2025 Winter Juniors – West Live Recap: Day 4 Finals (2026)

Winter Juniors Recap: West Finals, Day 4 — A Grand Finale for 2025

But the real splash here isn’t just about medals; it’s a snapshot of the evolving depth and rising stars in junior swimming, setting the stage for collegiate breakthroughs and future national-team prospects. And this is the part most people miss: the margins at winter championships aren’t just about who wins, but how dramatically athletes shrink PBs and redefine their trajectories in a single night.

Event overview
- 2025 Speedo Winter Junior Championships — West
- Dates: December 10–13, 2025
- Venue: Lee & Joe Jamil Texas Swimming Center, Austin, Texas
- Course: Short Course Yards (SCY, 25 yards)
- Resources: Meet Central, Psych Sheets, Live Results (also on Meet Mobile), Live Recaps

Day 4 finals featured five individual finals events: the mile, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, and 200 fly. The meet’s brightest young talents included Kayla Han, Sydney Schoeck, Rowan Cox, Gabi Brito, and Jordan Ragland, who used this session to stamp their final-year trajectories with bold performances.

Girls’ 1650 Yard Freestyle — Timed Finals
- Meet Record: 15:26.17 by Katie Grimes (Sandpipers of Nevada, 2022)
- 13–14 NAG Record: 15:52.84 by Claire Weinstein (2021)
- 15–16 NAG Record: 15:15.17 by Katie Ledecky (2013)
- 17–18 NAG Record: 15:13.30 by Katie Ledecky (2014)

Results:
1) Sydney Schoeck (CSP) — 15:52.26
2) Kayla Han (RMDA) — 15:57.93
3) Paige Downey (GM) — 16:06.14
4) Zayda Miehl (CAT) — 16:08.79
5) Morgan Farlow (TFA) — 16:27.45
6) Chloe Teger (GOLD) — 16:30.72
7) Avery Luedke (ACAD) — 16:33.91
8) Riley Christensen (SAND) — 16:34.85

Notes and context:
- Morgan Farlow’s morning heat time of 16:27.45 marked her first 1650 since 2021, ripping over three minutes off her prior best (19:48.41) and placing fifth overall.
- The Han–Schoeck duel continued for a fourth time this meet. In the first 1000 yards they traded blows, but around the 1200-yard mark Schoeck began to pull away with consistent splits under 29 seconds per 50, while Han’s splits remained slightly slower. Schoeck, a Texas commit, notched a personal best under 16 minutes for the first time, breaking the barrier with a time of 15:52.26 and rising to #22 all-time among 17–18s. Han clocked her second-fastest ever at 15:57.93, just shy of her personal best of 15:56.07 from last winter.
- Paige Downey, the Indiana commitment who won the Summer Juniors title earlier in the year, completed the podium with a 16:06.14. Downey has previously posted as fast as 16:04.45.

Boys’ 1650 Yard Freestyle — Timed Finals
- Meet Record: 14:37.71 by Michael Brinegar (Mission Viejo, 2017)
- 13–14 NAG Record: 14:45.79 by Luka Mijatovic (2023)
- 15–16 NAG Record: 14:37.63 by Luka Mijatovic (2025)
- 17–18 NAG Record: 14:29.48 by Luke Ellis (2023)

Results:
1) Gabriel Manteufel (SAND) — 14:40.21
2) Ellis Crisci (TST) — 14:53.10
3) Whitaker Steward (TST) — 14:54.46
4) Evan Gluck (COR) — 14:55.27
5) Grant Lilly (SASA) — 15:01.55
6) Michael Powell (LO) — 15:04.77
7) Roman Dawson (CLOV) — 15:07.16
8) Kai Joyner (RSC) — 15:08.93

Notes and context:
- Grant Lilly, a Notre Dame commit, posted the fastest early-heat time at 15:01.55, moving to fifth overall. This followed a strong 500 free earlier in the meet and a significant PB drop here (nearly 28 seconds from 15:29.34).
- Gabriel Manteuffel dominated the race from the opening hundred and never relinquished the lead, defending his title from last year and dropping 0.90 off his PB (14:41.11). This performance marks his first time under 14:41 since 2023 and places him at #9 all-time in the 17–18 age group.
- The battle for second through fourth was tight. Crisci earned a significant personal best by dropping under 15 minutes for the first time (previous best 15:12.83). Steward’s time was slightly under his best but still competitive. Gluck also went sub-15, marking a major PB improvement and signaling strong momentum as he heads to UNC next fall.

Girls’ 200 Yard Backstroke — Finals
- Meet Record: 1:48.32 by Bella Sims (Sandpipers of Nevada, 2022)
- 13–14 NAG Record: 1:50.95 by Charlotte Crush (2023)
- 15–16 NAG Record: 1:48.30 by Regan Smith (2018)
- 17–18 NAG Record: 1:47.16 by Regan Smith (2019)

Results:
1) Hayden Gibson (HAWG) — 1:53.70
2) Maggie Dickinson (SSTY) — 1:53.81
3) Sydney Schoeck (CSP) — 1:54.86
4) Rowyn Wilber (CLOV) — 1:55.38
5) Maddie Thornton (BEND) — 1:55.65
6) Lexi Cook (CSP) — 1:56.46
7) Macey Degroot (SHRK) — 1:57.54
8) Alyssa Albertyn (SEA) — 1:58.58

Boys’ 200 Yard Backstroke — Finals
- Meet Record: 1:39.62 by Daniel Diehl (CUY, 2022)
- 13–14 NAG Record: 1:43.15 by Michael Andrew (2014)
- 15–16 NAG Record: 1:40.58 by Baylor Stanton (2024)
- 17–18 NAG Record: 1:37.35 by Ryan Murphy (2014)