ATHLETICS SWIMMING
Junior Swimmers Shine Over Summer
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ummer season for swimmers consists of several championship meets, culminating with the major meet. Swimmers begin preparation for the championships right after the spring break. And with the long-course season actually a short 18 weeks, there is no time to waste. MAC swimmers were represented at every level of competition. This year, the season’s end coincided with the Summer Olympics, where swimming competition is the main attraction. Oregon Swimming returned to the 10 & Under Championships format for the younger swimmers. It was the perfect size meet for the competition pool in Albany, and coaches were happy to see their charges compete at state again. Sydney Wilson, 10, broke several MAC records during the long-course season. She shattered two long-standing records in the 200 free and 200 IM. The records previously were set by Crystal Query 29 years ago. Sydney’s time was 2:35.39 (200 free) and 2:55.88 (200 IM). Inspired by her winning streak, she went on to break the 100 back record, last set by Tory Schnebly in 2015 in 1:23.37, with a 1:20.46 time and then bettered by more than 4 seconds another longstanding 100 fly record set by Molly Quan in 1987. Sydney placed first in the 200 free and 50 back, second in the 200 IM, 100 back, 100 free, and third in the 50 free. Graham Inman has been working all season to improve his breast. That was evident when he dropped 2.49 seconds in his 200 IM, placing 11th in state. He was third in the 100 fly, sixth in the 50 free, seventh in the 50 fly, 10th in the 100 back, and 11th in the 100 free. Gabrielle Breda placed 11th in the 100 breast and Kaeli Chapman qualified for state for the first time, placing 18th in the 50 back. Western Section Senior Sectionals is a senior meet in the Open division, representing 12 states. Kevin Keil and Hannah Cooney, both 14 years old and rising MAC hopefuls, achieved success in their signature event – the 200 breast. Cooney swam a personal best and made her first final at this level. Keil won “C” final with a 2:26.63, which is a Winter Junior National qualifying time, just shy of the MAC record. Grant Gooding, back from college and training with the team for summer, swam a personal best in the 100 breast, 50 free and 200 IM; Liam O’Shea had a personal best in the 100 free; and Nathan Nguyen reached his best in the 200 breast and 200 fly. Allie Engstrom swam her season’s best in the 100 and 200 back (28 swam in the finals), and Elise Kreutzer finished 13th in the 50
64 | The Wınged M |
NOVEMBER 2016
MAC competitive swimmers of all different ages found success during the 2016 long course season, with many swimming in championship meets. free. Van Mathias finished sixth in the 100 breast and achieved Summer Junior Nationals bonus time. Rob Mead ended 17th in the 100 back with a personal best time. Brynne O’Shea swam a personal best in the 50 free, 200 and 400 IM, and finished sixth in the 100 backstroke. Liam O’Shea swam in the finals of the 100 and 200 back. Tyler Soo finished 14th in the 50 free and 15th in the 100 fly. Kate Westlake swam her season’s best times in the 50 and 100 free. The 11 & Over state meet is one of the most important for that age group. Seven MAC swimmers were selected to compete in the 11-14 Oregon Swimming All-Star meet in Utah – Kevin Keil, Isabella Wallace, Hannah Cooney, Khai Tran, Mathias Kreutzer, Eli Rheingold and Cody Soo. Because of the rigorous competition schedule, many MAC swimmers did not vie in the full schedule. Despite partial participation, MAC’s team took third place with two swimmers winning the High Point Award – Tran, 12 and Keil, 14. Doug Heymann finished second in the 400 free, with a personal best by a significant margin. Grace Inman took second place in the 50 free, and Anna Jorgensen, an emerging backr, took second and third place in the 100 and 200 back, respectively Nabil Kalahiki demonstrated proficiency across multiple strokes and events, winning the 100 fly and 200 IM, and placing second in the 200 back, and third in the 100 breast. Eleanora Kemp swam a very strong 100 fly while tuning up in preparation for her next championship meet. Her sister, Phoebe, made finals in both the 100 and 200 back with great time drops. Kreutzer raced confidently and often against his teammate Tran for the gold. He
won the 100 fly, and placed second in the 100 free, 100 back, and 50 free. Beau Lonnquist raced his heart out to second place in the 100 back, third place in the 200 back, and fourth place in the 100 breast and 200 IM. Emma Matous finished fourth in the 100 back and 100 breast. Katherine Lochner made finals in the 200 back and 200 breast. All three demonstrated a rare combination of skill in these strokes, which rarely go together. Adelaide Foden-Vencil and John Kennedy represented MAC in distance events and fly. Foden-Vencil finished fifth in the 400 IM, 800 and 1,500 free, and the 200 fly. Kennedy finished third in the 1,500 free, and swam two lifetime bests in the 200 fly in the finals. This is his first time on the award stand at the state championships. Tory Schenbly made finals in the 50, 100 back, 100 breast, and 200 IM. Soo lived up to his “back-half Billy” reputation, swimming with excellent closing speed and refined race strategy, winning all his races in the last 30 meters of every race. He placed first in the 50, 100 and 200 free, 100 back, and fourth in the 100 fly. Tran swam a perfect meet, winning every event he competed in in very close races (50,100, 200 free, 50, 100 breast, 200 IM) demonstrating refined race planning and execution. Alessandra Pardini and Peter Hinnen made the finals in the 100 and 200 breast. Fifteen MAC swimmers competed in Clovis, California, at the Western Senior Zones Championships. MAC team placed eighth out of 115 teams. This meet features over 2,000 swimmers from 12 states.