Duke Aquatics Championship Meet Summaries

Jul 29, 2010

Duke Aquatics swimmers have been busy representing themselves at a number of championship meets throughout the latter half of July.  Different swimmers attended different meets based on their age and qualifying status.  No matter the meet, DA swimmers showed up with fast swimming and new individual achievements.
 
 
The North Carolina Age Group Championships in Charlotte witnessed nearly 90% personal best swims by the 19 Duke Aquatics swimmers in attendance.  The 13-14 boys smashed the previous team records in the 400 & 800 Freestyle relays, and Jacob Vosburgh posted a new team record in the 13-14 boys 1500 Free.  Connor Sept set 5 new 9-10 boys team records, including the 50 & 100 Free, 50 & 100 Back, and 200 IM.  Both Jacob and Connor placed in the top 16 in all 8 of their individual events. 
 
Swimmers who placed in the top 16:
 
Tommy Bilden, 13 – 200 Fly (6th), 100 Fly (9th)
Becca Churchill, 12 – 200 Breast (2nd), 100 Breast (5th), 50 Breast (6th), 50 Fly (11th), 100 Fly (14th)
Michael Li, 11 – 100 Fly (13th)
Danielle Liu, 13 – 1500 Free (7th), 800 Free (9th), 400 Free (10th), 400 IM (11th), 200 IM (13th), 200 Free (13th), 200 Fly (16th)
Emily Sarratt, 14 – 50 Free (14th)
Harry Schrickx, 14 – 100 Breast (15th), 200 Breast (15th)
Connor Sept, 10 – 50 Breast (6th), 50 Free (7th), 200 IM (8th), 50 Back (10th), 100 Breast (10th), 100 Free (11th), 200 Free (13th), 100 Back (15th)
Corri Sept, 12 – 200 Breast (7th)
Sarah Helen Shepherd, 11 – 200 Back (10th)
Morgan Smith, 13 – 200 Breast (14th), 200 Fly (15th)
Jacob Vosburgh, 14 – 100 Fly (3rd), 200 Fly (4th), 400 IM (7th), 1500 Free (7th), 800 Free (9th), 50 Free (10th), 400 Free (13th), 100 Free (16th)
Connor Williams, 14 – 200 Back (5th), 100 Back (12th), 200 Free (16th)
Jen Xu, 12 – 50 Free (7th), 200 Free (8th), 400 Free (8th), 100 Free (10th), 400 IM (13th)
 
Relays which placed in the top 8:
 
13-14 Boys           
400 Medley Relay (3rd) – Williams, Schrickx, Bilden, Vosburgh
800 Free Relay (5th) – Vosburgh, Bilden, Schrickx, Williams
400 Free Relay (6th) – Vosburgh, Bilden, Harris, Williams
 
13-14 Girls
800 Free Relay (6th) – D. Liu, Smith, Marzinsky, Sarratt
400 Free Relay (7th) – D. Liu, Sarratt, Marzinsky, Smith
 
11-12 Girls
200 Free Relay (8th) – Xu, Shepherd, Sept, Churchill
 
Duke Aquatics placed 8th overall at the meet.
 
 
 
Long Course Senior Sectionals, heavily attended by college swimmers, brought 10 Duke Aquatics athletes to Athens, Georgia.  Ashley Twichell, a rising senior at Duke University, posted a new team record in the Senior 1500 Free on her way to taking 1st place in the event.  Meghan Smith earned her first Junior National qualifying time in the 200 Fly and also broke the 17-18 girls team record in the 400 IM.  
 
Swimmers who placed in the top 24:
 
Chris Dong - 200 Breast (12th), 100 Breast (22nd)
Ben Hwang – 50 Free (14th), 100 Free (20th)
Mackenzie Robinson – 400 IM (14th), 200 IM (21st), 200 Back (22nd)
Maija Roses – 200 Breast (9th), 100 Breast (18th)
Meghan Smith – 200 Fly (8th), 400 IM (17th), 200 IM (23rd)
Ashley Twichell – 1500 (1st), 800 Free (7th), 400 Free (7th)
 
Relays which placed in the top 8:
 
Women
400 Medley Relay (7th) – Roses, Smith, Davis, Robinson
800 Free Relay (8th) – Twichell, Smith, Robinson, Davis
400 Free Relay (8th) – Robinson, Roses, Smith, Davis
 
Men
400 Medley Relay (8th) – Buchanan, Dong, Creidler, Hwang
 
Overall, Duke Aquatics placed 10th at the meet
 
 
 
North Carolina Senior Champs were held in Cary the following weekend, with 12 DA swimmers racing in the meet.  Garrett House was selected to the NC Zone team based on his performance in the breaststroke events.
 
Swimmers placing in the top 16:
 
Supriya Davis – 100 Fly (8th), 1500 Free (11th)
Garrett House – 200 Breast (8th)
Mackenzie Robinson – 200 Back (4th), 400 IM (5th), 200 Fly (6th), 100 Fly (9th), 800 Free (10th)
Meghan Smith – 200 IM (5th)
 
Women’s 400 Free Relay (7th) – Davis, Smith, Yu, Robinson
 
 
 
Many swimmers will finish their season at the Tar Heel States meet in Cary.  A handful of Duke Aquatics swimmers will be extending their season into August to compete at the National meets in Irvine, California.  Chelsea Howard, Maija Roses, Ashley Twichell, Ben Hwang, and Ben Tuben will attend Senior Nationals on August 3-7.  Chris Dong will be at Junior Nationals on August 9-13.  Best of luck to all DA swimmers!