North Whidbey Aquatic Club’s Lindsay Brown placed at the USA Swimming Zone Championship in Kearns, Utah, this past week, while her Blue Heron teammates Grace and Lola Chargualaf won their divisions at the Ally Fell Memorial swim at Lake Padden Sunday, Aug. 14.

The Zone Championship meets “are closest thing in our sport to an actual national championship for younger swimmers,” NWAC coach Dick Taylor said. “These meets bring together the very fastest age-group swimmers from each section of the country.”

Four zone meets (Eastern, Central, Southern and Western) are held across the United States, and each Local Swim Committee (for NWAC, it is Pacific Northwest Swimming) selects swimmers from its member clubs to represent it in the championship meet.

PNS tabbed Brown for its squad.

“Selection to these zone teams, as you can well imagine, is highly competitive,” Taylor said.

Brown, 10, participated in the maximum six events and two relays. She qualified for the A finals in the girls 10 and under 200-meter individual medley and placed seventh in 2:51.65, the third fastest time in NWAC history.

In addition, Brown reached the B finals in the 50 breaststroke and 100 butterfly, taking 10th and 16th respectively.

Brown swam the breaststroke leg on the PNS 200 and 400 medley relays, and her 100-meter mark of 1:30.05 in the 400 relay “stands as one of the fastest every swum by an NWAC swimmer,” according to Taylor.

Grace Chargualaf won the girls 13-14 class of the 2.5-mile Bellingham lake swim in 53.06 minutes. Sister Lola was the only 10-and-under swimmer to attempt the race, posting “an impressive” 1:38.49.4, according to Taylor.