Our team of 29 swimmers traveled to Coronado Island in San Diego over the December 19-21 weekend, and came away as the 9th highest scoring team at the meet resulting from fourteen of our swimmers performing to a scoring position in their individual events, and led by Danielle Albright who scored a total of 134 points, and winning the 11-12 girls 100 freestyle (56.08), and also winning the 500 freestyle with a team record-performing swim of 5:17.45. She was nearly two seconds under her previous team record that she set at JO’s about ten months earlier, and her current time now stands as the 35th fastest nationally for girls of age 12. Danielle set two additional records, finishing 2nd with a time of 2:00.81 in the 200 freestyle, and bettering her previous swim from Far Westerns by over a second. Her time ranks 99th nationally. Her final record was in the 2nd place finish of the 50 breaststroke event where her time of 32.18 slid under Mallory Korenwinder’s 32.27 that she set at Far Westerns in 2011. Danielle’s time now stands as the 48th fastest nationally. Danielle also placed 3rd in the 400 IM (4:47.47), 3rd in the 200 breast (2:33.60), 4th in the 100 breast (1:10.71), and 6th in the 100 fly (1:04.06).
The next highest scorer was JD Koster with a pair of 3rd place finishes that included the 200 IM (2:07.60), and 200 fly (2:06.45) events. He also finished 4th in three events, and they included the 200 breast (2:17.59), 100 fly (56.47), and the 100 breaststroke event where his preliminary time of 1:02.31 fell just below Preston’s Niayesh’s team record of 1:02.34 that had been set at the Merced meet only two month earlier. JD’s new record stands as the 114th fastest nationally for boys at age 14. His final scoring swim was a 14th place finish in the 50 free (24.79).
Peyton Costa had his highest finish at 6th in the 400 IM with a time, and new team record, of 4:56.39, being the first 12-under male swimmer on the team to go under the 5 minute mark. Chris Nolan held the previous record as a 5:09.72 when he swam the event at the San Luis Obispo meet back in 2008. The time stands as the 192nd ranked time for 12-year old boys. He also had a pair of 10th place finishes that included the 100 back (1:05.40), and 200 fly event where he once again set a new team record, this time swimming under his own 2:28.39 that he swam at the Tulare meet a month earlier. His current record of 2:26.51 now stands as the 260th ranked time nationally. Peyton also had a pair of 13th place finishes that included the 50 breast (34.82), and the 200 back (2:26.27) events, the 200 back again swimming under the current team record. His final scoring swim was the 16th place finish in the 100 fly (1:07.53).
Peyton’s record-breaking swim in the 200 backstroke was surpassed by Visalia’s Benjamin Wheeler whose time of 2:25.29 in the event was also under the team record that Peyton Costa had set in a time trial event at a Fresno meet in January of this year as a 2:27.79. Benjamin’s new team record currently ranks 493rd nationally for boys of age 12, and was the 11th place scoring finish at the Age Group Championships.
Visalia’s Layla Flores was another multi-event scoring swimmer, earning a 9th place finish in the 50 back (31.67), and 50 breast (35.28). She had an 11th place finish in the 100 breast (1:15.18), and a pair of 12th place finishes that included the 200 breast (2:45.29), and 100 back (1:08.46) events. Swimming her first Winter Age Group Championship meet, Katherine Mendyk scored in two events that included an 8th place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:35.89), while also scoring with a 14th place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.72). Swimmers age 10 and under only score in the top eight places, and nine year old Alexa Wong did just that by finishing 6th in the 100 back (1:15.64), and was one of only three TNT swimmers to improve 100% of their times. Selma’s Jackson Huckabay, also competing on the bottom of the age group at 13, had a pair of scoring swims that included an 11th place finish in the 500 free (5:21.65), and a 16th place finish in the 400 IM (4:46.95). Porterville’s Diego Gutierrez earned a pair of scoring swims, his highest finish being 14th in the 50 breast (35.13), followed by a 16th place finish in the 50 free (26.70). Hanford’s Rylee Lord also paired up scoring swims, her highest finish being 15th in the 50 free (27.97), and also finishing 16th in the 200 free (2:15.33). Our only other swimmer to double up scoring swims was Selma’s Wyatt Ward who finished 16th in both the 100 breast (1:11.44), and 200 breast (2:40.01) events. Making his first appearance at an Age Group Championship meet, and finishing 16th in the 50 breaststroke (35.71) was Hanford’s Dylan Hunt, who was one of only three swimmers to improve 100% of their times. Gage Price was another 100% improvement swimmer, and he scored by placing 16th in the 500 free (5:51.42) while competing at the bottom of the 11-12 age division. Our final scoring swimmer also achieved the feat while on the bottom of the age division. Thirteen year old Katherine Sullivan finished 16th in the 200 fly with a time of 2:23.09.
Also competing at the meet, along with their strongest place, included: Libby Adriaansen (30th in the 100 breast – 1:18.68), Ella Bettencourt (23rd in the 50 breast – 44.59), Ciara Clarke (20th in the 50 back – 37.54), Tristan Gaines (21st in the 1650 free – 18:28.57), Isaac Gutierrez (34th in the 100 breast – 1:18.70), Xavier Guterrez (21st in the 200 breast – 2:57.28), Daniel Haley (29th in the 200 back – 2:47.30), Jacqui Koster (24th in the 500 free – 5:36.05), Genoveve Mcilwaine (41st in the 50 breast – 40.25), Caroline Mendyk (12th in the 100 breast – 1:32.61), Ava Olson (9th in the 100 breast – 1:29.06), Emma Pena (17th in the 50 free – 26.22), Micah Ruiz (21st in the 100 back – 59.73), Bryan Wong (18th in the 100 breast – 1:19.39), and Bryce Wong (18th in the 100 breast – 1:12.18).