Two of our three Winter Junior National qualifiers are returning to
the meet over the first weekend of December, after making their first
appearance last winter. Both JD Koster and Preston Niayesh
are returning veterans to the meet, and Preston Niayesh came away with a 100% improvement rate, and earned a final swim in the consolation heat of the 100
breaststroke, touching 14th in the event after posting a
lifetime best of 55.78 in the preliminary heats. His time is an
improvement over his Kevin Perry record set the previous month as
56.68, and the time currently stands as the 38th fastest nationally for 18-year old male swimmers. Preston also improved his team record in the 200 breaststroke, posting the
63rd nationally ranked time of 2:03.23 for 18-year olds, and once again going under his Kevin Perry record of 2:05.40.
Our next highest finisher was JD Koster, who touched 42nd in the 200 fly, posting his lifetime best of 1:50.78 in the event. JD is our only swimmer who
qualified in three events for the meet, swimming also the 200 IM (1:56.05), and 100 fly (50.57) events. Garrison Price made his first appearance at a USA Swimming
Junior National meet, and his highest finish was 91st in the 200 fly (1:54.15). He also competed in the 100 fly (50.77).
Preston Niayesh made his first
appearance at a National meet by traveling to Greensboro, North Carolina
to compete at the 2018 Winter National Championships in
both the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke events over the last weekend of
November. The 2018 Winter Nationals is the first opportunity for
swimmers across the nation to achieve an Olympic Trial time
standard since the posting of the new cuts just months prior. This is
the primary reason the meet is conducted long course, opposed to the
traditional short course arrangement. Preston finished
35th in the 200 meter breaststroke, swimming a time of 2:25.99, and finished 46th in the 100 breaststroke after swimming a time of 1:06.59 there.
Five of our 61 TNT swimmers who competed at the Dowain Wright
Memorial meet hosted by Fresno Dolphins over the November 17-18 weekend
outperformed all other swimmers in their respective age and
gender division, thereby earning the high point recognition.
Tuning up for the Winter Age Group Championships, Porterville’s Regan Hildreth
swept all eight events that she competed in for the 7-8 girls division,
winning the
100 free, 50 breast, 50 fly, 200 IM, 100 breasts, 50 free, 100 fly and
50 backstroke events. Regan improved well over 11 seconds in the 200 IM,
and was one of only two TNT swimmers to remain
undefeated, but the only undefeated swimmer with a full schedule of
events.
Porterville’s counterpart, nine year old Nathan Boudreaux
took home the high point for the 9-10 boys division, while competing at
the bottom of the age division,
outscoring the 10-year old runner up by seven points. Nathan was the
winner of the 50 breast, and 100 breaststroke events, and came in second
for the 50 back and 100 IM. He was a top-8 finisher in
all events.
Also tuning up for the Winter Age Group Championships was Selma’s William Butts,
who at age 12 was the high point recipient for the 11-12 boys division.
William
finished top-3 in all eight of his events, taking home the gold in the
50 breast, 50 fly, 100 breast, and 50 backstroke events. At 88%, William
maintained one of the highest improvement rates among
any of our swimmers who competed at the meet.
William’s counterpart in Selma, Daniel Haley,
competed in only six events within the 13-14 division, but finishing
among the top 3 in all of his events, managed to
outscore all other 13-14 boys who competed at the meet by at least six
points to take home the high point for the division. Daniel was the
event champion for the 400 IM, and the 500 freestyle events.
He place 3rd in all other events.
Visalia’s Layla Flores was the high
point recipient for the 13-14 girls division, competing in her last meet
as a 14-year old. One of our top age group swimmers
who has already made inroads into meets on our senior circuit, Layla won
the 100 fly, 400 IM and 200 IM events while at the Fresno meet, then
placed 2nd in both the 100 free and 50 free,
and finally 3rd in the 500 free – placing top 3 in all events she competed in.
Eleven TNT swimmers
competed at the 2018 Keven Perry Senior Meet hosted by La Mirada over
the first weekend of November, with intent of achieving, or improving
upon, Winter Junior National, or
Winter National time standards at a meet that offers a trial and finals
format. Three of our swimmers earned second swims, and each of the three
did so in two different events, and all three will be
competing at the Winter Junior National Championships in Austin, Texas
in December.
Our highest finish was the 5th place in the 200 breaststroke by Preston Niayesh,
who will be attending the Winter National meet the following month.
Preston posted a lifetime best of 2:05.40 in the event, improving his
team record of 2:06.99 set the previous year at the same meet, and
posting the 95th fastest time in the nation for
boys at age 17. Preston had the two highest finishes for the team, following his 5th place with a 6th
place finish in the 100 breaststroke after swimming a lifetime best of
56.68 in the preliminary heats, and also improving upon his previous
team record of 58.23 set the previous year, at the same meet. His 100
breaststroke stands as the 59th fastest
nationally.
JD Koster was our only other championship finalist, and he did this in his signature event, 200 butterfly, placing 8th after posting a time of 1:51.07
in the preliminary heats. His other final was a consolation finish of 21st in the 200 IM after posting a lifetime best of 1:55.06 in the preliminary heats, and breaking Chris Nolan’s
previous team record of 1:55.55 that was set in a time trial event at Winter Juniors in 2013. His new record stands as the 229th ranked time nationally for boys at age 17.
Our remaining finalist was Garrison Price, and he had his two swims in the consolation heat, finishing 12th in the 100 fly with a lifetime best of
50.56, and then doubling up his lifetime best swims in the 200 fly with a time of 1:51.99, and a 13th place finish there. Garrison improved both events during prelims, and then again in
finals, and will be making his first trip to Junior Nationals this winter.
The only other team records were set in the 13-14 boys division by Bryan Wong
who competed in four events, and improved all four, setting a team
record in three of
them. He began his meet by posting a time of 4:46.81 in the 500 free,
going well under Nathan Rhea’s 4:51.20 set at Sectionals nine years
earlier. Bryan’s new record stands as the 56th
fastest nationally for boys at age 14. His next record was an
improvement of his own 100 breaststroke, where his 1:01.10 went under
his 1:02.00 set earlier in the month in Fresno. His improvement
stands as the 83rd ranked swim nationally for boys at the same age. His final record came in the 200 breaststroke, where he posted the 61st fastest time nationally of 2:12.50,
sliding just under Nathan Rhea’s 2:12.81 set at Sectionals in 2009. Bryan’s highest finish was 44th in the 400 IM (4:13.51).
Danielle Albright had her highest finish as 26th in the 400 IM, just missing a second swim in the event, while Janessa
Bringe’s top finish was 44th in the 1000 free timed final. Peyton Costa was one of only three swimmers to improve all his events, and his highest
finish was 113th in the 500 free. Fourteen year old Layla Flores had her highest finish at 58th in the 400 IM, while her training partner from
Visalia, Megan Ridenour, finished 47th in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Alex Roberts touched 37th
in the 200 back, while Bryce Wong finished 48th in the 200 fly.
Forty-six TNT
swimmers traveled to Merced City College over the third weekend of
October for their Halloween meet, and one team record resulted from the
weekend’s efforts. Fourteen-year old
Bryan Wong competed in only two events
on Saturday, but posted a time of 1:49.68 in the 200 yard freestyle,
just squeezing under the previous record of 1:49.71 held
by Nathan Rhea, and set nine years earlier at the Winter Sectional meet
in 2009. Bryan’s new team record currently stands as the 68th fastest nationally for boys at age 14. Bryan was
undefeated for the day, winning both the 200 and 100 freestyle events.
Other undefeated TNT swimmers were led by Regan Hildreth, who at age 8, swept eight events over the two days, winning the 25, 50 & 200 free, the 25 & 50
breast, 50 back, 50 fly and 100 IM events for the 7-8 age division. Next in line was five year old Zach Walker, who won the 6-under 50 free, 25 free and 25 backstroke
events. Joining Bryan in being undefeated in two events was Bryce Wong who won both of his events (100 & 200 free in the 15-over age division). Additional event
winners included: Ella Bettencourt (200 breast), Nathan Boudreaux (100 breast), Layla Flores (50
free, 100 breast & 200 IM), Preston Niayesh (100 breast, 100 fly & 200 IM), Megan Ridenour (100 breast & 200 IM), and
Alexa Wong (50 fly).
Logan HIldreth and Noah Hoy were our only two swimmers who improved 100% of their times at the meet.
Of the 31 TNT
swimmers who competed at the Yosemite meet in the first weekend of
October, seven came away as event champions, and of those seven, two
remain undefeated at the meet. Eight year old
Regan Hildreth won all three events she scored in, and they included the 50 free, 50 back, and 100 IM, while five year old Zachariah
Walker won all three of his 6-under events, that included the 25
free, 50 free, and 25 backstroke events. Five additional swimmers came
home with gold, and these included Drew Black (winning the 11-12 100 fly), William Butts (winning the 11-12 100 breast), Isaak Ensz (7-8 50 back),
Dylan Hunt (15-18 100 breast), and Ava Olson (13-14 100 breast).
Eight TNT swimmers maintained a 100% improvement rate. Congratulations to a perfect meet go to: William Butts, Danielle Hager, Daniel Haley, Regan Hildreth, Isla Jay,
Clara Shinn, Liam Shinn, and Nicholas Vassylenko.
Forty-one TNT swimmers competed in Bakersfield at the sprint-focused meet over the first weekend of November, and eight of our swimmers came away with improving 100% of their events entered. Meghan Adams competed in three events, and improved all three which included a 5-second drop in the 100 free. Drew Black swam 3 and improved 3, bettering her 100 back by three seconds. Dylan Hunt improved both of the events he competed in, while young Isla Jay dropped over three seconds in both of her events. Canyon Johnson swam three, and improved all three, and dropped nearly ten seconds in his 100 IM, while Kambria Prodo swam the 200 free for the first time, and improved her remaining three events. Vincente Sanchez improved nearly 20 seconds across four events, and also swam four additional events for his first time. Finally, Sydnee Wilson also held an improvement streak, bettering four of four events, including a 13 second improvement in the 200 IM.
Only three event champions came away from the meet, and these included Drew Black who, at age 11, won the 11-12 100 back, and 100 free events, 9-year old Nathan Boudreaux who won the 9-10 50 breast, and Sydnee Wilson who took home the gold in both the 11-12 50 fly and 50 breast events.
102 TNT swimmers competed at the first short course meet following the summer’s long course season, and hosted by TNT Hanford in Central California Swimming. Of the total, 77 swimmers had previously recorded times, and 47 of them maintained a 100% improvement rate at the meet. Congratulations to a perfect performance by: Joemar Abad, Meghan Adams, Edmond Aguinaldo, Precious Aguinaldo, Danielle Albright, Aidan Apgar, John Bailey, Micah Bailey, Ella Bettencourt, Emma Bettencourt, Drew Black, Nathan Boudreaux, William Butts, Riley Carpenter, Paige Coddington, Brayden Coppola, Skylyn Coppola, Peyton Costa, Laney Cox, Layla Flores, Shannell Flores, Nadia Garabedian, Kate Geiger, Julia Goldsmith, Alyssa Gonzalez, Isabella Gornick, Raegan Greiner, Kaylee Hicke, Logan Hildreth, Regan Hildreth, Noah Hoy, Dylan Hunt, Hayden Hunt, Nathan Hunt, Abraham Jacobs, Canyon Johnson, Pearl Johnson, Tanner Kelm, Sydney King, Isabella Klawitter, Jd Koster, Natalee Mares, Mark Marroquin, Thomas Matthews, Landon Mauge, Lauren Maurice, Addison Mccullough, Ayla Morgan, and Amy Murphy.
Two team records were set early in the short course cycle, and both were set by one swimmer, Bryan Wong. His 1:02.16 in the 100 yard breaststroke went under JD Koster’s previous team record in the boys 13-14 age division of 1:02.31 set at the Winter Age Group Championships three years earlier in 2015. Bryan’s time currently stands as the 11th fastest nationally for boys at age 14, and in a reporting cycle that began only last month. His 200 IM winning time of 2:02.10 is an improvement of his own previous team record of 2:02.94 set at Far Westerns last year as a 13-year old. His new record current stands as the 7th fastest nationally, one month into the reporting cycle.
Three of our swimmers remained undefeated at the meet, competing in a number of events that ranged from two to five. Our champions were led by two TNT swimmers who swept five of five events, and included Selma’s William Butts, who at age 12, won the 50 free, 50 breast, 100 fly, 50 back and 100 IM events, and Porterville’s Regan Hildreth who took home the win in the 50 free, 50 breast, 100 fly, 50 back, and 100 IM events for the 8-under division. Emily Dillon entered two events that included the 6-under 25 free and 25 back, and won both of those. Other event champions included: Danielle Albright, Drew Black, Nathan Boudreaux, Layla Flores, Dylan Hunt, JD Koster, Malachi Lewis, Titus Lewis, Kristine Marinos, Alex Roberts, Lance Walker, Zachariah Walker, Alexa Wong, and Bryan Wong.
Twenty five TNT swimmers competed in only newly-recorded short course events. A warm welcome goes to: Mia Buller, Aubrey Cuevas, Emilyn Dillon, Morgan German, Jocelyn Iliff, Isla Jay, Lily Lewis, Malachi Lewis, Titus Lewis, Camilla Mackey, Eleanor Mackey, Thomas Mackey, Kristine Marinos, Katherine Moreyra, Omolara Omololu, Emma Ortega, Logan Rico, Samantha Sanchez, Vincente Sanchez, Fawn Seaman, Alexis Viveros, Stephen Viveros, Lance Walker, Nathaniel Walker, and Zachariah Walker.
A total of 646 athletes representing 24 teams competed at the 2018 Long Course Central California Swimming Junior Olympic Championships hosted by Clovis Swim Club over the last weekend of July, and the 48 TNT swimmers (with 2,401.5 points) managed to edge out the 62 swimmers of Sandpipers of Nevada (with 2,399 points) by a mere 2.5 points for a second place team finish at the meet, making every single point matter. Both teams placed behind the 130 Clovis swimmers that accumulated 5,640.5 points.
Our 27 TNT swimmers who scored in individual events were led by Lemoore’s 10-year old Michelle Murphy who competed in eight total individual events, and was the event champion in seven of the eight, placing 5th in the remaining one. She was the gold-medal recipient in the 200 free (2:31.57), 50 back (36.38), 200 IM (2:52.16), 100 back (1:20.24), 50 free (31.08), 50 fly (34.13), and 100 free (1:07.92). Michelle set three team records at the meet, beginning with the 36.38 in her 50 meter backstroke where her time fell under Drew Black’s previous team record of 37.17 that was set JOs the previous year. Her new records stands as the 69th fastest nationally for girls at age 10. Her next record of 31.08 in the 50 meter freestyle fell under Skylar Ford’s previous record of 31.44 set at the Age Group Invitational in 2012. The 31.08 is currently the 53rd fastest time nationally. Michelle’s final record of 1:07.92 in the 100 free was an improvement of Sienna Abernathy’s previous record of 1:08.83 set at JOs last year. The new record is Michelle’s highest national ranking of all three records at 40th.
The next highest point accumulation from individual events was from 14-year old Bryan Wong who competed in seven events, and won six of those seven, and then placed second in his remaining event. All first place finishes were new team records for Bryan, as he set seven new records, one being in the lead-off of the 400 free relay. Bryan began his record breaking streak with the 8:57.54 in the 800 freestyle, falling under Nathan Rhea’s 9:02.30 in the event from Zones in Hawaii back in 2009, and posting the 67th fastest time in the nation for boys at age 14. His next record of 4:49.13 in the 400 IM once again took him under Nathan Rhea’s previous record of 4:55.72 set at the same Zone meet in Hawaii. This record was the 60th fastest nationally (Bryan had subsequently improved his time at Age Group Zones, and moved up in ranking to 34th). Next in line was his winning time of 2:02.81 in the 200 meter freestyle, which improved his own 2:04.01 record from the Clovis meet earlier in the same month, that time will rank around 139th nationally at the close of the reporting cycle. His 56.87 relay lead-off topped Kyle Grissom’s (currently in his senior year competing for USC) team record of 57.12 set at the Age Group Invitational back in 2012, and sits in the 262nd spot nationally for boys at the same age. Next came his 4:19.95 in the 400 free, and this slid just under his 4:19.96 record set at Sectionals just the previous weekend. That swim stood at the 126th spot nationally. Showing his versatility, Bryan then set a new team record in the 200 IM, posting a 2:16.44, thereby going well under JD Koster’s previous record of 2:20.50 set at JOs in 2015. That swim is in the top-100 nationally, at 83rd. Finally, swimming the 1500 meter freestyle for the first time in his life, Bryan posted a time of 17:15.84, which stood as the 80th fastest time nationally at the time, and broke Nathan Rhea’s previous record of 17:26.24 set at the Clovis Senior Q meet nearly a decade earlier in 2009.
Only five other TNT swimmers swam away with a gold medal in individual events, and one of the four was our next highest point generator – Visalia’s Janessa Bringe. Janessa swam away from the meet with a total of 121 points from individual events, these points included two winning performances. She posted a lifetime best in the 100 fly during the preliminary heats with a 1:08.90, and successfully defended her first place seeding in finals. Her other win also resulted from a lifetime best, but this time in the 400 IM, hitting that best time of 5:26.29 in finals. Her training partner from Visalia, Layla Flores, only entered four events due to the upcoming Age Group Zone meet, and won three of those four events. She posted a lifetime best in the 13-14 100 fly with a 1:08.17 for the win there, and then went on to win the 100 free (1:01.31), and the 100 back (1:09.77) events. Porterville’s 8-year old Regan Hildreth came home with the gold in the 50 breaststroke, posting a time of 51.62. Brett Wong started the meet with a win, that being in the 100 meter freestyle (56.02), while his brother, Bryce Wong, took home his gold on the last day of the meet by winning the 15-over 200 IM (2:21.02).
Consolation finalists include: Sienna Abernathy, Drew Black, William Butts, Aidan Champagne, Carson Clarke, Ciara Clarke, Laney Cox, Raegan Greiner, Daniel Haley, Drew Johnston, Thomas Matthews, Ava Olson, Gage Price, Sydnee Wilson, and Alexa Wong.
Twenty of our swimmers improved 100% of times that had been previously recorded with our team while at the meet. Congratulations on the perfect performance goes to: Sienna Abernathy, Meghan Adams, Aidan Apgar, Audrena Butts, Willilam Butts, Aidan Champagne, Duncan Champagne, Jillian Gaines, Kate Geiger, Nathan Hunt, Drew Johnston, Sydney King, Mark Marroquin, Addison Mccullough, Gage Price, Garrison Price, Josh Wee, Sydnee Wilson, Brett Wong, and Bryan Wong.
Five TNT swimmers competed at the fourth annual Futures Championships held at the Santa Clara International Aquatic Center over the first weekend of August, and two swimmers performed well enough to earn a second swim among one of three heats of nine lanes. The Futures Championships was established as a transitional meet to help athletes stair-step between Sectionals and Junior Nationals. This year JD Koster placed TNT on the scoreboard after posting the sixth fastest 200 meter butterfly time of 2:07.71 at the meet during the preliminary heats. He went on to improve his 200 IM time to a 2:12.97. The only other TNT swimmer to earn a second swim was Garrison Price who made his debut appearance at both Sectionals and Futures this summer, and earned a spot in the C-final of the 100 meter butterfly and swimming a 57.70 to finish 22nd overall. Garrison had a lifetime best in the 200 meter butterfly with a 2:10.57. Danielle Albright had our next highest finish at 41st in the 200 meter breaststroke (2:45.97), Alex Roberts was next with a 45th place finish in the 100 back (1:07.54), and Alonso Escobedo touched 57th in the 100 back (1:03.47).
