Victorian Championships: Youngsters Shine During First Day of Meet

MELBOURNE, Australia, January 4. THE first day of competition featured some quick swimming at the 2008 Victorian Championships held in Melbourne, Australia from Jan. 4-8.

Women's Events
1500 freestyle finals
The United States picked up the top two spots when a pair of 15 year olds, Ashley Evans and Emily Kelly, went 1-2 in the event. Evans, who is quickly becoming one of the United States' top young distance stars, easily won the crown with a time of 16:39.19. Kelly, meanwhile, snagged second in 16:51.14.

China had a pair of youngsters also place high with 13-year-old Zhou Li Li (16:54.86) and 17-year-old Zhou Jie (16:59.91) picking up third and fourth.

200 back finals
Albury's Belinda Hocking, 17, came away with the 200 back victory in a time of 2:11.89, while China's Chen Wen, 15, finished second in 2:12.88. Third place provided a close battle as Norwood's Fran Adcock (2:13.18) held off China's Zhou Yan Xin (2:13.30) for bronze.

400 free relay finals
The United States claimed gold with a time of 3:46.83 as the team of Dagny Knutson, Traycie Swartz, Margo Geer and Kate Ziegler completed the event with a nearly two-second victory.

CAA's Shayne Reese, Danni Miatke, Julie Douglas and Alanna Tanner placed second in 3:48.73, while the U.S. B team of Lauren Harrington, Emily Andelson, Emily Bos and Tori Simenec took third in 3:50.86.

50 breast semis
Chandler's Tarnee White claimed the top spot going into finals with a time of 31.60, while CAA's Sarah Katsoulis finished second in 31.67. Lethal Leisel Jones skated into finals with a third-place time of 31.81, while Mary Olsen, 15, of the United States took fourth in 32.32.

100 fly semis
SOPAC's Felicity Galvez easily posted the swiftest time of the semis with a 59.19, while Great Britain's Ellen Gandy, 16, joined her under 1:00 with a time of 59.56. Chandler's Alice Mills took third in 1:00.20, while the United States' Lauren Harrington, 15, finished fourth in 1:00.41

Men's Events
200 free finals
Kenrick Monk picked off distance star Grant Hackett in a star-studded affair for the men's 200 free. Monk hit the wall in 1:48.01, while Hackett finished just behind for second in 1:48.09. Patrick Murphy completed the top three with a time of 1:48.67.

"To come here and have really good competition with a lot of the guys here that I will be racing at trials, it shows where I'm at at the moment," Monk told The Herald Sun. "We didn't back off for this meet, so to come here and go 1:48, I was quite happy with that."

200 fly finals
Travis Nederpelt dominated the event as his margin of victory exceeded two seconds. Nederpelt clocked in at 1:58.86, while the United States took second and third. Samuel McGraw touched out A.J. Tipton, 2:01.25 to 2:01.26, for second-place honors.

400 medley relay finals
The United States went 1-2 in the event. The team of Brady Fox, Stuart Ferguson, A.J. Tipton and Nick Brunelli won in 3:44.91, while teammates Max Murphy, Curtis Lovelace, Bobby Bollier and Morgon Henderson-Kunz took second in 3:45.34.

50 back semis
Daniel Arnamnart claimed the top seed heading into finals with a time of 25.69, while the United States' Nick Brunelli placed second in 26.36. Ethan Rolff (26.37) and Matt Welsh (26.40) took third and fourth, respectively.

Throughout the meet, Brunelli will be providing SwimmingWorldMagazine.com with exclusive updates. Here are links to the first three articles:

Team USA Junior National Team Day One Victorian Championships Highlights

The Transfer of Power, USA National Junior Team Continues on Right Path to Success

USA National Junior Team Trip to OZ; The Future Powerhouse of Team USA!

100 breast semis
Craig Calder picked up the top spot going into finals with a time of 1:03.85, while James Stacey finished second in 1:04.26. The United States put two into the top four with Curtis Lovelace (1:04.36) and Stuart Ferguson, 16, (1:04.87) each finishing under 1:05.

Multi-Disability Events
Daniel Bell of Geelong City won the men's 50 back in 32.30. Nurawading's Prue Watt won the women's 50 free in 29.30, while Geelong City's Sarah Bowen topped the women's 100 breast in 1:49.20. Sam Bramham of the Ivanhoe Neons earned the men's 100 fly title in 1:03.62.

Results: 2008 Victorian Championships – (01-04-2008 – 01-15-2008)

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