Bella Sims Wins Two, Katie Grimes Moves to 12th All-Time in 400 IM at Austin Juniors

bella-sims-olympic-trials-speedo-winter-junior-championships

Bella Sims -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Bella Sims Wins Two, Katie Grimes Moves to 12th All-Time in 400 IM at Austin Juniors

Sandpipers of Nevada teammates and U.S. Olympians Bella Sims and Katie Grimes have been the dominant swimmers so far at the Austin Junior Nationals meet, and that continued in Friday’s finals. Grimes just missed a National Age Group record in the women’s 400 IM while moving to 12th all-time in the event, while Sims finished first in back-to-back finals, posting a 1:42 in the 200 free in the second race.

First on Sims’ schedule was the women’s 100 fly, where the 16-year-old future Florida Gator pulled away from Fort Collins’ Lucy Bell to win by four tenths in 52.21. Bell placed second in 52.65, and Patriot Aquatic Club’s Annika Parkhe took third in 52.80.

  1 Sims, Bella            16 Sandpipers Of Ne    53.14      52.21   20  
    r:+0.58  24.51        52.21 (27.70)
  2 Bell, Lucy             17 Fort Collins Are    52.85      52.65   17  
    r:+0.67  24.54        52.65 (28.11)
  3 Parkhe, Annika         16 Patriot Aquatic-    53.32      52.80   16  
    r:+0.71  25.05        52.80 (27.75)
  4 Crom, Katie            18 Una SET-CA          53.57      52.82   15  
    r:+0.66  24.80        52.82 (28.02)
  5 Schalow, Maggie        17 Irvine Novaquati    53.48      53.13   14  
    r:+0.64  24.64        53.13 (28.49)
  6 Noble, Kennedy         17 Phoenix Swim Clu    53.76      53.24   13  
    r:+0.67  24.96        53.24 (28.28)
  7 Quan, Angela           16 Santa Clara Swim    53.51      53.46   12  
    r:+0.65  24.82        53.46 (28.64)
  8 Gillilan, Renee        17 Fort Collins Are    53.41      53.94   11  
    r:+0.62  25.08        53.94 (28.86)

The next women’s final saw Sims lead wire-to-wire over a tough field in the 200 free. She came in with a time of 1:42.92, a bit off her best time of 1:42.58 but still faster than all but one swimmer at last year’s NCAA Championships. Sims won by more than a second, with Fox Valley Park’s Leah Hayes coming in second at 1:44.13.

Irvine Novaquatics’ Teagan O’Dell placed third in 1:44.13, while fourth went to another Sandpipers swimmer, 14-year-old Claire Weinstein. Weinstein put up a time of 1:44.72. On Friday, she lowered her lifetime best from 1:47.61 to 1:46.01 in prelims and now this 1:44, which puts her third all-time among 13-14 girls behind only Sippy Woodhead and Missy Franklin. Grimes, meanwhile, ended up fifth in 1:45.64, swimming this race not long after her 400 IM.

  1 Sims, Bella            16 Sandpipers Of Ne  1:44.31    1:42.92*  20  
    r:+0.59  24.15        49.92 (25.77)
        1:16.55 (26.63)     1:42.92 (26.37)
  2 Hayes, Leah            16 Fox Valley Park-  1:44.69    1:44.13   17  
    r:+0.82  24.33        50.56 (26.23)
        1:17.53 (26.97)     1:44.13 (26.60)
  3 O'Dell, Teagan         15 Irvine Novaquati  1:45.85    1:44.62   16  
    r:+0.77  24.01        50.12 (26.11)
        1:17.01 (26.89)     1:44.62 (27.61)
  4 Weinstein, Claire      14 Sandpipers Of Ne  1:46.01    1:44.72   15  
    r:+0.79  25.00        51.54 (26.54)
        1:18.27 (26.73)     1:44.72 (26.45)
  5 Grimes, Katie          15 Sandpipers Of Ne  1:45.83    1:45.64   14  
    r:+0.62  24.87        51.52 (26.65)
        1:18.67 (27.15)     1:45.64 (26.97)
  6 Kozan, Justina         17 Una SET-CA        1:45.71    1:46.21   13  
    r:+0.70  24.67        51.37 (26.70)
        1:18.77 (27.40)     1:46.21 (27.44)
  7 Smith, Sydney          16 Dads Club Swim T  1:46.88    1:46.41   12  
    r:+0.70  25.10        51.95 (26.85)
        1:19.25 (27.30)     1:46.41 (27.16)
  8 Hodges, Macky          17 Una SET-CA        1:46.07    1:48.32   11  
    r:+0.71  24.94        52.24 (27.30)
        1:20.47 (28.23)     1:48.32 (27.85)

In the women’s 400 IM, Grimes blasted a 4:00.66 to beat Olympic Trials finalist Justina Kozan by six seconds. Grimes tied Katie Hoff, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the 400-meter IM and a two-time world champion in the event, for 12th-fastest all-time in the event. She finished just four hundredths off the 15-16 National Age Group record of 4:00.62, set by Dagny Knutson in 2008. Grimes’ previous best time was 4:06.24, set in April, as she showed that her skills go far beyond the distance freestyle in which she made her mark on the national and international level.

During this breakout year, Grimes finished second to Katie Ledecky in the 800-meter freestyle at Olympic Trials and then fourth in the event at the Tokyo Olympics.

Meanwhile, Kozan could not stick with Grimes, and she ended up finishing second in 4:06.74, about a second behind her best time, while Fort Collins’ Lucy Bell took third in 4:10.78.

  1 Grimes, Katie          15 Sandpipers Of Ne  4:07.17    4:00.66*  20  
    r:+0.65  25.79        54.78 (28.99)
        1:24.25 (29.47)     1:53.50 (29.25)
        2:29.77 (36.27)     3:06.02 (36.25)
        3:33.78 (27.76)     4:00.66 (26.88)
  2 Kozan, Justina         17 Una SET-CA        4:12.11    4:06.74   17  
    r:+0.74  25.89        56.03 (30.14)
        1:28.05 (32.02)     1:59.83 (31.78)
        2:34.86 (35.03)     3:11.00 (36.14)
        3:39.08 (28.08)     4:06.74 (27.66)
  3 Bell, Lucy             17 Fort Collins Are  4:13.86    4:10.78   16  
    r:+0.72  26.41        56.32 (29.91)
        1:29.26 (32.94)     2:01.37 (32.11)
        2:36.77 (35.40)     3:13.34 (36.57)
        3:42.36 (29.02)     4:10.78 (28.42)
  4 Hazle, Kathryn         17 North Coast Aqua  4:14.68    4:11.80   15  
    r:+0.71  27.26        58.28 (31.02)
        1:31.74 (33.46)     2:04.68 (32.94)
        2:39.17 (34.49)     3:14.20 (35.03)
        3:43.23 (29.03)     4:11.80 (28.57)
  5 McCarthy, Katie        17 Edina Swim Club-  4:16.93    4:15.38   14  
    r:+0.74  27.05        58.52 (31.47)
        1:31.43 (32.91)     2:03.23 (31.80)
        2:40.18 (36.95)     3:18.42 (38.24)
        3:47.94 (29.52)     4:15.38 (27.44)
  6 Doane, Camden          15 King Aquatic Clu  4:18.24    4:16.72   13  
    r:+0.71  26.94        57.50 (30.56)
        1:30.20 (32.70)     2:02.77 (32.57)
        2:39.54 (36.77)     3:17.36 (37.82)
        3:47.52 (30.16)     4:16.72 (29.20)
  7 Kuwata, Paige          17 Sandpipers Of Ne  4:18.47    4:16.96   12  
    r:+0.68  27.47        57.63 (30.16)
        1:30.04 (32.41)     2:01.53 (31.49)
        2:40.16 (38.63)     3:19.13 (38.97)
        3:48.66 (29.53)     4:16.96 (28.30)
  8 Cronk, Carli           15 Alamo Area Aquat  4:18.65    4:18.14   11  
    r:+0.83  27.21        57.59 (30.38)
        1:30.53 (32.94)     2:03.01 (32.48)
        2:40.68 (37.67)     3:19.46 (38.78)
        3:48.78 (29.32)     4:18.14 (29.36)

In the next event, Williamson put up a time of 3:42.22, an amazing accomplishment for a swimmer whose best time going into the day was 3:52 before swimming his 3:47 in prelims. In the final, Williamson blasted out ahead of the field on the backstroke leg and then pulled away. He swam a 3:42.22 to finish just 0.14 behind the National Age Group record, a 3:42.08 held by Michael Phelps. Williamson, who has more than a year remaining in the age group, could certainly pull off the rare accomplishment of beating a Phelps record within the next year, especially given his remarkable improvement.

Lakeside Aquatic Club’s Cooper Lucas took second in 3:46.26, four seconds behind Williamson, while Humberto Najera was third in 3:47.33.

  1 Williamson, Maximus    15 North Texas Nada  3:47.33    3:42.22*  20  
    r:+0.74  23.63        50.83 (27.20)
        1:18.49 (27.66)     1:45.69 (27.20)
        2:18.53 (32.84)     2:51.52 (32.99)
        3:17.43 (25.91)     3:42.22 (24.79)
  2 Lucas, Cooper          16 Lakeside Aquatic  3:49.31    3:46.26   17  
    r:+0.68  23.27        50.65 (27.38)
        1:19.39 (28.74)     1:47.79 (28.40)
        2:20.33 (32.54)     2:53.71 (33.38)
        3:20.80 (27.09)     3:46.26 (25.46)
  3 Najera, Humberto       16 Una SET-CA        3:50.75    3:47.33   16  
    r:+0.60  23.82        50.93 (27.11)
        1:19.52 (28.59)     1:47.50 (27.98)
        2:20.08 (32.58)     2:53.84 (33.76)
        3:21.30 (27.46)     3:47.33 (26.03)
  4 Jones, Keaton          17 Swim Neptune-AZ   3:48.81    3:47.55   15  
    r:+0.84  23.79        51.55 (27.76)
        1:20.08 (28.53)     1:47.96 (27.88)
        2:22.54 (34.58)     2:57.12 (34.58)
        3:23.22 (26.10)     3:47.55 (24.33)
  5 Brill, Kyle            18 Una CANY-CA       3:48.62    3:47.80   14  
    r:+0.73  24.74        53.37 (28.63)
        1:22.61 (29.24)     1:51.48 (28.87)
        2:22.77 (31.29)     2:54.95 (32.18)
        3:21.96 (27.01)     3:47.80 (25.84)
  6 Barrieault, Brice      17 Sandpipers Of Ne  3:50.92    3:52.92   13  
    r:+0.63  23.99        52.37 (28.38)
        1:22.65 (30.28)     1:52.12 (29.47)
        2:24.90 (32.78)     2:58.60 (33.70)
        3:26.54 (27.94)     3:52.92 (26.38)
  7 Edmund, Mason          17 North Texas Nada  3:50.20    3:54.31   12  
    r:+0.80  24.43        52.30 (27.87)
        1:22.78 (30.48)     1:51.60 (28.82)
        2:26.35 (34.75)     3:01.10 (34.75)
        3:28.34 (27.24)     3:54.31 (25.97)
  8 Morgan, Keller         17 Evolution Racing  3:51.56    4:01.03   11  
    r:+0.70  25.06        54.31 (29.25)
        1:25.14 (30.83)     1:55.66 (30.52)
        2:29.28 (33.62)     3:03.44 (34.16)
        3:32.85 (29.41)     4:01.03 (28.18)

In the men’s 100 fly, Sandpipers’ Ilya Kharun took down a National Age Group record of his own. He dominated the field by seven tenths and recorded a time of 45.59. That clipped the 15-16 NAG record of 45.61 held by current Georgia Bulldog Luca Urlando. Only three swimmers aged 16 or younger have ever broken 46 in the 100 fly, and two of those performances happened on this particular Friday between Kharun’s swim in Austin and Thomas Heilman swimming a 45.81 during his second record-breaking 100 fly swim of the day in Greensboro.

Alamo Area’s Connor Foote placed second here in 46.31, and Bellevue’s Brian Lee finished third in 46.81.

  1 Kharun, Ilya           16 Sandpipers Of Ne    46.50      45.59   20  
    r:+0.72  21.23        45.59 (24.36)
  2 Foote, Connor          17 Alamo Area Aquat    46.87      46.31   17  
    r:+0.69  21.44        46.31 (24.87)
  3 Lee, Brian             17 Bellevue Club Sw    47.00      46.81   16  
    r:+0.66  21.56        46.81 (25.25)
  4 McKenna, Conor         18 Lakeside Aquatic    47.62      47.00   15  
    r:+0.68  21.86        47.00 (25.14)
  5 Halterman, Bryce       17 Paseo Aquatics S    46.96      47.28   14  
    r:+0.68  21.76        47.28 (25.52)
  6 Smith, Holden          18 Una SET-CA          47.60      47.30   13  
    r:+0.63  21.90        47.30 (25.40)
  7 Filipovic, Alec        17 St Charles Swim-    47.50      47.56   12  
    r:+0.63  22.12        47.56 (25.44)
  8 Schmitt, David         16 Evolution Racing    47.56      47.76   11  
    r:+0.67  22.40        47.76 (25.36)

The men’s 200 free went to Inspire Swim Team’s Nate Germonprez, who fended off a challenge from Rose Bowl’s Rex Maurer to win 1:34.19 to 1:34.59. Third went to another Rose Bowl swimmer, Zach Larrick, in 1:35.27.

  1 Germonprez, Nate       17 iNspire Swim Tea  1:35.54    1:34.19   20  
    r:+0.69  21.64        45.46 (23.82)
        1:09.81 (24.35)     1:34.19 (24.38)
  2 Maurer, Rex            17 Rose Bowl Aquati  1:35.58    1:34.59   17  
    r:+0.74  21.80        45.64 (23.84)
        1:10.28 (24.64)     1:34.59 (24.31)
  3 Larrick, Zach          17 Rose Bowl Aquati  1:35.83    1:35.27   16  
    r:+0.71  22.16        46.12 (23.96)
        1:10.48 (24.36)     1:35.27 (24.79)
  4 Mueller, Chase         17 Foothills Swim T  1:36.64    1:35.52   15  
    r:+0.78  22.51        46.52 (24.01)
        1:11.10 (24.58)     1:35.52 (24.42)
  5 Jones, Keaton          17 Swim Neptune-AZ   1:36.78    1:35.94   14  
    r:+0.78  22.46        46.42 (23.96)
        1:11.50 (25.08)     1:35.94 (24.44)
  6 Williamson, Maximus    15 North Texas Nada  1:36.12    1:36.15   13  
    r:+0.73  21.71        45.79 (24.08)
        1:10.92 (25.13)     1:36.15 (25.23)
  7 Quarles, Samuel        16 Coronado Swim As  1:37.01    1:36.50   12  
    r:+0.70  22.32        46.63 (24.31)
        1:11.57 (24.94)     1:36.50 (24.93)
  8 Lucas, Cooper          16 Lakeside Aquatic  1:36.43    1:37.01   11  
    r:+0.68  22.03        46.53 (24.50)
        1:11.87 (25.34)     1:37.01 (25.14)

Two swimmers finished under 1:00 in the women’s 100 breast as University of Denver Hilltoppers’ Emma Weber touched first in 59.03, and Springfield’s Aubree Brouwer claimed second in 59.37. Top seed Piper Enge of Bellevue touched third in 59.68, but she was disqualified for a false start, so Colorado Springs’ Caroline Bricker earned third-place honors with her 1:00.37.

  1 Weber, Emma            17 Univ of Denver H  1:00.59      59.03   20  
    r:+0.70  27.82        59.03 (31.21)
  2 Brouwer, Aubree        17 Springfield Aqua  1:00.01      59.37   17  
    r:+0.66  28.14        59.37 (31.23)
  3 Bricker, Caroline      16 Colorado Springs  1:01.04    1:00.37   16  
    r:+0.63  28.25      1:00.37 (32.12)
  4 Codevilla, Mary        17 Elevation Athlet  1:01.04    1:00.82   15  
    r:+0.71  28.28      1:00.82 (32.54)
  5 Brito, Bella           14 Beach Cities Swi  1:00.62    1:01.05   14  
    r:+0.69  28.44      1:01.05 (32.61)
  6 Tu, Gillian            16 Seattle Metropol  1:00.85    1:01.11   13  
    r:+0.70  28.06      1:01.11 (33.05)
  7 O'Dell, Teagan         15 Irvine Novaquati  1:01.23    1:01.26   12  
    r:+0.73  28.60      1:01.26 (32.66)
 -- Enge, Piper            15 Bellevue Club Sw    59.83         DQ  
      False start
    r:+0.62  28.09           DQ (31.59)

Bellevue’s Charlie Arnold recorded a stellar 53.22 in the men’s 100 breast to take the victory, while First Colony”s Logan Brown placed second in 53.57. Also under 54 were CSP Tideriders’ Kledi Kadiu (53.72) and Inspire’s Kael Mlinek (53.82)

  1 Arnold, Charlie        17 Bellevue Club Sw    53.80      53.22   20  
    r:+0.70  24.92        53.22 (28.30)
  2 Brown, Logan           16 First Colony Swi    54.34      53.57   17  
    r:+0.64  25.40        53.57 (28.17)
  3 Kadiu, Kledi           18 CSP Tideriders-O    53.67      53.72   16  
    r:+0.65  24.85        53.72 (28.87)
  4 Mlinek, Kael           17 iNspire Swim Tea    54.02      53.82   15  
    r:+0.63  24.68        53.82 (29.14)
  5 Rivers, Hank           18 Golden West Swim    54.10      54.00   14  
    r:+0.66  25.46        54.00 (28.54)
  6 Gissendaner, Luca      18 Scottsdale Aquat    53.79      54.36   13  
    r:+0.63  24.71        54.36 (29.65)
  7 Bonnett, Will          18 Parkway Swim Clu    54.38      54.49   12  
    r:+0.63  25.64        54.49 (28.85)
  8 Kistler, Drew          18 Spokane Waves Aq    54.40      54.97   11  
    r:+0.70  25.71        54.97 (29.26)

Phoenix Swim Club’s Kennedy Noble earned a win i na tight final of the women’s 100 back. Noble exploded on the second half to pull ahead of Aquajets’ Emma Kern, who touched second in 52.83, while Parkhe earned her second top-three finish of the night with a 53.15 for third.

  1 Noble, Kennedy         17 Phoenix Swim Clu    52.93      52.62   20  
             25.36        52.62 (27.26)
  2 Kern, Emma             16 Aquajets Swim Te    53.33      52.83   17  
             25.21        52.83 (27.62)
  3 Parkhe, Annika         16 Patriot Aquatic-    53.83      53.15   16  
             25.99        53.15 (27.16)
  4 Moses, Casaundra       18 Springfield Aqua    53.53      53.57   15  
             25.41        53.57 (28.16)
  5 Rojas, Ana             17 Colorado Springs    54.09      53.59   14  
             25.74        53.59 (27.85)
  6 Wilson, Charlotte      15 Univ of Denver H    53.70      54.00   13  
             26.06        54.00 (27.94)
  7 Zhang, Amy             16 Rancho San Diegu    54.12      54.42   12  
             26.18        54.42 (28.24)
  8 Bales, Sydney          17 Front Range Barr    54.10      54.88   11  
             26.50        54.88 (28.38)

Lake Oswego’s Nick Simons touched out Pikes Peak’s Quintin McCarty to win the men’s 100 back, 46.39 to 46.55. The duo was well ahead of the field as Kyle Brill ended up third in 47.37.

  1 Simons, Nick           17 Lake Oswego Swim    46.65      46.39   20  
             22.41        46.39 (23.98)
  2 McCarty, Quintin       18 Pikes Peak Athle    47.19      46.55   17  
             22.26        46.55 (24.29)
  3 Brill, Kyle            18 Una CANY-CA         47.49      47.37   16  
             23.03        47.37 (24.34)
  4 Mueller, Chase         17 Foothills Swim T    47.80      47.64   15  
             23.30        47.64 (24.34)
  5 Jones, Keaton          17 Swim Neptune-AZ     48.10      47.92   14  
             23.59        47.92 (24.33)
  6 Williamson, Maximus    15 North Texas Nada    48.27      48.12   13  
             23.42        48.12 (24.70)
  7 Gentry, Marcus         17 Superior Stingra    47.95      48.14   12  
             23.15        48.14 (24.99)
  8 Roder, Tommy           18 Orinda Aquatics-    48.19      48.21   11  
             23.42        48.21 (24.79)

The Sandpipers squad of longer-distance specialists showed off some sprint speed in the 200 free relay as Sims,Grimes, Audrey Yu and Weinstein pulled out a victory in 1:31.10, while Irvine Novaquatics took second in 1:31.38.

  1 Sandpipers Of Ne-CA  'A'            3:19.50    1:31.10   40  
     1) Sims, Bella 16                2) r:+0.32 Grimes, Katie 15     
     3) r:+0.28 Yu, Audrey 17         4) r:+0.30 Weinstein, Claire 14 
    r:+0.62  22.74        45.75 (23.01)
        1:08.46 (22.71)     1:31.10 (22.64)
  2 Irvine Novaquati-CA  'A'            3:22.68    1:31.38   34  
     1) O'Dell, Teagan 15             2) r:+0.30 Ervin, Lindsay 17    
     3) r:+0.44 Schalow, Maggie 17    4) r:+0.25 Yeh, Phoebe 17       
    r:+0.76  22.60        45.42 (22.82)
        1:08.39 (22.97)     1:31.38 (22.99)
  3 Elevation Athlet-CO  'A'            3:23.19    1:32.06   32  
     1) Lukinac, Morgan 18            2) r:+0.14 Codevilla, Mary 17   
     3) r:+0.33 Bank, Karolina 17     4) r:+0.40 Armon, Indigo 17     
    r:+0.66  23.05        45.69 (22.64)
        1:08.88 (23.19)     1:32.06 (23.18)

Rose Bowl Aquatic Club, with Maurer, Ronald Dalmacio, Larrick and Nathan Kim, won the men’s 200 free relay in 1:20.71.

  1 Rose Bowl Aquati-CA  'A'            2:58.95    1:20.71   40  
     1) Maurer, Rex 17                2) r:+0.26 Dalmacio, Ronald 17  
     3) r:+0.29 Larrick, Zach 17      4) r:+0.08 Kim, Nathan 16       
    r:+0.70  20.36        40.30 (19.94)
        1:00.56 (20.26)     1:20.71 (20.15)
  2 Lakeside Aquatic-NT  'A'            2:59.05    1:21.13   34  
     1) Vanzandt, Jon 17              2) r:+0.25 Zettle, Andrew 17    
     3) r:+0.31 Lucas, Cooper 16      4) r:+0.62 McKenna, Conor 18    
    r:+0.60  20.55        40.94 (20.39)
        1:01.12 (20.18)     1:21.13 (20.01)
  3 Coronado Swim As-SI  'B'            3:01.83    1:21.14   32  
     1) Quarles, Samuel 16            2) r:+0.31 Woolsey, Cash 18     
     3) r:+0.38 Ladman, Adam 18       4) r:+0.16 Brown, Lucius 17     
    r:+0.67  20.47        40.96 (20.49)
        1:01.71 (20.75)     1:21.14 (19.43)

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