Riptide’s Regan Smith Posts 59.7 100 Back at Indy Sectionals

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Photo Courtesy: Donna Nelson

Regan Smith of Riptide proved to be the story of the night on day 3 of long course Speedo Sectionals in Indianapolis. Smith’s 100 backstroke elevated her to second in the all-time National Age Group standards for 15- and 16-year-olds, second only to Olympian Missy Franklin. Other highlights of the night included record-breaking swims by Emily Weiss and Itay Goldfaden in the 100 breaststroke events.

Carmel Swim Club and Waves Bloomington Normal YMCA started off day three meet in record-breaking fashion with the women’s 200 freestyle relay. Waves Bloomington led the race the entire way until the fourth leg, when Carmel’s Kelly Pash dove in head to head with Waves Bloomington’s Noelle Peplowski. Pash, who anchored the 200 medley as well, was touched out by just a hair by Waves Bloomington yesterday.

Pash’s determination won out in the 200 freestyle relay race today, however. Pash swam a solid 25.66 freestyle anchor leg, while Peplowski posted a 26.60. Both relays broke the meet record of 1:46.28, but Carmel will hold the title in the future, thanks to a final time of 1:45.53. Waves of Bloomington Normal earned a 1:46.01, and Pash’s teammates on the B squad garnered the bronze medal in 1:47.69.

The individual competition for the night kicked off with the women’s 100 backstroke and a historic performance from 15-year-old Regan Smith. Smith, representing Riptide, dominated the field from the start and posted the second-fastest time of all time in the country for 15-and-16-year-olds. Her 59.74 puts her just behind Missy Franklin’s NAG mark of 59.18 from the USA National Championship Meet in August of 2011.

The Riptide Rocket’s swim, which also broke the meet record mark, bodes well for the summer, especially at this early point in the long course season. Grace Ariola of Waves Bloomington Normal also had an excellent night swim time of 1:01.09, the ninth fastest time for that same age group. Lakeside Swim Team’s Annabel Crush, a superstar 14-year-old, rounded out the podium with the fifth-fastest time for her age group: 1:02.91.

After the record-breaking excitement of the women’s race, the riveting men’s race produced a photo finish. Wyatt Davis of Carmel Swim Club and Paul Le of Missouri State University fought tooth and nail for the victory. The fifteen-year-old Davis took out the race in style–26.98–while Le exercised restraint with his 27.21. In the second fifty, it was Le’s turn to make a move, and his move was a memorable one.

Le attacked the second fifty in 28.97, while Davis faded to a 29.13. The dramatic 100 came down to the touch, but Davis got his hand to the wall for 56.11, while Le finished just behind in 56.18. The rest of the field remained distant and tight, but John Sampson of Kettering State snatched third from the others in 58.63.

The women’s 400 freestyle brought together some of the meet’s top scorers and podium finishers in the other middle- and long-distance freestyle events. Ultimately, it was Carmel Swim Club’s Emma Nordin, also the winner of the 800, who came away with the gold in 4:13.70. Nordin stayed relaxed but strong during her first 100 and held consistent pace in the middle 200.

That strategy set up Nordon to swim a gutsy final 100 a second under her middle 100 pace. Behind Nordin, Vien Nguyen, last night’s winner of the 200 freestyle and 400 IM, posted a solid 4:16.35, while Bloomington Normal’s Melissa Pish stopped the clock in 4:19.03.

The men’s race saw Carmel’s Wyatt Davis attempting an exhausting turnaround from the 100 back to the 400 free. Empire KC Swim Club’s William Bresette, the top seed from the morning, swam an impressive 3:59.43, thanks to an assertive first 100 (57.31) and an even back half. Davis had nearly identical splits but was just a few tenths behind Bresette on each 100, resulting in a 4:01.12. Skyler Cook-Weeks of Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics was not far behind for third in 4:02.83.

In the women’s 100 breaststroke, Emily Weiss of Cardinal Community Swim Club came out on top and edged past the meet record with her time of 1:08.91. Firestone Akron’s Hanna Gresser earned second in 1:10.81, while Jinq En Phee, swimming unattached, settled for third in 1:10.97.

On the men’s side, it was the unattached 20-somethings who led the field. Itay Goldfaden topped his competitors with the record-breaking time of 1:01.49. Nils Wich-Glasen was not far behind in 1:01.99, but ultimately came up short because of a slower second fifty. Several seconds later, Michael Weiss brought the rest of the field to the wall and nabbed third in 1:04.27.

The women’s 200 fly brought a scattered field. Lauren Edelman, swimming unattached, struck gold in 2:15.55. Edelman’s well-balanced second 100 paid off and set her apart from the pack. Carmel’s Kelly Pash followed behind in 2:17.30, good for silver. The real excitement was a three-way race for third, between 20-year old Vien Ngyuen, swimming unattached, 14-year-old Julia Heimstead of Carmel Swim Club, and 15-year-old Winter Craig of Riptide. Veteran Ngyuen snagged third, in 2:19.11. Heimstead lunged for fourth in 2:19.13, while Craig placed fifth in 2:19.33.

The event to follow resulted in another tight race–this one for first. Jan Radmanovic, swimming unattached, led the men’s 200 butterfly the entire way, but Spencer Carl of Michigan Lakeshore threatened that victory in the back half. Radmanovic came out on top in 2:03.16, while Spencer finished in 2:03.79. Meanwhile, Harrison Homans of Bluefish Swim Club took third in 2:05.90.

In the final event of the night, Michigan Lakeshore beat out favorite Carmel Swim Club for gold. Skyler Cook-Weeks and Spencer Carl made all the difference in the final two legs for Michigan; they snatched up the gold in 7:45.39. Carmel Swim Club was not far behind in 7:46.97. Bluefish Swim Club claimed the third spot on the podium with a 7:53.85.

Results are available on Meet Mobile: 2017 Speedo Sectionals at Indianapolis

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