By Jeff Commings – Dolphins of the Desert Masters

Swim Devil Masters just wrapped up work as host of the 21st annual Ron Johnson Invitational, a meet that has become a destination for Masters swimmers from neighboring states. In the early years, only Arizonans came to the meet, but in the early 2010s, athletes from California and Colorado came to Tempe to race in the mid-fall short course meters meet. This year, athletes from as far away as Minnesota came to race at what has become one of the top short course meters meets in the country.

This year, the meet celebrated record attendance, with 266 swimmers competing at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center on the campus of Arizona State University.

“The meet was up and active months earlier than in previous years,” Katy James said. “I think that brought in more out-of-state swimmers because they were able to make travel plans early.  It also helps when we have the fastest pool in the place with the best fall weather in the country!”

Though the meet competed with the ASU football game on Saturday and the Ironman Arizona triathlon on Sunday, everything went fairly smoothly. Each day finished at least 15 minutes ahead of the timeline!

Mother Nature made a nasty appearance during the Saturday distance session, with rain falling through most of the 800 heats. But, the clouds parted during the Saturday afternoon session, and spectators were rewarded with three world records, all in the 50 breaststroke.

I was not expecting to lower my Masters world record in the 50 breast in the 45-49 age group. I had set the record at 45 years old in 2019, and was only trying to see how close I could get to it in my final year in the age group. Stepping up on the blocks next to world championships participant Youssef Elkamash and Olympic gold medalist Roland Schoeman gave me the boost I needed to shave .01 off my record with a 28.64. Schoeman took down the world record in the 40-44 age group with a speedy 27.05. Elkamash, a native of Egypt who represented Grand Canyon University, just missed the world record of 26.99 in the 25-29 age group with his final time of 27.46.

Katie Glenn, representing Off Piste Aquatics in Colorado, made the trip to Tempe and was rewarded with a world record in the 50 breaststroke for the 45-49 age group. Her time of 32.59 took down the six-year-old world record of 33.01 set by Australian Olympian Linley Frame and the 13-year-old USMS record of 33.82 by Olympian Susan von der Lippe. In a situation very similar to mine, Glenn said she just wanted to see how close she could get to the record, and surprised herself by dropping more than a second off her recent best time.

Brent Creager of Swim Devil Masters got in on the fun as well on Saturday with a national record in the 100 butterfly. His time of 55.53 was good enough to beat Mike Ross’ 15-year-old record of 55.82.

The atmosphere at the meet was at an all-time high, perhaps likely due to the record attendance. Even after the sun set on Saturday and relay teams were bundled in parkas waiting to swim, cheers from teammates keep spirits high. As a longtime member of U.S. Masters Swimming, I always enjoy seeing and hearing the excitement on the deck at a swim meet, and even seeing swimmers dressed in funny outfits.

Another great highlight was having some of the Arizona State swimmers racing in exhibition swims during the relay breaks. A lot of Masters swimmers gathered on the side of the pool to watch these young swimmers in action, and I could hear some people making comments about how they can apply what they saw in the NCAA swimmers into their own swimming. Perhaps that can be a regular feature of the Ron Johnson meet. Some years, we get Olympians racing throughout the meet. In 2021, Ryan Held wowed the crowd with quick swims, and Darian Townsend gave swim racing clinics over several years. I’m still crossing my fingers and hoping that a certain 28-time Olympic gold medalist will use the Ron Johnson Invitational as his Masters swimming debut.

Jeff Commings is a Masters world and national world record holder. He is the head coach of Dolphins of the Desert Masters in Tucson and the co-owner of Dolphins of the Desert Swimming Academy.