16-Year-Old Paige Downey Opens Olympian-Loaded Arizona Senior States With 400 IM Win ...Middle East

By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam

Arizona Senior State Championships

The first day of the Arizona Senior State Championships, a meet many of Team USA’s as well as U.S.-based international athletes are using as a final tune-up before the World Championships begin on July 26, unfolded at the Chandler High School pool last evening.

Thursday featured only timed finals, with the 1500 freestyle and 400 IM as the sole individual events, along with the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays.

In the opening event, the women’s 1500 free, Phoenix Swim Club secured a 1-2 finish with Lelia Symington (18:03.43) and Elise Flores (18:12.79) clearing the field by about ten seconds. Swim Neptune’s Libby Smith, 18, clocked 18:22.16 to claim the bronze medal.

Symington, who will head to the University of California-Santa Barbara this fall, has been as fast as 17:52.79 in her career. She recorded this time at this same competition in 2023, when she took silver. She touched 4th a year ago, and her win this year marks her fourth career individual state title.

Flores, just 15, was a little over five seconds shy of her lifetime best of 18:07.46, logged at the Phoenix May Cray meet about five weeks ago. She did not contest this race at last year’s meet.

Smith, committed to the University of Missouri-St. Louis for the fall, was just a few seconds off her career best of 18:14.95 from the Speedo Sectionals in Mt. Hood last July. Despite being a bit off her personal record, she upgraded from 6th to 3rd place in just one year, and was over 20 seconds faster this year compared to the 2024 final.

In the men’s 1500, 16-year-old Zachary Clark continued Phoenix Swim Club’s medal momentum, logging a 16:42.32 for 2nd overall—nearly a six-second personal best. He moved up from 3rd a year ago.

Scottsdale Aquatic Club’s Ashton Joswiak, who just wrapped up his junior year of high school and is committed to Wisconsin for the fall of 2026, dominated the race from start to finish. He hit the wall in 16:11.55 to claim his 2nd-ever 1500 free state title after winning in 2023 and opting out of the event in 2024.

Joswiak is coming off a 26th-place outing at the recent U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, where he recorded a time of 16:12.80.

MAC’s 17-year-old Gavin Willyerda, a fellow high school junior committed to Brigham Young University, recorded a 16:43.16 for 3rd and upgraded from 4th in 2024. His time was about 9 seconds off his quickest career time of 16:34.09.

Gold Medal Swim Club swam a 1-2 punch in the women’s 400 IM, led by a pair of 16-year-olds. Paige Downey won the event by just over a second and a half, touching in 4:56.45 to edge teammate Regan Uhlik‘s 4:58.05. The duo were the only athletes to dip under the elusive five-minute barrier.

Downey, an Indiana commit, owns a personal best of 4:54.05 from the 2024 Sun Devil Open. A distance freestyle specialist, she is also the reigning 1500 free gold medalist from last summer’s Junior Pan Pacs.

Uhlik demolished her previous best of 5:02.15—not only breaking 5:00 for the first time, but also challenging for the state title and defending her silver medal from last year’s race.

In a tight battle for bronze, Sun Devil Aquatics’ Grace Lindberg clocked a 5:00.01 to out-touch Phoenix Swim Club’s Genevieve George by just seven hundredths.

Lindberg, an Arizona State sophomore, posted a time just 0.18 off her 2022 best. George, a recent high school graduate committed to San Jose State University, logged a new lifetime best, eclipsing her previous mark of 5:03.27.

Karsten Eichler of Phoenix Swim Club was dominant in the men’s race, winning in 4:35.69—over six seconds clear of the rest of the field. Committed to California State University, Bakersfield, Eichler smashed his 4:39.33 best from the Mt. Hood meet last July and upgraded from 5th place last season.

A hotly contested battle unfolded behind him, with Swim Neptune teammates Jason Sugihara (4:42.16) and Evan Pickles (4:42.34) joining Mark Heffern of Mesa Aquatic Club (4:42.21) in a thrilling finish, separated by just 18 hundredths.

Pickles was leading by over two seconds at the 300 turn, but Sugihara and Heffern logged a pair of 1:04.9 freestyle splits to Pickles’ 1:07.0, ultimately overtaking him for the final two podium positions.

Sugihara, a U.S. Military Academy (Army) commit and high school junior, crushed his previous best of 4:45.19. Heffern also posted a massive career best, dropping from 4:50.10. Pickles, who wrapped up his sophomore season at USC, owns a personal best of 4:28.84 from the Sun Devil Open in May 2024.

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