Long Course Sectional Highlights Through July 25 – Minneapolis, MN; Grevers the Great

By M. Duncan Scott

PHOENIX, Ariz – July 31 – NINE locations will host 2004 Summer SPEEDO Champion Series events across three different weekends. The first six meets have just finished. This note highlights the top efforts at the Minneapolis site.

 Southern – Fort Lauderdale, FL – July 21-25 (results not yet on meet website but can be found at LSC site: http://www.fgcswim.org/
 Central – Wichita, KS – July 21-24
 Eastern – Buffalo, NY – July 22-25
 Southern – Auburn, AL – July 22-25
 Western – Clovis, CA – July 22-25
 Central – Minneapolis, MN – July 22-25
 Central – Bloomington, IN – July 28-August 1
 Southern – Austin, TX – July 28-August 1
 Western – Federal Way, WA – August 10-14

We’ll highlight some of the more sizzling swims here, but please click on the special “Speedo Championship Series Summer Sectional Meets Results Page” link at the top of the SwimInfo homepage to access the results of every swim, and more!

Matt Grevers, 19 of Scout Aquatics, was the irresistible force in the Minnesota Champions Series sectional meet, one of three on the Central Zone summer schedule. There were twelve individual meet records set – Grevers had five by himself.

Grevers was a semi-finalist in both the 50 and 100 freestyles at the Trials and yet he improved on each of those times at sectionals. He swam :22.63 in the 50 and :49.87 in the 100 Freestyle, times that would have moved him to 9th and to 11th, respectively, only .43 off the team in the latter. He swam within .54 of his Long Beach effort in the 100 backstroke where he was a finalist in the greatest heat in that event in history.

Possibly even more impressive are the times he did in events he didn’t even contest in Long Beach. The 200 Backstroke conflicted with the 100 back schedule at Trials. He swam 1:59.99, a time that would have finaled and was only 1.29 out of the time Bryce Hunt swam to make the team, after the Phelps decision to drop the event. He added the 100 butterfly at sectionals and was only .09 outside the Trials top 8 cutoff at :54.22

Paul Sigfusson, 19, Hinsdale Swim Club, was the only other multiple winner, taking the 400/800 freestyle double.

The most outstanding swim on the ladies side was from 16-year-old rising star Kate Ziegler, The Fish-PV. Ziegler was a finalist in the 400 and 800 freestyles, placing 5th and 4th respectively, at the Olympic Trials. She traveled from Potomac Valley to Minneapolis and swam – gasp! – the 50-100-200 sprints! She had a personal best 2:02.56 200 freestyle, after a rather disappointing 2:04.65 in Long Beach, slower than her prelim split in the 400. She added a “B” final win in the 100 at :58.22, only .05 outside Kelly McNichols, MAVS-IL, winning :58.17 in the “A” final.

Ashley Wanland, 14, Patriot, will be one to watch in the future; she won the 100 breaststroke at 1:11.97.

Emily Hanson, 16, Waves-IL, was the only double winner for the women, taking the same events as Sigfusson did on the men’s side. Each of her wins was a meet record: 8:54.69 in the 800 and 4:22.98 in the 400.

Other top swims: (MR = Meet Record)
Women:
200 IM Kate Hardt 20 UN 2:21.06 MR
100 backstroke Andrea Boritzke 16 Phoenix-WI 1:05.18
100 butterfly Laura Wadden 19 Wildkit Swim 1:02.34 (MR)
Payton C. Johnson16 Aquachiefs-IL 1:02.75(P) 1:02.76
200 backstroke Katie Wind 19 Minnesota-MN 2:19.63 (MR)
1500 freestyle Monica Drake 13 Waves 17:02.56
50 freestyle Lindsey Kelly 17 Scout Aquatics :26.50 (MR)

Men:
100 breaststrokeSean Kelly 20 Minnesota-MN 1:04.63 (MR)
200 breaststrokeSean Kelly 20 Minnesota-MN 2:20.34
200 butterfly Meir Hasbani 19 Lake Forest-IL 2:04.81
400 IM Adam Mitchell 20 Minnesota – MN 4:31.15

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