Mexican Swimmers Flirt With National Records in Nuevo Leon

By Evan Dulaney

Top Mexican swimmers gathered in Monterrey, Nuevo León on Friday for Mexican Nationals. Numerous national record holders including Arturo Perez Vertti Ferrer, Liliana Ibańez Lopez, and Daniel Ramirez Carranza are competing this weekend with hopes of lowering their records.

The meet features other premiere Mexican swimmers including Michelle Rodriguez, Ana Daniela Carrillo Avilez, and Arantxa Medina Alegria who’ve made names for themselves in the NCAA.

Natalia Jaspeado began finals on Friday night by conquering the women’s 1500-meter free in 16:43.77 Her consistent and impressive pace work gave her the slight edge over second place finisher Montserrat Ortuño Clapera (16:44.88). Ayumí Macias ended up third in 16:51.47.

Ricardo David Vargas Jacobo took the crown in the men’s 1500-meter free in 15:36.19 despite trailing the first 900 meters. Arturo Perez Vertti Ferrer held the lead for much of the race, but drifted to second place in 15:42.26. Daniel Delgadillo Faisal placed third with a 15:47.38.

Penn State junior Melissa Rodriguez cruised to a 2:30.59 to win the women’s 200-meter breast. Esther Gonzalez Medina (2:32.20) beat out Ana Daniela Carrillo Avilez (2:33.97) to take second place.

Miguel Alejandro De Lara Ojeda shined in the men’s 200-meter breast, winning in 2:14.18. Miguel Chavez Gonzalez battled to a second place finish in 2:17.28 and Mauro Castillo Luna swam a 2:18.57 to get third and close out Friday night’s session.

On Saturday, Liliana Ibañez Lopez held on to her top spot from prelims to win the 100-meter free in 56.27. She was the only swimmer to come home in under 29 seconds in the race. After a disappointing first 50 meters, Maria Fernanda Richaud Leyva finished behind Lopez in 57.21. Maria Fernanda Gonzalez Ramirez placed third with a 57.47.

Daniel Ramirez Carranza missed his national record in the 100-meter freestyle by about half a second to finish first in 50.68. Lorenzo Loria Elias and Alejandro Escudero Alvarez tied for second in 51.29.

In the women’s 50-meter breast, Ana Daniela Carrillo Avilez (32.97) touched out national record-holder Melissa Rodriguez (32.98) by the slimmest of margins to take first. The upstart Diana Chapa Garcia, 15, earned third with a 33.32.

After his 200-meter breast victory on Friday, Miguel Alejandro de Lara Ojeda continued his breaststroke dominance by winning the 50-meter breast in 28.68. Mauro Castillo Luna produced a 28.92 to come in second. Ezequiel Trujillo Aviles and Luis Daniel Galvan Cardenas tied for third in 29.27.

In the women’s 200-meter IM, Nevada sophomore Arantxa Medina Alegria was aided by her 38.28 breaststroke split to win in 2:17.80. Esther Gonzalez Medina placed second with a 2:18.92 while Georgina Gonzalez Garcia wound up third in 2:19.95.

Ezequiel Trujillo Aviles flirted with his national record in the men’s 200-meter IM, but was unable to crack his 2:03.14 milestone set in 2012. His 2:03.51 was more than enough to claim the top spot this year over Angel Martinez Gomez (2:05.09). Juan Manuel del Pino Salas rounded out the top three and the Saturday session in 2:05.59.

On Sunday, Natalia Jaspeado repeated her distance success in the women’s 400-meter free to win in 4:15.92. She stormed back on the final 50 meters to defeat Ayumí Macias, who was a close second with a 4:15.72. Montserrat Ortuño Clapera fell to third in 4:21.02.

Ricardo David Vargas Jacobo (3:54.34) followed suit in an upset victory over national record holder Arturo Perez Vertti Ferrer (3:55.03). He missed Ferrer’s 2013 record by three tenths of a second. Julio Andres Olvera Alejos led much of the race, but ran out of gas on the final 100 meters to finish third in 3:57.29.

One of Mexico’s top female backstrokers, Maria Fernanda Gonzalez Ramirez, showed why she’s one of the nation’s best in the women’s 200-meter backstroke. She cruised to a 2:14.92 to win the event in convincing fashion. Estella Davis Ortiz ended up second with a 2:17.58, and Lourdes Villasenor Reyes took third in 2:18.15.

Ezequiel Aviles rode the momentum from his 200 IM win to top the men’s 200-meter back in 2:03.48. Andy Xianyang Song An, 16, posted an impressive 2:04.54 to take second place. Horus Briseno Ramirez swam a 2:05.82 to finish third.

It took a 1:00.94 for Diana Luna Sanchez to win the women’s 100-meter fly. Ana Sofia Revilak Fonseca (1:01.41) outdueled Esther Gonzalez Medina (1:01.82) for third.

Long Yuan Miguel Gutierrez Feng moved up a spot from prelims to win the men’s 100-meter fly with a 53.92. Mateo Gonzalez Medina gutted out a 54.28 to take second. The top seed heading into finals, Daniel Zabdiel Ramirez Carranza, swam a 54.38 to fall to third.

Mexican Nationals continue through Tuesday.

2015 Mexican Swimming Championships, Live Results – Results

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