Nate Germonprez Blasts Huge Lifetime Best in 50 Free to Close Out Austin Sectionals

2024 AUSTIN SECTIONALS

Rising University of Texas sophomore Nate Germonprez capped the four-day Austin Sectional meet on Sunday with a huge lifetime best in the 50 freestyle.

The 19-year-old Germonprez dominated the 50 free final in 22.49, dropping almost a second off his previous-best 23.28 from 2021. He would have placed 22nd at Olympic Trials last month, where he placed 12th in the 200 IM (1:58.97). Germonprez touched more than half a second ahead of Longhorns classmate Camden Taylor (23.07) at Sectionals as they gear up for their first season under former Arizona State head coach Bob Bowman.

Germonprez didn’t swim the 200 IM on Sunday, but the event still features some impressive finishes courtesy of recent Texas A&M graduate Thomas Shomper and Waterloo Swimming 17-year-old Raphael Wang. Shomper won the battle in 2:03.72, taking almost two seconds off his previous-best 2:05.45 from 2021. The 22-year-old backstroke specialist placed 25th in the 100 back (55.11) and 27th in the 200 back (2:00.23) at Olympic Trials last month.

Wang earned the runner-up finish in the 200 IM with a lifetime best of 2:06.33 as the Duke commit (’25) knocked more than two seconds off his previous-best 2:08.59 from last August.

Recent Texas A&M graduate Chloe Stepanek continued her red-hot weekend with another lifetime best en route to the 200 IM title in 2:17.63. She dropped almost two seconds off her previous-best 2:19.20 from 2022 as the freestyle specialist seeks a fifth-year collegiate destination in the NCAA transfer portal.

Rising Texas A&M sophomore Hannah O’Leary was the only other swimmer under 2:20 in the women’s 200 IM final on her way to 2nd place in 2:19.56. The 19-year-old dropped more than two seconds off her previous-best 2:21.81 from 2022.

The lone high schooler to come away with an individual title on Sunday was Harvard commit (’25) Aliana Marakovic in the women’s 50 free (26.38). The 17-year-old has been as fast as 26.19 last August. Rising Texas sophomore Emma Kern was close behind Marakovic in 26.46, within a few tenths of her personal-best 26.17 from 2022.

Colton Bennett captured the men’s 1500 free crown in 16:27.90, crushing his previous-best 16:34.55 from 2022. The 19-year-old Henderson State commit (’24) beat Travis Ly (16:28.69) by less than a second in a thrilling showdown earlier in the day. Rising Texas A&M junior Kaylee Coffey clinched the women’s 1500 free title in 17:38.42, more than 10 seconds slower than her personal-best 17:27.57 from last July.