Schroeder Continues Roll at YMCA Nationals; Thomas Heilman Claims Third Solo Gold
For the third time in as many days, Thomas Heilman claimed an individual title at the YMCA National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. This time around, Heilman prevailed in the 200-yard individual medley, where he fended off a challenge by Kenneth Barnicle. Heilman’s win complemented earlier wins in the 400 IM and 100 butterfly.
A 2024 United States Olympian, Heilman posted a time of 1:44.34 in his latest victory, which was ahead of the 1:45.07 recorded by Barnicle. Heilman also fueled the Piedmont Family YMCA to first place in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:12.42. Heilman covered the butterfly leg in 44.37 while Will Charlton opened with a backstroke split of 51.07 and was followed by a 54.15 breaststroke leg from Jack Hathaway. Will Browne closed out the win with a freestyle anchor of 42.83.
Bound for Stanford University, Schroeder YMCA’s Alana Berlin secured a comfortable decision in the women’s 200 IM, as she was the lone athlete to crack the two-minute barrier. Berlin covered the event in 1:58.83, which was more than a second faster than the time of runnerup Molly Yacoviello (2:00.43).
Berlin was joined as an event winner by teammate Maggie Dickinson, who topped the field in the 50 freestyle with a swim of 22.75. Dickinson and Berlin also handled the first two legs of Schroeder’s winning 400 medley relay, as they were joined by Ari Zhao and Anne Dickinson for a winning mark of 3:38.02.
Preston Kessler won the men’s 50 freestyle in 19.83, with Jonathan Hoole following with a second-place time of 19.94. In the 500 freestyle events, Meghan Ayres won on the women’s side in 4:46.90 while Ethan Schutten was quickest on the men’s side, placing first in 4:21.40.