Aquatomics swimmers, from left, Anna Wetteland, Michelle Lo, Maribeth Englert, Owen McLaughlin, William Borovina, and Emily McLaughlin traveled to Lewisville, Texas, to represent NM Swimming. They are wearing the tutus that Anna made for all NM swimmers. Courtesy photo
Kelly Wetteland represented the Los Alamos Aquatomics in the Junior National meet in Irving, Calif. Wetteland has committed to swimming for the U.S. Naval Academy following graduation. Courtesy photo
Kelly Wetteland swims in the outside pool in Irving, Calif., the site of Summer Nationals. Courtesy photo
BY MARIBETH ENGLERT
Coach
Los Alamos Aquatomics
The Los Alamos Aquatomics recently had several end-of-season meets. Although this past season was unusual with fewer opportunities for meets due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team focused on their training and had some stellar results.
NM Senior States July 9-11, 2021
The Aquatomics had 13 swimmers attend the Senior State Meet held in Albuquerque. The Aquatomics had many great swims, including:
William Borovina, (14) swam the 500 Free and the 1650 Free.
Eric Burns finished his Aquatomics Senior career and was honored with some NM Swimming gear at the meet. Courtesy photo
Eric Burns (18) swam the 100 Free, 200 Free, 500 Free, 1650 Free, 200 IM, and 400 IM. He dropped from 2:13.19 to 2:16.44 from prelims to finals in the 200 IM, and more than 10 seconds from prelims to finals in the 500 Free and the 400 IM. Eric is a senior who graduated from Los Alamos High School this year and will swim for Williams Baptist University in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas this coming year. This was his last meet with the Aquatomics during his HS career! Congratulations, Eric! You will be missed!
Mary Couture (16) also swam a full complement of events: 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM, and the 400 IM. She had great drops from prelims to finals in the 200 Fly (prelims 2:44.11, finals 2:36.35) and prelims (5:22.73) to finals (5:14.39) in the 400 IM.
Carson Hick (16) swam 4 events while getting ready for a Sectionals. He was 6th in the 50 Free, 7th in the 100 Free, 2nd in the 100 Fly, and won the 500 Free in a blistering time of 4:39.59. Carson scored a total of 24 points for the team.
Emily McLaughlin (14) swam the 50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Back, 200 Breast, 200 IM, and the 400 IM. She placed 8th in the 400 IM, dropping from 5:41.83 in prelims to 5:34.00 in finals.
Fayrouz Mourad (15) swam 3 events as she also readied for Sectionals. She placed 7th in the 200 Free, 6th in the 200 Breast, and also swam the 100 Fly. She dropped from 2:35.08 in prelims for the 200 Breast to 2:32.15 in finals.
Nikolai Nelson (15) had a good end-of-season meet swimming the 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 500 Free, 200 Back, and 100 Fly. Sophia Pieck (14) swam the 50 Free, 200 Free, 50 Back, 100 back, 200 IM, and placed 6th in the 100 Free and 7th in the 200 Back.
Susanna Price (18) was also aiming towards Sectionals, and swam the 50 Free, placed 5th in the 200 Free, and had a good drop in the 100 Fly from prelims to finals (1:04.30 to 102.55.) Susanna is a Senior who will be swimming at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia.
Lena Ronning (13) swam all freestyle events: the 50, 100, 200, and 500. In the 500, she dropped from 6:04.30 in prelims to 5:57.29 in finals.
Hayden Sutton (15) swam the 50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Back, 100 Back, 200 Back, 100 Fly, and 200 IM.
Anna Wetteland, Coach Mark Scott, and Kelly Wetteland celebrate Anna’s Women’s 3rd place High Point and Kelly’s 1st place High Point awards. Courtesy photo
Anna Wetteland (14) was training for the Western Age Group Zones, but still gathered up many points for the team by getting 2nd in the 50 Free, 3rd in the 100 Free, 4th in the 50 Fly, 3rd in the 100 Fly, and winning both the 200 Free and 500 Free. She captured third place High Point for Girls with 42 points.
Kelly Wetteland (16), training for Sectionals and Nationals in California, earned First Place High Point for Girls with 50 points. Kelly won the 50 Free, 50 Breast, 100 Breast, and 100 Fly. She was second in the 100 Free and 50 Fly. Kelly broke the 15-16 Girls NM State Record in the 50 Breast, going 29.92 in the finals to break the 5-year-old record of 30.37 held by Lauren Burkle. Kelly has now formally committed to swimming for the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland after graduation next year. Congratulations Kelly!
2021 Western Region Speedo Sectionals—Austin, Texas
July 15-18, 2021
The Aquatomics had three swimmers participate in the Western Region Sectionals this summer. Sectionals are a considerably higher-level meet with much faster qualifying times than the NM State Meets. This meet took place in the beautiful facility at UT-Austin. It was a Long Course Meters (LCM) meet, meaning the pool is set up as 50 meters. This was a challenge for the swimmers since they have not been able to have any training time in this configuration. Unlike past summers,
Nikolai Nelson (15) had a good end-of-season meet swimming the 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 500 Free, 200 Back, and 100 Fly.
Sophia Pieck (14) swam the 50 Free, 200 Free, 50 Back, 100 back, 200 IM, and
COVID-19 protocol has not allowed the Walkup Aquatic Center to be set up as LC. Nonetheless, the swimmers brought their best effort and focus to the meet.
Carson Hick broke a long standing NM record in the 1500 Free at Sectionals in Austin, Texas. Courtesy photo
Carson Hick (16) swam the 200 Free, 400 Free, 1500 Free, 200 Fly, and 400 IM. Highlights of his swims include accumulating 21 points for placing 21st in the 400 Free (4:21.19 for 4 points) and 10th in the 1500 Free (16:32.82 for 17 points.) Carson broke a long-standing state record in the 1500 Free. Marcus Guttman had held the record since 2006. He stated, “Overall my experience at the Texas Sectional meet was very good. It is a world-class facility, and home to one of the fastest Division 1 schools in the nation. I loved to swim in the pool. The team had many good swims and enjoyed being in Austin. The meet was a very fast meet, with even the consolation finals (places 9-16) having people qualify for Jr. Nationals. The experience at finals was electric, the first time in over a year with spectators. I look forward to another great season with the team.” Congratulations Carson!
Fayrouz Mourad (15) swam the 800 Free, 1500 Free, 200 Breast, 100 Fly, and 400 IM. She was especially happy about the 400 IM, as she states, “I liked my 400 IM the most, although it was a bonus event, because I swam the best in it, placed well, and cut time.” In recollecting the facility, she said, “I really enjoyed how fast the competition pool was, and the outdoor pool was really fun to warm up/down in.” Congratulations on a great season, Fayrouz! Susanna Price (18) was the third swimmer to attend this meet. She swam the 400 Free, 800 Free, 1500 Free, and 400 IM. She graduated from High School this year and will be swimming for Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. We are so pleased that she will continue her swimming career! Congratulations, and we will miss you, Susanna!
2021 Western Zone Age Group Championships
Lewisville, Texas August 4-7, 2021
William Borovina is proud to be part of Team New Mexico as he wears one of the Zones T-Shirts. Courtesy photo
The Aquatomics had 5 swimmers travel to Lewisville, Texas in early August to swim in the Western Zone Championships. This is a meet for high-level swimmers under the age of 15. The entire state of New Mexico comes together as an LSC (Local Swim Committee) and swims as one team. Our athletes experienced camaraderie with other NM swimmers, all had some best times, and represented the team very well. Aquatomics coach Maribeth Englert was chosen to be one of the coaches for the NM team and joined 3 other coaches to make up the Zones coaching staff.
Aquatomics swimmers Susanna Price, Carson Hick, and Fayrouz Mourad went to Austin, TX for the Speedo Summer Sectionals. Courtesy photo
William Borovina (14) swam the 200 Back, 800 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, and 50 Free. This was William’s first Zones meet and, as he is 14, will now be focusing on qualifying for even higher-level meets. He stated that he “enjoyed swimming in the amazing pool, being close to his family in the Dallas area, and meeting swimmers from so many other states around the country.” He was able to stay with his cousins who only live a short distance from the pool in Lewisville! He has improved tremendously this past year and we’re looking forward to a great season this Fall.
Michello Lo (11) competed in her second Zones meet this year, having previously competed at the 2019 Zones. This year she swam the 50 Breast, 100 Free, 50 Fly, 100 Breast, 50 Back, and 200 Breast. She made the “B” Finals in the 50 Breast, placing 9th. She also swam in the “B” Final for the 100 Breast, placing 10th. Her best swim came in the 200 Breast where she made the “A” Final and ultimately placed 4th. She brought in 31 points for Team New Mexico!
Emily McLaughlin (14) swam the 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 Free, 200 Breast, and 50 Free. She has had this meet as a goal for several years, and we are proud of her making the team and swimming so well. Since Emily is 14, she will now switch her focus to higher level meets! We’re looking forward to a great future for Emily!
Owen McLaughlin (12) raced in the 100 Free, 100 Back, 50 Fly, 200 Back, 50 Back, and 100 Fly. Owen made the “B” Final in the 200 Back, placing 16th, contributing a point to the team total. This was Owen’s third time being chosen to participate in Zones. He stated that, “Zones was fun. I swam well and reached my goals of making finals. The team also did very well getting 7th overall which has not happened in a long time. I liked trading shirts with swimmers from other teams.” He has another fast season ahead of him this Fall!
Anna Wetteland (14) emerged as one of the leaders for Team New Mexico. She made the “A” finals in every individual event. She placed 7th in the 100 Free, 2nd in the 100 Fly, moving up from 5th in prelims. She placed 4th in the 400 IM, and 8th in the 400 Free and 50 Free. She finished this very difficult series of events with a 7th in the 200 Fly. She was the overall leader in points for the team, bringing in 81 total points. Anna said, “Zones was an incredible experience, and it was so fun to build friendships with swimmers from other teams in our state.”
2021 Western Speedo Summer Championships Irvine, CA
August 3-7, 2021
Kelly Wetteland attended the National Meet in Irvine, California in early August. Kelly swam the 100 Breast, 200 Breast, and 200 IM. She also swam the 100 Free and 100 Fly as time trials. Kelly commented that, “It was amazing to swim outside and compete with the best of our sport!” We are so proud to have a representative of the Aquatomics swim at Junior Nationals. Kelly has been recognized as a 2021 High School All-American. Kelly has become a wonderful part of the Aquatomics family as she has shared her knowledge and expertise with younger swimmers during practice. We are looking forward to continued training, focus, and effort to continue reaching this elite level of our sport. Kelly has formally committed to swimming for the Naval Academy after graduation. Congratulations on all these amazing accomplishments, Kelly!
Emily and Owen McLaughlin get ready to head to the pool with their NM Zones backpacks. Courtesy photo
Aquatomics swimmer Michelle Lo gives thumbs up after being awarded her 4th place medal for the 200 Breast at Zones. Courtesy photo
Aquatomics swimmer Anna Wetteland and Coach Maribeth Englert get ready to head home to Los Alamos after Anna’s stellar swims at Zones. Courtesy photo