More than 1,400 swim in Aquatics Center
MORGAN HILL — U.S. Swimming has always experienced some predictable patterns. Leading into the Summer Olympics, and following the Games, there is an increase in membership, and swimmers tend to train a little harder and go faster in meets.
Halfway between Summer Games, the pattern does not seem to apply this cycle: There are more swimmers, and they are swimming faster at every level of U.S. Swimming.
Once again, times that would have placed in the top three a year ago did not score in the most recent Pacific Swimming Far Western Short Course Championships held Thursday to Sunday in the Aquatics Center. Hosted by Almaden Swim & Racquet Club, the meet drew more than 1,400 swimmers from across the country. It began with a tribute to longtime Morgan Hill resident and Pacific Swimming official Frank Suchomel, who was the meet’s head referee.
Most of the participants trained hard to be in attendance.
Morgan Hill Swim Club was represented by 12-year-old Lauren Akin and 14-year-old Christiana Bridges, two of the Makos’ best swimmers.
Akin was coming off a Junior Olympic swim two weeks ago in which she dropped nearly a minute in the 1,650-yard freestyle to qualify for Far Westerns. Racing against well-trained competition in the women’s 11-12 age group, she shaved more than 15 seconds to touch in a personal-record 19 minutes, 19.42 seconds.
Bridges’ mile challengers in the 13-14 category were just as tough. The Sobrato High School freshman kept up through the first half of the race and improved by a couple seconds, finishing in a fifth-place time of 18:02.03.
The long course season now begins with distances moving to international and Olympic standards. The Makos’ next meet is this weekend in the Aquatics Center.
Among local prep standouts, senior Katie Rick and sophomore Michelle Mikaelsson of Live Oak High School made the final heats in the 17-18 400-yard individual medley and 15-16 200-yard individual medley, respectively. Both finished fourth; Rick in 4:43.32 and Mikaelsson in 2:12:39.
Ryan McCombs, a LOHS freshman, clocked a preliminary time of 1:00.7 in the men’s 15-16 100-yard backstroke.
