Beach Cities Swimmers Take Top Spots

Three Beach Cities Swimming athletes took top honors at two recent Southern California Swimming Championship meets held this month in Nevada and California.

Highlighting the team's accomplishments was Redondo Union High School senior Declan Andrew who claimed a top three position in three different races at the Winter Age Group Championships in Las Vegas, Nev.

Andrew won the 100-yard freestyle with a personal record time of 48.42 seconds and also finished second and third in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard freestyle events, respectively.

10-year-old teammate Sean Keegan also walked away from the meet with top finishes under his belt after placing in the top five for five different events including the 100-yard breaststroke, 50-yard backstroke, 100-yard individual medley, 100-yard backstroke, and the 50-yard breaststroke. 

Keegan’s times in these events also qualified him for the Southern California Swimming Younger Junior Olympics, which will take place in early February.

A week later, Beach Cities swimmer Jasmine Margetts kept the Beach Cities Swimming momentum alive as she placed eleventh in the 400-yard individual medley at the California/Nevada Gold Sectional meet held in Huntington Beach, Calif.   

Andrew, who also competed in the event, placed 22nd in the 100-yard backstroke and qualified to swim in the Missouri Grand Prix where he will compete against some of the best swimmers in the world on the University of Missouri campus. Previous competitors in the Missouri Grand Prix have included Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte, and other Olympic swimmers.