Carsten Vissering swimming to a victory in the boys' 100-meter breaststroke, his first and Nation's Capital's eighth. (Bryan Flaherty/For The Washington Post)
ORLANDO — If you step into the Tysons Corner YWCA on a weekday afternoon, you might witness the two best high school breaststrokers in the country going stroke for stroke in a set of 75-yard repeats.
Sometimes the tall, broad-shouldered swimmer wins; other times its the one with the pullout that clears more than half the pool off every wall. Regardless of the result in any given week, the process has the pair racing toward the top of the age group standings, and perhaps, toward other podiums abroad.
On Wednesday night at the NCSA Junior National Championship, Carsten Vissering got the better of his teammate and training partner, Andrew Seliskar, winning the boys’ 100-meter breaststroke final in a personal best 1 minute 1.00 seconds. Seliskar touched in 1:01.19, also a lifetime best in his first time swimming the event since the 2014 Charlotte Grand Prix.
“The first long-course race of the season is always a little intimidating,” said Vissering, who took his first length of the Olympic-sized pool out in 28.21 seconds. “It was a really good race for me, almost perfect.”
The new bests firmly plant the pair, who both train with Nation’s Capital Coach John Flanagan, in the top five all-time among 18-and-under swimmers in the U.S., with Vissering claiming the No. 2 spot, followed by Seliskar in fourth. During the morning heats, Seliskar posted a short-course yards time of 51.78, while Vissering touched second in 52.44 — an inverse of the meters standings, with Seliskar second overall and Vissering fourth.
“We both wanted to go [1:00s], but I’m happy with the new best,” said Seliskar, who skipped the opening sessions of last year’s meet to focus on school work, resulting in an easy victory for Vissering. “I wanted to put up a big yards time this morning and then just hang with Carsten tonight.”
The 1-2 finish capped another successful night for Nation’s Capital Swim Club, which claimed four individual titles and extended their lead in the team standings. The club leads the boys’ standings with 417 points, outpacing NOVA of Virginia Aquatics (325.5) and Jersey Wahoos (176.5). In the girls’ competition, NCAP leads with 466 points, ahead of Aquajets (325) and Ozaukee Aquatics (171).
Seliskar returned shortly after his silver-medal performance in breaststroke to crush the field in his marquee event, the 200 butterfly. The California-bound senior clocked a 1:56.24, good for fourth in the world in 2015 and not too far off his lifetime best of 1:55.92. He finished nearly four seconds ahead of Huntsville Swim’s Zach Harting (2:00.14) and NOVA of Virginia’s Frederick Schubert (2:01.72), who both earned Olympic Trials cuts.
Cassidy Bayer during the girls' 200 butterfly final. (Bryan Flaherty/For The Washington Post)
NCAP’s Cassidy Bayer, age 15, won the girls’ butterfly event in a quick 2:11.32, outpacing Iowa Flyers’ Ruby Martin (2:13.08) and Chattahoochee Gold’s Lauren Case (2:14.97). All three girls were under the Trials cut. Allison Goldblatt of NCAP missed the Trials cut by 0.54 seconds in a second-place effort in the “C” final.
In a truly impressive regional feat by USA Swimming’s geographically smallest Local Swimming Community, the “A” final of the boys’ 400 freestyle featured five Potomac Valley swimmers.
Matthew Hirschberger of Nation’s Capital, who set the 15-16 national age group record in the 500-yard freestyle during prelims, dashed ahead of the field to win in 3:52.94, beating Machine Aquatics’ James Murphy, 17, who finished second in 3:58.00, and Cincinnati Marlins’ Joshua McDonald, 15, who was third in 3:58.92. Hirschberger’s time ranks him sixth among 15-16-year-olds in the event.
NCAP’s Gavin Springer, 18, was fourth (3:58.92). RMSC’s Brennan Novak finished sixth (4:02.49) and NCAP’s Adrian Lin placed seventh (4:06.05).
Roadrunner Aquatics’ Stanza Moseley, 16, won the girls’ 100 freestyle in 55.19. All Star Aquatics’ Caroline McTaggart, a UCLA-bound senior, edged Ozaukee’s Katherine Drabot, 17, by 0.04 seconds to finish second in 55.62. Also swimming in the “A” final, Bayer finished sixth (56.96) and Machine’s Morgan Hill was seventh (57.18).
Lucie Nordmann of the Woodlands won the girls’ 200 backstroke in 2:12.20, followed by NCAP’s Carrie Boone (2:13.73) and Coastal Aquatics’ Alice Treuth (2:14.11). Emily Meilus of NCAP was fifth in 2:16.69. The top three girls all qualified for next summer’s Trials, as did All Star Aquatics’ Hannah Lindsey, who finished second in the “B” final in 2:15.79.