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Friday, July 27, 2007
Sharks Do It Again! Win 4th Consecutive Junior Olympics!
The Sarasota YMCA Sharks have done it once again; winning the Florida Long Course Summer Junior Olympics, their 4th title in a row!
The post-meet celebration! Natalie is 3rd row, 3rd from the left, and Karl is 5th row, 2nd from the left!
Now for the particulars: Natalie had the best meet of her short career, placing 3rd overall in the 10 & U Individual High Point standings. On Friday, she tied Sydney Pickrem (Clearwater Aquatics) for the Gold medal in the 100m breaststroke, going 1:28.90 in perhaps the most exciting race of the meet! Later that day, she swam leadoff on the 200m free relay, clocking a 31.61 (new individual record) that paced her teammates to a new team record of 2:11.26 and the Gold medal. Before the end of the day, she swam the 50 backstroke, finishing in 2nd in a time of 37.00 (-1.08).
Karl started his JO's in the 100m breast as well, making the top 16 and the evening finals. He swam on the "B" 200m free relay team that claimed 6th place among 22. Later, he swam the 50m fly, but did not make finals. That evening, he ripped off a new personal best time of 1:27.00, almost 2 seconds off his previous mark, and took 11th place, moving up 1 spot! He had to swim it again 30 minutes later on the "A" 400 Medley relay squad, finishing in 2nd place behind their "B" teammates (coach split the eight 11-12 boys into 2 balanced teams to maximize points).
On Saturday, Natalie had only the 50m breast, which she swam in 41.40, good for 3rd. Natalie repeated that effort on the 10 & U 200m Medley relay, coming in a close 2nd to Clearwater (CAT). Karl had only the 50m free, but swam nowhere near his potential, going 32.96. Earlier, he was part of the 2nd place 200m Medley relay team. That evening, he swam on the "B" 400m free relay, taking 5th place.
Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, but not for the Sharks...Natalie got the day started with a superb effort in the 200m IM, dropping almost 4 seconds to finish 2nd in a blistering 2:50.82! After a brief rest, she tackled the 100m fly, her least favorite event. Alas, the good times came to an end when she struggled at the end to finish in 8th place (out of 57). Nonplussed she focused on her last and best event; the 100m backstroke. Racing the unbeaten Summer Finke (St. Pete Aquatics), Natalie gave chase, touching the wall in 1:18.82, a new personal best and Sharks team record!
Karl's Sunday began with 200m IM as well, but he faded to finish 28th. He ended the morning session with a perfunctory 50m breaststroke that had him upset and ready to quit. He did make the finals, so another chance awaited. That evening, he swam his heart out, posting a new personal best of 40.41 to again take 11th! His coach was very happy and gave him several high-five's! I don't think his is going to quit now!
We are now in the midst of the Summer break; the training pool is being drained for maintenance, the Seniors are going to Summer Nationals, and all the "B" level swimmers are off to the Area 3/5 Championships. Both Karl and Natalie have now completed their first year of swimming, and it is apparent that both have the "feel" for the water. As soon as Karl goes through puberty, his stock on the team is destined to soar! Natalie is getting ready to make the transition to 11-12 girls, where the competition is quite stiff; she is ready (or so she says...).