Performance – Page 12

2015 COLLEGIATE EARLY SIGNINGS

Nov 242015

Collegiate “Early signing” takes place during the month of November for the sport of swimming, and Tule Nation Tritons has three athletes who had participated in this annual event. Two swimmers have signed their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to schools outside of the state, with Selma’s Sierra Jett contracted now to compete for the Auburn War Eagles this upcoming spring. Sierra is a USA Swimming Junior National qualifier, achieving the standard this past summer while competing at the Futures meet in Oregon. She will travel with Coach Gary Ota, and teammate Mallory Korenwinder, this next month to compete at the Winter Junior National meet in Austin, Texas.

Mallory Korenwinder has now officially singed to the University of Arizona where she will become a Wildcat this upcoming spring. Mallory had qualified for, and competed at her first USA Swimming National meet this past summer, and will be traveling next month to both Federal Way, Washington, and Austin, Texas where she will be competing at both the Winter Nationals and Winter Junior National meets respectively. Mallory is two-one hundredths of a second off of next summer’s Olympic Trial cut.

Our third signee is Tulare Western senior, Khloe McCarthy, who has chosen to stay in state, and signed on to compete for the University of Pepperdine, and will become one of the Waves this coming spring. Khloe is a Futures qualifier from this past summer, and has competed at the Sectional level throughout her high school swimming career, and will be traveling to East LA to compete at Sectionals this next month. Khloe is also a high school State qualifier.

SIX FINAL AT PLEASANTON

Performance No Responses »

Nov 242015

Nine swimmers qualified under the increasingly challenging Pacific Swimming Senior Circuit time standard (formerly known as the Terrapin cut). The time standard now nears the Sectional time standard in many events. Despite our smaller group of nine qualified swimmers, TNT is still able to contend in individual events, fielding six of our swimmers in one of three final heats (top 30 places), and representing all three TNT towns that participated in the meet (Selma, Tulare & Visalia).

Our finalists were led by veteran, Mallory Korenwinder, who entered five events, and earned a second swim in four of them. Mallory came away as our only championship finalist, finishing 4th in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.18), and 9th in the 200 breaststroke (2:24.25). She also earned consolation spots with a 14th place finish in the 200 IM (2:08.91), and 16th place finish in the 100 fly (58.11). Another veteran to the meet is also a graduating senior. Selma’s Sierra Jett earned three second swims that included two consolation finishes, one with a 15th place finish in the 50 free (24.63), and the other with an 18th place finish in the 100 fly (58.32). Her final second swim was a 25th place finish in the 100 free (53.83).

Two additional swimmers earned a spot in the consolation heat, and these included Preston Niayesh who finished 14th in the 200 breaststroke (2:12.73), and 19th in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.70) events. Visalia’s Megan Ridenour was our only other consolation finalist, and she accomplished this in the 100 breaststroke event with an 18th place finish there (1:08.00).
Our final second swims came from Alonso Escobedo (23rd in the 200 back – 2:01.18), and JD Koster who doubled up with a 28th place finish in the 200 breast (2:17.64), and 29th place finish in the 100 breast (1:05.25 after swimming 1:02.73 in the preliminary heats). Owen Ansel’s highest finish was 48th in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.64), fourteen year old Mackenzie Garza finished 88th in the 50 free (26.20), and Lauren Geiger finished 55th in the 100 fly (1:01.40).

PEYTON COSTA TAKES TWO RECORDS AT TULARE MEET

Performance No Responses »

Nov 132015

Of 93 TNT swimmers who attended the Tulare meet over the first weekend of November, only one swimmer set new team records, and did so in two events. Peyton Costa left the 10-under short course team record board by setting eight of the twelve records – leaving only four untouched, and is now making his mark in the 11-12 division, and starts by setting a new team record in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 11:41.41 which falls under Jackson Huckabay’s 11:54.34 record that was set at the Selma meet last year. Peyton’s time currently stands as the 74^th fastest in the nation for boys at age 12. His second record resulted from the 2:28.39 in the 200 butterfly event, and this time slid under the 2:28.94 that Chris Nolan had set at the very same pool in October of 2008 – a notable feat considering that Chris Nolan went on the qualify for the 2016 Olympic Trials in this very event. Peyton’s time stands as the 149^th fastest nationally.

Peyton was also one of fifteen TNT swimmers to improve 100% of their times at the meet. Congratulations to: Abigail Baker, Tomas Contreras, Toby Jones, Rylee Lord, Corinne Maxfield, Sofia Mora, Joseph Oliveira, Jade Perez, Seiji Shinkawa, Katie Tikkanen, Luke Vanwoudenberg, Maryn Vanwoudenberg, Bryan Wong, and Jenna Yeates for their perfect performance. Congratulations also goes to the following swimmers for competing in one or more events for the very first time: Libby Adriaansen (200 free), Allie Benegar (200 free), Bridget Benegar (200 free), Ella Betancourt (50 free & 100 IM), Lauren Betancourt (50 free & 100 breast), Jacob Chambers (50 back, 50 free, 100 IM & 50 breast), Aidan Champagne (200 free), Duncan Champagne (200 IM & 100 back), Gabriella Cox (50 free & 100 free), Laney Cox (50 fly, 50 back & 50 free), Shannell Flores (50 free & 50 back), Gabriel Jett (100 breast), Drew Johnston (200 IM), Sydney King (200 free), Jakob Koorey (1000 free), Corinne Maxfield (200 free), Jeffrey Mcphetridge (50 free), Tara Oliveira (50 free), Gage Price (200 back), Ceca Quintero-Munoz (100 IM & 50 breast), Alex Roberts (200 breast), Seiji Shinkawa (100 fly), Shoji Shinkawa (200 free), Daniel Thompson (100 breast), Katie Tikkanen (100 back & 50 breast), Maryn Vanwoudenberg (50 back & 100 breast), Davis Ward (200 IM), Sydnee Wilson (200 IM), and Alexa Wong (500 free).

At a meet with over 300 competitors, two of our swimmers remained undefeated, winning all events they had entered. Nine year old Sienna Abernathy took home the gold in the 7-8 200 free (2:51.37), 50 free (33.90), 100 IM(1:30.95), 50 breast (48.12), 50 back (41.94), 50 fly (37.72) and 100 free (1:17.62) events, while five year old Logan Huckabay won both the 6-under 50 free (59.09) and 6-under 25 back (37.42) events. Our other event champions included: 11-12 Danielle Albright (400 IM, 200 breast, 1000 free, 100 IM, 50 breast & 500 free), 13-14 Janessa Bringe (1000 free), 6-under Ciena Clarke (25 back), 15-over Morgan Coddington (200 free, 400 IM, 200 breast & 200 IM), 11-12 Peyton Costa (400 IM, 50 back, 1000 free, 200 fly & 50 breast), 11-12 Layla Flores (200 back), 15-over Jonas Huckabay (500 free), 7-8 Lucas Huckabay (50 free, 25 fly, 100 IM, 25 back, 50 fly & 25 free), 11-12 Toby Jones (200 IM & 100 IM), 7-8 Tanner Kelm (50 breast), 15-over Jakob Koorey (400 IM & 1000 free), 11-12 Rylee Lord (100 fly & 50 free), 13-14 Katherine Mendyk (200 free, 200 breast & 50 free), 9-10 Ava Olson (100 fly), 11-12 Gage Price (100 fly), 13-14 Alex Roberts (100 back & 200 back), 15-over Micah Ruiz (100 back & 200 back), 15-over Satoshi Shinkawa (200 IM), 13-14 Katherine Sullivan (200 IM), and 11-12 Benjamin Wheeler (200 back).

KHLOE MCCARTHY GIVES VERBAL TO PEPPERDINE

Performance No Responses »

Nov 132015

Tulare Western High School graduating senior, Khloe McCarthy, has recently given her verbal commitment to attend and compete for Pepperdine University following her high school graduation. Khloe, is among the top graduates of Tulare Western, maintaining a 4.67 grade point average well beyond that which typifies the most capable academians. Khloe is among the longest tenured swimmers in the Senior group of Tulare, entering the group at ten years old, and not only remaining there for the duration, but earning the respect from both male and female historical members of the group as being one of the most intense trainers of the group, and a true model of a work ethic to pursue. Her academic ability is reflected in being one of among only 40% of applicants annually accepted to Pepperdine University.

Pepperdine University is a private school competing in the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference of the NCAA Division 1 level, and is located on the Pacific Coast Highway in exquisite Malibu, California. Programs within the conference include: CSU East Bay, Simon Fraser, Fresno Pacific, Azusa Pacific, Biola, Concordia, Alaska-Fairbanks, UC Santa Cruz and Soka University.

Past local swimmers who have attended Pepperdine include national standout from Kingsburg, Jeryll Reed (1988-1991), Porterville’s Virginia Conway (1993-1996) and Andrea Hevener (1988-1990), as well as Visalia’s Donya Farhang (1997-1998) and Gia Moisi (1988-1989).

MISSY LeSTRANGE PLACES 3rd AT IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Performance No Responses »

Nov 132015

The Ironman World Championships is known to be triathlon’s most iconic event that annually brings athletes from around the world together to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, where they compete in one of the most challenging races that exist.

The Ironman distance consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike leg, and full 26.2 mile marathon run at the end. Our very own Missy LeStrange once again competed in the World Championships this past month, and finished with a life-time best time of 12 hours, 38 minutes, and 53 seconds. Her time maintains a world ranking of 103 for the 2015 age group, and placed 3^rd in the age group this year. Her 1 hour 14 minutes and 28 seconds swim split placed her with the third fastest swim time among the thirty competitors in her division with Rose Wilson swimming 1:11.08 and Laura Sophia swimming 1:13.37. Her bike time of 6:39.36 was the fifth fastest, and her run time of 4:34.23 was the third fastest competitor, and the fastest American runner in the field.

CONEJO/TNT/PLEASANT VALLEY TRI-MEET

Performance No Responses »

Nov 132015

Thirty-two TNT swimmers competed at the tri-meet hosted by Conejo Simi on Saturday, October 24^th prior to traveling further south to spend the day at Disneyland on Sunday. Our thirty were among the 167 that competed at the meet, with 92 of them representing the host team, Conejo Simi Swim Club. Our closest competitor in size and overall score was Pleasant Valley Swim Team who fielded 43 swimmers (21 female, and 22 male). Conejo Simi outscored all teams with 2,751 points, well ahead of Pleasant Valley’s 1,685 points and TNT’s 1,439 points. Our girls outscored Pleasant Valley 825 to 816, while Pleasant Valley outscored out ten boys 869 to 614.

Mallory Korenwinder swept her events, winning all three she competed in (200 IM – 2:14.35, 100 breast 1:07.05, 100 free – 55.69). Our other event champions included Danelle Albright (200 IM – 2:20.10 & 100 breast – 1:12.49), Allie Benegar (50 breast – 43.89, 50 fly – 40.75, 50 free – 34.97), Ella Bettencourt (50 free – 33.59), Ciara Clarke (50 back – 38.73), Peyton Costa (200 IM – 2:31.24, 100 back – 1:11.50, 100 breast – 1:22.65, 100 free – 1:01.98), Caroline Mendyk (100 IM – 1:21.15, 50 breast – 43.15, 50 fly – 39.75), Katherine Mendyk (200 IM – 2:25.29, 100 breast – 1:13.48), and Garrison Price (100 fly – 1:06.02).

Three of our swimmers improved 100% of their times. Congratulations to Bridget Benegar, Aidan Champagne, and Duncan Champagne for their perfect performance.

PRESTON NIAYESH SETS TEAM RECORD IN MERCED

Performance No Responses »

Nov 132015

Twenty seven TNT swimmers competed at the 2015 Gil Williams Memorial Halloween Meet over the October 24-25 weekend where Preston Niayesh nears the close of his 13-14 age division, and caps his performance with a new team record in the 100 yard breaststroke event swimming a time of 1:02.34 which slid under his previous team record of 1:02.81 that he set at the Selma meet one month earlier. His current time stands as the 22^nd fastest in the nation for male swimmers of age 14.

Preston was also undefeated at the meet, winning all seven of his events. Other uncontested TNT swimmers at the meet included Sienna Abernathy who won all four of her events in the 7-8 division, and Alsonso Escobedo who won all four of his events in the 15-16 division. Other event champions included Owen Ansel who won the 50 free, 100 breast and 200 IM events, Layla Flores who won the 200 breaststroke, and 400 IM events, Diego Gutierrez who won the 50 free, Noah Haworth winning the 100 fly and 500 free, Rylee Lord winning the 200 free, Luke Pena winning the 25 free, and Hunter Sartin who won the 50 fly.

Only a handful of swimmers maintained a 100% improvement percentage at the meet, and these included Isaac Gutierrez, Jacquelyn Oliveira, Joseph Oliveira, and Luke Pena.

TNT FIELDS FOUR SCHOLASTIC ALL AMERICA SWIMMERS

Performance, Uncategorized No Responses »

Nov 132015

USA Swimming annually recognizes individuals as Scholastic All America swimmers if they have been successful both in the classroom and in the swimming pool. This year, Central California Swimming lists seven individuals who have met the minimum requirements, and over half of them are TNT swimmers. Scholastic requirements include a minimum grade point average of a 3.5 during their sophomore year, while at the same time attaining a challenging time standard.

Our most recent Scholastic All America team includes Owen Ansel, Lauren Davis, Kyle Grissom and Mallory Korenwinder.

Current Kingsburg High School Senior, Owen Ansel, obtained the All-America status on the performance side while competing at the Western Senior Zone meet this past summer while posting his first Futures time standard. Owen was among 1,000 students who earned a spot to participate in the West Point Summer Leaders Experience last June at West Point, New York indicating his leadership and academic foundation. Owen is our current team record holder in the 100 meter breaststroke.

Entering her first year competing for the University of the Pacific, Lauren Davis is a product of Coach Caroline Reynaud while coaching the Fig Garden Dolphins Swim Team. Lauren has competed at both USA Swimming’s Summer Junior Nationals and Winter Junior Nationals since 2013, as well as Grand Prix level meets in Mesa, Arizona, and Santa Clara International. Lauren is our current team record holder in the 200 meter breaststroke event. She is a two-time recipient of the All-America recognition, and maintained a grade point average above the 4.0 mark.

Kyle Grissom is competing in his first year for USC, and is a Porterville High School graduate who is a three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All America recipient since his sophomore year. Kyle competed at multiple Junior National meets, and is a multi-finalist at that level, most recently this past summer where he earned his first Olympic Trial cut. Kyle holds the CIF D1 Valley record in the 100 yard butterfly, as well as CCS records in the event. He has been ranked top-10 in the nation multiple times across multiple age divisions.
Mallory Korenwinder is among the top graduates as she works through her senior year at Tulare Western. Already committed to compete for the University of Arizona this coming fall, Mallory has been nationally ranked (top-10) in multiple years, and in multiple age divisions. She has qualified for, and competed at multiple Nationals, both winter and summer meets, and had earned a top-8 finish at Junior Nationals before entering high school during the summer following her eight grade year. Mallory has the most experience at the national level among all our athletes, currently, or historically, and maintains a grade point average above 4.0. She has been a Scholastic All America swimmer since her sophomore year.

CIENA CLARKE SWIMS UNDEFEATED AT CLOVIS MEET

Performance No Responses »

Oct 052015

Twenty four TNT swimmers competed at the Clovis Fall Classic, one-day meet on September 26^th, and Visalia’s six-year old standout, Ciena Clarke came away undefeated, winning all three events she participate in at the meet (50 free – 46.86, 25 fly – 28.61, and 50 back – 56.66). Other event champions included Danielle Albright (200 breast, 200 fly & 400 IM), Alonso Escobedo (400 IM), and Katherine Mendyk (200 breast & 200 free). Katherine Mendyk also had our highest improvement percentage, improving three of four events when considering previously recorded times while representing our team. Hanford’s ten-year old Isabella Klawitter held the largest time drop in any one event, as she improved over 28 seconds in the 200 IM event. Congratulations to Trinity Aceves, Libby Adriaansen, Albert Alamilla, Isabel Burrough, Diego Gutierrez, Isaac Gutierrez, Xavier Gutierrez, Dylan Hunt, Nathan Hunt, Tegan Hunt, Caroline Mendyk and Katherine Mendyk for posting times for first-time events while on the team.

SIENNA ABERNATHY LEADS TNT IN TRI-MEET WIN

Performance No Responses »

Oct 052015

Tule Nation Tritons was in force during our hosted tri-meet versus runner-up teams of Conejo Simi and Roadrunner respectively over the September 19-20 weekend. Our 117 athletes combined a total point accumulation of 7,024.50 points that resulted from 42 gold medal performances, 51 silver medal performances, and 56 bronze medal performances, and was led by Selma’s eight year old Sienna Abernathy whose eight first place finishes, one second place finish, and one seventh place finish generated an astounding 189 points from individual events alone. Her point accumulation surpassed any other individual at the meet. Tule Nation Tritons had eleven swimmers score among the top 20 at the meet. A total of 109 TNT swimmers scored at the meet, this being of the 179 total, leaving only 70 scoring swimmers from the other teams. Our top 11 scoring swimmers

Fourteen year old Preston Niayesh earned a second place finish in the 13-over 100 breaststroke event, swimming a time of 1:02.81, and this time falls under the team record that was previously held by Nathan Rhea and set at Sectionals in December of 2009 as a 1:02.90. Preston set both long course 100 and 200 meter breaststroke team records earlier this summer, and now his 100 yard time stands as the fifth fastest nationally for male swimmers at age 12 here at the beginning of the reporting cycle that began September 1^st. There are currently approximately 406 times reported nationally.

Older Entries Newer Entries