The Durango Swim Club sent 10 swimmers to the Speedo Senior Sectional Championships and set club and pool records.
The team came home with a 19th-place finish with a team score of 173 points. There were 65 teams and more than 800 athletes from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington competing at the meet, which was held March 22-25 at the Phoenix Country Day School Aquatic Center in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
“It was a great meet for everyone,” DSC head coach Alex Martinek said. “We brought a full team to a very competitive meet. At a big-level meet, it’s always hard to navigate expectations and manage yourself. That to me was the biggest learning experience for almost everyone at the meet.
“Some of us were able to step up for one or two events during the duration of the meet, but when it came to certain events, some of us let the pressure get to us.”
Arizona’s Scottsdale Aquatic Club won the overall team title, as its men’s and women’s teams both placed first.
DSC standout and University of Houston signee Haley Benjamin set pool records in the 400-yard individual medley and 500 freestyle.
Benjamin won the 400 individual medley in a time of 4 minutes, 16.36 seconds. She overcame Phoenix Swim Club’s Sydney Carlson in the final 100 yards with a freestyle split of 57.78 seconds. She finished the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:47.93, which was 4.16 seconds faster than second place.
Benjamin also placed second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:02.32 and was second to Olympic gold medalist Breeja Larson in the 200 freestyle in 1:48.92. She also was second in the 1,650 freestyle in 16:33.84.
Larson, who won gold at the 2012 Olympics in the 400-meter medley relay, won the 200 freestyle in 1:47.37.
During the first day of the meet, DSC scored points with its men’s and women’s relay teams in the 800 freestyle relays.
In the 800 freestyle relay, the women’s team of Mina Willemin, Torey Duran, Quinn Schmidt and Benjamin placed 24th in a time of 8:02.25. The men’s team of Emmett Stottlemyer, Brandon Walker, Alex Martinek and Warner Becher was also 24th in 7:19.68.
The 14-year-old Duran, a home-schooled eighth-grader from Cortez, cut a second off her personal best in the 500 freestyle, at 5:19.00. In the 1,650 freestyle, she cut 27 seconds of her personal best, with a time of 18.11.00, about two minutes off the pace. The 1,650 freestyle was won by 14-year-old Mia Ryan of Phoenix, with a time of 16:30.28. Durango swimmer Benjamin was second at 16:33.84.
“Torey Duran drives from Cortez every day to practice in Durango, and it’s paying off,” Martinek said.
In the 1,000 freestyle, Schmidt posted the second-fastest time in DSC history for the 15-16-age group with a time of 10:48.14, which was 23 seconds faster than her previous personal best. She also competed in the 1,650 freestyle but had a rocky performance in the event to close the meet.
“I think the mile can be a tough event if you don’t settle right into your pace,” Martinek said. “Some people can build into it and that’s great, but someone like Quinn just needs to find her pace and stick to it. Unfortunately, she settled into a pace just a little off and got stuck there.”
On Friday, the 200 freestyle men’s relay team of Stottlemyer, Walker, Martinek and Becher placed 39th, and the women’s team in the 200 freestyle relay of Violet Wichel, Willemin, Benjamin and Angela McManus placed 32nd. During Wichel’s opening 50 of the relay, she beat Benjamin’s team record of 25.16 for a new record of 24.81.
“I think Violet’s 50 free in the relay was one of those great swims. I always like to see some of those records get broken,” Martinek said.
In the 1,650 freestyle, Stottlemyer set a DSC record with a time of 16:58, a full 21 seconds better than his previous best time. Stottlemyer also set a team record in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:54.92.
“First time at a big meet is always tough to improve on every event,” Martinek said. “Overall, I think everyone did well.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
