Julia Chen of Los Alamos wins 2017 State Short Course Swim Championship. Courtesy photo
SPORTS News:
Mountain Club swimmer Julia Chen, the daughter of Haidan and Houtong Chen, won the individual high-point First Place in the girls 11-12 age group at the 2017 New Mexico State Short Course Swim Championship.
Swimmers at the state championship meet March 2-5 at West Mesa Aquatic Center in Albuquerque were limited to seven individual events.
Chen, 12, won three events and finished second in her other four events to take the individual high-point honors. This is her first high-point championship at a state meet.
Chen’s First Place finishes in the girls 11-12 age group include:
- 50-yard butterfly (28.05);
- 100-yard butterfly (1:04.54); and
- 200-yard butterfly (2:23.88).
Chen’s Second Place finishes in the girls 11-12 age group include:
- 50-yard freestyle (26.48);
- 100-yard freestyle (57.78);
- 50-yard backstroke (30.21); and
- 100-yard backstroke (1:06.77).
Chen joined the Mountain Club two years ago to train with coach Anna Zhang. She made two Western Zone qualify times for 50 and 200-meter butterfly and was on the 2016 New Mexico State Zone Team in the summer of 2016.
As Chen’s coach, Zhang is not only coach for the Mountain Club, but also is an instructor for the Spotlight Lesson at the Los Alamos Aquatic Center. She is a swim official for New Mexico High Schools (NMAA) and New Mexico Swimming. During the spring, she volunteers to teach swim classes for local high school and elementary schools.
Congratulation to swimmer, parents and coach!
