Bella Sims Crushes 500 Free Junior Nationals Meet Record in Race Against Katie Grimes; Leah Hayes Barely Misses 200 IM NAG

bella-sims-trials-winter-junior-championships

Bella Sims -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Bella Sims Crushes 500 Free Junior Nationals Meet Record in Race Against Katie Grimes; Leah Hayes Barely Misses 200 IM NAG

With remarkable performances at this summer’s Olympic Trials, Nevada teenagers Bella Sims and Katie Grimes both won unexpected spots at the Tokyo Games, Sims with a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle to earn a relay opportunity and Grimes finishing second in the 800 free to claim an individual spot. Sims won an Olympic silver medal as a prelims relay swimmer, while Grimes finished less than a second outside of the medals in the 800 free final. Now, the duo seems to be riding that momentum as they compete in their first championship meet since Tokyo.

In the women’s 500 free Thursday evening at Junior Nationals (west) in Austin, the Sandpipers of Nevada teammates faced off. Sims, 16, opened up a lead of over a second-and-a-half after 200 yards, but the 15-year-old Grimes closed the gap over the second half of the swim. In the end, Sims touched the wall in 4:32.28, followed by Grimes in 4:32.97. Both swimmers obliterated the meet record of 4:37.10 set by Regan Smith three years ago, and both were faster than the winning time from last season’s NCAA Championships, Paige Madden’s 4:33.61.

Sims actually missed her own lifetime best of 4:32.13 by 0.15. She swam that time last April to become the ninth-fastest performer in history. Grimes, meanwhile, beat her best time of 4:38.26 by more than five seconds and improved to No. 14 all-time. The two swimmers rank second and third all-time among 15-16 girls. Unsurprisingly, the only swimmer faster is Katie Ledecky at 4:28.71.

Sandpipers actually finished 1-2-3 here as Sims and Grimes’ teammate Claire Weinstein finished third in 4:38.46. Weinstein became the second-fastest 13-14 girl in history in the event, trailing only Ledecky (4:35.14).

  1 Sims, Bella            16 Sandpipers Of Ne  4:39.47    4:32.28*  20  
    r:+0.55  24.23        50.78 (26.55)
        1:18.22 (27.44)     1:46.31 (28.09)
        2:14.45 (28.14)     2:42.51 (28.06)
        3:10.52 (28.01)     3:38.22 (27.70)
        4:05.65 (27.43)     4:32.28 (26.63)
  2 Grimes, Katie          15 Sandpipers Of Ne  4:39.82    4:32.97*  17  
    r:+0.64  24.70        51.83 (27.13)
        1:19.71 (27.88)     1:47.89 (28.18)
        2:15.97 (28.08)     2:43.75 (27.78)
        3:11.57 (27.82)     3:39.28 (27.71)
        4:06.77 (27.49)     4:32.97 (26.20)
  3 Weinstein, Claire      14 Sandpipers Of Ne  4:42.27    4:38.46   16  
    r:+0.79  26.16        53.89 (27.73)
        1:21.85 (27.96)     1:50.24 (28.39)
        2:18.10 (27.86)     2:45.85 (27.75)
        3:13.90 (28.05)     3:42.28 (28.38)
        4:10.56 (28.28)     4:38.46 (27.90)
  4 Miller, Hayden         17 Cypress Fairbank  4:40.95    4:41.42   15  
    r:+0.81  25.86        53.58 (27.72)
        1:21.78 (28.20)     1:50.43 (28.65)
        2:19.03 (28.60)     2:47.47 (28.44)
        3:16.05 (28.58)     3:44.46 (28.41)
        4:13.02 (28.56)     4:41.42 (28.40)
  5 Cox, Jillian           16 Una TXLA-ST       4:42.34    4:43.64   14  
    r:+0.70  25.53        53.05 (27.52)
        1:21.22 (28.17)     1:49.86 (28.64)
        2:18.53 (28.67)     2:47.26 (28.73)
        3:16.62 (29.36)     3:45.98 (29.36)
        4:15.36 (29.38)     4:43.64 (28.28)
  6 Clift, Elise           15 Mansfield Aquati  4:45.68    4:45.42   13  
    r:+0.71  26.37        54.48 (28.11)
        1:22.75 (28.27)     1:51.76 (29.01)
        2:20.65 (28.89)     2:49.94 (29.29)
        3:19.13 (29.19)     3:48.41 (29.28)
        4:17.27 (28.86)     4:45.42 (28.15)
  7 Kuwata, Paige          17 Sandpipers Of Ne  4:47.30    4:46.14   12  
    r:+0.66  26.27        54.19 (27.92)
        1:22.68 (28.49)     1:51.36 (28.68)
        2:20.26 (28.90)     2:49.36 (29.10)
        3:18.65 (29.29)     3:48.09 (29.44)
        4:17.47 (29.38)     4:46.14 (28.67)
  8 Hazle, Kathryn         17 North Coast Aqua  4:47.82    4:46.87   11  
    r:+0.73  26.33        54.80 (28.47)
        1:23.65 (28.85)     1:53.05 (29.40)
        2:22.63 (29.58)     2:51.69 (29.06)
        3:20.72 (29.03)     3:49.81 (29.09)
        4:18.68 (28.87)     4:46.87 (28.19)

A National Age Group record nearly went down in the women’s 200 IM as Fox Valley’s Leah Hayes crushed a 1:54.09. Sims and Grimes actually competed returned to the pool to compete in the 200 IM, and Sims had the lead at the halfway point, 52.96 to 53.30, but Hayes crushed the field with a 33.66 breaststroke leg. She then finished strong and touched in 1:54.09. That just missed the National Age Group record of 1:54.02 set by Alex Walsh, now the Olympic silver medalist in the long course 200-meter IM, in 2017.

Hayes moved to third all-time among 15-16 girls behind Walsh and Dagny Knutson, while Sims finished second in 1:54.90 for eighth all-time in the age group. Third went to Irvine Novaquatics’ Teagan O’Dell in 1:56.11, not far ahead of Justina Kozan (1:56.44) and Grimes (1:56.67).

  1 Hayes, Leah            16 Fox Valley Park-  1:56.39    1:54.09*  20  
    r:+0.79  25.05        53.30 (28.25)
        1:26.96 (33.66)     1:54.09 (27.13)
  2 Sims, Bella            16 Sandpipers Of Ne  1:56.94    1:54.90   17  
    r:+0.60  24.66        52.92 (28.26)
        1:28.02 (35.10)     1:54.90 (26.88)
  3 O'Dell, Teagan         15 Irvine Novaquati  1:56.88    1:56.11   16  
    r:+0.78  25.22        53.60 (28.38)
        1:28.43 (34.83)     1:56.11 (27.68)
  4 Kozan, Justina         17 Una SET-CA        1:58.50    1:56.44   15  
    r:+0.71  25.35        55.17 (29.82)
        1:29.77 (34.60)     1:56.44 (26.67)
  5 Grimes, Katie          15 Sandpipers Of Ne  1:57.97    1:56.67   14  
    r:+0.63  25.48        53.71 (28.23)
        1:29.48 (35.77)     1:56.67 (27.19)
  6 Noble, Kennedy         17 Phoenix Swim Clu  1:58.06    1:57.72   13  
    r:+0.69  25.60        54.63 (29.03)
        1:29.62 (34.99)     1:57.72 (28.10)
  7 Bell, Lucy             17 Fort Collins Are  1:57.65    1:58.34   12  
    r:+0.68  25.64        55.66 (30.02)
        1:30.58 (34.92)     1:58.34 (27.76)
  8 Enge, Piper            15 Bellevue Club Sw  1:59.35    1:58.44   11  
    r:+0.62  25.52        56.10 (30.58)
        1:29.80 (33.70)     1:58.44 (28.64)

North Texas Nadadores’ Maximus Williamson dominated the men’s 200 IM by two seconds, finishing in 1:43.16. He, too, just missed a National Age Group record, as he was four tenths off Michael Andrew’s mark of 1:43.16 from 2015. Inspire’s Nate Germonprez finished second in 1:45.18, and Kyle Brill took third in 1:45.89.

  1 Williamson, Maximus    15 North Texas Nada  1:44.75    1:43.16   20  
    r:+0.70  22.75        47.89 (25.14)
        1:18.76 (30.87)     1:43.16 (24.40)
  2 Germonprez, Nate       17 iNspire Swim Tea  1:45.94    1:45.18   17  
    r:+0.71  22.52        48.18 (25.66)
        1:19.23 (31.05)     1:45.18 (25.95)
  3 Brill, Kyle            18 Una CANY-CA       1:46.40    1:45.89   16  
    r:+0.74  23.57        49.60 (26.03)
        1:19.71 (30.11)     1:45.89 (26.18)
  4 Brown, Logan           16 First Colony Swi  1:46.94    1:46.42   15  
    r:+0.66  23.02        50.06 (27.04)
        1:20.51 (30.45)     1:46.42 (25.91)
  5 Smith, Holden          18 Una SET-CA        1:47.04    1:46.43   14  
    r:+0.63  22.30        48.74 (26.44)
        1:20.12 (31.38)     1:46.43 (26.31)
  6 Tan, Zachary           18 DART Swimming-SN  1:46.77    1:46.78   13  
    r:+0.68  22.66        49.80 (27.14)
        1:20.58 (30.78)     1:46.78 (26.20)
  7 Simons, Nick           17 Lake Oswego Swim  1:47.21    1:47.85   12  
    r:+0.67  22.74        49.33 (26.59)
        1:21.37 (32.04)     1:47.85 (26.48)
  8 Kleinman, Max          17 Swim Neptune-AZ   1:47.27    1:49.38   11  
    r:+0.72  22.57        49.34 (26.77)
        1:22.15 (32.81)     1:49.38 (27.23)

Pikes Peak’s Quintin McCarthy won the men’s 50 free in 19.35, while Bend Swim Club’s Diggory Dillingham was second in 19.52. Third place went to Coronado Swim Association’s Lucius Brown in 19.82 as seven of the eight swimmers in the final broke 20 seconds.

  1 McCarty, Quintin       18 Pikes Peak Athle    19.66      19.35   20  
         r:+0.69                       
  2 Dillingham, Diggory    16 Bend Swim Club-O    19.83      19.52   17  
         r:+0.69                       
  3 Brown, Lucius          17 Coronado Swim As    20.00      19.82   16  
         r:+0.57                       
  4 McMahon, Alex          18 Aquawolves Swimm    19.93      19.84   15  
         r:+0.67                       
  5 Elliott, Matthew       16 Quicksilver Swim    20.19      19.89   14  
         r:+0.68                       
  6 Scholl, Ben            16 Cypress Fairbank    20.02      19.92   13  
         r:+0.62                       
  7 Bork, Samuel           17 Mid Wisconsin Wa    20.14      19.95   12  
         r:+0.62                       
  8 Anderson, Eric         18 Una NLSA-ND         20.09      20.03   11  
         r:+0.64

The men’s 500 free came down to the wire as Rose Bowl Aquatics’ Rex Maurer used a huge comeback to overtake swim Neptune’s Keaton Jones. Jones led by almost two seconds after 200 yards before Maurer finished fast and touched the wall first, 4:15.40 to 4:15.54. FAST Swim Team’s Matthew Chai finished third in 4:17.05.

  1 Maurer, Rex            17 Rose Bowl Aquati  4:19.40    4:15.40   20  
    r:+0.73  23.17        48.52 (25.35)
        1:14.34 (25.82)     1:40.39 (26.05)
        2:06.55 (26.16)     2:32.54 (25.99)
        2:58.62 (26.08)     3:24.80 (26.18)
        3:50.56 (25.76)     4:15.40 (24.84)
  2 Jones, Keaton          17 Swim Neptune-AZ   4:22.21    4:15.54   17  
    r:+0.80  22.83        47.55 (24.72)
        1:12.82 (25.27)     1:38.50 (25.68)
        2:04.64 (26.14)     2:31.06 (26.42)
        2:57.85 (26.79)     3:24.48 (26.63)
        3:50.72 (26.24)     4:15.54 (24.82)
  3 Chai, Matthew          18 FAST Swim Team-C  4:18.42    4:17.05   16  
    r:+0.84  23.73        49.23 (25.50)
        1:15.04 (25.81)     1:41.13 (26.09)
        2:07.43 (26.30)     2:33.60 (26.17)
        2:59.84 (26.24)     3:25.96 (26.12)
        3:52.00 (26.04)     4:17.05 (25.05)
  4 Lucas, Cooper          16 Lakeside Aquatic  4:20.60    4:18.65   15  
    r:+0.69  23.00        48.66 (25.66)
        1:14.51 (25.85)     1:40.54 (26.03)
        2:06.65 (26.11)     2:33.18 (26.53)
        2:59.55 (26.37)     3:26.10 (26.55)
        3:52.55 (26.45)     4:18.65 (26.10)
  5 Enyeart, Alec          17 Tsunami Swim Tea  4:21.55    4:20.49   14  
    r:+0.77  23.37        48.74 (25.37)
        1:14.65 (25.91)     1:40.80 (26.15)
        2:07.17 (26.37)     2:33.77 (26.60)
        3:00.54 (26.77)     3:27.54 (27.00)
        3:54.54 (27.00)     4:20.49 (25.95)
  6 Barrieault, Brice      17 Sandpipers Of Ne  4:24.28    4:24.45   13  
    r:+0.63  23.77        49.83 (26.06)
        1:16.24 (26.41)     1:43.27 (27.03)
        2:10.26 (26.99)     2:36.97 (26.71)
        3:03.95 (26.98)     3:31.44 (27.49)
        3:58.75 (27.31)     4:24.45 (25.70)
  7 Armstrong, Truman      17 Una TXLA-ST       4:24.72    4:25.53   12  
    r:+0.76  23.75        49.47 (25.72)
        1:16.09 (26.62)     1:43.40 (27.31)
        2:10.86 (27.46)     2:37.94 (27.08)
        3:04.94 (27.00)     3:32.01 (27.07)
        3:58.81 (26.80)     4:25.53 (26.72)
  8 Aistars, Anders        17 Irvine Novaquati  4:24.48    4:26.07   11  
    r:+0.69  23.58        49.04 (25.46)
        1:15.09 (26.05)     1:41.56 (26.47)
        2:08.58 (27.02)     2:35.97 (27.39)
        3:03.35 (27.38)     3:31.20 (27.85)
        3:58.71 (27.51)     4:26.07 (27.36)

Foxjets’ Carolina Larsen won the women’s 50 free in 22.50, while DART’s Charlotte Rosendale and Springfield’s Causandra Moses tied for second in 22.64.

  1 Larsen, Caroline       15 Foxjets Swim Tea    22.69      22.50   20  
         r:+0.71                       
  2 Rosendale, Charlotte   17 DART Swimming-SN    22.85      22.64   16.5
         r:+0.66                       
  2 Moses, Casaundra       18 Springfield Aqua    22.48      22.64   16.5
         r:+0.65                       
  4 Donald, Meghan         17 Ames Cyclone Aqu    22.75      22.74   15  
         r:+0.66                       
  5 Brakebill, Sydney      17 North Bay Aquati    22.67      22.80   14  
         r:+0.61                       
  6 Yu, Audrey             17 Sandpipers Of Ne    22.89      22.86   13  
         r:+0.68                       
  7 Driscoll, Tyler        16 Flying Fish Ariz    22.85      22.89   12  
         r:+0.68                       
  8 Kern, Emma             16 Aquajets Swim Te    22.86      23.03   11  
         r:+0.57

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