EAC's young swimmers and veterans shine with championships on the horizon

With the regular season winding down, Easton Aquatic Club's 35 Gators continued to show their growth Tuesday night against Hunterdon County YMCA's 61 Stingrays, producing 44 new personal bests, standout performances, and strong results from some of the team's youngest swimmers.

Leading the way were Easton's high-point scorers, Violet Wieller and Romie Robins. Wieller continued her impressive summer season with victories in the girls 11-12 freestyle and butterfly, while Robins swept all three of his individual events. His three first-place finishes helped the boys account for 120 of Easton's 183 total points.

That youth movement was on full display as the 8 and under boys and 9-10 boys each captured their respective age-group titles, signaling that Easton's youngest swimmers are rounding into form at the right time.

The meet also featured several memorable performances. Lena Watts rewrote the record book by breaking two 10 year old Easton Aquatic Club records in the girls 15 and over 100 IM and 50 butterfly (both records were held by Easton Area High Wall of Fame Member and Olympic Trial Qualifier Alexa Kutch). The night's closest victory belonged to Watts, who beat HCY to the wall by just 0.50 seconds in the butterfly. Tilley Quinlan followed with a one-second win in the girls 11-12 breaststroke.

Among the many personal bests, Chloe Terry delivered the largest improvement of the night, slicing more than 42 seconds off her 50 backstroke time, an incredible improvement of nearly 40 percent. 

With championship season approaching, the Gators continue to build confidence one race at a time.The Gators return to action this Thursday at Bethlehem for their final dual meet of the season. Families are reminded to declare their swimmers’ availability, sign up to volunteer.