In addition to our club’s participation at NCSA Junior Nationals, RMSC had several swimmers attend National-level meets held by USA Swimming itself. Here are the highlights from these late-Summer meets:
Toyota U.S. Nationals
Four swimmers qualified for and travelled to the fastest meet in the Country, the Toyota National Championships, held July 28 through August 1 in Irvine, California. Our swimmers were there to witness the return to form of Caeleb Dressel, and shared the pool with other Olympians.
Griffin Oehler had our team’s best finishes, including two finals appearances. He finished 21st in 50 back (26.10) and 22nd in 100 back (55.72), both in best times. He also had very good swims in 200 back (2:03.40) and 200 IM (2:04.79). Mara Ahearn swam well in 1500 free (17:27.21) for 35th place,and also had a best time in 200 back. Nicholas Liberty finished 36th in 1500 free (15:59.37) and had a best time in 50 free. Maria Webb had season bests in 50 fly and 200 fly.
USA Swimming Futures
Seven swimmers travelled to Greensboro, NC from July 29 through August 1 to compete at Futures, a Junior National level competition that featured over 80 teams from all over the Southeast United States. Even with a small representation, RMSC managed a 22nd place finish.
Sarah Eliason swam to a new Team record in 50 fly (27.37), finishing 2nd. She also had a 3rd place in 100 fly (1:01.36), and swam fast in 50 free. Cameron House had a 4th place finish in 50 breast (33.43), and a top 16 finish in 100 breast (1:14.19). Colton Mettler finished top 16 in 50 fly (25.20) and 50 free (24.11). Gigi Ancheta had a top 24 finish in 50 back. Michael Kueh finished top 32 in 200 fly. Our boys also scored with two top 16 finishes in relays, with the 200 free relay taking 12th (Ancheta, Mettler, Kueh, Taiyo Murphy) and the 200 medley taking 16th (Ancheta, Murphy, Kueh, Mettler).
Speedo Junior Nationals
The week after Senior Nationals in Irvine, USA Swimming held their Junior National meet, which ran from August 3-8. The meet featured the Nation’s fastest 18&Under swimmers. At the meet, Viona Sunjaya swam just off of her NCSA times in 50 breast, 100 breast, and 200 breast.
