58.95) and 5th in the 200 free (1:58.74) events. Emily Goodbar of Selma finished 8th in the 100 fly (1:07.31), an event where she too currently holds the team record. Emily’s 15-year old teammate from Selma, Jillian Hatch, is our current team record holder in the 200 freestyle, and she had a 4th place finish in the 50 freestyle (27.55) as she too nears the Junior National cut in that event which stands as a 26.89. Katelyn Herrera entered one event with the intent of re-qualifying for the Sectional meet that is to be held this next weekend, and she improved over three seconds to do so with a time of 4:36.81, a time that resulted in an 8th place finish in the event, and a new team record for both the 15-18 division, and the Senior division. Her time stands as the 158th fastest time in the nation for a 16-year old girl. Fifteen-year old Selma swimmer, Sierra Jett, achieved her bonus Sectional cut in the 100 fly during the preliminary heats, making this her second qualified event for the meet next week with a time of 1:06.85, and her championship swim at Clovis earned a 7th place finish in the event. Seventeen year old Christopher Nolan had our team’s highest finish of 2nd, and he did this in the 100 fly with a time of 57.54. He doubled up championship swims with a 6th place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:35.44) event. Cameron Weas of Hanford, who completed his first collegiate year at Cuesta Community College, finished 7th in the 100 fly event (1:01.63), where Cameron joined Wes Coles and Chris Nolan as TNT fielded three of the eight championship finalists at the meet.
Consolation finalists, placing among the 9th – 16th places, included: Owen Ansel who finished 10th in the 100 breast (1:13.07), 12th in the 200 breast (2:43.94), 15th in the 100 back (1:09.21), and 13th in the 200 back (2:28.96); Joseph Cobarrubias who, in addition to his championship swims, finished 15th in the 100 back (1:09.21); Lauren Davis, who in addition to her championship swims, finished 10th in the 400 IM (5:22.41), and 15th in the 200 back (2:40.31); twelve year old Madison McCarthy competed at her first Senior-Q meet and finished 14th in the 200 back (2:39.85), while age contemporary teammate twelve year old Preston Niayesh finished 16th in the 200 fly with a time of 2:39.78. Preston’s time also resulted in a new team record for the 11-12 boys by breaking Chris Noland’s record of 2:41.83 that was set in Bakersfield in 2009. Preston also set a team record in the 200 breaststroke, breaking his own standard in the event that he set at the Age Group Invite as a 3:01.51 last month. Preston ranks 126th and 59th in the nation respectively for all 12-year old boys. Adding to his championship swim, Cameron Weas also finished 14th in the 100 free with a time of 57.11.
Bonus swims came from Janessa Bringe (24th in the 800 free [11:30.62]), Joseph Cobarrubias (19th in the 200 free [2:05.76], 19th in the 200 IM [2:24.26] and 23rd in the 400 free [4:38.40]), Noah Haworth (17th in the 1500 free [20:31.46]), Sierra Jett (17th in the 50 free [28.12]), Jakob Koorey (23rd in the 200 breast [3:01.89]), Jimmy Koster (22nd in the 200 IM [2:27.26]), Madison McCarthy (22nd in the 100 back [1:15.47]), Cody Nash (19th in the 100 breast [1:17.49]), Preston Niayesh (21st in the 200 breast [2:54.75]), Chris Nolan (17th in the 200 fly [2:11.12]), and Taylor Shaw (19th in the 200 back [2:39.82], and 23rd in the 100 back [1:15.55]).