New Patches!

Maddie Donohoe and Molly Ellor gained invaluable long course experience for the upcoming Age Group Champs; I know they want to experience the excitement of swimming finals.

            Joanne Fu might have surprised even herself with how close she came to a Zone cut in her 200 fly, missing it by just a second, and will be even more excited and eager to embrace the 2 opportunities she will have at Age Group Champs.  Additionally, her first ever 400 I.M. was a 'AA' time!

            Mason Greenblatt was a familiar face all meet long, always early, sometimes by hours, always checking up on the action.  He was not to be denied his opportunities to swim finals, swimming every night, often multiple events.  The experience and motivation he gained from this will serve him well.

            Lea Gwennap caused quite a stir in her cheering section when she qualified for Zones in her 400 free, but her successes were not limited to that, as she had major time drops just about every time she dove in.

            Sydney Harrington swam her first ever 100 fly, long course, swimming to an 'A' time, quite an accomplishment, especially for a 10 year old; be sure to ask her about her car pool with Coach Josh.

            Elizabeth Longosz was the most excited I have ever seen her; just ask her about her 100 fly.  And her 100 free.  It sure is exciting making finals, and the confidence and belief she gained in her herself just fueled the fire.

            Michelle Lovering was another swimmer who came incredibly close to a Zone cut, in her 50 fly, and I am sure will embrace the opportunities of having the two chances of prelims and finals in a couple of weeks.  It's amazing how a goal can produce incredible effort, feed practice attendance, and serve as a focal point for other tough decisions.

            Rather than bemoan aging up on her July 14^th birthday, Megan McCreary dedicated herself to qualifying for 13-14 events for Age Group Champs and did - in her 400 free, her 800 free, and her 1500 free.  Her 800 free was her first 'AAA' time!  Congratulations, Megan.

            Emily Meilus had a chance to swim some interesting events, including the 800 free and her first-ever 1500 free.  And ask her about that 400 I.M.!  In addition, one of her best events of the entire meet was not the one that she won, but rather her 200 I.M., in which she dropped 8 seconds.  The benefit of the stroke work we do in our afternoon practices, the second of each day for her, is starting to come together.  Our theme was also to not focus or dwell on specific times, but rather to race, to battle, to compete, and I think Emily learned how valuable that is, and possible, even when tired.

            Diya Murthy was another very young swimmer, just 8, who got to experience the excitement and honor of swimming finals, competing against a lot of those bigger 9 and 10 year olds.  She knows that there will be many more finals as she gets older!

            Max Onozuka also might have surprised even himself when he qualified for finals in the 11-12 boys 100 breast.  It's amazing the effect that finals has on a swimmer's focus, how attentive they get to stroke correction and improvement, how receptive they are to coaching recommendations and advice.  Hopefully this will carry over into practices.

            Isabella Rongione is a testament to how competitive someone can be, even when tired.  And how great results are still possible.  On Sunday, just about 20 minutes after Isabella swam a time of 18:48.55 in her 1500 free, against much older 11, 12, 15, and even 16 year olds, she dropped 4 seconds and swam a 2:39.90 in her 200 fly!  18 of those 20 minutes must have been spent recovering, and I think Isabella now knows how valuable cool-down/warm-up is to recovery, and performance.  She also finished a very long, and rainy Saturday with a personal best, and PVS record, in her 400 free, at 4:50.40.  Of course, her meet started out with a very tough event, too, the 400 I.M., with a very strong and tough performance of 5:33.84, and we know how hot and humid Friday afternoon was!

            Ben Sharrer continued to drop time in his 100 fly, first in prelims, then, even more, with the excitement and drama of finals.  And now his freestyle is starting to improve.  Watch out, 10 year olds!

            Jessica Smith and Christie Yeh should be much stronger at Age Group Champs, too, since I think they will devote themselves to the next week and a half, and realize how valuable the long course training is to their success.

            Claire Wolff is a name that not many Maryland breaststrokers will ever forget, as she steamrolled the field in the 10 and under girls 50 breaststroke, AND got her first 'AAAA' time ever.  A fast swimmer who believes in herself is very dangerous indeed, and watch out for her at Age Group Champs!

            Veronica Wolff added the 100 fly to her 200 fly for Zones.  Even if you didn't know the Zone cut, just watching (and hearing) her reaction when she looked at the scoreboard would have told you that!  It might have been easy for her to relax a little after qualifying for the 200 fly earlier this summer, but then again, you don't know Veronica.  She has continued to drop time, and dropped 3 more seconds at this meet.  Veronica is even considering swimming butterfly instead of freestyle in her 50 and 100, she is so eager to swim it again.  What about the 400, Veronica?

            I would like to extend a special thanks, and my appreciation, for those of you who responded to the invitation to attend this meet, and especially for those of you who made the tough decision, and sacrifice, of skipping your 'other' Saturday meet.  I think the lessons and experienced gained from the bigger picture of the larger stage will tide you well in the weeks, months, and years ahead in your swimming careers.

            GO FISH!