Hegwein Family Blog

2007 Florida Swimming Junior Olympics

The Sharks make it a 3-peat! In one of the closest finishes in Florida swimming, the Sharks team came from 27 points down, and with only 2 events to go, to claim their third straight JO title by 22 points! Thanks go to the 10 & U girls, 11-12 boys, and both the 13-14 boys and girls.

Arriving in Gainesviile on Thursday evening, we took it easy, dining at the "Wahoo Grille," where Karl and Natalie had, and blew, the opportunity to meet the University of Florida "Gators" swim coach. Karl managed to flash his Sharks team shirt, but the coach only smiled. Turns out he was getting ready for the NCAA championships!

The action started early on Friday, with Natalie swimming the 3rd leg ("A" squad) of the girls 10 & U 200yd freestyle relay. It was not even close, with Natalie swimming a 29 and anchor Gabrielle clocking a 28.65 to pace the Sharks to a 1st place by 2 seconds!

The Swim

The reaction

Natalie had a stellar swim in the 100 breast where she dropped 2 seconds to 1:24.75, good for 12th/49. She followed that with a 1:14.50 (AAA) in the 100IM, placing 7th. Meanwhile, in the boys pool (they run two, 8-lane pools simultaneously), Karl swam his 100 breaststroke prelim, making the consolation finals set for Friday evening. He then had to turn around and swim the 50 fly, just missing the championship final (placed 9th), and 15 minutes later, he ripped off a 1:12.70 in the 100IM, missing the finals by 1 spot. He finished the morning session swimming on the 200 Medley relay "B" squad, which finished 5th/18.

Super Technique!

In the evening, Karl dropped his 100 breast time once again, to 1:16.91 (AA) and placed 12th. The competition in the 11-12 boys was astonishingly fast, and Karl met the challenge as best he could. He placed 16th in the 50 fly, swimming a personal best 30.61 (AA). The final event of the evening was the 400 Medley relay, with Karl swimming the breaststroke leg on the "B" squad. They were neck and neck with the "A" team from Tampa Bay Aquatics, until teammates Berdusco (fly) and Wall (free) pulled away; the team finished in 4:36.12.

Things went south for Natalie on Saturday, as she was coming down with a mild cold. She swam the leadoff backstroke in the 10 & U 200 Medley relay, but was off her best time by 2 seconds; no matter, as teammates Leap (breaststroke), Berdusco (fly), and Theofanous (free) more than made up for that, outpacing the "A" team from Clearwater by 4 seconds and winning in 2:13.85. Natalie's only remaining swim of the day was the 50yd backstroke, where she was seeded 3rd. It was apparent from the get-go that she was weakened by her cold, and added 2 seconds, dropping to 17th place. Oh well... As Karl did not swim on Saturday, we went back to the hotel, ate, and put Natalie to bed early (7PM). She slept the whole night through; she needed it.

Sunday, the final day of competition began with a hint of nervousness in the air, as the Sharks were now some 40 points behind the Bolles School from Jacksonville, a very powerful, private school club, with over 20 national H.S. championships to their name. Natalie gamely swam the 200IM, but lingering weakness was the culprit for a 2:48.70, 2 seconds off, and only worth 24th place. Meanwhile, Karl had problems of his own, getting DQ'ed in the 50yd breaststroke with a non-simultaneous 2-hand touch. He had trouble with the pool's gutter system; too bad, as he swam a personal best 36.52! Natalie gave a perfunctory performance in the 100 free, but surprised everyone by clocking a 1:15.69 in the 100 back, shaving almost 2 seconds from her previous best, and placing 12th/44.

In the end, Natalie placed 28th overall in the 10 & U girls (out of 70), and Karl finished in 45th place (out of 55). Not too bad for having swum only about 8 months. By way of comparison, the high-point winners averaged about 5 years of training; some are ranked nationally in the top ten. Both Natalie and Karl have tremendous drive and ambition; their coach more than thrilled to have them on the team. Karl will now move up to the "Gold" team, and Natalie is poised to break into the national rankings in backstroke. Looks like a busy Summer ahead!