The following rewrite preserves all key details from the original, while presenting them in a fresh, more accessible English narrative. It starts with a strong, attention-grabbing opening and injects light clarifications to aid beginners, while maintaining a friendly, professional tone and inviting reader interaction about controversial or debated points.
Bold opener: The 2025 Speedo Winter Junior Championships delivered dramatic performances across East and West, with top swimmers stacking wins and records on both coasts—and the thrill isn’t over yet. But here’s where it gets controversial: which athletes truly sit atop the combined results when the East and West meet in Indianapolis and Austin are merged?
Event overview
- The 2025 Speedo Winter Junior Championships runs from Wednesday, December 10 through Saturday, December 13, 2025. It features SCY (short course yards) racing across two sites: the East at Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the West at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.
- As in prior years, results from the East and West are combined to determine the top eight finishers in each event.
- Day 2 featured A/B/C finals for the 500-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Individual Medley, and the 50-yard Freestyle, plus timed finals for the 400-yard Medley Relays.
Top highlights by event (combined East/West results)
Girls’ 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals
- Notable records and context: The SC Juniors record stands at 4:27.52 (Summer McIntosh, 2022). The West meet record is 4:28.64 (Bella Sims, 2022), and there are long-standing NAG records for various age groups dating back to 2011–2015.
- Result summary: Rylee Erisman of Laker Swim dominated the evening, dropping roughly three seconds in prelims and another five seconds in finals to post 4:34.60, the fastest overall time by 3.5 seconds. Kayla Han of La Mirada won the West with a 4:38.28.
- Combined top eight:
1) Rylee Erisman (LAKR) — 4:34.60 (East)
2) Kayla Han (RMDA) — 4:38.28 (West)
3) Brinkleigh Hansen (SPA) — 4:38.51 (East)
4) Sydney Schoeck (CSP) — 4:41.29 (West)
5) Elizabeth Eichbrecht (NOVA) — 4:41.63 (East)
6) Emily Wolf (FAST) — 4:41.98 (East)
7) Anne Dickinson (SSTY) — 4:42.89 (West)
8) Ellie Clarke (CSC) — 4:43.42 (East)
Boys’ 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals
- Quick context: The SC Juniors record is 4:12.33 (Rex Maurer, 2022). The West record mirrors that time, while several 13–18 and 15–16 age-group records sit nearby.
- Results: Maxwell Stanislaus of Lakeside Aquatics led the West with 4:61.90 (note: this appears to be a typographical error in the source material; a sub-4:20 time is implied as the only sub-4:17 in the field). Baylor Stanton of Gwinnett Aquatics surged from behind to win the East with 4:17.39, narrowly beating Grant Lilly of Streamline Aquatics by 0.01 seconds at 4:17.50.
- Combined top eight:
1) Maxwell Stanislaus (LAC) — 4:16.90 (West)
2) Baylor Stanton (GA) — 4:17.39 (East)
3) Grant Lilly (SASA) — 4:17.50 (West)
4) Colin Jacobs (UN) — 4:17.51 (East)
5) Andrew Maksymowski (NOVA) — 4:18.06 (West)
6) Trent Allen (CSC) — 4:18.99 (East)
7) Ellis Crisci (TST) — 4:19.16 (West)
8) Rowan Cox (TXLA) — 4:21.39 (West)
Girls’ 200 Yard Individual Medley – Finals
- Context: The East boasted two fastest times in this event, with Audrey Derivaux (Jersey Wahoos) and Charlotte Crush (Lakeside Swim Team) delivering lifetime bests of 1:53.87 and 1:54.87, respectively. Derivaux moved to #2 all-time among 15–16s, behind only Teagan O’Dell at 1:54 or faster before turning 17.
- West winner: Gabi Brito of Beach Cities Alpha posted 1:55.99, just ahead of Mikayla Tan of San Ramon Valley by 0.14.
- Combined top eight:
1) Audrey Derivaux (JW) — 1:53.87 (East)
2) Charlotte Crush (LAK) — 1:54.87 (East)
3) Gabi Brito (CITI) — 1:55.99 (West)
4) Mikayla Tan (SRVA) — 1:56.13 (West)
5) Reina Liu (TAC) — 1:56.60 (East)
6) Kelsey Zhang (PASA) — 1:57.09 (West)
7) Maddie Thornton (BEND) — 1:57.22 (West)
8) Brynn Lavigueur (LAKR) — 1:57.69 (East)
Boys’ 200 Yard Individual Medley – Finals
- Quick notes: The East’s Baylor Stanton also posted the fastest 200 IM time across both sites, 1:42.85, en route to second straight title; Collin Holgerson (SwimAtlanta) was second with 1:43.23, ahead of Shareef Elaydi (Santa Clara Swim Club) at 1:43.82.
- Combined top eight:
1) Baylor Stanton (GA) — 1:42.85 (East)
2) Collin Holgerson (SA) — 1:43.23 (East)
3) Shareef Elaydi (SCSC) — 1:43.82 (West)
4) Ty Thomas (RCA) — 1:44.21 (West)
5) Yi Zheng (CSC) — 1:44.37 (East)
6) Jackson Hartzler (CFSC) — 1:44.49 (West)
7) Liam Carrington (BSS) — 1:44.52 (East)
8) Owen Ekk (ATAC) — 1:45.26 (East)
Girls’ 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals
- Context: The event record for 17–18s stands at 21.32 (Simone Manuel, 2015); for 15–16s, 21.50 (Claire Curzan, 2021). Only one swimmer went sub-22, Rylee Erisman of Laker Swim, with 21.95 to win the East title and the overall fastest time. Charlotte Crush took second with 22.02, and Gabi Brito claimed West bronze with 22.09.
- Combined top eight:
1) Rylee Erisman (LAKR) — 21.95 (East)
2) Charlotte Crush (LAK) — 22.02 (East)
3) Gabi Brito (CITI) — 22.09 (West)
4) Abby Chan (HSA) — 22.25 (East)
5) Avery Daigle (FINS) — 22.28 (West)
5) Adalynn Biegler (EDI) — 22.28 (West)
7) Kennedi Southern (LAC) — 22.34 (West)
8) Mena Boardman (CS) — 22.37 (East)
Boys’ 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals
- Quick context: The 17–18 NAG record is 18.67 (Caeleb Dressel, 2015); the West/NAG marks cluster around 18–19 seconds for top sprinters.
- West title: Jordan Ragland of Life Time Northern California clocked 19.28, edging Miles Blackson-Dunbar of Beach Cities Alpha at 19.45 to lead the West; East winner Mike Rice of Mecklenburg Swim Association touched 19.30 for 2nd overall.
- Combined top eight:
1) Jordan Ragland (LTNC) — 19.28 (West)
2) Mike Rice (MSA) — 19.30 (East)
3) Miles Blackson-Dunbar (CITI) — 19.45 (West)
4) Tyler Porter (QSS) — 19.52 (West)
5) Albert Smelzer (GSA) — 19.62 (East)
6) Yury Kuzmenko (VS) — 19.68 (West)
7) Ty Thomas (RCA) — 19.75 (West)
8) Jake Lloyd (COA) — 19.79 (East)
Girls’ 400 Yard Medley Relay – Timed Finals
- Context: The East set a fast pace with 53.47 to Reina Liu (TAC), Eliza Wallace (HSA), Taylor Klein (HSA), and Maddy Boland (HSA) contributing to a 3:33.88 overall, the fastest combined time on the day and just inside the East record pace.
- Notable notes: The TAC Titans also posted a 3:34.43 for 15–16s (new NAG record in that category), and several other teams posted strong times that reshaped the top eight.
- Combined top eight:
1) Mecklenburg Swim Association ‘A’ — 3:33.88 (East)
2) TAC Titans ‘A’ — 3:34.43 (East) (New 15–16 NAG Record)
3) Bellevue Club Swim Team ‘A’ — 3:36.15 (West)
4) SwimMAC Carolina ‘A’ — 3:36.98 (East)
5) Beach Cities Alpha ‘A’ — 3:37.53 (West)
6) Mason Manta Rays ‘A’ — 3:37.88 (East)
7) Lakeside Swim Team ‘A’ — 3:37.93 (East)
8) Santa Clara Swim Club ‘A’ — 3:38.96 (West)
Boys’ 400 Yard Medley Relay – Timed Finals
- Context: The Bolles School Sharks’ A relay dominated the East, posting 3:08.79 with Krish Jain, Thi Rai, George Dovellos, and Liam Carrington. Only two West relays joined the top eight, with Waterloo Swimming finishing fifth overall.
- Combined top eight:
1) Bolles School Sharks ‘A’ — 3:09.79 (East)
2) SwimAtlanta ‘A’ — 3:11.66 (East)
3) Badger Swim Club ‘A’ — 3:12.28 (East)
4) Central Ohio Aquatics ‘A’ — 3:12.92 (East)
5) Waterloo Swimming ‘A’ — 3:13.33 (West)
6) Lakeside Swim Team ‘A’ — 3:13.73 (East)
7) DART Swimming ‘A’ — 3:13.86 (West)
8) Bolles School Sharks ‘B’ — 3:14.08 (East)
Additional note
- About the author: Anne Lepesant provides ongoing coverage and background on athletes and teams featured in these reports, sharing insights from her experience as a journalist and editor in the swimming community.
If you’d like, I can tailor this rewrite for a specific audience (e.g., more beginner-friendly explanation, or a version aimed at competitive swim coaches) or adjust the balance between records, results, and narrative storytelling. Do you want me to add more clarifications on how the combined East/West scoring works, or to include brief profiles of standout swimmers?
