Who To Watch: 2017 Pacific Swimming Junior Olympics

Preview for the 2017 Pacific Swimming Junior Olympics hosted by Orinda Aquatics in Moraga, California June 7-9. This article features all of the different swimmers to watch throughout the weekend.

Jul 7, 2017 by Maclin Simpson

2017 Pacific Swimming Junior Olympics

July 7-9, 2017
Moraga, California
MEET INFORMATION
LIVE STREAM

By Scott Thompson

The Pacific Swimming Speedo Long Course Junior Olympics begin today -- Friday, July 7 -- and run through Sunday, July 9. As far as regional age group meets are concerned, the Pac Swim JO’s are one of the best and most exciting.

During warm-up for prelims, on these fresh Northern California mornings, the decadent aroma of coffee from hospitality blends perfectly with the almost spiritual incense of chlorine rising as mist from the pool. For three early mornings in a row, a slew of well-known swim coaches, from very well-known programs, have gathered a bunch of freezing ten year-olds together, to carry out the swim meet routine in unison.

During evening finals sessions, on the back of a casual California sunset, spectators and participants will watch competitors from teams such as Orinda Aquatics, Pleasanton Seahawks, Terrapins, and Santa Clara Swim Club. The atmosphere lends itself to that of Junior Nationals at Stanford or even the Santa Clara Pro Swim Series. Needless to say, these Northern California age-groupers are educated in the tradition of great racing from an early age. If you are looking for an inside scoop, here are some local tips on who to watch:

The entire squad of 13-14 Girls from CROW

Amber Gardner, Shelby Suppiger, Nicole Stiles, Jessica Davis, Alexis Depaco, etc... Girls from this group occupy spots in the top eight of almost every event and are bound to do well in the relays. Whenever you see this many people in the same age group on the same team, you can be sure this program is doing something right. This group of girls from CROW are on track to make college programs better when recruiting time comes around.

Clark Apuada (9), MCAT

Clark's seed time of 36.43 in the boys 10&U 50m backstroke is 2.3 seconds ahead of the next guy. For that alone, he makes the list.

Ethan Russel (13), East Bay Aquatics

It seems like this guy was in the 11-12 age group for way too long. With his level of dominance, you can be sure that coaches with other promising 11-12 boys might have been praying for him to age up. Sometimes, a superstar age-grouper might lose their mental edge when the age up. They can have a hard time adjusting to racing bigger and faster people when it has usually been smooth sailing to victory. This is not the case for Ethan Russel. He loves racing and is already listed in the top 10 in a significant amount of events for the 13-14 age group.

Jerry Chu (12), SCSC

This is one fantastic swimmer. At age 11 he won -- or almost won -- every single event he swam at the Winter 14&U Championships. Now, at the top of his age group, look for more of the same fast swimming from Jerry Chu.

The SCSC 10&U Girls 100 Fly

SCSC holds the one, two, three, four, six, and seven seeds in the girls 10&U 100m butterfly. More than that, they hold nine out of the top 16 spots on the psych sheet. Lya Elaydi, Davina Huang, Kelsey Zhang, Katelyn Tran, Eunice Lee, Petrina Olson, Lina Wordelman, Allison Ma, and Zoe Childers make up an inspired squad of fourth and fifth grade butterfliers on summer break.

The Montclair Swim Team/Coach Bill Aden

If you are ever wondering what great technique looks like, have yourself a gander. Be it starts, turns, breakouts, breathing, body position, catch, or attitude, Coach Bill Aden is doing something right with his team. The whole swimming world will improve by watching these swimmers and this coach as they work together toward great fun and great swimming. The riddle is solved at each step of the progression regarding what technique should look like when when kids swim.

Ethan Wang (12), PLS & Harrison Williams (12), PASA

These two guys are either the one or two seed for every event they are entered in… and they are entered in many of the same events. No debate on this one -- keep an eye out for these two studs.

Zach Le-Nguyen (14), Orinda Aquatics

Whether he is at the top of his age group or the bottom, this kid loves to race. Now at age fourteen, Zach Le-Nguyen is back at the top of his age group and also at the top of a whole slew of events on the psych sheet. As a graduate from the Montclair Swim Team, you can be sure that Zach Le-Nguyen has no glass ceiling. Moreover, this is his last long course 14&U JO meet ever. He will be swimming to win and it will be a treat to watch those races. If you watch any finals session at this meet, you will most likely not have a choice of whether or not to watch Zach Le-Nguyen swim.

Kyra Cui (10) & Sophie Boeun (10), QSS

This QSS 10&U girls 50m breaststroke duo of Kyra Cui and Sophie Boeun holds the top two seeds going in to the meet with a 38.80 and 39.54, respectively. Because everybody loves a one-two punch, this pair is a no-brainer to make the list.
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