Ian Clark, a former NCAA swimmer at SMU, and Justine Mueller, a national pool champion from SwimMAC Carolina, won their respective divisions at the U.S. Masters Swimming 1-mile Open Water Swimming Championships in Lake Norman, North Carolina today.

25-year-old Ian won in 18:55 as he pulled away from 22-year-old Mason Brunnick (19:11) after the pair quickly bolted into the lead. But it was 39-year-old Chris Labianco who came back fast like a wily veteran.

“I decided not to hang with the young guys at the start,” said the former national open water team member and personable executive with the USA Swimming Foundation (shown above). “But I got going after a while and felt good coming down the stretch.”

23-year-old Justine, who has been on a roll in the pool, transitioned her talents to the open water and outlasted 29-year-old Kim Rice, 20:20 to 20:32.

But smiles, hugs and camaraderie were ubiquitous in the collegial atmosphere of North Carolina where the young masters swimmers enjoyed themselves with the swimmers of every generation, including senior statesman George Brunstad who holds the record for being the oldest swimmer to successfully cross the English Channel.

The female age-group winners included:

18-24: Justine Mueller, 20:20
25-29: Kim Rice, 20:32
30-34: Jennifer Leiser, 21:21
35-39: Katie Whitworth, 25:46
40-44: Heidi Williams, 22:03
45-49: Arlene Delmage, 21:57
50-54: Kerri Roussain, 24:03
55-59: Shirley Loftus-Charley, 23:11
60-64: Jo May, 32:57
75+: Adrienne Pipes, 36:03

The male age-group winners included:

18-24: Mason Brunnick, 19:11
25-29: Ian Clark, 18:55
30-34: Evan Morrison, 20:15
35-39: Chris LaBianco, 19:18
40-44: Andrew Pulsifer, 20:02
45-49: Igor Vazhenin, 19:48
50-54: Peter Hollett, 21:33
55-59: Don Gilchrist, 22:01
60-64: John Shrum, 25:25
65-69: James Green, 26:25
70-74: Doug Brown, 28:34
75+: George Brunstad, 32:51

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