Several Blue Devil swimmers were in action Wednesday evening in a pair of national meets in Indianapolis and Irvine, Calif. Incoming freshman Verity Abel claimed a national title in the women’s 400 long course meter IM at the 2014 YMCA Long Course National Championship in Indianapolis while other Blue Devils shined at the 2014 Speedo Junior National Championships in California.
A native of Westport, Conn., Abel dropped time from her preliminary swim of 4:57.87 to clock 4:56.69 in the 400 IM final, placing her first overall. Also a standout in the distance events, Abel took second in the 1,500m freestyle Monday evening (17:01.61) and third in the 400m freestyle on Tuesday (4:18.03).
The Speedo Junior National Championships got underway Wednesday in Irvine, with Duke sophomore Peter Kropp posting impressive times in the men’s 100m breaststroke. Kropp led the field in the preliminaries with a 1:02.21 performance, which was just .3 seconds off of the Junior Nationals record, and touched at 1:02.32 in the evening final to earn the silver medal in the event. A product of Los Angeles, Kropp took fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2014 ACC Championship as a rookie last season.
Joining Kropp at Junior Nationals was incoming freshman Isabella Paez, who hails from Medley, Fla. Paez also garnered a spot on the podium, placing third in the women’s 200m butterfly with a time of 2:11.94. She previously represented her home country of Venezuela in the same event at the 2010 Junior World Championships.
Fellow freshman Marco Hosfeld competed in the men’s 1,500m freestyle, recording a mark of 15:54.64 to finish 21st overall.
The YMCA Long Course National Championships reach their conclusion Friday, Aug. 1 while Junior Nationals continue through Sunday, Aug. 3.
