By Mike Kraeuter

As Henry Ford once said, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."  This month's featured FISH overcame many obstacles to earn this spot.  Obstacles such as getting to practice on a regular basis, motivation, etc...By developing a simple goal, of improving, helped her overcome the obstacles she faced.  Even her fellow "Terrific-mates" recognized this by awarding her the "Hardest Working FISH" paper plate award.  Coming from your peers, that means a lot!  During this she not only became a better swimmer, but also a great teammate.  How you ask, well let's see what Erica has to say...

Erica: I've enjoyed meeting all the new people and coaches. They all really made me feel at home.


Q: Do you have any favorite sets that you have done in practice?

Erica: Even though it was extremely hard and tiring, I loved the success set. It gave me a goal for the next time we did it, and I always did my best to beat it.

Q: What has been one of the biggest obstacles you have had to overcome this year and how has that made you a better person/swimmer?

Erica: I had one huge obstacle that kept me from doing my best for the first couple months. I didn't like that I was a lot slower compared to the other swimmers in my group. But between the support I got from the coaches and swimmers, to the tremendous time I dropped for myself, I overcame it.

Q: You come to your regular practices with the Terrific, as well as come to some extra morning practices, what motivates you to get up sooo early for those AM practices?

Erica: I'm motivated to get up that early because I know that it makes my times faster, and I liked getting some personal feedback from Mike and the other coaches.

Q: What are your most favorite events?
Erica: My favorite event this season was 200 I.M. I liked it because its like combining all the events into one, and getting to practice everything.

 Q: Who is your most influential person(s) in swimming?

Erica: Well, of course Kate Ziegler. I don't know her personally, but it's great to know that I'm on a team that produced an Olympic swimmer. Her dedication to the team led her on to becoming an Olympian.
 

Q: Why or what keeps you in the water and loving it?

Erica: Swimming in general keeps me in the water, especially this season. The instant rush of excitement after taking your marks, the constant support from fellow teammates, and the insane results you receive after the hard work. All of that inter-twined into one creates, to me, the perfect sport.

After some relatively brief airtime, we arrived at our destination, and drove to the pool for a pre-meet warm-up. The pool, in sharp contrast to the weather throughout most of the trip, was truly magnificent. It was here, where we had our first sighting of one of the many world famous athletes in attendance: Brendan Hansen. While many of the veteran FISH Grand Prix swimmers admirably noted his presence, the travel meet rookies, Charlie Badawy and Alec Contag, stood in awe as the world record holding breast stroker greeted Kate.

Later that night, upon our departure from the pool, we were met with an interesting set back. While the goal was to eat quickly and arrive at the hotel asap, it turned out that the directions at hand were incorrect. As we traveled across Columbus for nearly an hour and a half, the team not only got a good feel for the city, but experienced a full range of reactions and emotions, from annoyance and frustration, to unbelievable laughter and hilarity, on the little detour that would epitomize the entire trip....

After a unique first night, we returned to the pool for our first shot at best times. The swims, including time trials, unfortunately left a little more to be desired. While best times were achieved, we already began to feel somewhat exhausted and were still in the process of acquainting ourselves with the environment, and for some, the level of competition. That night, we were able to see Finals from the massive stands at the pavilion; a true spectacle for all to witness. The feeling of excitement that radiated from the scene was amazing, and the experience, extraordinary.

Day two, unlike our first day, was arguably the most exciting day of the meet, as it brought more best times, and a hair wrenchingly close race in which Matt Benecki missed his Olympic trials cut by mere tenths of a second. In Finals, among the brilliance of many fellow world class swimmers like Gary Hall jr., Michael Phelps, Erik Vendt, Brendan Hansen, Katie Hoff, and the guys favorite, Cesar Cielo, Kate took the crown for the 400 m Free, and Matt, unbeknownst to us until a few hours later, managed to capture his first Olympic Trials cut. The night was rightfully celebrated at a nearby restaurant where we dinned almost lavishly, while both expressing the joy of the day's achievements, and sneaking a couple peeks at the Basketball semi-finals.

On our final day of the meet, best times seemed to elude many of us once again. Adam Pennington and Matt, however, still managed to pull off some quality swims. Both 'beasts' managed to drop considerable time in both of their events, but after donning his LZR suit for a second time, Matt once again exploded into action and not only achieved a second Olympic trials cut, but also snagged third place over all. And so, with a few personal bests and a new Olympic Trials qualifier in our ranks our competition drew to a close.

A spectacular effort was put forward at the Spring Championship meet this past weekend at the Fairland Aquatic Center. As a team, we scored 1916 points placing first among 13 teams. 371 best times where achieved at the meet, which comes out to about 75% of the swims being best times.

Our high point winners by age group are: 9-10 boys - Michael Eshleman (3) 9-10 girls - Jessie Monroe (3) 11-12 boys - Conor McBride (1) 11-12 girls - Elizabeth Longosz (1) 13 & Over boys - Ryan Williams (1) 13 & Over girls - Becca Yost (2)

The following swimmers swam 6 or more best times: Erin Callahan, Annie and Martha Carro, Hazel Cimino, Shelley Collins, Alexandra Cramer, Wesley and Zachary Diener, Michael Eshleman, Tom Fenninger, Jason Fu, Hyunwoo and Minji Koo, Elizabeth Longosz, Michelle Lovering, Kaylyn Macaluso, Conor McBride, Megan McCreary, Jessie Monroe, Marilisa Morales, Theresa Neubig, Alex Pennington, Erica Shipley, Jessie Smith, Emma Tierney, Tara Ulepic, Nathan Williams, Becca Yost, and Kyle Zora...CONGRATULATIONS!!

We cheered loudly and swam fast achieving many first place finishes in individual events as well as in 9 relays. We all had a great meet. We even learned a bit about nutrition and how eating junk food can't supply you with the energy you need to compete at your highest level, especially, when you are swimming four or more events during one session. Coach Grady brought in oranges and power bars on the second day which helped us keep our energy up, so we could all keep swimming FAST and having FUN...so remember that at your next meet when packing your food.

Now it is onto the long course season, I hope everyone is looking forward to the LC Derby!!