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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
[COLOR="#FF8C00"]2014 Minneapolis Grand Prix[/COLOR] started this morning, and will run thru Sat the 20th.

A few of the potential 2016 recruits that we've been talking about are competing alongside big names like Nathan, Caitlin, Katie Hoff, Beisel, Vreeland, Romano, Geer, DiRado, Clary, Dwyer, Jaeger & Townsend. Not a taper meet, so best times aren't expected at this stage of training...but should be interesting to see how [COLOR="#800080"]Katie McLaughlin, Becca Mann, Beata Nelson[/COLOR] & company will fare racing against the established pros in the Short Course Yards format.
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BearDevil;842405224 said:

---

Katie's got a problem since there's a conflict on Friday with the 100 fly and 200 free back to back on the same day she'll likely also swim two relays. Think she swims the 50 free, 100 fly or 200 free, and 200 fly. Fly legs on both medley relays (although there's competition from Noemie et all), and 800 free relay.

---

[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] Katie's entered in the [U]200 free[/U] & [U]100 fly[/U] double today, but she does have the luxury of extra rest here with the men's equivalent event and the 100 breast sandwiched in between, oh and also no relays to worry about...
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[COLOR="#006400"]
Live video: http://usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2056&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en

Live Results: http://www.gophersports.com/livestats/c-swim/

Psych Sheet: http://usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/be4b2431-6f3b-4eb0-9258-5201af22549d/2014%20Minneapolis%20GP%20-%20Psych%20Sheet.pdf

Swimswam (Day 1 Finals): http://swimswam.com/minneapolis-grand-prix-day-one-finals-real-time-results/
[/COLOR]
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842402897 said:

---

how about [COLOR="#FF0000"]Beata Nelson[/COLOR]? Ms. Nelson's 51.70 today in the 100 fly has broken Katie McLaughlin's [U]National High School Record[/U] and [U]15-16 National Age Group Record[/U] (51.78)!

---

[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Beata dominated the 100 fly A final tonight with a winning time of [U]51.08[/U] to further lower her recent 51.70 NAG record by a considerable margin!! Granted, Beata's prob. hanging onto her taper from her high school championships and so may be easier for her to find more speed than some of her less rested competitors in the adjacent lanes, still that is a wickedly fast time for a 16 y.o.! For context, Beata's time this evening would have been good enough for 2nd place at 2014 NCAAs, behind Felicia Lee's 50.89! Not to mention it's also faster than Natalie's 17-18 NAG of 51.18 from 2001!

http://swimswam.com/beata-nelson-breaks-15-16-girls-100-fly-nag-second-time-two-weeks/

Katie came in 2nd with a [U]52.27[/U] (PB is 51.78) in that 100 fly race. Even though she's better at the 200 fly distance and in the big pool, i.e. long course, her 100y fly time today has only been surpassed by Boots, Farida & Jasmine out of all the current team + 2015 commits (though Noemie may have something to say about that in a fortnight's time at the Georgia Invite).

Katie had also placed 4th in the 200 free A final a bit earlier, clocking [U]1:44.95[/U]. Not that far off her PB of 1:44.66, was a very nice swim considering this point in the season and McLaughlin not being tapered for this meet.
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[COLOR="#FF0000"]2014 Arena Grand Prix at Minneapolis: Women's [U]100 Fly[/U] A Final[/COLOR]

[video=youtube;5HHUwRylCpw][/video]


[COLOR="#FF0000"]2014 Arena Grand Prix at Minneapolis: Women's [U]200 Free[/U] A Final - RACE VIDEO[/COLOR]




[COLOR="#FF0000"]Beata Nelson Feels Great After Crushing [U]100 Fly[/U] Record - POST-RACE INTERVIEW VIDEO[/COLOR]



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USA Swimming Stats - [COLOR="#696969"]21 Nov[/COLOR]
A comparison of the top 3 at the Minnesota GP 2013 vs 2014. On the women's side several swims faster than last year.


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[COLOR="#006400"]
[SIZE=3]Swimswam (Day 2 Finals)[/SIZE]: http://swimswam.com/minneapolis-grand-prix-day-two-finals-live-recap/
[/COLOR]
[U]Women 200 Yard Butterfly[/U]
The A-final produced an even more stunning finish. Leverenz clocked a 1:54:34 to win; Di Rado finished second in 1:54.97; and a hard-charging McLaughlin tied with Beisel for third in 1:55.15.

[U]Women 50 Freestyle[/U]
In terrific double, Katie McLaughlin was back in the B-final of the 50 free, where she stunned the field with a 22.82 victory.
(A final) Beata Nelson went a lifetime best and picked up a fourth-place finish with 22.51.

[U]Women 100 Backstroke[/U]
The championship final was all Beata Nelson, though. After her NAG last night in the 100 fly, and the way she went out in the 100 back tonight, it looked like we might have another record to celebrate. And while she went a best time her first sub-52 performance she fell just short of Rachel Bootsma's 15-16 NAG with her 51.67 victory.

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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
Some highlights of the last day of racing as reported by Swimswam. Text in blue & [COLOR="#A52A2A"]brown[/COLOR] below are just my ad hoc comments :p, to fill in for the blank areas as Swimswam has a habit of being tardy in their reporting of the results!
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[COLOR="#006400"]
[SIZE=3]Swimswam (Day 3 Finals)[/SIZE]: http://swimswam.com/arena-grand-prix-minneapolis-day-three-finals-live-recap/
[/COLOR]
[U]Women 1650 Yard Freestyle[/U]
Beisel turned on the jets over the last 150 yards and finished in 15:59.36. Mann and Janzen battled it out for second place, with Mann getting to the wall first by .01. Mann was 16:03.22 while Janzen was 16:03.23.

[U]Women 200 Yard IM[/U]
Becca Mann hopped out of lane 4 and back onto the blocks, seeded first in the B-final of the 200 IM. Becca Mann, who showed a lot of grit in that double, went 2:03.06.
(A final) ...in the end it was Leverenz with 1:55.02, followed by Margalis (1:55.19), Bispo (1:55.31), and DiRado (1:55.65).

[U]Women 200 Backstroke [/U]
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Katie McLaughlin wins the B final with a [U]1:57.7[/U] for a new PB by a whopping 6+ seconds! (prior to prelims, her old PB was 2:04.12 set back on 11/22/2013)[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[U]Women 100 Freestyle[/U]
[COLOR="#A52A2A"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Katie completed her double with another win in the B final: [U]48.32[/U]! Would have been good for 3rd in the A final behind only Geer & Vreeland. This was a notable swim IMHO as her previous PB was 49.52 from 12/19/2013 (her time from this morning's prelims was 49.87). A really significant drop considering she's not tapered here, and bodes very brightly for Katie making an impact to our sprint depth with a bigger potential contribution to our relays next year!

Today's time basically pushes Katie ahead of Farida as our 5th fastest swimmer in this event for the 2015-2016 season:
Abbey (47.59), Liz (47.78/48.71), Rachael (48.05), Kathleen (48.20), Katie (48.32) ... Farida (48.38).

[COLOR="#3333ff"]Beata Nelson was 2nd behind Katie in the B final with a 49.29

Incidentally, Nathan Adrian won the [U]100 free[/U] in 41.49, and Nick Norman was 3rd in the [U]1650 free[/U] with a 15:04.11.
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[COLOR="#FF0000"]2014 Arena Grand Prix at Minneapolis: Women's [U]100y Free[/U] B Final[/COLOR]

[video=youtube;r7QEMGgN5WI][/video]

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[COLOR="#B22222"][SIZE=4]Phelps wins USA Swimming honor, back in pool with Baltimore group[/SIZE][/COLOR]

"Ledecky has committed to swim at Stanford but will decide in the next couple of months whether to defer enrollment a year as she plots the best training plan for Rio."

http://www.foxsports.com/olympics/story/michael-phelps-wins-usa-swimming-honor-back-in-pool-with-baltimore-group-112414?cmpid=tsmfb:fscom:fox

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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
Well if Katie Ledecky decides to defer college next year, would be a win-win overall methinks Continuing to work with Coach Gemmell and staying in a familiar training environment will definitely help her preparations in the run up to Rio, where Ledecky is expected to be a key component of the Olympic winning formula & tradition for Team USA (alongside Missy, that goes without saying).

More importantly, this scenario won't exactly hurt the Bears' chances of a National Title @ [U]2016 NCAA[/U]s now that we'll have the "tedbear dream team" on board hehe ...not that the Cal women aren't capable of achieving that feat next season if Ledecky's in play for LSJU in 2016 - but every little bit helps of course, considering that Missy + 6 of our seniors will be out of the collegiate competition picture next year.

Speaking of our 2016 dream class, it was really sweet to see all the baby Bears lined up alongside their future teammates at yesterday's Golden Goggle Awards in NYC! (just missing Amy tho, & Jenna [SIZE=4][COLOR="#FFA500"]��[/COLOR][/SIZE] ) - a nice visual preview of some exciting & promising things to come for Teri's Cal :bear: family! :beer:
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UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842409687 said:

---

[COLOR="#008000"]9 :bear:s in a row![/COLOR] :cheer => [COLOR="#FF0000"] Liz, Abbey, Kathleen, Katie, Boots, Caitlin, Missy, Cierra + Teri[/COLOR] :gobears:


Caitlin Leverenz - [COLOR="#696969"]24 Nov[/COLOR] @ [COLOR="#A9A9A9"]New York Marriott Marquis[/COLOR]
Past, present and future Golden Bear family walking the red carpet tonight at #GoldenGoggles.

---

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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
btw the next time we'll get a chance to cheer on both the dream class and the current team (at different meets) will be in just over a week's time, when they'll slip out of their stunning designer dresses and resume owning the pool in more familiar swim garb!
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[COLOR="#A52A2A"][U][SIZE=4]Georgia Invite[/SIZE][/U] in Athens, GA[/COLOR] [COLOR="#008000"](Fri 5 Dec - Sun 7 Dec)[/COLOR]: [COLOR="#800080"]Cal Women + Men's Swim & Dive teams[/COLOR]

http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/c-swim/geo-c-swim-body.html#tab-content-schedule

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[COLOR="#A52A2A"][U][SIZE=4]2014 Winter Nationals[/SIZE][/U] in Greensboro, NC[/COLOR] [COLOR="#008000"](Wed 3 Dec - Sat 6 Dec)[/COLOR]

[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Nathan Adrian & Jeremy Bagshaw are both entered for this, as is Katie Ledecky who may be putting a couple of World Records on notice! (500 & 1650 free)

Along with a bunch of [U]2016-2017 recruits[/U] we've identified as of interest: Madison Homovich, Courtney Harnish, Alyssa Marsh, Meghan Small, Isabella Rongione & Claire Adams. Not to overlook Maxime Rooney on the men's side. Keep an eye out on these promising prospects as well: Paige Madden, Kennedy Lohman, Alexis Wenger, Asia Seidt, Emily Meilus, Erin Voss.
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
http://usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=1418&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en
http://usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/f63aad59-544f-40eb-badb-1e8f475e5574/2014%20Winter%20Nationals%20-%20Psych%20Sheet.pdf

[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=3]7 storylines to watch at 2014 Winter Nationals, plus all meet links and info[/SIZE][/COLOR]
http://swimswam.com/7-storylines-watch-2014-winter-nationals-plus-meet-links-info/

[COLOR="#008000"]LIVE RESULTS[/COLOR]: http://omegatiming.com/Competition?id=00010E0104FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF&sport=AQ&year=2014

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[COLOR="#A52A2A"][U][SIZE=4]2014 Short Course Worlds[/SIZE][/U] in Doha, Qatar[/COLOR] [COLOR="#008000"](Wed 3 Dec - Sun 7 Dec)[/COLOR]: [COLOR="#800080"][U]Abbey[/U], [U]Amy[/U] & [U]Kathleen[/U] + Natalie, Caitlin, Madison Kennedy, Tom Shields.[/COLOR]

http://www.wscdoha2014.com/index.php

Hannah Kukurugya - [COLOR="#696969"]27 Nov[/COLOR] @[COLOR="#808080"] Amy Bilquist, Kathleen Baker[/COLOR]
Good luck to my girls as they leave for worlds in Qatar! Can't wait to see how you represent the stars and strips! [COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=3] ❤️ [/SIZE][/COLOR]


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842410603 said:

---

Well if Katie Ledecky decides to defer college next year, would be a win-win overall methinks Continuing to work with Coach Gemmell and staying in a familiar training environment will definitely help her preparations in the run up to Rio, where Ledecky is expected to be a key component of the Olympic winning formula & tradition for Team USA (alongside Missy, that goes without saying).

More importantly, this scenario won't exactly hurt the Bears' chances of a National Title @ [U]2016 NCAA[/U]s now that we'll have the "tedbear dream team" on board hehe ...not that the Cal women aren't capable of achieving that feat next season if Ledecky's in play for LSJU in 2016 - but every little bit helps of course, consider, being that Missy + 6 of our seniors will be out of the collegiate competition picture next year.

---

Still very dubious that Ledecky swims on the farm next season. She'll be a huge Olympic favorite and it makes no sense to switch coaches and swim SCYs in the run up to Rio. Simone and Abbey can swim NCAAs and still make the team in sprints/relays while swimming their natural events, but distance doesn't translate as well. Ledecky and Manuel are incredible swimmers, but neither are as marketable as Missy. We'll know more in 10 days, but looks like 2015 NCAAs should be Georgia's to lose. Bears are weak in distance and breast and LSJU is hurting in distance and IMs. With Ledecky, LSJU will be 2016 favorites, but Bears should be the favorites if she defers. McLaughlin is the only Bear who could benefit from deferring entry, but she's invested/interested in entering with Kathleen et all.

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http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2014/12/01/doyel-best-of-the-best-us-prep-athletes-walk-among-us/19588919/

[COLOR="#008080"][SIZE=4]Best of the best U.S. prep athletes walk among us[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Gregg Doyel, gregg.doyel@indystar.com - [COLOR="#808080"]8:42 p.m. EST December 1, 2014[/COLOR]



As this week will demonstrate, we have in Central Indiana two remarkable teenagers, two young women who rank among the best of the best. We have one of the best soccer players in America. And one of the best swimmers in the world.

...

And Amy Bilquist of Carmel High School is something special. So are Brebeuf Jesuit's Alia Martin and her sister, Reilly. All three are among the area's most gifted amateur athletes. Think Olympics. Think World Cup. Think globally, because that's where they're headed.

Bilquist, a senior at Carmel High, is in Qatar for the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships, where her international ascent continues Wednesday in the 100-meter backstroke and Saturday in the 50-meter backstroke. At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials she finished 64th. Here she is, just two years later, representing the USA in two events.

"She's a quickly rising star," says Carmel High coach Chris Plumb, who also coaches Bilquist at the Carmel Swim Club. "In 2013 she barely made the [U.S.] Junior National finals. This past year she won juniors at multiple events and won four gold medals at the Junior Pan Pacific. Where before she was well behind, now she's at the top. I watch her and think there's no limit."

Bilquist got from there to here on a mixture of hard work and hamburgers. Her family moved last year from Arizona to Carmel, where her daily swimming regimen has been upped several thousand yards some days she swims 7,000 yards -- and where she embraced what coaches had told her for years, and what Plumb reiterated: To get faster, she had to get bigger, stronger.

Bilquist is 6-foot-2, with the rocket-fueled metabolism of a teenage swimmer, making it difficult to add muscle. She attacked protein bars and shakes and chicken and eggs and more "I really, really like cheeseburgers," she says and has added 30 pounds of muscle and the results (from 64th nationally to the U.S. World team) that go with it.

"Chris and I put a huge emphasis on becoming stronger," Bilquist says. "I know where I want to be in this sport and if I have to gain a little weight to get there, I'll do it. I definitely want to reach the highest level. Olympics is the goal. That would be crazy."

...

Carmel's Amy Bilquist swims for the United States in a few days.

They walk among us, these teenagers. Pretty cool, you know?

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longseeker;842420059 said:

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Did anyone notice the 200 free SC meter relay 50 split by Abbey Weitzeil? If I read correctly, and if I did a correct conversion table (SC meter to yards) she was in the 20.9-21,2 range. Maybe someone else here will give it a shot?

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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
[SIZE=4][COLOR="#006400"]Women's 4x50m Free Relay[/COLOR][/SIZE]: :bear: + :bear: + :bear: + :bear: = [COLOR="#A9A9A9"][SIZE=5]��[/SIZE][/COLOR] + [COLOR="#FF0000"]AMERICAN RECORD[/COLOR] [COLOR="#8B4513"](1:34.61)[/COLOR] !!!!!


Let's see... [COLOR="#FF8C00"]Abbey[/COLOR]'s [U][COLOR="#008080"]23.40[/COLOR][/U] split from the [COLOR="#696969"]Women's 4x50m free relay[/COLOR] @ [COLOR="#A52A2A"]SCM Worlds Doha 2014[/COLOR] = [U][COLOR="#008000"]23.90[/COLOR][/U] approx. (adjusted for the flying start).

So, according to my iffy calculations, would be very roughly equivalent to, in yards, somewhere between [COLOR="#FF0000"][U]21.44[/U][/COLOR] (using [COLOR="#B22222"]* Swimming World[/COLOR] calculator) and [COLOR="#FF0000"][U]21.53[/U][/COLOR] [COLOR="#B22222"](** Swimswam[/COLOR] calculator), i.e. a theoretical time which would have been good enough to win the [COLOR="#008080"]50y free[/COLOR] title @ 2014 NCAAs! :acclaim:

[COLOR="#B22222"]*[/COLOR] http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/results/conversions.asp

[COLOR="#B22222"]**[/COLOR] http://swimswam.com/swimming-times-conversion-tool/

Major caveat here is these conversion formulae don't always bear out in real life - swimmer in question more often than not doesn't seem to be able to parlay that sort of performance in the other pool, though going from SCM to SCY tends to be more accurate than SCY to LCM. Note also that the dynamic's quite different between individual races and relay legs (even the leadoff), so that has to be taken into account.

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[SIZE=4][COLOR="#006400"]Women's 4x100m Free Relay[/COLOR][/SIZE]: :bear: + :bear: + :bear: = [COLOR="#A9A9A9"][SIZE=5]��[/SIZE][/COLOR] + [COLOR="#FF0000"]AMERICAN RECORD[/COLOR] [COLOR="#8B4513"](3:27.70)[/COLOR] !!!!!


Judging from her results in Doha, Abbey's a really stellar team player, able to crank out clutch relay swims that are even faster than her already impressive times from the individuals, and that's the sort of recruit Teri and indeed all coaches prize very highly.

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[COLOR="#FF0000"]UPDATE[/COLOR]: For some reason I had when originally posting this, somehow overlooked Abbey's even faster swim here: :p
[COLOR="#FF8C00"]Abbey[/COLOR]'s split from the [COLOR="#696969"]Mixed 4x50m free relay[/COLOR] = [U][COLOR="#008000"]23.25[/COLOR][/U] -> approx. [U][COLOR="#008000"]23.75[/COLOR][/U] (adjusted time). Which in yards = a time between [COLOR="#FF0000"][U]21.30[/U][/COLOR] and [COLOR="#FF0000"][U]21.39[/U][/COLOR] :bravo

[SIZE=4][COLOR="#8B4513"]Mixed 4x50m Free Relay[/COLOR][/SIZE]: :bear: + :bear: = [COLOR="#DAA520"][SIZE=5]��[/SIZE][/COLOR] + [COLOR="#FF0000"]WORLD RECORD[/COLOR] [COLOR="#8B4513"](1:28.57)[/COLOR] !!!!!!!!!!

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Cal Women's Swimming & Diving - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Dec[/COLOR]
Swimming at the FINA World Short-Course Championships in Qatar Saturday, Cal alum Madison Kennedy and recent Cal signee Abbey Weitzeil comprised half of the U.S. team that set a world record on its way to winning a gold medal in the mixed 200m free relay. Weitzeil, on anchor, brought the U.S. from third to first with a 23.25 split. Getty Images captured the smiling Americans on the medal stand.


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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
[COLOR="#FF8C00"]Amy[/COLOR]'s sprinting prowess isn't exactly shabby either, as her [U][COLOR="#008080"]23.76[/COLOR][/U] -> [U][COLOR="#008000"]24.26[/COLOR][/U] adjusted split roughly translates to the [COLOR="#FF0000"][U]21.76[/U] - [U]21.85[/U][/COLOR] region in yards, which would rank [COLOR="#800080"]#2[/COLOR] in Cal's ALL-Time Top 10, surpassed only by Liv Jensen's [COLOR="#696969"]21.48[/COLOR] from 2012!
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Amy Bilquist - [COLOR="#696969"]8 Dec, 4:54 pm EST[/COLOR]
Moments like this remind me why I fell in love with this sport as a little girl #USA #AmericanRecord #CalBears

https://instagr.am/p/wXILZgkIKS

Cal Women's Swimming & Diving - [COLOR="#696969"]7 Dec[/COLOR]
Four Golden Bears - Madison Kennedy, Abbey Weitzeil, Natalie Coughlin and Amy Bilquist - teamed up to win a silver medal for Team USA on the final day of the FINA World Short-Course Championships Sunday.


[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
Both of these baby :bear:s are really going to bring some swag to our relays next year (not to neglect [COLOR="#FF8C00"][/COLOR][COLOR="#FF8C00"]Kathleen[/COLOR] & [COLOR="#FF8C00"][/COLOR][COLOR="#FF8C00"]Katie[/COLOR] who will also be key players), I'm already sooooo psyched!!! :woohoo

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842420250 said:

---

[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Let's see... [COLOR="#FF8C00"]Abbey[/COLOR]'s [U][COLOR="#008080"]23.40[/COLOR][/U] split from the [COLOR="#696969"]4x50m free relay[/COLOR] @ [COLOR="#A52A2A"]SCM Worlds Doha 2014[/COLOR] = [U][COLOR="#008000"]23.90[/COLOR][/U] approx. (adjusted for the flying start).

So, according to my iffy calculations, would be very roughly equivalent to, in yards, somewhere between [COLOR="#FF0000"][U]21.44[/U][/COLOR] (using [COLOR="#B22222"]* Swimming World[/COLOR] calculator) and [COLOR="#FF0000"][U]21.53[/U][/COLOR] [COLOR="#B22222"](** Swimswam[/COLOR] calculator), i.e. a theoretical time which would have been good enough to win the [COLOR="#008080"]50y free[/COLOR] title @ 2014 NCAAs! :acclaim:

[COLOR="#B22222"]*[/COLOR] http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/results/conversions.asp

[COLOR="#B22222"]**[/COLOR] http://swimswam.com/swimming-times-conversion-tool/

Major caveat here is these conversion formulae don't always bear out in real life - swimmer in question more often than not doesn't seem to be able to parlay that sort of performance in the other pool, though going from SCM to SCY tends to be more accurate than SCY to LCM. Note also that the dynamic's quite different between individual races and relay legs (even the leadoff), so that has to be taken into account.

Judging from her results in Doha, Abbey's a really stellar team player, able to crank out clutch relay swims that are even faster than her already impressive times from the individuals, and that's the sort of recruit Teri and indeed all coaches prize very highly.

[COLOR="#FF8C00"][/COLOR][COLOR="#FF8C00"]Amy[/COLOR]'s sprinting prowess isn't exactly shabby either, as her [U][COLOR="#008080"]23.76[/COLOR][/U] -> [U][COLOR="#008000"]24.26[/COLOR][/U] adjusted split roughly translates to the [COLOR="#FF0000"][U]21.76[/U] - [U]21.85[/U][/COLOR] region in yards, which would rank [COLOR="#800080"]#2[/COLOR] in Cal's ALL-Time Top 10, surpassed only by Liv Jensen's [COLOR="#696969"]21.48[/COLOR] from 2012!

---

Wouldn't worry as much about which converter was used as much as using a relay leg other than lead off as a data point. While you can back out reaction times, lead offs are a fairer apples to apples comparison to individual event times.

Bottom line, Abbey and Amy should both be in the same neighborhood as Jensen (21.48) and Madison Kennedy (21.87), the top two Cal 50 free times all-time.

Madison was an unsung hero in Kathleen Baker's recruitment. Was kinda surprised that Kathleen said in her recruitment video that her first exposure to Cal wasn't from close friend Maija, but from Madison's positive chatter about Cal at SwimMAC. Cal's been on Kathleen's radar for several years, same thing for Amy.

Pelton, Bootsma, and Missy all said they first stared thinking about Cal swimming after reading ueber Bear Mike Silver's book on Natalie Coughlin. Silver's a big fan of Teri, so it will be interesting to see if Silver writes Missy's book. No doubt Missy and her book will be extremely helpful in wooing the next generation of Cal swimmers.

BearDevil;842420301 said:

---

Madison was an unsung hero in Kathleen Baker's recruitment. Was kinda surprised that Kathleen said in her recruitment video that her first exposure to Cal wasn't from close friend Maija, but from Madison's positive chatter about Cal at SwimMAC. Cal's been on Kathleen's radar for several years, same thing for Amy.

Pelton, Bootsma, and Missy all said they first stared thinking about Cal swimming after reading ueber Bear Mike Silver's book on Natalie Coughlin. Silver's a big fan of Teri, so it will be interesting to see if Silver writes Missy's book. No doubt Missy and her book will be extremely helpful in wooing the next generation of Cal swimmers.

---

[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I wouldn't be too surprised either if the golden opportunity to train in the same pool as Missy, even if they won't be racing alongside her on the same collegiate team, was somewhere at the back of their minds when Kathleen, Amy & co. were ruminating on their commitments hehe...
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Amy Bilquist - [COLOR="#696969"]8 Dec, 6:40 pm EST[/COLOR]
[COLOR="#0066cc"]@madisonjkennedy[/COLOR] miss you already[SIZE=3] �� [/SIZE]forever tweeting from the iPad haha

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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
Don't forget the [COLOR="#006400"][SIZE=4]2014 USA Swimming Winter Junior Nationals[/SIZE][/COLOR] which will be commencing this Wed @ Federal Way.

Abbey's competing as is Jenn Campbell, though with the jet lag and challenge of trying to hold onto her taper from Doha, don't expect to see the sort of incredible times that we witnessed from Weitzeil at Short Course Worlds. But at least this meet's in yards, so let's see if she can come close to or best her PBs in SCY! Potential female recruits to keep an eye on are Stanzi Moseley, Courtney Mykkanen, Canadian Taylor Ruck and several others.



http://usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/cb112195-4c05-49f4-bc3f-288e74819fdf/2014%20Winter%20Juniors%20-%20Psych%20Sheet%20120814.pdf

Update: just scanned the psych sheet, looks like Abbey's only entered in off events like the [U]200 IM[/U] (seeded #147!) + [U]100 fly[/U] (#64!) + [U]100 breast[/U] (#62!). Oh well, maybe she can lead off her Canyon Aquatic teammates in a relay or two... :p

Michael Thomas, Carson Sand & David Puczkowski will rep incoming :bear:s on the men's side.
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]PSYCH SHEETS: 2014 USA Swimming Winter Junior Nationals[/SIZE][/COLOR]

http://swimswam.com/psych-sheets-2014-usa-swimming-winter-junior-nationals/

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There's also the [COLOR="#006400"][SIZE=4]Tom Dolan Invite[/SIZE][/COLOR] beginning on Thursday, where future recruits Madison Homovich, Allie Szekely & Cassidy Bayer will strut their stuff.

Not to mention baby :bear: Andrew Seliskar.
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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]2014 Tom Dolan Invite: Links, meet info and 9 swimmers to watch[/SIZE][/COLOR]

http://swimswam.com/2014-tom-dolan-invite-links-meet-info-9-swimmers-to-watch/

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Would Teri take both Katie and Stanzi in the same class since they are similar type of swimmers? My preference is still 1. Wonderbread 2. Marshmallow 3. superwoman sprint breaststroker 4. superwoman distance swimmer. I think we only have three or four rides to offer in the 2016 class. Liz, Boots, Kelly, and Rachel are all graduating.

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Marshmallow = Alyssa Marsh, I presume :p

Well it may be a bit too early to be really looking at the next class seriously, as many of the current promising talents could well hit a peak or plateau by the time the commitment season rolls around. There'll also be more than a few names popping up on our radar the next 9 months or so whom we may not even have heard of at this point! Swimswam won't be compiling their Top 10/20 list for 2016 recruits until next summer either.

But could be a fun exercise

One frustrating thing for me here is having to balance the natural desire to acquire all the headliners/power players regardless if they are all out-of-state (scholly budget or needs in certain areas such as distance & breast be damned lol), with the more sensible approach that takes into account whether these recruits would be a good fit with the team & Cal culture, and/or open up/continue a pipeline to a resource-rich club such as NCAP, SwimMac, NBAC, Carmel/Canyon, PASA, Seahawks etc, even if they may not be immediate or high scorers (think low-risk & low financial investment, "support" role, "good guys/gals" who meshes well with their teammates, who also has some potential to develop into scorers at some point down the road).
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tedbear;842420884 said:

---

Would Teri take both Katie and Stanzi in the same class since they are similar type of swimmers? My preference is still 1. Wonderbread 2. Marshmallow 3. superwoman sprint breaststroker 4. superwoman distance swimmer. I think we only have three or four rides to offer in the 2016 class. Liz, Boots, Kelly, and Rachel are all graduating.

---

That's the crux of the issue-4 rides and need to fill needs/lingering holes. As usual agree with tedbear although I have a slight quibble with the order: Drabot/Stanzi, Becca Mann, Marsh/Mykannen, and a sprint breaststroker. Baker gives Teri the luxury of not needing a medley breaststroker immediately, so she may be able to add both freestylers or both backstrokers. She can't go more than one additional recruiting class without adding a sprint breaststroker since the team wouldn't be able to field enough medley relays at invitationals or Pac-12s. LSJU now has three potential sprint breast scorers (Olsen, Haase, and Poppe). Georgia only has one (Zhu).

It's basically supply and demand. There are lots of freestylers (sprint, middle distance, distance), so Teri can easily add Abi Speers, Cat Ladd, or Jenna Campbell, but she has to spend for sure fire scorers and the supply in other strokes is limited. Lilly King's a top 10 recruit, but she's only a two individual event scorer and a two relay swimmer. Baker could swim on 5 relays for every team in the country and has scoring potential in nearly double digit individual events.

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No quibbles at all with [COLOR="#A52A2A"]BD[/COLOR] & [COLOR="#A52A2A"]tb[/COLOR]'s well-informed/practical/balanced choices :beer:

Hey if we can't get Becca Mann, could I cast a vote for Madison Homovich, or Sierra Schmidt, as distance backups?

Also Erika Brown (sprint to mid free) whom BD had brought to our attention would be an in-stater (even tho she trains @ SwimMac currently, right?), and contribute additional firepower to the Drabot/Stanzi pairing without fear of budget overflow.

How about Veronica Burchill (sprints etc) from Carmel, another BD mention - think she was at the recent Winter (Senior) Nationals, haven't checked to see how she did...

Would personally love to get high-profile studs Beata Nelson (fly, sprints) or Allie Szekely (breast, back), but will accept your collective wisdom that they are likely considered of lesser value in terms of Teri's ride limits and needs... :p
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Homovich and Schmidt aren't 2016 recruits, and it's hard to predict needs several recruiting classes ahead. Kong was the highest rated Cal recruit in her class as a sub minute breaststroker. Breed was another top 5 recruit who sadly blew out a knee. Lauren Driscoll was a top 5 recruit who projected as an immediate scorer in the 500 and 1650 for the Bears; she's now a 400 IMer at Tennessee who probably doesn't score at NCAAs. Vredeveld's and Marina's travails are well-documented. If even two of those had performed as expected, the Bears wouldn't have any holes. It's a combination of recruiting, coaching, the swimmers themselves, and fate.

Erika Brown lists a Charlotte suburb as her home address in college swimming, so she's likely an out of state recruit unless one parent still lives in the Bay Area. She does have ties to several Bears and may be someone who wants to swim in the Pac-12, like Bilquist did.

Don't think Teri will have a laser focus on only 4 recruits, but with limited slots, she doesn't need to focus on double digit prospects either.

I hope we get 5 freestyle sprinters and 5 breastrokers.
haha I'm kidding. But we do need a few of them.

UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842420455 said:

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Don't forget the [COLOR="#006400"][SIZE=4]2014 USA Swimming Winter Junior Nationals[/SIZE][/COLOR] which will be commencing this Wed @ Federal Way.

Abbey's competing as is Jenn Campbell, though with the jet lag and challenge of trying to hold onto her taper from Doha, don't expect to see the sort of incredible times that we witnessed from Weitzeil at Short Course Worlds. But at least this meet's in yards, so let's see if she can come close to or best her PBs in SCY!

Update: just scanned the psych sheet, looks like Abbey's only entered in off events like the [U]200 IM[/U] (seeded #147!) + [U]100 fly[/U] (#64!) + [U]100 breast[/U] (#62!). Oh well, maybe she can lead off her Canyon Aquatic teammates in a relay or two...

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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Well Abbey did get to race in a relay this evening, anchoring her Canyons Aquatic Club teammates to a winning [U]1:40.25[/U] time for the 4x50 Yard Medley Relay title over Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics' [U]1:40.34.[/U]

What's even more impressive was how Abbey was able to overcome her team's one-and-a-half sec deficit to PASA (who btw was anchored by none other than fellow baby :bear: Jenn Campbell in [U]22.92[/U]), to kill it with a sizzling [U][COLOR="#FF0000"]21.19[/COLOR][/U] free split the last 50 yards of the race...all that after 30+ hrs of travel from Doha!!! :acclaim:
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[SIZE=1]Abbey Weitzeil's all-time great anchor split led Canyons to a come-from-behind win in the girls' 200 medley relay[/SIZE].
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Note also that Carmel Swim Club placed 4th with their [U]1:42.05[/U] in Heat 1, and that's without Amy. Carmel's anchor Trude Rothrock split a 23.23, and Bilquist's probably worth a 1.5 sec or faster improvement on that. In other words, our :bear: recruit could have put her team in podium contention, considering that 3rd place Y-Spartaquatics ended up with a time of [U]1:41.48[/U].

Here's the link to the live results: http://www.swmeets.com/Realtime/SC%20Juniors/2014/
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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]2014 U.S. Winter Junior Nationals: Night 1 relays live recaps[/SIZE][/COLOR]


[SIZE=1]Canyons Aquatic Club's Abbey Weitzeil rocked the opening night of Winter Juniors with a smoking 21.19 split on the winning 200 medley relay. Archive Photo via Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com[/SIZE]

http://swimswam.com/2014-u-s-winter-junior-nationals-night-1-relays-live-recaps/

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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]2014 U.S. Winter Junior Nationals Day Two Prelims- Ryan Hoffer Downs Age Group Record[/SIZE][/COLOR]

http://swimswam.com/2014-us-winter-junior-nationals-day-2-live-prelims-recap/
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Abbey won't be competing in any of the individuals on Day 2 (scratched the 200 IM), but she's still the topic of conversation amongst Swimswam commenters above

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[U]Canyons Aquatic[/U] - Lane 3: Abbey anchoring (last leg)
[U]Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics[/U] - Lane 6: Jenn anchoring (last leg)
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[video=youtube;lUPvDzqt7ns][/video]

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Just a few results for some of the names mentioned earlier on this thread, meet is still in progress...

1) Taylor Ruck bested the [U]500 free[/U] field to take first with a 4:41.38.

2) Michael Thomas claimed the [U]200 IM[/U] title in 1:45.54.

3) Stanzi Moseley won the [U]50 free[/U] A final in 22.11.

4) [COLOR="#006400"]* NEWSFLASH *[/COLOR] [COLOR="#FF8C00"][SIZE=4]Abbey[/SIZE][/COLOR] powered her team to a [U]3:37.37[/U] meet record (old record was SwimMac's [U]3:38.17[/U] from 2013) and a come-from-behind win in the [U]4x100 Medley Relay[/U], splitting a stunning [U][COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]45.82[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U] on her anchor leg!!! :bravo

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Full recap & analysis can be found in the Swimswam live recap here, though updates may not happen immediately: http://swimswam.com/2014-u-s-winter-junior-nationals-day-2-finals-live-recap/
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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]2014 U.S. Winter Junior Nationals: Day 2 finals live recap[/SIZE][/COLOR]

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[SIZE=3]Girls 50 free[/SIZE]

Meet Record: 22.02 Abbey Weitzeil, 2013
11-12 NAG: 23.15 Amanda Weir, 1999
13-14 NAG: 22.44 Dara Torres, 1982
15-16 NAG: 22.04 Simone Manuel, 2013
17-18 NAG: 21.70 Simone Manuel, 2014 (Unofficially: 21.59 Manuel, 2014)

After an outstanding summer, Roadrunner's Stanzi Moseley kept on trucking at Winter Juniors, picking up the 50 free win and coming dangerous close to the NAG record for 15-16s.

Moseley, 16, dominated the field, going 22.11 to win by about three tenths. That stands up as a lifetime-best for Moseley by about three tenths as well, and before this morning, the fastest she'd been was 22.84.

That puts Moseley just .07 off of the National Age Group record set by Simone Manuel last year (22.04), and it also left her just off the meet record held by Abbey Weitzeil (22.02, 2013) both of those names make up some good company to be in at age 16.

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[SIZE=3]Girls 4100 medley relay[/SIZE]

Meet record: 3:38.17 SwimMAC, 2013
13-14 NAG: 3:45.02 Aquajets, 2012
15-16 NAG: 3:37.93 SwimMAC, 2013
17-18 NAG: 3:37.83 SwimMAC, 2014
15-18 NAG: 3:34.37 SwimMAC, 2014

Though all the NAG records came on the boys side tonight, the girls of Canyons Aquatic Club provided some major fireworks to close out the evening. The [U]4100 medley relay[/U] team of Mik Ranslem, Nikol Popov, Tamara Santoyo and Abbey Weitzeil went 3:37.37 to break the meet record and win the Junior National title, getting an absurd [U]45.82[/U] freestyle split from Weitzeil.

No, that's not a typo. Weitzeil, who flew halfway around the world this week after competing at the Short Course World Championships, crushed a split that would fit on many boys relays. She becomes the second teenager to split a 45.8 in the past month NCAA favorite Simone Manuel did it at the Art Adamson Invite in a swim that we said "changed everything" but now it appears women's sprinting has two young game-changers in the United States. Even more exciting? Weitzeil will swim for the Cal Golden Bears, Bay Area rivals of Manuel's Stanford Cardinal. That means, swim fans, buckle up for potentially three years of watching those two square off on the conference and national level in both individuals and relays. It's a swimming fan's dream scenario.

The rest of Weitzeil's relay did their jobs as well: Ranslem was 56.52 on back, the 15-year-old Popov an impressive 1:00.83 on breast and Santoyo 54.20 on fly. Both Ranslem and Santoyo are 17 and Weitzeil 18, so the team couldn't break the 15-16 or 17-18 NAG records (though they bettered both those times).

Second went to Y-Spartaquatics in 3:39.62, and they had their own quick anchor with Katrina Konopka (48.36). Aquazot took third in 3:40.87, getting 54.1s from backstroker Sonia Wang and butterflyer Alexis Margett.

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[COLOR="#006400"][SIZE=4]2014 Speedo Winter Junior National Championships: Women 400y Medley Relay H2 [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[video=youtube;BJXNsH_bla8][/video]

[U]Canyons Aquatic[/U] - Lane 3: Abbey anchoring (last leg)

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Seems like the tradeoff between Stanzi and Drabot is 50 free vs 200 free. With her latest time (22.11), Stanzi would be a 200 free relay swimmer along with Abbey, Osman, and Amy. Neither Stanzi nor Drabot would swim the 400 free relay for Cal (Abbey, Osman, Baker, Amy). Drabot would be an 800 free relay swimmer along with Cierra, Baker, and McLaughlin.

In general, sounds like Drabot is the better LCM swimmer. It's definitely early and there will be several more data points before recruiting starts in earnest in July. Stanzi's homeschooled, so LSJU probably won't be involved, although they'll be all over Drabot. Will be interesting if either improves significantly in the 100 or if Drabot improves her 50 or 500 times, which would make her an even more valuable college swimmer.

tedbear;842420884 said:

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Would Teri take both Katie and Stanzi in the same class since they are similar type of swimmers? My preference is still 1. Wonderbread 2. Marshmallow 3. superwoman sprint breaststroker 4. superwoman distance swimmer. I think we only have three or four rides to offer in the 2016 class. Liz, Boots, Kelly, and Rachel are all graduating.

---

Lindsey Horejsi of Fairbault, MN (50 miles South of the Twin Cities) is a 2016 sprint breaststroker worth watching. Won the 100 breast prelims in 1:00.60. 'SC recruit Riley Scott was 7th (1:01.65). Horejsi's best time is 59.65, same time as LSJU's Haase swam for 10th at 2014 NCAAs. Horejsi's 200 breast time is slower than Marina's, but a 100 breast scorer could free up Baker to swim either the 200 free or 100 back at NCAAs, even if she still swam the breast legs on medley relays. Bears don't necessarily need Baker to swim the back legs with Bilquist on board.

BearDevil;842422933 said:

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Lindsey Horejsi of Fairbault, MN (50 miles South of the Twin Cities) is a 2016 sprint breaststroker worth watching. Won the 100 breast prelims in 1:00.60. 'SC recruit Riley Scott was 7th (1:01.65). Horejsi's best time is 59.65, same time as LSJU's Haase swam for 10th at 2014 NCAAs. Horejsi's 200 breast time is slower than Marina's, but a 100 breast scorer could free up Baker to swim either the 200 free or 100 back at NCAAs, even if she still swam the breast legs on medley relays. Bears don't necessarily need Baker to swim the back legs with Bilquist on board.

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Exciting new discovery BearDevil! Looking forward to see who else turns up on the radar from now to July 1st.

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btw Lindsey has just won the [U]100 breast[/U] final in 1:00.24. Didn't manage to dip below a minute, but still pretty solid.

Nikol Popov, a 15 year old teammate of Abbey's from Canyons, was 2nd in 1:00.86 (her prelims time was actually faster, 1:00.67).
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Abbey led off Canyons Aquatic with a dominant [COLOR="#FF0000"]21.49[/COLOR] to win the [U]200 Free Relay[/U] in a final time of 1:31.14 ! :acclaim:

5th fastest all-time [U]50 free[/U]! Also a 17-18 NAG (handily surpassing Simone's 21.59 from Nov)!! :bravo

Just off Liv Jensen's school record of [COLOR="#FF0000"]21.48[/COLOR] from 2012 by the slimest of margins... :cheer

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Jenna Campbell swam a 23.20 split to help PASA take the 2nd spot in 1:31.98.

Meet record still belongs to Carmel's quartet of Rachel Hayden, Amy Bilquist, Claire Adams, Veronica Burchill, 1:30.13

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USA Swimming Stats - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Dec[/COLOR]

[COLOR="#0066cc"]@AbbeyWeitzeil[/COLOR] the 4th fastest U.S. women performer All-Time in the 50y Free. 21.49 is a great swim. at #ATTNats:



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USA Swimming Stats - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Dec[/COLOR]

There have been over 139 swims from the SCY Winter Juniors added to the Age Group All-Time Top 100 list so far:

http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/9be0b837-56ba-45c2-a3c8-fb53d0921944/14_winter_junall_time_top100.pdf

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[COLOR="#800080"][SIZE=4]2014 Speedo Winter Junior National Championships: Women 200y Free Relay H2 [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[video=youtube;Gae5t3ZAvYs][/video]

[U]Canyons Aquatic[/U] - Lane 8: Abbey leading off (1st leg)

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[COLOR="#0066cc"][SIZE=4]Abbey Weitzeil Blasts 50 Free Leadoff, Sets 17-18 NAG[/SIZE][/COLOR]



http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/abbey-weitzeil-blasts-50-free-leadoff-sets-17-18-nag/

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FEDERAL WAY Abbey Weitzeil continued her remarkable relay-only meet for Canyons with a meet and 17-18 National Age Group record in the 50 free at the Speedo Winter Junior Nationals.

Weitzeil blitzed the leadoff for Canyons with a stunning time of 21.49. That's a 17-18 National Age Group record, [COLOR="#A52A2A"]beating the 21.59 set by Simone Manuel at the Art Adamson Invitational last month[/COLOR].

The time also makes her the fifth-fastest swimmer all time in the event:

[U]Name[/U] [U]Time[/U]

Lara Jackson 21.27r
Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace 21.34
Natalie Coughlin 21.46
Liv Jensen 21.48
Abbey Weitzeil 21.49
Margo Geer 21.53
Olivia Smoliga 21.54
Ivy Martin 21.58
Simone Manuel 21.59

Canyons' wound up with a 1:31.14 from Weitzeil (21.49), Tamara Santoyo (22.88), Nikol Popov (23.55) and Mik Ranslem (23.22).

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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]Abbey Weitzeil blows away Simone Manuel NAG with 21.49 in the 50 free[/SIZE][/COLOR]


[SIZE=1]Leading off the 200 free relay for the Canyons Aquatic Club, high school senior Abbey Weitzeil broke the 17-18 National Age Group record in the 50 free with a blazing 21.49. Archive Photo via Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com[/SIZE]

http://swimswam.com/abbey-weitzeil-blows-away-simone-manuel-nag-21-49-50-free/

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Leading off the 200 free relay for the Canyons Aquatic Club, high school senior Abbey Weitzeil broke the 17-18 National Age Group record in the 50 free with a blazing 21.49.

That makes her the fastest junior (under-18) performer in history in the event, bettering the 21.59 put up by Simone Manuel just a few weeks ago.

Manuel, a freshman at Stanford, and likely the best sprinter in the NCAA, officially holds the 17-18 NAG record at 21.70, though her 21.59 from the Art Adamson Invite in November would have supplanted that record, barring any complications.

Now, though, Weitzeil's time will better both of those swims.

The list of accolades to go with Weitzeil's swim are long, and behind all of it is the backdrop of Weitzeil's crazy December so far. The 18-year-old flew to Doha, Qatar at the beginning of the month to compete at the Short Course World Championships for Team USA. She wrapped up that meet by taking the Mixed 450 medley relay from 3rd to 1st, winning World Championship gold and breaking a world record in the process.

She then flew back the United States, and is almost certainly still dealing with some level of jet-lag, having not been back in the States for even a full week yet. But Weitzeil has been red-hot this week, turning heads with a 45.8 split on the Canyons 400 medley relay and now blowing up the NAG record books with this leadoff leg.

Weitzeil's swim check in just outside the top 10 performances of all-time, for any age, and she becomes the 5th-fastest performer in history:

All-Time Top Performers: Women's 50 yard Freestyle

1. Lara Jackson, 21.27
2. Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, 21.34
3. Natalie Coughlin, 21.46
4. Liv Jensen, 21.48
5. Abbey Weitzeil, 21.49

Just as exciting is the fact that Weitzeil will tangle with Manuel multiple times in college, as both will swim in the Pac-12 with Cal and Stanford, respectively, perhaps the two favorites for the next several NCAA titles. Pac-12 swim fans can look forward to watching multiple conference- and national-level battles between perhaps the two best young sprinting talents in American history.

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dgong;842423043 said:

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Stanzi posted a 1:44.55 to win the 200 free. Wow! That's a 2.5 second drop from her previous event best posted in April 2014. I would love to have both Drabot and Stanzi, but as of now, Stanzi, from California swims faster in the 50 and has a better 2014 time in the 200. Speed kills.

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Exactly. 200 free is Stanzi's "weakest" event. Depending on what she does in the 100 free, Stanzi's staked a claim as the top 2016 recruit in the country right now. Good news is that there's a lot of time until Teri needs to make definitive recruiting decisions. She'll recruit both Stanzi and Drabot hard and would gladly take both if they want to become Bears, but Stanzi's the more valuable recruit right now. She's already a five relay swimmer for all but two schools in the country (Cal and LSJU). If she improves her 100 free, she's a three relay swimmer for the Bears.

More interesting comparison is Drabot and Becca Mann. If Katie improves in the 100 and the 500, she'd be very valuable to the Bears-potential 2 relay swimmer and a middle distance ace. North Baltimore swims almost LCM exclusively, so Becca doesn't have too many SCY times. She'd be an exceptional complement to former NBAC teammate Cierra in the 1650 and 500. Mann could also probably swim a leg on the 800 free relay and could help the Bears with the 400 IM as her third individual event. Had Georgia not imploded, Becca would be a near lock for Georgia, but now Michigan, Cal, UVa, and LSJU will all be in the mix. LSJU with Ledecky, Mann, and Leah Stevens would be a problem.

Sprint breaststroker Lindsey Horejsi doesn't have any apparent ties to Cal, but Bootsma's a swimming legend in Minnesota. Teri/Kristen need to see if Horejsi has any interest in Cal and get her to attend Junior Day and have Bootsma work on her.

Courtney Mykkanen hasn't had a very good juniors (C finals in 100 back and 200 IM), but she did beat LSJU recruit Kim Williams in the 200 IM. Teri needs to add another backstroker and has two good options in Marsh and Mykkanen. David Marsh is the best college swim coach of all-time and knows the value of happy/motivated swimmers. He wouldn't pay full out of state tuition, but he's also not going to shop around for the best deal if Alyssa's dream schools are Cal or Auburn. Kinda think/hope the Marsh and Mykannen families would accept less scholly money from Cal than from other schools.

Teri parlayed 8 high $ schollys into 4 of the top 5 recruits in the current recruiting class. Having two Californians in the mix certainly helped. Don't see her being able to afford all of Stanzi, Mann, Drabot, Marsh, Horejsi, and Mykkanen, but she might be able to get five if two Californians are in the mix or if Marsh/Mykkanen accept less money.

This is a thread that never stop giving! Lots of good information and the analytical skills of many of you swim experts are to be admired and to boot, it was posted on the last page of this thread making it easy to find!!

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Hey well said, OBear! :beer:

I've learnt an incredible amount from the swim gurus here, particularly with regards to the collegiate aspects where there are quite a few differences, some of them not at all subtle, compared to long course.

Very thankful also that I haven't been the recipient of any really harsh admonitions whenever I had let slip a misinformed or wonky post, and majorly relieved that most are seemingly tolerant of my tendency to flood single threads with social media images and such lol :p Great community here!

btw here are several discussions on future women's recruits (2016 & beyond) that were posted on the "[COLOR="#800080"]2014 Winter Junior Nationals[/COLOR]" thread, which may contribute to the ongoing conversation here...
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dgong;842422518 said:

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On the girls recruiting side,sprinter (and Cal target) Stanzi Mosely (16) won the 50 free in a very quick 22.11. That's basically what Farida Osman just swam in Georgia (and at last years NCAAs).

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dgong;842422647 said:

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14 year old Taylor Ruck's win in the 500 free is also pretty insane. A Canadian Olympian for sure and future competition for that Farm recruit.
Is it too early to talk about recruiting 2017 targets, or a 14 year old distance star?

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842422945 said:

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Not in my books! Well, other than it getting trickier to make any accurate predictions on the future development of these promising youngsters once you go as far back as that age bracket! Taylor's height is definitely an asset assuming her growth isn't done with yet, she will probably give Stanzi some serious competition in the [U]200 free[/U] tonight (if the preceding 400 IM doesn't take too much out of her, that is!)

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BearDevil;842422780 said:

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Hoffer and Ruck both swim for Scottsdale Aquatics, same club team that produced Tyler Messerschmidt and Amy Bilquist.

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842422952 said:

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Well I don't see why we or Teri should limit our choices to an either-or scenario, after all the 2015 dream team did "miraculously" come about didn't it haha!! Hey let's have our cake and eat it, go after both Stanzi and Drabot! Stanzi's stock in the 200 free might well rise significantly tonight after her impressive PB this morning as noted by dgong, could become a serious contender for inclusion on our 800 free relay squad. We need Katie too for all the reasons already expounded upon by BearDevil - Cal's currently the early frontrunner for Drabot's college choice, and I'd really hate to see LSJU gleefully snatching her away for themselves if we drop the ball on this one... :p

Stanzi won the A final in a meet record & PB of 1:44.55!! (faster than Katie McLaughlin's 1:44.66, though Kathleen still rules it @ 1:43.61)

Taylor came in 3rd, 1:45.81

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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]Taylor Ruck Follows in Missy Franklin's Canadian-American Footsteps as Winter Jrs High Point Award Winner[/SIZE][/COLOR]


[SIZE=1]Sean Grieshop and Taylor Ruck were the 2014 Speedo Winter Junior Nationals High Point Award winners. Current Photo via Nitro Swimming[/SIZE]

http://swimswam.com/taylor-ruck-follows-missy-franklins-canadian-american-footsteps-winter-jrs-high-point-award-winner/

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BearDevil;842423182 said:

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Depending on what she does in the 100 free, Stanzi's staked a claim as the top 2016 recruit in the country right now.

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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
Stanzi wasn't able to better her 48.29 from prelims, but still won the [U]100 free[/U] A final in 48.44.

Taylor came in 2nd with a 48.54 (49.72 prelims), after having just won the 200 Back in 1:53.13 - pretty impressive after that tough double.

So Abbey's meet record of [U]47.78[/U] from 2013 remains intact...but possibly only for a bit longer, if she gets to lead off in the 4x100 Free relay later on...
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Very impressed with Stanzi this weekend. Have to agree with others that she might be the number one recruit in the class, although overall this class is not nearly as deep as last years. Also, impressed with Taylor Ruck although she is farther down the road. Question for BearDevil, or anyone else who may know, why doesn't Alyssa Marsh compete in the bigger National and International meets? Seems interesting with her father being one of the most famous coaches in swimming history.

[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
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Woohoo, [COLOR="#FF8C00"]Abbey[/COLOR] has just led off Canyons' [U]400 free relay[/U] in a groundbreaking time of [COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]46.29[/SIZE][/COLOR]!!!

Just for starters, this happens to break the:
[COLOR="#800080"]
US Open record (46.61)
American Record (46.62)
17-18 NAG Record (46.62)
Meet record (47.78)[/COLOR]
In other words, fastest time EVER in the [U]100 yard freestyle[/U]!!! :woohoo


[U][COLOR="#006400"][SIZE=4]All Time Top Performers for the 100 yard Free[/SIZE][/COLOR][/U]

[COLOR="#FF0000"]46.29r [U]Abbey Weitzeil[/U] 12/13/2014 Federal Way[/COLOR] [COLOR="#696969"](US Open, AR, 17-18 NAG)[/COLOR]
[COLOR="#A52A2A"]46.61r Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace 02/18/2012 University of Tennessee
46.62 Simone Manuel 11/22/2014 College Station
46.84 Natalie Coughlin 12/02/2011 UGA
46.86 Margo Geer 03/22/2014 Minneapolis
47.01 Megan Romano 03/15/2012 James E. Martin Aqua
47.15 Amanda Weir 12/06/2008 Atlanta
47.17 Dana Vollmer 03/21/2009 College Station
47.17 Missy Franklin 02/26/2014 Federal Way
47.17 Lia Neal 03/20/2014 Minneapolis
[/COLOR]
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[COLOR="#336699"][SIZE=4]Abbey Weitzeil Posts 100-Yard Freestyle American Record In Relay Leadoff[/SIZE][/COLOR]

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/abbey-weitzeil-100-yard-freestyle-american-record-in-relay-leadoff/

FEDERAL WAY Abbey Weitzeil couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to two weeks of racing, claiming her first American record in an individual event today at the Speedo junior nationals with a 46.29.

Swimming leadoff for Canyons Aquatic Club's 400 free relay, Weitzeil took down Simone Manuel's four-week-old record of 46.62 from the Art Adamson Invitational. The high school senior slashed nearly a second off her lifetime best, which had been a 47.59 from last March's American Short Course Championships.

Weitzeil turned at 22.29 at 50 yards, which is .21 faster than Manuel's split in her American record swim. Weitzeil came home .12 faster than Manuel as well.

This has been a banner month for Weitzeil, who was part of a world record-setting 200 mixed freestyle relay at the short course world championships in Doha. Her anchor leg of 23.25 helped Team USA win the event and post a 1:28.57.

Weitzeil now turns her focus to the national high school record books, where she already owns the records in the 50 and 100 freestyles from this past May with times of 21.98 and 47.82.


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[COLOR="#008000"][SIZE=4]5 Fast Facts About Abbey Weitzeil's 100 Free American Record[/SIZE][/COLOR]

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/abbey-weitzeil-100-free-american-record/



FEDERAL WAY Abbey Weitzeil has transformed from being a sprinter to watch into the fastest American swimmer in history, all in a span of about six months. When she broke the American record in the 100-yard freestyle Saturday night, she put herself into the history books in a big way and made the southern California native's future in the pool a bit brighter.

Weitzeil's 46.29 was significant in many ways when viewed in a historical perspective. Here are five facts about last night's swim:

1. Abbey Weitzeil was the first to set an American record at the USA Swimming Junior Nationals.

We're used to seeing national age group records fall by the truckloads at juniors, but no one imagines that they'll see an American record fall. Weitzeil waited until the final women's event to stun not only the crowd at the Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center, but the entire swimming community.

2. She's the third swimmer to set the 100-yard free American record on a relay leadoff.

Tracy Caulkins was the first to do it at the 1979 nationals with a 49.03. Natalie Coughlin did it twice at the NCAA championships, first in 2002 and again in 2003.

3. She's the 17th teenager to own the record.

4. She's the fourth female and fifth person to simultaneously own an American record and national high school record in the same event.

5. Weitzeil would have beaten the men's 100 free American record of 46.50 swum by Steve Jackman in 1963


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[COLOR="#A52A2A"][SIZE=4]2014 Speedo Winter Junior National Championships: Abbey Weitzeil's 100y Free American Record[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[video=youtube;BXHkzd3_iK4][/video]

[COLOR="#FF0000"][U]RACE[/U] + [U]INTERVIEW[/U] + [U]AWARDS[/U] [SIZE=3]VIDEO[/SIZE][/COLOR]


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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]Abbey Weitzeil crushes American 100 free record with 46.29 leadoff leg at Winter Juniors[/SIZE][/COLOR]

http://swimswam.com/abbey-weitzeil-crushes-american-100-free-record-46-29-leadoff-leg-winter-juniors/

She’s been a relay hero all weekend, but Abbey Weitzeil saved her best swim for last at the 2014 Winter Junior Nationals.

The Canyons Aquatic Club senior smashed her way through the leadoff leg of the 400 free relay to smash the 17-18 NAG record, the American record and the U.S. Open record in the 100 free.

Weitzeil was a blistering 46.29 leading off that relay, her straight-arm stroke screaming along on top of the water faster than any swimmer in history.

She takes down the previous American record set by Simone Manuel just last month at 46.62, not just sneaking under the mark but absolutely crushing it.

Weitzeil also shatters the U.S. Open record, which tracks the fastest swim ever done on U.S. soil. That one was held by Bahamian Olympian Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace at 46.61. Weitzeil now unifies both records at 46.29.

The future Cal Golden Bear was untouchable in the back half of her race, nearly closing in a 23-second split. Her full splits, along with Manuel’s splits from her most recent record, are below:

• Weitzeil: 22.29/24.00 – 46.29
• Manuel: 22.50/24.12 – 46.62

As always, we have to note Weitzeil’s successes this meet have come in spite of an intercontinental flight she took from Doha, Qatar earlier this week. She scratched all of her individual races here, instead swimming just one relay a night, and that has seemed to be the magic formula, as she’s been nothing short of brilliant everytime she’s hit the water in Federal Way.



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[COLOR="#FF0000"]Swimswam[/COLOR] reader comments in response to Abbey's record-breaking relay swims:
[COLOR="#808080"]
"I gotta hand it to Bobo for calling it. I honestly didn’t think Weitzeil could pull it off after setting relay world record over a week ago at the end of a 5 day international meet half way around the world, and then slogging through at the end of another 4 day meet. She held it amazingly well and whoever prescribed her taper did it perfectly"

"Some of these guys in the next heat could get chicked by Weitzeil…."

"If she can convert to lcm, australia might be in trouble in rio. Manuel will be 52.5 by then, weitzel could be around the same. Franklin and Romano around those two, and they could pull it off."

"Don’t count out Coughlin as the fourth member for that Rio relay! She split sub-53 in Barcelona and put up some great swims last weekend…"

"She is absolutely fast , efficient , very reliable and a clutch relay swimmer ."

"Very cool what happened this week. It will motivate Simone Manuel to train still harder to retain her American record next March. Both girls will push each other in the next years to reach levels US women’s sprint has never known."

"plenty of amazing talented swimmers are risung up in Usa ; This gives a lot of fun , surprises and Confidence for Kazan ,Rio or beyond .
Weitzel is for me one of the most amazing confirmation with Reece Whitley this week . Astonishing relay performances in Doha and this week . The last race where she brings down the Nag record is just out of this world- Her walls are super fast , she uses a little underwater to the best , and had that staight arm efficiency well under development with her coach . Smart coach ! Very interesting end of the year for Us talents on the rising ."

"When u get a close look here , Weitzeil catches up 2 body lenghts definit over the first 50 yards ,than pulls out one body lenght advantage at the finish !!! Just on one 100 yards !!! Very impressive . She must be one of the few young girls out there to swim straight arms with such success so far ."

"She is the best I’ve ever seen from about yard 10 to yard 50(or yard 100). She was even with the field at the breakout. She will only improve, IMO, in the future. Now, it may take a while before we see her so fast again, as she is clearly on fire right now. But she has a great coach, and significant room for improvement from the blocks to the breakout."

"Beast! She did it between the flags as well, not with huge walls. This augers well for her LCM future."

"Phenomenal. Based on her interviews she seems very grounded and humble too. Can’t wait to see how Ms.Weitzeil progresses in the years to come."
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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]Breaking Down All The Individual Age Group Records Set At Winter Junior Nationals[/SIZE][/COLOR]

http://swimswam.com/breaking-age-group-records-set-winter-junior-nationals/

This year’s Winter Junior Nationals proved to be a very quick meet with a total of six new age-group records being recorded following the completion of the competition. Ryan Hoffer, Sean Grieshop, Abbey Weitzeil and Eva Merell combined to break those seven records, with three of them falling at the hands of sprint-star Hoffer.

[SIZE=3]Abbey Weitzeil[/SIZE]

Abbey Weitzeil has recently shown the world that she is one of if not the best sprinter in her year. She’s really broken out onto the American scene as not just an amazing age-group swimmer, but one of the best sprinters in general in the United States.

With Simone Manuel starting her freshman year at Stanford, everyone has been focused on her as the sprint queen in the United States, however Weitzeil made sure to let the world know that she’s a dominant sprint force as well.

Weitzeil started off her record hunt with a 21.49 in the 50 yard freestyle to break Simone Manuel’s age-group mark, but it was her 100 freestyle that was her most impressive swim of the competition.

Going into the meet, the age-group mark in the 100 freestyle was a 46.75 set at the hands of Manuel. The most notable fact about the record was that it wasn’t just the age-group mark but the all around American record in the event, and the fastest anyone had ever been in yards.

That was until Weitzeil got her hands on it…

All Weitzeil swam at the meet were relays, opting out of her individual swims which included the 200 IM and 100 fly. On the last event of the night Weitzeil led off her team’s 4100 freestyle relay and touched the wall in 46.29.

That time didn’t just break Manuel’s record, but established her as the fastest female ever in the 100 yard freestyle. She broke the record by a whopping 0.46 seconds as well to take almost a half-second chunk off the record.
[COLOR="#808080"]
"Nice recap.
Just correct the previous girls’ 17/18 100 free NAG record and previous American record before SwimNerd reads it.
Simone Manuel swam 46.62 at Art Adamson Invitational last month."
[/COLOR]
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Caroline Piehl - [COLOR="#A9A9A9"]13 Dec, 8:00 pm PST[/COLOR]
“[COLOR="#FF0000"]@swimswamnews[/COLOR]: [COLOR="#696969"]Abbey Weitzeil does it again! New American record for the senior - 46.29"[/COLOR] [SIZE=3][COLOR="#FFA500"]�� [/COLOR][COLOR="#A52A2A"]�� [/COLOR][COLOR="#FFD700"]�� [/COLOR][COLOR="#0099cc"]��[/COLOR][/SIZE] way to go baby bear!! [COLOR="#0066cc"]@AbbeyWeitzeil[/COLOR]

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[COLOR="#0066cc"][SIZE=4]Speedo Performance of the Week: Abbey Weitzeil [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[video=youtube;Hxj_5iMMf-U][/video]

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tedbear;842423516 said:

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...why doesn't Alyssa Marsh compete in the bigger National and International meets? Seems interesting with her father being one of the most famous coaches in swimming history.

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AT&T Winter Nationals (same mid-season taper meet that both Cal teams swam in last season) was held in Greensboro (an easy bus ride from Charlotte) last weekend. SwimMAC competed along with many college teams. Was a better field than Junior Winter Nationals. NCAP (Seliskar) and most of the Northern VA junior club teams competed at the Tom Dolan Meet this weekend rather than travel to Seattle.

Bears need a backstroker, but people should temper expectations for Marsh and/or Mykkanen. Both are solid backstrokers and would be productive Bears, but they don't project as superstar recruits. Both have very strong B cuts right now that are just outside NCAA invites. Would guess that they'll be higher rated recruits by next Fall than Maija, but not top 20 recruits. Their floor as Bears would likely be Maija (solid contributors as freshmen but probably not NCAA qualifiers right away). Par would be Naze/Mau (NCAA qualifiers as freshmen but not immediate scorers). Upside would be Klaren (four year NCAA scorers, All-Americans as upperclassmen).

With Baker and Bilquist, Teri doesn't need to spend for more superstar backstrokers right away. Finding a scoring sprint breaststroker to free up Baker to swim both backstrokes at NCAAs would be a higher priority than just adding the best 2016 backstroker. Georgia built a juggernaut not via superstars, but by selectively adding and developing quality depth and lots of consolation scorers.

A vaguely familiar name, Brooke Stenstrom, competed at Winter Juniors in the 100 free (8th). Her dad, Steve, was a QB on the farm and in the NFL and her mom swam for LSJU. Brooke's times don't project as an impact swimmer at LSJU, but Meehan won't turn her down either. Similar to Elway's daughters (mom was also an LSJU swimmer) who were deep rotation basketball players on the farm. If Mary Pelton had truly wanted to swim for the Bears, Teri would have taken her over Jenna Campbell.

Alyssa's a great girl and a good student, so Cal makes a lot of sense for her. She'd make a bigger swimming impact at Auburn, but the swimming and academics are a step down from Cal. In addition to close friends Maija and Baker, she's also known both Durdens most of her life. Dave worked for and was mentored by her dad at Auburn and Cathy swam and coached at Auburn. She already has a ready-made support system in Berkeley. Alyssa spent half her childhood in Auburn and likely wants to spend some time at her mom's alma mater.

BearDevil;842423629 said:

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AT&T Winter Nationals (same mid-season taper meet that both Cal teams swam in last season) was held in Greensboro (an easy bus ride from Charlotte) last weekend. SwimMAC competed along with many college teams. Was a better field than Junior Winter Nationals. NCAP (Seliskar) and most of the Northern VA junior club teams competed at the Tom Dolan Meet this weekend rather than travel to Seattle.

Bears need a backstroker, but people should temper expectations for Marsh and/or Mykkanen. Both are solid backstrokers and would be productive Bears, but they don't project as superstar recruits. Both have very strong B cuts right now that are just outside NCAA invites. Would guess that they'll be higher rated recruits by next Fall than Maija, but not top 20 recruits. Their floor as Bears would likely be Maija (solid contributors as freshmen but probably not NCAA qualifiers right away). Par would be Naze/Mau (NCAA qualifiers as freshmen but not immediate scorers). Upside would be Klaren (four year NCAA scorers, All-Americans as upperclassmen).

With Baker and Bilquist, Teri doesn't need to spend for more superstar backstrokers right away. Finding a scoring sprint breaststroker to free up Baker to swim both backstrokes at NCAAs would be a higher priority than just adding the best 2016 backstroker. Georgia built a juggernaut not via superstars, but by selectively adding and developing quality depth and lots of consolation scorers.

A vaguely familiar name, Brooke Stenstrom, competed at Winter Juniors in the 100 free (8th). Her dad, Steve, was a QB on the farm and in the NFL and her mom swam for LSJU. Brooke's times don't project as an impact swimmer at LSJU, but Meehan won't turn her down either. Similar to Elway's daughters (mom was also an LSJU swimmer) who were deep rotation basketball players on the farm. If Mary Pelton had truly wanted to swim for the Bears, Teri would have taken her over Jenna Campbell.

Alyssa's a great girl and a good student, so Cal makes a lot of sense for her. She'd make a bigger swimming impact at Auburn, but the swimming and academics are a step down from Cal. In addition to close friends Maija and Baker, she's also known both Durdens most of her life. Dave worked for and was mentored by her dad at Auburn and Cathy swam and coached at Auburn. She already has a ready-made support system in Berkeley. Alyssa spent half her childhood in Auburn and likely wants to spend some time at her mom's alma mater.

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Thanks BD! As always, very informative reading. I especially liked your comparison to current swimmers, to give us novices a better understanding of the potential of our future recruits.

tedbear;842423926 said:

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Thanks BD! As always, very informative reading. I especially liked your comparison to current swimmers, to give us novices a better understanding of the potential of our future recruits.

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+1. Really enjoy the write-ups by everyone here

UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842420984 said:

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Would personally love to get high-profile studs Beata Nelson (fly, sprints) or Allie Szekely (breast, back)

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With all the sprint studs in the pipeline, Beata's relative value to Cal decreases since she likely doesn't crack the 200 free or 400 free relay lineups in Berkeley and may not even be a medley flyer with Katie M and Noemie already on board. Will be highly coveted everywhere else as a stud flyer and a 4 relay swimmer, but pencils out right now as an outstanding 100 flyer who would have to fight to swim on any relays at Cal. Teri doesn't need to pay market value for an out of state recruit who will command close to full rides elsewhere.

OTOH, Ally Szekely channeled some UAC mojo and had an excellent Tom Dolan meet over the weekend. Now has 4 B cuts (both breasts and both backs) and would be safely into NCAAs (but not a scorer yet) in the 200 breast and 200 back. Just outside an invite in the 100 back (slightly better time than Mau). Already has ties to several Cal swimmers and recruits. Marina projects as a 200 breast scorer right now. Need to watch how Li and Maija develop in the 200 breast this season. Ally has to be in the mix, especially if she improves her 100 breast time. Horejsi doesn't have a very good 200 breast time, but a 100 breast scorer would be more valuable to the Bears than another 200 breast scorer. Teri would be willing to play what it takes for a medley breastroker and a two event breast scorer, but she already has a medley breastroker and a potential 100 breast scorer (Baker) plus potentially a 200 breast scorer (Marina).

Like Beata, Ally's total package may be too expensive for the Bears need in the short-term. If you're always a national championship contender, you want to spend for immediate scorers in areas of need and invest in longer term recruits if they're in-state or Cal legacies.