David Heron signaled Thursday night he could be one of Orange County’s rising contenders to watch when the U.S. national swimming championships roll into Irvine in early August.
The 19-year-old captured the 1,500-meter freestyle on the opening night of the TYR Fran Crippen Memorial Swim Meet of Champions in 15minutes, 24.82seconds, sixth fastest for a U.S. male this year and No. 1 among teenagers.
Heron, a sophomore-to-be at Tennessee and former Mission Viejo High and Mission Viejo Nadadores standout, outdistanced Canadian Eric Hedlin by just more than 21/2 seconds at the Marguerite Recreation Center for his first Crippen title.
The Nadadores’ Janardan Burns, 18, finished third in 15:34.15.
With the U.S. nationals set to start Aug.6, it’s unlikely many swimmers this weekend in Mission Viejo will shave or rest, but Heron touched just two seconds off his personal-best time from the FINA World Junior Championships last summer in Saudi Arabia, a 15:22.81 that was good for sixth.
“I think that 15:24 was a great time for me at this point in training,” Heron said in a text message. “I definitely want to be under my best at senior nationals.”
Olympian Connor Jaeger, 23, owns the top U.S. time this year with a 15:00.97 from the Santa Clara Grand Prix earlier this month.