MISSION VIEJO Olympic gold medalist Jessica Hardy patted Abbey Weitzeil on the shoulder and smiled at the 17-year-old as they hung out near the awards area Friday at the TYR Fran Crippen Memorial Swim Meet of Champions.
The Saugus High senior-to-be then took her place atop the podium for the 100-meter freestyle.
It was that kind of night for Southern California’s high school-age talent at a meet often dominated by U.S. national and internationally-seasoned racers.
Recent University graduate Corey Okubo of Aquazot claimed the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke in a span of about 25 minutes at the Marguerite Recreation Center while Santa Margarita senior-to-be Katie McLaughlin of the meet-host Mission Viejo Nadadores blazed to victory in the women’s 200 butterfly.
With only a small group of U.S. senior national members racing this weekend, the teenagers made themselves at home.
Weitzeil led from the start en route to a winning time of 55.44 seconds, six one-hundredths of a second ahead of runner-up Andi Murez of Stanford and a tenth of a second ahead of third-place finisher Hardy (55.54).
“She just kicked my butt,” Hardy, 27, said of Weitzeil, who set multiple national high school records in May.
“I think (the rise of the teenagers) is cool because there’s (been) a little bit of a lull in Southern California, in my opinion, the last couple of years. … So it’s cool to see some of them starting to realize that potential, even if they beat me every now and then.”
Hardy, the former Long Beach Wilson and Novaquatics standout, said it’s becoming more difficult for her to sizzle times without rest but she remains confident in her training under Coach Dave Salo at Trojan Swim Club.
“I feel like the older I get, the harder it is to swim fast in-season,” she said. “When it matters, I have to trust myself. … I’m not ready to stop striving.”
The Princeton-bound Okubo won the 200 butterfly in 1:58.60 — fourth fastest amongst U.S. men this year — and returned about 25 minutes later to take the 200 backstroke in 2:02.08, about 1 ½ seconds ahead of runner-up and Edison senior-to-be Thomas Smith of Aquazot (2:03.70).
“It was pretty tough,” Okubo said of the turnaround. “I just swam my 200 fly as hard as I could and just knowing that there is a turnaround helps you get ready for your next race.”
Okubo’s times were faster than his posts last weekend at the Santa Clara Grand Prix. His butterfly Friday would have placed second in Santa Clara to South African Sebastien Rousseau.
McLaughlin outdistanced runner-up Ella Eastin of SOCAL and Crean Lutheran by almost four seconds to capture the 200 butterfly in 2:10.58, second-fastest for a U.S. female this year.
“Southern California is looking very good for the future,” Nadadores coach Bill Rose said.
Smith’s runner-up finish was his highest placement at the Swim Meet of Champions. He said doubles like the one Okubo delivered motivate other young swimmers.
“When he pumps out back-to-back races like that … it definitely tells the younger guys, ‘Hey, anything is possible,’ ” Smith said.
Aquazot’s Eva Merrell, 14, also emerged as a swimmer to watch. The Corona del Mar freshman-to-be picked up junior national times in the 100 free (57.23, 10th place) and 200 back (2:16.71, fifth place).
