RECAP - 2014 AAU JUNIOR OLYMPIC GAMES SWIMMING

Written by: Amanda Szylin  

More than 300 athletes flocked to Des Moines to compete in the 2014 AAU Junior Olympic Games! Boys and girls in a variety of ages, ranging from and 8 and under to a 15-18 year old division.

Team Arkansas took home the first place honors in the Combined Team Scores with 5,271 points. South Wind Swim Conference grabbed second place with 2,148 and Bison Aquatic Club rounded out the top three with 1,596 points. All 26 teams scored a total of 15,214 points at the four day meet.

The 11-12 400 Meter Freestyle, 12-14 1500 Meter Freestyle and 15-18 1500 Meter Freestyle Timed Finals took place on Wednesday evening at Birdland Pool in Des Moines to kick off the Swimming competition. Laura Solano-Florez grabbed the gold in the 400, and Laurin Ebert and Madison Brownrigg took home the gold in the Women’s division of the 14U and 15 and Over 1500, respectively. For the boys, Jake Harris and Will Crawford took home the gold in their races.

The second day brought more intense competition at Birdland Pool! Madelyn Kubicki, Halee Riley, Sydney Parker and Brynnan Duncan of the Bison Aquatic Club from Oklahoma took home the gold in the Girls 13-14 400 LC Meter Medley Relay with a final time of 5:24.42. Alyssa Reece, Kynlee Files, Julie Foster and Marshall Coan of Team Arkansas snagged first place in the 15-18 400 LC Meter Medley Relay with a time of 6:02.37. In the afternoon session later than day, Zoe Goss and Zoe Johnson placed first in their races and Maryann Khalil earned TWO gold medals for the British International School. The Auglaize Mercer Family YMCA won the gold for the Girls 11-12 400 LC Meter Medley Relay with a time of 5:28.13. The team consisted of Grace Gabes, Claire Gass, Kennedy Newell, and Kenzie Conn and their time was only 15 seconds shy of the record!

The third day featured more Timed Finals! The 400 Meter Club Free Relay for both boys and girls and the 400 Meter Mixed Free Relay kicked off the morning session at the pool! Bison Aquatic Club and Swimpro Aquatics took the gold in the Club Free Relays and Olivia Seefeldt, Amanda Slechter, Elizabeth Grider and Chloe Kubicki all contributed to earning the gold in the Mixed Free Relay! In the afternoon, Zoe Johnson and Maryam Khalil grabbed first place honors in the 50 Meter Freestyle in their age divisions. Maryam added to her medal collection with another gold, this time in the 10U 200 LC Meter Individual Medley! Zoe Johnson also earned herself another medal with a first place finish in the 8U 50 LC Meter Backstroke. Ainsley Bennett added her name to the list of gold medal winners with a top spot in the 9-10 50 Meter Backstroke. To cap off the day, Auglaize Mercer Family YMCA added another gold medal with a victory in the 11-12 400 LC Meter Freestyle Relay. Zoe Johnson and Maryam Khalil joined Madisyn Cameron and Jasmine Webb to earn yet another gold, this time in the 12U 400 LC Meter Freestyle Mixed Relay.

On the final day, the morning session kicked off with two timed finals, the 13-14 and the 15-18 200 Meter Club Free Relay. Bison Aquatic Club took home the honors in the younger division and Swimpro Honors took the top spot in the older division. The 200 Meter Club Medley Relay for the 13-14 and 15-18 divisions was next. The Bison Aquatic Club girls took home the gold again in the younger division but the South Wind Swim Conference took the top spot in the 15-18 division. In the Mixed 200 Meter Relay for girls 13-18, Tyara Green, McKinley Stearns and Olivia Smoak grabbed the win and the gold. In the afternoon, Team Arkansas grabbed three gold medals, along with Auglaize Mercer Family YMCA who took home two. Ainsley Bennett, Zoe Johnson, Maryam Khalil and Jasmine Webb each earned individual gold medals during the afternoon session and a mixed team consisting of Olivia Bachman, Molly Johnson and Lilly Stempkovski took home the gold in a relay!

Thanks to ALL swimmers for coming out and competing in an intense competition at Birdland Pool in Des Moines! We hope to see you again next year in Virginia!

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