Hoff Puts on Weekend Show at Burgdorff Invitational

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, New Jersey, January 17. KATIE Hoff knows how to celebrate. Just after signing a 10-year endorsement deal with SPEEDO, the teenage phenom put together a spectacular weekend at the Burgdorff Invitational, a long-course event organized by the Berkeley Aquatic Club. A triple-gold medalist at last summer’s World Championships in Montreal, Hoff posted victories in five individual events at the Burgdorff competition.

Representing the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which claimed first place in the team standings, Hoff opened the meet with a splendid clocking of 1:59.05 in the 200 freestyle and followed that performance less than an hour later with a winning swim of 1:00.54 in the 100 butterfly. Capping the first night of action, Hoff anchored NBAC to victory in the 800 freestyle relay with an eye-popping split of 1:57.80.

The final two nights of competition were equally impressive for Hoff, the American-record holder in the 200 individual medley. Contesting the 400 freestyle, Hoff touched the wall in 4:09.63, a performance that would have placed her eighth at the World Champs. Hoff also won the 200 breaststroke (2:32.00) and bested the field in the 100 free with a mark of 55.75.

Also for NBAC, 13-year-old Felicia Lee popped a dynamite performance in the 13-14 100 butterfly, as she covered the distance in a mind-boggling 1:00.11. That time wasn’t far off the National Age Group record in the event, a 59.71 established by the legendary Mary T. Meagher in 1979.

En route to a second-place showing in the team standings, Germantown Academy Aquatic Club uncorked several stellar swims, most notably from Alicia Aemisegger and Kirsten Groome. Bound for Princeton University, Aemisegger secured wins in the 200 and 400 individual medley events, thanks to respective times of 2:17.58 and 4:47.08. In the preliminaries of the 200 I.M., Aemisegger posted a time of 2:16.96. She was also second in the 200 breast (2:35.30) and 800 freestyle (8:47.95).

As for Groome, the 15-year-old was the victor in the 800 (8:42.55) and 1,500 (16:46.92) freestyles. Groome also picked up second-place finishes in the 400 I.M. (4:48.46), 400 free (4:18.39), 200 fly (2:18.06) and 200 free (2:04.11).

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