GREENSBORO, NC- This past weekend (Dec. 5-8) six Baylor Swim Club athletes competed in the 2018 USA Swimming Speedo Winter Junior Championships- EAST at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, NC. This is one of the top swimming competitions in the country on an annual basis for swimmers eighteen-years-old and under. Leading the way for Baylor were some outstanding swims from both Ellie Waldrep and Addison Smith.
Sixteen-year-old Ellie Waldrep blasted a 52.49 in the 100-yard backstroke in prelims and finished 4th overall in the event. This is the second time in the meet that she broke her own Baylor School record swimming a 53.06 in the 100 backstroke as the lead-off leg in the 4×100 Medley Relay. She also broke the school record in the 100-yard butterfly. Her time of 54.11 was good for eleventh overall in the event. The previous school record in the 100-yard fly was set by Ashley Vance back in 2010. Waldrep was equally impressive in the 200-yard backstroke finishing fourth in prelims with a time of 1:56.78, breaking a Baylor Swim Club record held by alumni standout Arden Pitman that was set in 2008. Finally, she swam a fantastic race in the 50-yard freestyle with a new personal best time and a 22nd place finish in the event.
Addison Smith continued to impress at the competition as well. Smith broke the Baylor Swim Club open record in the 1650 yard freestyle event swimming a time of 16:50.19, which was good for 24th overall. She also had top 16 finishes in the 500-yard freestyle (11th), the 200-yard freestyle (12th), and the 100-yard butterfly (12th). Her time of 53.95 in the 100 fly was also faster than the previous Baylor School record in the event.
On the boy’s side, there were also some fantastic swims from Jack Kirby and Alex Borisov. Kirby took 5th in the 100-yard BK. His time of 47.88 in prelims, ranks him 3rd in Baylor Swimming history. Jack Kirby also dropped a 47.88 in the 100-yard butterfly for a new personal best time and a 24th place finish overall. Alex Borisov continued his improvement wave this fall, as he dropped a 55.71 in the 100-yard BR to take 20th overall.
The Baylor Swim Club women’s 4×100 Medley Relay of Ellie Waldrep, Jewel Gordon, Addison Smith and Jamee Mitchum finished 16th in the event. The same quartet took 18th in the 4×200 yard freestyle relay.
