Bryce Mefford Takes Two on Night Three of La Mirada Sectionals
Bryce Mefford came to make a statement on the third night of the La Mirada installment of Speedo Sectionals. Mefford, a UC Berkeley commit, came away with titles in both the 200 backstroke and the 100 butterfly. On the women’s side, Taylor Ault and Catherine Sanchez continued to stack up victories.
The women’s 200 backstroke proved to be a repeat of yesterday’s 100, as Alexandra Crisera of Beach Cities Swimming once again went head-to-head with BREA Aquatics’ Emily Trieu. During the first fifty meters, Crisera and Trieu were neck and neck, but Crisera quickly pulled away with the race. Crisera posted a 2:14.96, while Trieu closed fast to stop the clock at 2:16.28. Courtney Tseng, swimming unattached, filled out the third spot on the podium in 2:17.14.
Event 19 Women 200 LC Meter Backstroke ================================================================== Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================================================== === A - Final === 1 Crisera, Alexandra 16 CITI-CA 2:16.67 2:14.96 2 Trieu, Emily 16 BREA-CA 2:19.19 2:16.28 3 Tseng, Courtney 17 La Mirada Armada 2:20.03 2:17.14 4 Gilbert, Liberty 15 TMEC-CA 2:20.37 2:17.25 5 Okubo, Sydney 17 AZOT-CA 2:21.08 2:18.53 6 Humel, Colleen 20 San Jose State S 2:19.83 2:18.89 7 Pearson, Samantha 15 Un-Brea-CA 2:19.92 2:19.75 8 Fox, Juliana 17 PAC-SI 2:21.44 2:21.21
The men’s 200 title went to the silver medalist in the 100, Bryce Mefford of Sierra Marlins Swim Team. Mefford dominated the competition, his 2:00.76 a full five seconds faster than anyone else in the pack. Mefford was followed by Joseph Molinari of Palo Alto Stanford, who swam an aggressive race from the outside lane to claim silver and a 2:05.98. Behind Molinari, Mario Vasquez of Roadrunner Aquatics nabbed the bronze in 2:07.67, just touching out Ethan Trieu of BREA Aquatics (2:07.92).
Event 20 Men 200 LC Meter Backstroke ================================================================== Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================================================== === A - Final === 1 Mefford, Bryce 18 Sierra Marlins S 2:02.61 2:00.76 2 Molinari, Joseph 19 Palo Alto Stanfo 2:09.96 2:05.98 3 Vasquez, Mario 21 Roadrunner-CC 2:06.94 2:07.67 4 Trieu, Ethan 17 BREA-CA 2:09.02 2:07.92 5 Tuitama, Tama 17 Team Rebel-CA 2:08.55 2:08.27 6 Anugrah, Dwiki 17 Fusion Aquatics- 2:08.82 2:08.34 7 Planells, Preston 16 BREA-CA 2:09.05 2:08.42 8 Kulik, Brandon 17 Rancho San Diegu 2:09.02 2:10.67
The 400 freestyle brought together all of the major freestylers on the women’s side, from both the sprint and the distance events. Taylor Ault of La Mirada Armada continued her meet campaign with a commanding swim in the 400 freestyle. Meanwhile, the next top finisher, Katie Glavinovich of Aquazot Swim Club, swam a consistent 400, holding steady at 1:05 after the first one hundred. De Anza Cupertino Aquatics’ Riley Spitser claimed the bronze in 4:20.31.
Event 21 Women 400 LC Meter Freestyle ================================================================== Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================================================== === A - Final === 1 Ault, Taylor 18 La Mirada Armada 4:20.05 4:12.65 2 Glavinovich, Katie 17 AZOT-CA 4:22.93 4:18.04 3 Spitser, Riley 22 De Anza Cupertin 4:21.95 4:20.31 4 Williams, Liberty 15 Yucaipa Swim Tea 4:22.46 4:21.06 5 Sulkevich, Kathleen 17 La Mirada Armada 4:23.37 4:21.72 6 Tseng, Courtney 17 La Mirada Armada 4:21.73 4:23.29 7 Thompson, Mikki 17 BREA-CA 4:24.65 4:23.49 8 Campbell, Jennifer 20 Palo Alto Stanfo 4:23.43 4:26.54
On the men’s side, the real race was for second place, as La Mirada Armada’s Brad Gonzales fully established his lead during the third 100. Gonzales ultimately topped the field in 3:59.19, while Michael Tenney of BREA Aquatics and Michael Lincoln of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics battled it out for silver. Thanks to a strong final 100, Tenney (4:00.48) ultimately touched just one-tenth of a second ahead of Lincoln (4:00.58).
Event 22 Men 400 LC Meter Freestyle ================================================================== Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================================================== === A - Final === 1 Gonzales, Brad 19 La Mirada Armada 4:06.21 3:59.19 2 Tenney, Michael 19 BREA-CA 4:03.89 4:00.48 3 Lincoln, Michael 18 Palo Alto Stanfo 4:04.29 4:00.58 4 Vargas, Kevin 16 La Mirada Armada 4:02.95 4:02.69 5 Blitz, Jordan 17 PAC-SI 4:03.45 4:05.94 6 Wang, David 17 La Mirada Armada 4:07.37 4:06.11 7 Van Krimpen, Owen 20 Roadrunner-CC 4:04.44 4:06.29 8 Rawls, Corban 18 Palo Alto Stanfo 4:07.07 4:07.76
The women’s 100 breaststroke saw a showdown between Riley Scott of the Marin Pirates, and Grace Zhao of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics. Scott led the whole way but Zhao remained close. Scott finished in 1:09.48, while Zhao touched the pad in 1:10.34. Nearly two seconds later, Gianni Pitto of California Gold took third in 1:12.04, touching out Jacqueline Basham of BREA.
Event 23 Women 100 LC Meter Breaststroke ================================================================== Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================================================== === A - Final === 1 Scott, Riley 19 Marin Pirates-PC 1:10.61 1:09.48 2 Zhao, Grace 17 Palo Alto Stanfo 1:10.80 1:10.34 3 Pitto, Gianni 16 California Gold- 1:12.72 1:12.04 4 Basham, Jacqueline 17 BREA-CA 1:12.90 1:12.23 5 Wang, Vivian 16 Peak Swimming-PC 1:12.67 1:12.50 6 Lloyd, Kelsey 16 BREA-CA 1:13.11 1:13.00 7 Spradley, Summer 19 Sierra Marlins S 1:12.89 1:13.56 8 Feick, Amelia 18 La Mirada Armada 1:13.58 1:13.67
The men’s event brought a similar duel for gold. Daniel Comforti of the Brentwood SeaWolves led from the start, but Mario Koenigsperger edged in from the outside during the second fifty. To round out the podium, Michael Xu, representing PAC-Bay Club Carmel Valley, touched the wall at 1:04.17, just six hundredths ahead of Joseph Brown.
Event 24 Men 100 LC Meter Breaststroke ================================================================== Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================================================== === A - Final === 1 Comforti, Daniel 20 Brentwood Seawol 1:03.39 1:02.48 2 Koenigsperger, Mario 20 TROJ-CA 1:05.81 1:02.83 3 Xu, Michael 16 PAC-SI 1:04.22 1:04.17 4 Brown, Joseph 21 San Luis Obispo- 1:03.82 1:04.23 5 Whittington, Brian 19 San Luis Obispo- 1:05.30 1:05.46 6 Prolo, Bradley 18 San Clemente Aqu 1:06.04 1:05.96 7 Ward, Sean 17 BREA-CA 1:06.30 1:06.13 8 He, Joshua 16 Rancho San Diegu 1:06.43 1:06.19
The women’s 100 meter butterfly belonged to La Mirada Armada’s Catherine Sanchez, who owned the field with an impressive 59.55. Sanchez came off the turn fast and never looked back as she steadily widened her gap with the rest of the field. Behind Sanchez, Kenisha Liu of BREA Aquatics worked hard on her turn as well and laid claim to the silver medal and a 1:00.21. Finally, Makenna Turner, representing Diablo Aquatics, took home the bronze with a 1:01.56.
Event 25 Women 100 LC Meter Butterfly ================================================================== Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================================================== === A - Final === 1 Sanchez, Catherine 18 La Mirada Armada 1:00.43 59.55 2 Liu, Kenisha 18 BREA-CA 1:02.04 1:00.21 3 Turner, Makenna 17 Diablo Aquatics- 1:02.02 1:01.56 4 Anderson, Gabrielle 17 Palo Alto Stanfo 1:02.61 1:02.08 5 Bushey, Brenna 21 San Jose State S 1:02.68 1:02.27 6 Campbell, Jennifer 20 Palo Alto Stanfo 1:01.93 1:02.38 7 Carter, Danielle 16 Palo Alto Stanfo 1:02.87 1:02.51 8 O'Brien, Ashleen 16 Diablo Aquatics- 1:03.11 1:04.30
In a packed men’s race, Bryce Mefford of Sierra Marlins Swim Team had his encore, winning the 100 butterfly in 54.50. Mefford touched the wall just ahead of the field and gained on the lead he created during the second lap. Meanwhile, Crown City Aquatics’ Connor Lee gained speed in the second half of the race and also pulled away from the pack. Lee touched just behind Mefford, in 54.76. Finally, Alex Liang of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics battled for the bronze in 55.17.
Event 26 Men 100 LC Meter Butterfly ================================================================== Name Age Team Prelims Finals ================================================================== === A - Final === 1 Mefford, Bryce 18 Sierra Marlins S 55.18 54.50 2 Lee, Connor 16 CRWN-CA 55.11 54.76 3 Liang, Alex 18 Palo Alto Stanfo 55.62 55.17 4 Hu, Ethan 15 Peak Swimming-PC 55.70 55.21 5 Comforti, Daniel 20 Brentwood Seawol 55.83 55.42 6 Molinari, Joseph 19 Palo Alto Stanfo 55.85 55.53 7 DeSomma, Emilio 19 Marin Pirates-PC 55.30 55.56 8 Tenney, Michael 19 BREA-CA 55.72 55.63
The night finished up with the 800 freestyle relays. In the women’s race, the team of Catherine Sanchez, Courtney Tseng, Kathleen Sulkevich, and Taylor Ault from La Mirada Armada brought home the gold in 8:20.43, just ahead of the team of Kenisha Liu, Mikki Thompson, Emily Trieu, and Justina Kozan from BREA Aquatics, who finished in 8:20.97. Third-place finisher Aquazot Swim Club led the rest of the pack in 8:26.33.
Event 27 Women 800 LC Meter Freestyle Relay ==================================================================== Team Seed Finals ==================================================================== 1 La Mirada Armada-CA 'A' 8:15.84 8:20.43 1) Sanchez, Catherine 18 2) Tseng, Courtney 17 3) Sulkevich, Kathleen 17 4) Ault, Taylor 18 2 BREA-CA 'A' 8:21.12 8:20.97 1) Liu, Kenisha 18 2) Thompson, Mikki 17 3) Trieu, Emily 16 4) Kozan, Justina 13 3 AZOT-CA 'A' 8:21.59 8:26.33 1) Merrell, Eva 17 2) Glavinovich, Katie 17 3) Okubo, Sydney 17 4) McCance, Molly 17 4 Palo Alto Stanfo-PC 'A' 8:24.90 8:28.50 1) Reinstein, Sloane 16 2) Lusk, Zoe 17 3) Wong, Vicky 17 4) Campbell, Jennifer 20 5 Roadrunner-CC 'A' 8:39.32 8:35.90 1) Haynes, Jayssielisa 19 2) Skeggs, Ariane 17 3) Lemminn, Kassidy 17 4) Cooke, Alisa 19 6 Rancho San Diegu-SI 'A' 8:43.21 8:37.80 1) Crage, Kira 16 2) Rhee, Rachel 16 3) Cosgrove, Madeline 19 4) Natale, Julianna 15 7 CITI-CA 'A' 8:38.61 8:38.21 1) Kakazu, Ema 16 2) Derikoletis, Keiko 16 3) O'Connor, Katelyn 18 4) Crisera, Alexandra 16 8 Palo Alto Stanfo-PC 'B' 8:38.58 8:38.53 1) Carter, Danielle 16 2) Anderson, Gabrielle 17 3) Tuck, Natalie 18 4) Zhao, Grace 17
The men’s relay title went to the team of Terry Johnson, Liam O’Haimhirgin, Ethan Dillard, and Bryce Mefford in 7:35.12; Mefford posted a blazing 1:52.16 as anchor, the cherry on top of his fast night. Silver went to Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics, in 7:37.57, and Ranch San Dieguito took home the bronze in 7:49.84.
Event 28 Men 800 LC Meter Freestyle Relay ==================================================================== Team Seed Finals ==================================================================== 1 Sierra Marlins S-SN 'A' 7:43.82 7:35.12 1) O'Haimhirgin, Liam 18 2) Johnson, Terry 20 3) Mefford, Colby 16 4) Mefford, Bryce 18 2 Palo Alto Stanfo-PC 'A' 7:35.50 7:37.57 1) Lincoln, Michael 18 2) Liang, Alex 18 3) Rawls, Corban 18 4) Taner, Brooks 16 3 Rancho San Diegu-SI 'A' 7:47.81 7:49.84 1) Gruwell, Tyler 17 2) Delaney, Dylan 17 3) Kulik, Brandon 17 4) Nikolaev, Oleg 17 4 Palo Alto Stanfo-PC 'B' 7:55.15 7:50.47 1) Matsuda, Daichi 19 2) Makler, Theodore 15 3) Molinari, Joseph 19 4) Ama, Joao 19 5 La Mirada Armada-CA 'A' 7:48.13 7:51.81 1) Wang, David 17 2) Lee, Michael 17 3) Vargas, Kevin 16 4) Gonzales, Brad 19 6 Roadrunner-CC 'A' 7:55.53 7:53.06 1) Cobarrubias, Joseph 21 2) Van Krimpen, Owen 20 3) Valiente, Steven 21 4) Hultner, Noah 19 7 San Luis Obispo-CA 'A' 7:53.99 7:54.84 1) Newland, Nolan 22 2) Brown, Zachary 19 3) Moore, Morgan 21 4) Linker, Thomas 21 8 Marin Pirates-PC 'A' 7:49.77 7:55.90 1) Cunnan, Nathaniel 17 2) Turner, Lomax 17 3) McIntyre, Zachary 15 4) DeSomma, Emilio 19
Live results are available at the link on the sidebar as well as on Meet Mobile under “2017 CA-NV Speedo Championships.”
Wow! awesome ?