Sarasota took home the 2016 YMCA Nationals combined team title after a week of swimming in which ten YMCA national records fell. The Sharks scored 643 points over the course of the week as Middle Tyger tallied 621.5 to finish runner up. Lead by four event winner Meghan Small, York was victorious on the women’s side, while Sarasota won for the men.
Women’s Meet
Small set two national record over the course of the week. The first of the 17 year old’s records fell when she won the 200 backstroke in a 1:51.56, just ahead of runner up Kaitlin Harty of North Shore in the 1:52.60. Middle Tyger’s Ali Galyer finished third in 1:55.09.
Small also reset the national standard in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:00.24. Her other individual titles this week came in the 200 and 400 IM. She won the 200 IM in 1:55.86, over four seconds ahead of second place Galyer, while in the 400 Small finished in 4:07.29, four seconds ahead of the field, yet four seconds shy of her own national record.
Three event winner Courtney Harnish came up just shy of her own national records in all three of her title winning swims, but was still another key to York’s success. The 16 year old won the 200 freestyle in 1:46.12, ahead of Galyer (1:48.31) and Harty (1:48.42). In the 500 freestyle she was first in 4:43.98. Harnish won the 200 butterfly in 1:56.92, over two seconds ahead of the field.
Bath Area’s 16 year old Caitlin Tycz set the national record on her way to winning the 100 butterfly with a final time of 52.43.
Wilton’s Ky-lee Perry claimed both sprint titles this weekend, just off Katrina Konopka‘s national records in both events. In the 100, the 17 year old’s 48.79 was nearly a second ahead of the field, while her 50 time of 22.27 gave her the win by four tenths.
16 year old Sydney Baker led a Middle Tyger sweep of the 200 breaststroke, touching in 2:13.12, ahead of teammates Jessica Horomanski (2:13.87) and Savanna Faulconer (2:14.07).
Other individual winners on the women’s side were Leah Braswell of York in the 1000 (9:35.71), Schroeder’s Cassy Jernberg in the 1650 (16:10.76), and North Shore’s Kaitlin Harty in the 100 backstroke (52.40).
The York women won all five relays, including one in record fashion. Harnish, Cami Cook, Emily Ilgenfritz, and Small set the national record in the 200 freestyle relay with a 1:31.90. Leah Braswell combined with Ilgenfritz, Harnish, and Small to take the 400 freestyle relay in 3:20.96. That quartet swam a 7:12.16 to claim the 800 freestyle relay. In the 400 medley relay, York swam Kacey Oberlander, Small, Harnish, and Ilgenfrtiz to claim the national title with a 3:38.69. Those four women were also victorious in the 200 medley relay, posting a 1:41.70.
Men’s Meet
Max McHugh was the breaststroke star this week, winning both distances in national record setting times. In the 200, the Door County swimmer touched in 1:55.46, three seconds ahead of Eau Claire’s Paul DeLakis (1:58.37) Countryside’s Grant House also cracked two minutes (1:59.88). In the 100, McHugh set the record in the morning with a 53.00, and held on to win at night with a 53.16, nearly two seconds ahead of the runner up.
House won two events this week, claiming in the 200 freestyle in 1:36.67, just ahead of Sarasota’s Austin Katz (1:36.67). In the 500 freestyle, House stopped the clock in 4:22.96.
Katz won the 200 backstroke in national record time, stopping the clock at 1:41.48. His teammate Drew Clark continued the Sharks’ distance legacy, claiming the 1000 freestyle in 8:58.22, as the only finisher under nine minutes, and then the 1650 in 15:09.24, just off his own national record.
Daniel Hein of Kishwaukee was a three event winner, and a national record setter. The 18 year old finished first in the 100 butterfly in 47.53. In the 100 backstroke, he and runner up Katz both finished under the 16 year old record of 47.34. Hein touched in 47.08. In the 200 butterfly, Hein out touched Soundview’s Corey Gambardella 1:46.40 to 1:46.43 for the title.
DeLakis claimed both IM titles this week, including the 200 in record fashion. The 17 year old finished the 400 IM in 3:48.35, with a comfortable three second margin of victory. In the 200 IM, DeLakis finished in 1:46.36, under the 2009 national standard of 1:47.09.
Other individual winners were Hugo Sykes of Wilton in the 50 freestyle (20.33) and Westport/Weston’s John Whiteside in the 100 freestyle (44.17).
The Sarasota team of Katz, Danny Erlenmeyer, Matt Nutter, and Clark beat the team’s own national record in the 800 freestyle relay, finishing in 6:35.21. The Sharks also claimed the 400 medley relay title as Erlenmeyer combined with Matthew Garcia, Brett Riley, and Keanan Dolas to record a 3:19.73.
Countryside took home the crown in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Jacob Peloquin, Matt Slabe, Jack German, and House swam a 1:23.33 to take the 200. The same quartet stopped the clock in 3:01.36 to win the 400.
Red Bank’s Jimmy Rush, Jospeh Skimmons, Teddy Smith, and Tyler Kauth won the 200 medley relay with a 1:31.96.
Full results available here: 2016 YMCA Short Course National Championships: Full Results – Results
A boy named Connor McHugh, also from Door County Y, won the 100 breast two years in a pr 53.47, then the Y national record.
Max is 16 and at first I thought it was he who won two years ago but not many 14-year-old boys go 53.47 in for the 100 breast — even if their name is Michael Andrew — so I presume Connor is Max’s older brother.
Wonder if they’ll take their act to te same college?