Swimmer Lindsey Engel of the Orange County Waves club and Crean Lutheran captured the 50-yard freestyle in a sizzling 22.24 seconds at the Speedo Winter Junior National Championships at the University of Tennessee on Thursday.

Engel, 16, shattered the 2010 meet-record of 22.63 held by Faith Johnson of STAR Aquatics of North Carolina.

The junior’s time is about half-a-second faster than Courtney Cashion’s Orange County high school record of 22.75 for Irvine in 2004.

Engel, The Register’s female swimmer of the year last season, also teamed with the University trio of Cheyenne Low, Emma Henderson and Maggie Burton to finish third in the 200 free relay (1:32.91).

She joined forced with Beckman’s Breanna Tran, Burton and Low for a bronze in the 400 medley relay (3:42.86).

The Orange County Waves were in third place after the Day 1 of the meet.

Crean sophomore and SOCAL club swimmer Ella Eastin finished a strong second in the 200-yard individual medley in a swift 1:56.93. Eastin touched under the previous meet-standard but was second to new-record holder, Kathleen Baker of SwimMAC of Carolina.

Eastin’s time is almost two seconds faster than the county record in the 200 IM — a 1:58.86 by Olympian Kristen Caverly of San Clemente in 2001.

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