The North Whidbey Aquatic Club recently had its best ever Pacific Northwest Championships finish, earning 11th place, 445 points and the honor of the highest-placing team in Northwestern Washington.
NWAC was led by 12-year-old Price Hu, state champion in the 200 butterfly, and medalist (top eight) in four other swims.
Other medal winners included 14-year-old John Hu (200 im, 200 fly, 1000 back), 12-year-old Yale Rosen (50 back, 100 breast, 200 breast, 50 breast, and 200 im), 12-year-old Devin Schell (200 free), 12-year-old Tyler Schell (200 breast), 16-year-old Evan Wilson (1500 free, 200 im, 200 breast, and 400 im), and 11-year-old Ciara Hu (200 fly).
Other Aquajets scoring individual points included Abby Leete, Marissa McDaniel, Cameron Spence, Amanda Streubel, and Kerianne Wright. Scoring relay points were the boys 15-and-older 200 medley relay team of Spence, Wolfe Styke, Spencer Livermore, and Wilson; and the boys 11-12 200 free and medley relay teams of Rosen, Hu, Schell, and Schell, in team record times of 2:14.68 and 2:28.65, respectively.
The Aquajets crushed a total of 13 individual team records including those by Yale Rosen (50 and 100 back, 200 breast, and 200 im), Price Hu (100 and 200 fly, and 200 im), Devin Schell (200 free), John Hu (100 back), Marissa McDaniel (girls 15-and-older 400 im), and Evan Wilson (800 free, 200 breast, and 400 im).
Other notable NWAC performances included Marissa McDaniel’s leadoff leg of the girls 15-and-older 200 freestyle relay, in which she swam 28.89, dropping over a second and qualifying for next March’s Western Region Senior Sectional Meet to be held in Phoenix, Arizona. Adding two more qualifying times to the same meet was Evan Wilson in the 1500 free and 400 im. As a team, NWAC swam over 90 percent lifetime bests in both individual and relay events.
The Aquajets finished their summer swim season last weekend, placing fourth in the North Cascade Summer Swim League Championship meet in Anacortes. The meet was won by Storm Aquatics of Lake Stevens.
Monica Olloren, 10, and Nick Streubel, 9, led the way for NWAC, winning all three of their individual events and swimming on the victorious 10-and-under medley and freestyle relays. Other top three placers for the Aquajets included Karina Concepcion, Ryan Cuajunco, Lily Doyle, Dianne Hossfeld, Jacob Jepsen, John Kaltenbach, Makenzi Schulle, and Ryan Thurgood.
Competing with Olloren and Streubel on the winning 10-and-under relays were John Kaltenbach, Schulle (medley), and Concepcion (free). NWAC’s 8-and-under relays also medaled with the medley team of Cuajunco, Lindsey Thurgood, Tricia Desquitado, and Chloe Lind notching second place and the free team of Cuajunco, Bridger Karlik, Desquitado, and Irysh Concepcion taking third.
NWAC also had several athletes competing in the Whidbey Island triathlon in Langley.
NWAC athletes were the first three males (Evan Wilson, Cameron Spence, and Jason Hunter) and first female (Marissa McDaniel) to exit the 1/2-mile swim in Lone Lake.
Wilson was NWAC’s top finisher overall, placing first in the 19-and-under male division with a time of 1:42.32. Spence (1:46:07) and Hunter (1:53.25) rounded out the top three in that division.
NWAC’s Carolyn Vasquez, the youngest competitor in the 300-athlete field at 13, placed third in the female 19-and-under division (2:14.20) while riding a moun
