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YMCA National Champions 1979, 1981, 1982, 1991, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
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menu home page - archive index - archives (1/10 to present)  Sharks Finish 2nd at Summer Y-Nats - 7/30/11
The Sharks finished second in the combined team category at the Summer (LC) Y-Nationals held July 25th through 29th at the Georgia Tech pool in Atlanta. The girls team finished 6th overall and the boys team finished 4th overall. This was a great showing for the Sharks and will pay huge dividends at next Spring's short course championship as many swimmers got valuable experience at their first Y-Nats competition. Shark records were broken in the following events: Boys 15-16 200 breast - Patrick Wall took down Ryan Falk's record from 1999 by over 3 seconds with a new mark of 2:27.29 and also Scott Stier's record in the Open category by over 2 seconds; Boys Open 50 back - Will Kazokas broke Alex Katz's record by almost 1 second with a 28.48. Relay records fell in the Girls Open 200 medley relay as the team of Grace DiMeo, Bethany Leap, Nancy Hu, and Kelsey Frantz beat the old mark from 2006 by 3 hundreths of a second; the Boys Open 200 free relay team of Will Kazokas, Rhet Rheinlander, Rees Cattermole, and Liam McKane beat the old mark from 2006 with a 1:39.83; and the Boys 200 medley relay team of Kazokas, Wall, McKane and Rheinlander beat the old mark from 2008 with a 1:51.64. The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Links to Y-Nats Results, Scores, Photos, etc., HT Preps Link, and Streaming Video. Sharks Take Second at Age Group Champs - 7/18/11
The Sharks finished a hard-fought second place in the combined team category at the Florida Age Group Championships held July 14th through 17th in Orlando. The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now available. Congratulations to Nancy Hu for setting new Shark records in the girls 13-14 100 and 200 butterfly, and Alexander Webster for setting new marks in the boys 10 & under 100, 200 & 400 free and the 50 and 100 back. Alexander was also the co-high point winner in the 10 & under category. Southern Sectionals Results - 7/16/11
The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results from the Southern Sectionals Meet held July 7th through 10th in Gainesville are now posted. Congratulations to Alexander Katz and Taylor Katz for achieving new Junior National cuts. GCST Friday Night at the Races Results - 7/6/11
The age group Sharks had their last chance for the summer at FLAG (JO) cuts at the GCST Friday Night Meet held July 1st at the FGCU Aquatic Center in Ft. Myers. The following Sharks made new FLAG cuts: Morgan Davie, Cindy Dong, Joie Eckhard, Brendan Firlie, Matthew Garcia, Christopher Pelton, Matthew Smithburger, and Marisa Souchak. Additionally, Samantha Smithburger made her Y-Nat Long Course cut in the 400 IM. The Full Meet Results and the Individual Shark Results are now posted. Shark Open Results - 6/26/11
The Sharks hosted 600 swimmers at the 11th Annual Shark Open held June 24th through 26th at the Selby Aquatic Center. With the weather mostly cooperating, the nine session - three day meet, featured swimmers representing over 30 teams from as far away as Connecticut and Colorado. There were many fast swims and in fact, a total of 4 Selby Pool records were broken along with 2 Shark records. New Shark records were set by 10 year-old Alexander Webster who broke both the boys 10 & under 400 free record (Keanan Dols 2009) and the 100 back record (Kyle Rusthoven 1990). New pool records were set by Gator Swim Club's Marcin Cieslak in the 100 fly, 200 fly and 200 IM and by Peddie Aquatics' Connor Signorin in the 400 IM. New FLAG (JO) cuts were made by: Savannah Barr, Brian Boehm, Jason Brzozowski, Samantha Cahoone, Sophie Cattermole, Alex Cela, Drew Clark, Jack Clark, Morgan Davie, Michelle Dols, Cindy Dong, Joie Eckhard, Olivia Graham, Alexander Gusev, Arik Katz, Isabel Kishpaugh, Michael Knoch, Theresa Law, Luci-Angelina Lozano, Carla Motta, Kate Patrice, Matthew Pelton, Brett Riley, Connor Shoemaker, Matthew Smithburger, Samantha Smithburger, Marissa Souchak, Amber Stich, and Laura Toth. New Long Course Y-Nat cuts were made by: Samantha Cahoone, Rees Cattermole, Sophie Cattermole, Albert Cela, Talia Daniel, Cameron Davis, Grace DiMeo, Justin duTreil, Jacque Garcia, Will Kazokas, Campbell Lee, Peyton Leeson, Liam McKane, Matt O'Donnell, John Pelton, Rhet Rheinlander, Santi Ruvira, Samantha Smithburger, Laura Toth, and Andy Watts. New Junior National Long Course cuts were made by: Nancy Hu (200 fly), Alexander Katz (200 fly), Ryan Turner (400 free), and Danielle Valley (200 free). The Full Meet Results the Individual Shark Results, and the Coaches' TM Results File are posted. Additionally, Time Trial Meet Results, Individual Shark TT Results, and Time Trial TM Results File are also posted. A video clip from WWSB Sports featuring footage of the meet and interviews with Coach Steve Brown and Shark swimmer Tyler Carmichael is posted HERE (coverage begins at about the 2:45 remaining mark on the video). Special thanks to all the volunteers who stepped up to carry on the Shark tradition of putting on the best meets in the state of Florida. Thank You! Shark Website Passes One Million Mark - 6/22/11
Earlier today, the Shark website had its one millionth visitor, as the visit counter at the bottom of this page rolled over to 1,000,000. The website has averaged over 100,000 visitors a year for the past 9 years. Here's to the next million visits!
Sharks Swim at National OW Championships - 6/16/11
Derek Pridemore, Danielle Valley, Ryan Turner, and Patrick Wall qualified for the 2011 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships held in Ft. Lauderdale on Friday, June 10th and Sunday, June 12th. Derek, Ryan, and Danielle qualified for the 10K race and Derek and Danielle were chosen to attend the USA Swimming Open Water National Select Camp held during the week prior to the Championships; Patrick qualified for the 5K race. Derek finished 26th out of 57 swimmers in the 10K race held Friday in the Atlantic off Ft. Lauderdale Beach. The event was held in rough sea conditions. Derek's time was 2:17:07.569. Patrick finished 27th out of 103 swimmers in the 5K race held on Sunday. The sea conditions were calm. Patrick's time was 57:29.20. Congratulations to these Shark swimmers! Tampa Bay Swim Classic - 6/6/11
Over 150 Sharks headed north of the bay for the annual Tampa Bay Swim Classic held June 3rd through 5th at the North Shore pool in St. Petersburg. There were many excellent early season swims. Alexander Webster continued his assault on the Shark 10 & under record book by breaking the 200 freestyle record (Campbell Lee 2008) by almost a full second with a 2:25.57. Alex also teamed with Patrick Amistoso, Alexander Gusev, and Nicholas Hernandez-Tome to take down the 200 medley relay record (from the 2009 J.O. Meet) by over a second with a new time of 2:26.12. New FLAG (J.O.) cuts were made by: Patrick Amistoso, Spence Atkins, Jason Brzozowski, Kaitlyn Carico, Sophie Cattermole, Drew Clark, Alexander Gusev, Lara Hernandez-Tome, Arik Katz, Kai Kishpaugh, Zachary Kishpaugh, Campbell Lee, Taylor McMahon, Carla Motta, Carter Page, Grace Patrice, Kate Patrice, and Sarsen Whatmore. Making new YNAT Long Course cuts were: Ian Amistoso, Hayden Aristizabal, Jacque Garcia, Nancy Hu, Ava Jones, Taylor Katz, Campbell Lee, Ashlee Linn, Matt O'Donnell, John Pelton, Ryan Turner, and Patrick Wall. The Full Meet Results and the Individual Shark Results are now posted. Muth and Caldwell Named Dairy Farmers' FL HS 3A Swimmers-of-the-Year - 5/18/11
Sarasota High's Katheryne Muth and Riverview's Nicholas Caldwell were recently named the Florida High School Class 3A "Swimmers of the Year" for the 2010 high school season by the Florida Dairy Farmers. Shark and Riverview coach Mark Matuszak also won the 3A Girls "Coach of the Year" Award. This is a prestigious honor and recognition of the best high school athletes and coaches in the state. The complete article is available HERE (click on the sport to access the winners in that category). Read more at HT Preps. Congratulations to Katheryne, Nick, and Coach Matuszak!!! Memorial Meet Results - 5/15/11
This year's Kent B. Holdren Memorial Meet featured approximately 350 swimmers and was held May 13-15 at the Selby Aquatic Center for the 11th year. One Shark record was broken as the 10 & under boys 200 free relay team of Patrick Amistoso, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Alexander Gusev, and Alexander Webster took down the old 2008 record by 0.18 seconds with their time of 2:12.37. Making new FLAG (JO) cuts were: Spence Atkins, Scott Barcomb, Jason Brzozowski, Kaitlyn Carico, Sophie Cattermole, Alex Cela, Michelle Dols, Joie Eckhard, Sarah Frantz, Olivia Graham, Alexander Gusev, Lara Hernandez-Tome, Austin Katz, Zachary Kishpaugh, Michael Knoch, Theresa Law, Bethany Leap, Drew Maddy, Taylor McMahon, Carla Motta, Carter Page, Christopher Pelton, Matthew Pelton, Samantha Smithburger, Marisa Souchak, Amber Stich, Laura Toth, and Alexander Webster. Individual Shark Results, Full Meet Results, and Coaches TM Results File are posted. Four Sharks Swim at Charlotte (NC) Ultra-Swim Meet - 5/16/11
Four Senior Shark swimmers, Nicholas Caldwell, Ashlee Linn, Derek Pridemore, and Danielle Valley swam in the Charlotte UltraSwim Meet held May 12th - 15th at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte, NC. Former Shark Mckayla Lightbourn also competed with the FSU club team (Club Seminole). Shark Taylor Katz qualified but did not make the trip due to school commitments. Several Olympic swimmers also swam in the annual Grand Prix meet.
Nick had a 9th place finish in the 1500 free and a 10th place in the 400 free. Danielle finished 14th in the 1500 free. Ashlee had a 15th place finish in the 200 backstroke. Derek finished 15th in the 800 free. The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. HT Preps also featured the Sharks in their on-line site. Patrick Wall Repeats Hurricane Man OW Win - 5/11/11
Shark swimmer Patrick Wall won his second-straight Hurricane Man Open Water Swim held May 7th at St. Pete Beach. Of the 350+ swimmers who participated, Patrick was, again, the overall winner of the 2.4 mile swim with a time of 45:18.00. Shark swimmer Campbell Lee was 2nd overall and Dirk Hamel-Wood was 5th overall in the 2.4 mile swim. Congratulations to these Shark swimmers! Sharks Award Banquet - 5/8/11
The Sharks held their annual Awards Banquet and Celebration on Saturday, May 7th with over 500 attendees at the Venice Community Center. This event is held each year to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year and to recognize our graduating Seniors who made their farewell speeches. Shark Graduating Seniors:
Winning this year's Mary Champney Award was 12 year-old Tyler Carmichael. Winning the second annual Larry Shofe Olympic Spirit Award was Shark Senior Rachel Harrington. A special "Thank you" to everyone who worked so hard to put this year's celebration together, it is a huge undertaking. Congratulations to all of you, as well as the coaches, and of course, as always, the real stars of the show - our swimmers. A Photo Page has been posted. Lake Highlander Meet Results - 5/4/11
The Sharks sent over 100 swimmers to the Highlander Long Course Invitational held in Orlando over the weekend of April 29th-May 1st. Congratulations to 10-year old Shark swimmer Alexander Webster
who broke the Shark record in the 100 meter freestyle which had been held since 1988. Alexander nipped it by 5 hundredths of a second with a 1:09.00. Making new FLAG (JO) cuts were: Ellie Berdusco, Jason Brzozowski, Tyler Carmichael, Olivia Graham, Lara Hernandez-Tome, Theresa Law, Luci-Angelina Lozano, Taylor McMahon, Carolina Morales, Carter Page, Matthew Pelton, Brett Riley, Samantha Smithburger, Amber Stich, Laura Toth, Katelyn Viera, and Sarsen Whatmore. The Full Meet Results and the Individual Shark Results are posted. SPA Meet Results - 4/16/11
The Sharks sent about 60 mostly age group swimmers to the Friday Night/Saturday Morning Races at SPA in St. Petersburg over the weekend of April 15th-16th.
This was the first long course meet of the season and the Sharks recorded plenty of lifetime best times. Making all best times were: Patrick Amistoso, Alex Boehm, Brian Boehm, Aaron Brown, Jason Brzozowski, Julia Brzozowski, Kaitlyn Carico, Drew Clark, Morgan Davie, Cindy Dong, Matthew Garcia, Olivia Graham, Alexander Gusev, Isabel Kishpaugh, Kai Kishpaugh, Theresa Law, Taylor McMahon, Carla Motta, Noah Neitlich, Grace Patrice, Kate Patrice, Katherine Pepe, Mason Schmidt, Parker Schmidt, Connor Shoemaker, Katelyn Viera, Kasuni Wade, Alexander Webster, and Reece Whatmore. Achieving new FLAG (J.O.) cuts were: Jason Brzozowski (50 back); Sophie Cattermole (200 free); Cindy Dong (50 fly); Alex Gusev (50 back & 50 free); Theresa Law (50 breast); Taylor McMahon (50 & 100 free, 100 back); Grace Patrice (50 free & 100 back); Kate Patrice (50 fly & 50 free); and Katelyn Viera (50 back). Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are posted. Sharks Win 5th Straight Y-Nats Title - 4/9/11In one of the most exciting finishes in recent memory, the Sarasota YMCA Sharks Y-National team brought home their 5th straight combined team title at the 2011 Y-National Short Course Championship held April 5th thru 8th at the Hall of Fame pool, in Ft. Lauderdale. With a slightly smaller team this year (35) than in year's past, the Sharks rallied in the final event, the 400 medley relay, to secure the combined team title over 2nd place Middle Tyger (S.C.) by a mere 12.5 points, 749 to 736.5. The girls fought valiantly to defend their 6 straight team titles but Middle Tyger had a great meet out-pointing our 2nd place girls 474 to 421. The boys team scored 328 points and finished a well-earned 3rd place behind Triangle Area Y (N.C.) with 397 points and Wilton Family Y (CT) with 342.5 pts. The Sharks smashed several National and team records in the process. Nick Caldwell was "4 for 4 for 4" with 4 individual swims, 4 National Titles, and 4 YMCA National Records: in the 200 free (relay leg) with a 1:35.96 breaking the 2001 Y-National record by 0.46 seconds; in the 500 free, he swam a 4:18.01 breaking his own Y-National record by 2.27 seconds; in the 1000 free he swam a 8:55.55 breaking his own Y-National record by over 4.5 seconds; and in the 1650 he swam a 15:10.16 beating the 2006 mark by 0.25 seconds. Nick also broke the Shark records in the 100 free (relay leg), 200 free (relay leg), and 1000 free with his swims. The girls' 800 free relay team of Taylor Katz, Danielle Valley, Ashlee Linn, and Rachel Harrington also set a new National Record of 7:16.25 beating the 2009 mark set by Middle Tyger by almost 2 seconds; this mark also set a new Shark record in this event. The boys' 800 free relay team of Caldwell, Derek Pridemore, Ryan Turner, and Alexander Katz also broke the National Record but did not set the new mark as they were out-touched by the team from Triangle Area Y. This swim did, however, set a new Shark record. Other Shark record breakers were: Nancy Hu who broke the 13-14 girls 200 fly record held by Rocky Raybon setting the new mark at 2:02.66; Ashlee Linn reset her own Shark records in the Senior girls 100 back with a new mark of 54.67, and in the 200 back with a 1:56.40; Taylor Katz reset her own Shark record in the 15-16 girls 400 IM with a 4:17.81; and Alexander Katz reset his own Shark record in the 13-14 boys 200 back with a 1:49.95. In addition, the boys 200 free relay team of Nick Caldwell, Will Kazokas, Kirt Davis, and Alexander Katz broke the Shark record set in December by 0.72 seconds with a 1:25.18; the boys 400 free relay team of Caldwell, Kazokas, Davis, and Ryan Turner also reset the Shark record set in December by over 2.5 seconds with a 3:04.06; and the boys 400 medley relay team of Kazokas, Davis, Caldwell, and Turner set the new Shark record with a 3:27.24 beating the old mark set at the 2008 Y-Nats by almost 1 second. On the girls side, in addition to the 800 free relay team's new record, the 400 medley relay team of Ashlee Linn, Bethany Leap, Taylor Katz, and Rachel Harrington reset the Shark record by exactly 2 seconds with a 3:46.46. National Champions from the Sharks were: Nick Caldwell (Nat'l Champion - boys 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, and 1650 free); Danielle Valley (Nat'l Champion - girls 1000 free and 1650 free); Taylor Katz (Nat'l Champion - girls 500 free); and Ashlee Linn (Nat'l Champion - girls 200 back). Other top eight finishes were turned in by: Cha-cha Bugatti (3rd - 1650 free, 7th - 1000 free, 8th - 500 free); Cameron Davis (6th - 1650 free); Alexander Katz (8th - 1000 free); Taylor Katz (3rd - 1000 free & 400 IM, 6th - 200 fly); Ashlee Linn (3rd - 200 IM, 4th - 200 free, 5th - 100 back); Derek Pridemore (2nd - 1000 free, 3rd - 500 free & 1650 free); Ryan Turner (5th - 1650 free, 7th - 1000 free); and Danielle Valley (2nd - 500 free, 4th - 400 IM). Top Individual Point Scorers for the Sharks were: Nick Caldwell (80 points); Danielle Valley (72 pts); Taylor Katz (65 pts); Ashlee Linn (65 pts); Derek Pridemore (49 pts); Ryan Turner (40 pts); Cha-cha Bugatti (39 pts); Cameron Davis (32 pts); Rachel Harrington (22 pts); Alexander Katz (17 pts); Nancy Hu (7 pts); Will Kazokas (6 pts); Bethany Leap (6 pts); Kelsey Frantz (4 pts); Kirt Davis (3 pts); Joanna Murphy (3 pts); Mckenzie Clark (2 pts); and Gregg Cesaroni (1 pt). Making new Senior National cuts were: Cha-cha Bugatti (1000 free); and Danielle Valley (500 & 1650 free, and 400 IM). Making new Junior National cuts were: Cha-cha Bugatti (500 free); Cameron Davis (1000 free); Kirt Davis (200 IM); Rachel Harrington (500 & 1000 free); Will Kazokas (100 back - relay lead-off); and Danielle Valley (400 IM). Senior Shark swimmer Mckenzie Clark was honored prior to the finals session on the first night of competition as the female national recipient of the "YMCA of the USA Competitive Swimming & Diving Outstanding Athlete Scholarship Award" presented by Nike SWIM. Mckenzie was presented the award by Nike's Nelson Diebel, a two time Olympic Gold Medal winner in the 1992 games. Once again, congratulations to the swimmers for their dedication, hard-work, and determination to uphold the Shark legacy; to the coaches for their long hours, expertise, and obvious love of our swimmers; to the parents for their enthusiasm and undying support; and to the Sarasota YMCA for their continued faith in the Shark program. Y-Nats has always been an amazing meet and the last two years have truly illustrated what the Sharks are all about. Parents, if you missed it this year, you owe it to yourself not to miss it next year; it's a memory you'll have for a lifetime. We should all be very proud of this program and appreciative of the people responsible for making it the tremendous success that it is. Full Meet Results, Individual Shark Results, and a Photo Page are posted. Large format photo download and team roster available HERE. Podium photo of the Champions is HERE. Sharks Help FS All-Stars to Win over Florida Gold - 3/28/11Ten Sharks were on the winning Florida Swimming All-Stars team that defeated the Florida Gold All-Stars 694 to 578 in Ft. Pierce on March 26th & 27th. The meet brought together the fastest age group swimmers, based upon their times from last month's Florida Age Group Championship, in a dual meet format at the Indian River State College pool. Representing Florida Swimming from the Sharks were: Patrick Amistoso, Samantha Cahoone, Drew Clark, Keanan Dols, Matthew Garcia, Alexander Gusev, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Grace Patrice, Isabel Traba, and Alexander Webster. One Shark record was broken as Alexander Webster broke the 10 & under boys 100 yard backstroke record from 1990 with a 1:06.20. The Full Meet Results and the Individual Shark Results are posted. Congratulations to these Shark swimmers! Area 3/5 Meet Results - 3/20/11The Sharks hosted over 950 swimmers at the Spring Area 3/5 Championships held March 18th through 20th at the Selby Aquatic Center. The weather was beautiful and the swimming was fast. The Sharks' Nicholas Caldwell reset his own Selby Pool record in the 200 yard IM with a new time of 1:52.86. Special congratulations to the following Sharks who made Y-Nat cuts (just in time for the April 5-8 meet in Ft. Lauderdale): Annie Berdusco picked up her 2nd cut and qualified for the meet (1000 free); Cameron Davis (200 back); Grace DiMeo (200 back); Nancy Hu (200 back & 500 free); Alexander Katz (100 fly); Liam McKane (100 fly); Lexy Raybon (200 & 500 free, 200 back, 200 fly); Danielle Valley (100 free); Andy Watts (400 IM); and Chyna Yelding (100 & 200 back). New FLAG (JO) cuts were made by the following Sharks: Jason Brzozowski, Samantha Cahoone, Kaitlyn Carico, Sophie Cattermole, Alex Cela, Morgan Davie, Michelle Dols, Joie Eckhard, Sarah Frantz, Matthew Garcia, Olivia Graham, Lara Hernandez-Tome, Olivia Hoefling, Zachary Kishpaugh, Michael Knoch, Theresa Law, Luci-Angelina Lozano, Rachel O'Grady, John Pelton, Matthew Pelton, Kirsten Quinn, Brett Riley, Santi Ruvira, and Samantha Smithburger. The Full Meet Results, TM Results File, Individual Shark Results, and a Photopage are posted. Shark Girls Win Senior Champs, Boys Take 2nd - 2/28/11Fifty Sharks qualified for the Spring Senior Championships held February 24th through 27th at the International YMCA complex in Orlando. The Shark girls team ended up finishing first among the 42 teams attending, the Shark boys finished 2nd, and the combined team finished 2nd overall. One Shark record was broken at this meet: Ashlee Linn reset her own mark in the Senior/Open 200 yard backstroke by over a second with a time of 1:57.22. Ashlee was also the high point winner in the Senior/Open category and her teammate, Taylor Katz, took home the award in the girls' 15-16 age group category. New Y-NAT cuts were achieved by: Annie Berdusco (500 free); Kirt Davis (200 back); Grace DiMeo (200 fly); Kelsey Frantz (100,200 & 1000 free); Jacque Garcia (1000 free); Dirk Hamel-Wood (500 free); Dave Lattimer (100 & 200 back); Peyton Leeson (500, 1000, & 1650 free); and Joanna Murphy (400 IM). The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Sharks Win an Amazing 11th Straight J.O.'s - 2/25/11
The Sharks extended their streak of J.O. (nka Florida Age Group) titles to an amazing 11 in a row, dating back to February 2006. Never before has a Florida swim team come even close to this kind of dominance of the Florida Swimming age group championship. This speaks volumes for not only the swimmers, but also for the Shark coaches and the entire program. In what was expected to be a close competition going in, the Sharks ended up winning the combined team title with a total of 2,198 points, 770 points more than the 2nd place team. Alexander Katz led the way for the Sharks by not only winning all six of his events, but also by setting an incredible 7 Shark records, 3 Florida Swimming Championship Records, and a National Age Group Record. Alex set new Shark records in the 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free (beating Austin Detra's 2004 record by over 21 seconds), 100 back (beating Tripp Schwenk's 1986 mark), 200 back, 200 IM, and 400 IM. He also set new Florida Swimming Championship records in the 200 free, 500 free, and 200 IM. And, finally Alex set a new National Age Group record in the boys 13-14 500 free beating the old mark set by none other than Michael Phelps. Congratulations Alex, on an outstanding performance! Three other Shark records were broken - all relay records: The girls 13-14 200 medley relay team of Niamh O'Grady, Bethany Leap, Spence Atkins, and Laura Toth set a new mark with a 1:50.78; and the girls 13-14 400 medley relay team of Niamh O'Grady, Bethany Leap, Nancy Hu, and Spence Atkins set a new mark of 3:55.63 beating the old record by over 2 seconds. Additionally, the 11-12 boys 400 free relay team of Austin Katz, Drew Clark, Michael Knoch, and Keanan Dols set a new Shark record with a 3:47.65. Shark swimmers finishing in the top 3 of their events were: Patrick Amistoso (1st - 100 breast & 50 fly, 2nd - 50 breast, 3rd - 100 fly); Spence Atkins (3rd - 100 fly); Keanan Dols (3rd - 100 IM); Alexander Gusev (2nd - 50 fly & 100 fly, 3rd - 200 IM); Nicholas Hernandez-Tome (2nd - 100 IM & 200 IM, 3rd - 500 free); Nancy Hu (3rd - 200 fly); Alexander Katz (1st - 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 200 back, 200 IM, 400 IM); Austin Katz (3rd - 100 back); Bethany Leap (2nd - 100 breast & 200 breast); Grace Patrice (3rd - 200 free); John Pelton (3rd - 1650 free); Isabel Traba (3rd - 100 back); and Alexander Webster (1st - 50 back & 100 back, 2nd - 200 free & 500 free, 3rd - 100 free). Individual High Point finishers for the Sharks were:
Making New Y-Nat cuts were: Spence Atkins (100 free); Nancy Hu (100 free); Bethany Leap (1000 free); Campbell Lee (400 IM & 1000 free); John Pelton (500, 1000 & 1650 free); Samantha Smithburger (200 breast); and Amber Stich (1000 free). Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are posted. Click for J.O. Team Photo. Spence Atkins Added to Zone Select Camp - 2/25/11Shark swimmer Spence Atkins has been added to the 2011 USA Swimming Southern Zone Select Camp and will join teammates Nancy Hu, Liam McKane, and Roman Zaremba. See article below for more information. Congratulations to Spence! Derek Pridemore Added to National Open Water Select Camp - 2/22/11Shark swimmer Derek Pridemore has also been invited to the 2011 USA Swimming National Open Water Select Camp and will join teammate Danielle Valley. See article below for more information. Congratulations to Derek! Danielle Valley Invited to National Open Water Select Camp - 2/10/11Shark swimmer Danielle Valley has been invited to the 2011 USA Swimming National Open Water Select Camp. The camp will be held June 7-11 in Fort Myers and will bring together the top 12 male and top 12 female swimmers selected off their 2010 times in the 1500 meter freestyle. Athletes will have the opportunity to qualify for the 2011 FINA World Championship (Shanghai, China), 2011 World University Games (Shenzhen, China), and 2011 Pan American Games (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico). More information on the National Open Water Select Camp is available HERE. Congratulations to Danielle! Sharks Win 7th Straight Y-States Title - 2/8/11
Even though the Sharks weren't the largest team at the Florida YMCA State Championships, they still managed to win their 7th straight combined team title, and an amazing 25th title out of 27 years. The three day meet was held at the International YMCA in Orlando February 4th through 6th with ten YMCA teams and 920 swimmers competing. The Sharks won the combined team title with a total of 10,216 points, besting 2nd place YFFC by over 6,000 points. One Shark record fell at the meet when 8 year old Katelyn Viera smashed the 8 & under girls 100 back record, which was set in 1981 by Shark legend Susie Lerch, by over half a second with a 1:18.96. New YMCA National cuts were achieved by: Ellie Berdusco (400 IM); Alex Katz (1650 free); Shelby Leonard (100 free); and Matt O'Donnell (500 free). New J.O. cuts were made by: Ellie Berdusco, Jason Brzozowski, Kaitlyn Carico, Sophie Cattermole, Morgan Davie, Joie Eckhard, Eric Erlenmeyer, Sarah Frantz, Alexander Gusev, Olivia Hoefling, Zachary Kishpaugh, Dave Lattimer, Tyson McDonald, Carolina Morales, Carter Page, Grace Patrice, Matthew Pelton, Santi Ruvira, Samantha Smithburger, Amber Stich, and Katelyn Viera. The Full Meet Results, Individual Shark Results, the Coaches' TM Results File, and a Photopage are now posted. Sharks Named to Zone Select Camp - 2/7/11Shark swimmers Nancy Hu, Liam McKane, and Roman Zaremba have been invited to the 2011 USA Swimming Southern Zone Select Camp. They will be joining 53 other elite young swimmers from around the South at the camp to be held May 26th thru 29th at the University of Louisville. Selection is based upon fastest event times and total IMX Power Point scores from May 1st to August 31st, 2010. For more information on Zone Select Camps click HERE. Congratulations to these swimmers! GCST Meet Results - 1/23/11
The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results from the GCST Winter Open are now posted.
Y-Qualifier Meet Results - 1/15/11
The Individual Shark Results from this weekend's Y-Qualifier Meets are now posted. Meet #1 Results Meet #2 Results Meet #3 Results PYP Meet Results - 1/6/11
After a long delay, we finally received the meet results from the PYP meet held December 18th and 19th at the Palm Harbor Y. Making new J.O. cuts were: Alexander Gusev, Luci-Angelina Lozano, Tyson McDonald, Taylor McMahon, Grace Patrice, Kate Patrice, and Brett Riley. Making all new personal best times were: Saturday - Savannah Barr, Matthew Blankenship, Mattie Bryant, Jessica Humphrey, Zeban Kaiser, Lana Katz, Isabella Penkwitz, Parker Schmidt, and Taylor Tyle; Sunday - Aaron Brown, Jason Brzozowski, Alexsander Rogozhnikov, and Parker Schmidt. Full Meet Results for Saturday, Sunday AM, and Sunday PM are posted along with the Individual Shark Results for Saturday and Sunday. College Teams Visiting Selby - 12/24/10
The following swim teams will be visiting Selby during the Christmas break:
Holiday Practice Schedules - 12/19/10
The Holiday Practice Schedules for the Selby teams are now posted. These are the schedules that we have received to date. We will post additional team schedules when we receive them. Sharks Sweep Capital City Classic - 12/21/10
The Sharks swept the girls, boys, and combined titles at the 18th Annual TYR Capital City Classic held Dec. 17th thru 19th in Raleigh, NC. Thirty-nine Sharks swam in the meet which was attended by the top Y teams from the East. Nine individual and three relay Shark records were broken at the meet. Fourteen year old Alexander Katz broke 5 Shark individual records, all in the 13-14 category: Alex broke two of Austin Detra's records - in the 200 free (by 2.00 seconds) and the 500 free (by 5.01 seconds); he also broke Tripp Schwenk's 200 back record from 1986 by 2.00 seconds; Jack Salzman's 1977 200 IM record by 2.82 seconds; and his own 400 IM record by 7.10 seconds. Nicholas Caldwell broke three open category Shark records: in the 100 free Nick broke the 1991 record by J. Davis with a 45.24; he also broke Gerry Hale's 200 breast record from 1993 with a 2:05.76; and finally, Nick broke Mark Cox's 2009 record in the 100 fly with a 49.63. Taylor Katz broke Corinne Showalter's 15-16 girl's 400 IM record from 2006 with a 4:19.44. In the relays, three Shark records were reset: The boys open 200 free relay team of James Pagan, Nick Caldwell, Will Kazokas, and Alex Katz set the new mark with a 1:25.90; and the 400 free relay team of Caldwell, Pagan, Ryan Turner, and Kazokas set the new mark with a 3:06.61. The girls 13-14 800 free relay team of Niamh O'Grady, Ellie Berdusco, Spence Atkins, and Bethany Leap broke the old Shark record set in the 1980's by over 17 seconds with a new mark of 7:46.57. Numerous Meet Records were set by Sharks including: Girls - 200 free (Ashlee Linn); 400 IM (Taylor Katz); 800 free relay (Rachel Harrington, Jacque Garcia, Linn, and Katz); 200 fly (Taylor Katz); 500 free (Danielle Valley); 400 medley relay (Linn, Leap, Katz, Katheryne Muth); 1650 (Katz); 200 back (Linn); and 400 free relay (Harrington, Muth, Katz, and Linn). Boys - 800 free relay (Turner, Derek Pridemore, Caldwell, and Alex Katz); 1650 (Pridemore). Special congratulations to Alexander Katz who set the fastest 500 free time for a 14 year old in the nation for 2010 with a 4:28.89. The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Videos, etc. are also posted. Senior National Results - 12/6/10The Sharks sent 6 swimmers to the elite Short Course National Championships held December 2-4 at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio. (L to R in Photo) Danielle Valley, Katheryne Muth, Derek Pridemore, Ashlee Linn, Nicholas Caldwell, and Taylor Katz all posted strong swims against the top swimmers from around the country. The Sharks were led by Nicholas Caldwell who finished 7th overall in individual points, placing 4th in the 500 free (4:18.04), 14th in the 200 free (1:37.04), 8th in the 400 IM (with a new Shark record of 3:49.88), and 3rd in the mile, dropping over 16 seconds from his personal best and breaking Ryan Crete's 2006 Shark record with a scorching 15:05.03. The third Shark record broken was by Ashlee Linn, who finished 18th in the 200 back, breaking Blair Collins' 2007 200 back Shark record with a 1:58.49. Other Shark swimmers scoring in this fast meet included Derek Pridemore (finishing 17th in the mile) and Danielle Valley (finishing 17th in the 500 free and 9th in the mile). Congratulations to these swimmers whose hard work and dedication to the Sharks have paid off with this unique and exciting opportunity. The Individual Shark Results are posted. Gator Meet Results - 12/6/10
The Sharks took 51 swimmers to compete at the GSC Holiday Classic held Dec. 3rd thru 5th, at the UF pool in Gainesville. 11 year olds and up swam prelims/finals, while the 10 and unders competed in timed finals only. Congratulations to these Sharks who finished in the top 5 in at least one event: Patrick Amistoso, Samantha Cahoone, Drew Clark, Jack Clark, Kirt Davis, Keanan Dols, Cindy Dong, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Nancy Hu, Peyton Hunkapiller, Austin Katz, Peyton Leeson, Shelby Leonard, Matthew Smithburger, and Alexander Webster. Making new JO cuts were: Lily Donoghue (100 breast), Joie Eckhard (mile), Taylor McMahon (200 free and 100 back), Carolina Morales (100 fly), Matthew Pelton (400 IM and mile), and Samantha Smithburger (200 breast). Great job to all of the Shark swimmers for their fast swims. Keep working hard and let's get ready for our championship season! The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are posted. Meghan Buckley Accepts Appointment to West Point - 12/3/10
Senior 1 swimmer Meghan Buckley has accepted an appointment to The United States Military Academy at West Point. As a recruited athlete, Meghan will swim for the Black Knights under Coach Mickey Wender (Vermont ’89) and Nadia Staubitz (UC-Berkley ’07) in the Patriot League. Go ARMY and congratulations to Meghan and her family on her appointment! Pre-Team / Novice Holiday Practice Schedules - 11/19/10
From Coach Terri: Thanksgiving Week: Mon - Tue - Wed: 4:30 - 6:30 pm - swimmers can come all three days to make up for missed practices. No practice Thurs. or Fri. Christmas Week & New Years Week: Mon thru Thurs: 4:30 to 6:30 pm - swimmers can come an additional day to make up for missed practices. No Friday practice. Senior 1 Holiday Practice Schedules - 11/16/10
The Senior 1 Thanksgiving Week (11/22 - 11/27) and Christmas Period (12/20 - 1/3) practice schedules are now posted. Records Fall at Sharks Turkey Meet - 11/21/10
The Sharks hosted 732 swimmers from 16 teams at the 44th Annual SYS Turkey Meet (Tom Herrington Open) held at the Selby Aquatic Center over the Nov. 19th - 21st weekend. We were blessed with beautiful, mild weather and the swimmers made the most of it. Three pool records and one SYS record were broken at the short course, timed final meet. Nicholas Caldwell set three new Selby pool records: in the 200 IM (beating Robby Kennedy's 2007 mark by 0.01 second); in the 400 IM (beating Robert Margalis' 2006 mark); and in the 1650 free (beating the 2005 record by 10 seconds set by Bolles' Yi Khy Saw). Alexander Katz set a new Shark record in the 13-14 boys' 400 IM with a 4:10.67 beating the old mark (Patrick Wall - 2010) by 0.16 seconds. New Y-National cuts were achieved by the following Sharks: Dirk Hamel-Wood (1000 free); Alexander Katz (400 IM, 200 back, 1000 free, 200 fly); Will Kazokas (400 IM); Derek Pridemore (400 IM); and Ryan Turner (200 back, 200 fly). New J.O. cuts were made by: Patrick Amistoso, Bence Arany, Spence Atkins, Sophie Cattermole, Jack Clark, Lily Donoghue, Eric Erlenmeyer, Nancy Hu, Peyton Hunkapiller, Alexander Katz, Arik Katz, Zachary Kishpaugh, Michael Knoch, Dave Lattimer, Theresa Law, Bethany Leap, Campbell Lee, Peyton Leeson, Taylor McMahon, Niamh O'Grady, Carter Page, Grace Patrice, Kate Patrice, Stasia Pietraszun, Kirsten Quinn, Santi Ruvira, Amber Stich, Laura Toth, and Isabel Traba. Individual High Point Top 10 finishers for the Sharks were:
The Full Results, Individual Shark Results, Coaches TM Results File, and a Photopage are posted. Coach Watts Organizing Haiti Relief Project - 11/3/10Coach Sherwood Watts has recently returned from a mission trip to Haiti and was so moved by what he witnessed that he is now organizing a "Shoebox Campaign" in order to provide much needed relief supplies to the children of Haiti. His letter follows: "Hey Gang, I am putting together an idea for the kids of Haiti through Fishers of Men Ministries. A care package in a shoe box in time for the Holidays. Pastor Jay in Haiti will be giving these out and I assure you – these gifts will be given out. Right outside the church walls are families living in tents and they have next to nothing. These shoe boxes will be like little treasure chests to these kids. I suggest the plastic size shoe boxes. They hold up better and are only a dollar or two. Shoe box size only please. Here are the details…read carefully. "The deadline is Friday Nov 12th. That’s not much time…sorry. Deliver to the hospitality room, full and ready to go. "Do not wrap the box – some will be inspected and in the process, the wrapping will be torn off. You may wrap it separately (top and bottom) so that in can be easily opened. Mark it clearly…girl or boy and age range like 8 to 10 years old. "What to put in the box :
"In Christ, Coach Watts" Let's all get behind Coach Watts and this tremendous humanitarian effort to help those who are so desperately in need. Hopefully, a realistic goal is for each Shark family to prepare at least ONE shoebox (2 or more would be fantastic) - let's all do our best to fill up Coach Watts' van. He does have a limited number of plastic shoeboxes in his office for anyone who needs one to fill. This is what it's all about Sharks - Please help!!! Will Kazokas News Article - 10/20/10Senior 1 swimmer Will Kazokas was recently named the "Athlete of the Week" by the East County Observer community newspaper. Click HERE to read the article. Congratulations Will! WFLA Halloween Meet Results - 10/18/10
Over 100 age-group Sharks participated in the WFLA Halloween Open held Oct. 15th thru 17th in Largo. The Sharks finished first as a combined team out-distancing 2nd place TBAY by over 200 points. Individual High Point Top 10 finishers for the Sharks were:
Making new J.O. cuts were: Patrick Amistoso, Alex Boehm, Brian Boehm, Tyler Carmichael, Drew Clark, Jade Coury, Keanan Dols, Sarash Frantz, Alexander Gusev, Peyton Hunkapiller, Arik Katz, Austin Katz, Dave Lattimer, Theresa Law, Tyson McDonald, Carter Page, Grace Patrice, Kate Patrice, Kirsten Quinn, and Alexander Webster. Making a new Y-Nat cut was Nancy Hu (400 IM). The Full Meet Results and the Individual Shark Results are now posted. New Scholastic All-American Cuts Posted - 10/14/10
Each year, USA Swimming recognizes its members who excel both in the classroom and in the pool. The Scholastic All-America Team is made up of high school student-athletes who have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher and who have achieved the required time standard in a single event. The time standards for 2010-2011 have now been posted. Nationwide, there were 1500+ swimmers in 2009-2010 who were named to the team for combining athletic and academic success; only 58 swimmers made the list from Florida, seven were Sharks. Applications are due on or about June 30th, 2011 for the 2010-2011 team, so swimmers, make sure you get your applications in next summer for the 2010-2011 list. For a complete list of this year's Scholar Athletes and further information click on the following link: USA Swimming. Thanks from the ESJ Executive Director - 10/5/10Dear Sharks Parents and Volunteers, I wanted to express my deepest appreciation for all of your efforts, dedication and hard work at this past weekend’s Siesta Key Triathlon. Our YMCA is so blessed to be represented, not only by our swimmers, but also by their parents and families. I’m continually amazed by the enthusiasm, energy, passion and dedication that each of you bring to each event. For the triathlon in particular, the bar is, once again, set astronomically high. I’ve heard overwhelmingly positive feedback about the actual event as well as glowing praise for all of the volunteer leadership of the race. I know that this triathlon takes months of work and that plans for the 2011 will be approaching in the near future. Please know that we are so grateful for your continued support of the Sharks and our YMCA. More than that, thank you, for being a part of our family. Sincerely, Ben Pinegar Sharks Earn Swimmer of the Year Honors - 10/5/10The following Shark swimmers have been named "Swimmer of the Year" for 2009-2010 by Florida Swimming: Nancy Hu - 11/12 girls long course Campbell Lee - 11/12 boys long course Danielle Valley - 13/14 girls short course Taylor Katz - 15/16 girls long course Nicholas Caldwell - 15/16 boys short course & 17/18 boys long course Congratulations to these five swimmers for winning this honor! 2011 FS Junior Olympic Cuts Released - 10/4/10Florida Swimming has released the cuts for the 2011 Age Group Championships (formerly known as the Junior Olympics). The new cuts are available HERE or by clicking on the "Standards" tab at the left of this page. Triathlon Thanks - 10/3/10From Kyle Davis and Janet Clark: "The Triathlon Committee would like to thank all of the dedicated volunteers who worked the expo and the race. We had a record 906 registered athletes. Athlete feedback has consisted of raves about the enthusiastic race support from the swimmers, the hospitality, and race organization." Congratulations to Kyle, Janet, and the Triathlon Committee for a job well done! Total Teamwares Meet Results - 9/18/10
Over 70 age-group Sharks participated in the Total Teamwares Fall Invitational held Sept. 17th thru 19th at the North Shore pool in St. Petersburg. This meet is traditionally a good warm-up meet to the start of the new short-course season. Although no Shark records were broken there were plenty of good swims, personal best times, and lots of new J.O. cuts. Making new J.O. cuts were: Bence Arany, Spence Atkins, Alex Boehm, Drew Clark, Jade Coury, Morgan Davie, Alex Gusev, Natalie Hegwein, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Peyton Hunkapiller, Michael Knoch, Carter Page, Kirsten Quinn, Samantha Smithburger, Amber Stich, and Alex Webster. Individual High Point Scorers for the Sharks were:
The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. National Youth Team Roster - 9/17/10
As announced earlier, Nick Caldwell has made the 2010-2011 USA National Youth Team as a result of his performances at the U.S. Junior National Championships last month. Also, videos of most of the races at the Junior Pan-Pacs Championships, in which Nick participated, are now available on-line HERE. 2011 Y-Nat Cuts Released - 9/16/10
The 2011 YMCA National Short Course cuts have been released and are posted HERE. Y-Qualifier Meet Results - 9/15/10The Full Meet results for the Y-Qualifiers held September 10th and 11th at Selby are now posted. Meet #1 Results, Meet #2 Results, Meet #3 Results. Four Sharks Qualified for 2012 Olympic Trials - 9/3/10USA Swimming has released the 2012 Olympic Trial cuts and four Shark swimmers are qualified to attend the US Trials to be held in the Summer of 2012. Nicholas Caldwell (200 free, 400 free, 1500 free, and 400 IM), Taylor Katz (400 free, 200 fly), Derek Pridemore (1500 free), and Danielle Valley (400 free and 800 free), all qualified this summer to swim at the U.S. competition. Congratulations to these Shark swimmers!
New Alumni Section of Website Introduced - 8/30/10The Shark website has introduced a new "Alumni" section as a mechanism to allow our Shark alums to reconnect with the current Shark team and coaches as well as their teammates from years past. Check it out by clicking the link on the left side of this page. We will add comments and updates from Shark alums as we receive them. Caldwell Wins 400 Free at Junior Pan-Pacs - 8/30/10
Shark Senior 1 swimmer Nicholas Caldwell won the 400 free at Junior Pan-Pacs with a Shark record time of 3:50.51, which also earned him the "Performer of the Meet" award. Nick also had 3rd place finishes in both the 200 and 800 freestyle and a 6th place in the 400 IM. He also anchored the 2nd place USA 800 meter freestyle relay team. The USA team won the meet handily over 2nd place Australia and 3rd place Japan. The five day international meet was held Aug. 26th through 30th in Maui, Hawaii. Nick also broke two other Shark records (both his own) in the 200 and 800 free. An article about Nick appeared in the Herald-Tribune detailing his August meets. Congratulations Nicholas! Caldwell Gets 3 Wins and High Point Trophy at Junior Nationals - 8/14/10
Shark swimmer Nicholas Caldwell won the men's 400 IM, 400 Free, and 800 Free at Junior Nationals and topped it off by taking home the Men's High Point trophy, as the Sharks finished 3rd overall in the combined team championship with just 10 swimmers. The Shark girls team finished 7th overall and the boys finished 5th overall. Nicholas was also named to the USA National Youth Team and the Junior National Pan-Pac Team and will compete in Maui, Hawaii on August 26th thru 30th. On Wednesday, Nick broke the Junior National Championship record in the 400 free in winning that race with a 3:52.32. Six individual and two relay Shark records were broken at the meet: Nick Caldwell broke 5 records (three of his own and two by Ryan Crete) in the 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 1500 free, and 400 IM; Alex Katz reset his own 13-14 200 back record set two weeks prior at Zones; the girls 400 free relay team of Taylor Katz, Ashlee Linn, Rachel Harrington, and Katheryne Muth reset the record from 2008 by over 3 seconds; and the girls 400 medley relay team of Linn, Danielle Valley, Taylor Katz, and Muth reset the record from 2008. Making 2008 Olympic Trial Cuts were: Nicholas Caldwell (200, 400, 1500 and 400 IM); Taylor Katz (200 fly and 400 free); Derek Pridemore (1500 free); and Danielle Valley (400 and 800 free). Additionally, making National Long Course cuts were: Nicholas Caldwell (800 free); Taylor Katz (200 back); Derek Pridemore (800 free); and Danielle Valley (1500 free). Junior National Long Course cuts were made by: Nicholas Caldwell (100 free); Alexander Katz (200 back); Taylor Katz (100 free and 200 free); Ashlee Linn (100 and 200 back, 100 free); and Derek Pridemore (400 free). The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are posted. U.S. Nationals Results - 8/2/10
Three Shark swimmers swam at the Conoco-Phillips National Swimming Championships in Irvine, CA, August 3rd - 7th. Patrick Ceddia and Marissa Harrington represented SYS, while Sara Conner swam for West Virginia Aquatics. Corinne Showalter was entered but did not attend. Head Coach Steve Brown also accompanied Marissa and Patrick. The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are posted.
Area 3-5 Meet Results - 8/2/10
Over 100 age-group and Senior Shark swimmers attended the Area 3-5 Summer Championships held at the St. Pete pool over the July 30th thru August 1st weekend. There are no team or individual awards given out at this meet, but there were scores of personal best times by the Shark swimmers. New J.O. cuts were made by: Hayden Aristizabal, Sophie Cattermole, Jade Coury, Talia Daniel, Morgan Davie, Lily Donoghue, Matthew Garcia, Alexander Gusev, Peyton Hunkapiller, Vanessa Knoch, Paiton Krebs, Bethany Leap, Taylor McMahon, Tyler O'Brien, Matthew O'Donnell, Stasia Pietraszun, Kirsten Quinn, Amber Stich, Laura Toth, Isabel Traba, and Roman Zaremba. New Y-Nat cuts were made by: Nathan Caldwell, Mckenzie Clark, Jacque Garcia, AJ Jones, and Will Kazokas. The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Sharks Help Florida Zone Team Win 4th Straight - 8/2/10
Nine Shark swimmers helped the Florida Team win their 4th consecutive Summer Zone All-Stars Meet held July 27th - 31st. This meet brings together all-star teams from across the south in a 5-day long course championship at the Olympic Pool at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta. Shark swimmers on the 2010 team were: Nancy Hu, Cameron Davis, Ellen Berdusco, Rachel Harrington, Shelby Leonard, Campbell Lee, Liam McKane, Alex Katz, and Patrick Wall. Shark assistant coach Brent Arckey was an assistant coach on the team as well. Alexander Katz set 5 new Shark records: in the Open 50 meter back; in the 13-14 100 back (breaking the 1977 record held by Jack Salzman); and resetting his own records in the 13-14 200 back, 200 free, and the 400 free. Other Shark record breakers were: Liam McKane who reset his own records in the 13-14 100 and 200 butterfly; and Patrick Wall who reset his record in the 13-14 200 breast. Individual Event Championship Finalists at the meet were: Rachel Harrington who had 2 wins (15-18 girls 400 & 800 free), 3 second places (100 & 200 free, 200 fly), and a 7th (100 fly); Alexander Katz who had 2 wins (13-14 boys 200 back & 400 free), 3 seconds (200 & 1500 free, 100 back), and a third (400 IM); Nancy Hu with a win (11-12 girls 200 IM), a second (100 fly), a fifth (200 free), a fifth (200 free), an eighth (100 free), a ninth (400 free), and a tenth (50 fly); Cameron Davis with a 2nd place (13-14 girls 800 free), 4th place (400 IM), 9th (200 fly), and a tenth (400 IM); Ellie Berdusco with a 3rd place (13-14 girls 200 fly), 4th (800 free), and 5th (400 free); Liam McKane with a 3rd place (13-14 boys 200 fly), 5th (100 fly), 6th (100 back), and 8th (200 free); Shelby Leonard with a 4th (15-18 girls 200 free) and 8th (100 back); Patrick Wall with a 6th place (13-14 boys 1500 free), 7th (200 breast), 8th (100 breast), and 10th (400 free); and Campbell Lee who had a 6th place (11-12 boys 100 breast), 8th (200 IM), and a pair of 9th places (50 breast & 100 back). In addition, Rachel Harrington was on the winning girls 15-18 200 free relay team and Alexander Katz was on the winning boys 13-14 200 free relay team. In the Open Water swims, held on Sunday at Lake Lanier, Patrick Wall finished 1st in the 13-14 boys 1.5 mile swim, and Campbell Lee finished 2nd in the 11-12 boys 1.0 mile swim. The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Also, the Open Water Full Results are posted. Congratulations to these Sharks! From Coach Brown - 7/28/10
THANK YOU SYS PARENTS!! As we wrap up the 2010 long course season, I wanted to take a minute and say thank you to all of our SYS parents. The 2010 Long course season has been a huge success for the Sharks and the coaching staff and your swimmers would not and could not have achieved those accomplishments without your support. It started with winning our 6th straight girls YMCA national championship in April, along with our 4th straight combined YMCA national team championship. This carried over to our 10th straight Junior Olympic Championship, as well as our 5th consecutive Long Course Senior Championship title. Your belief and hard work in the program and the coaching staff and what it represents in your child's life allows the Sharks to be as successful as we are. The Sharks coaching staff is proud to work with our parents at all of our home meets which are continually some of the very best in the entire nation. This past weekend's Senior Championships was truly the high point of parent volunteering and working in my 15 years with this swim team. I can honestly say that all of our volunteers were truly at the top of their game. After meets I often receive compliments from other coaches and parents from other teams about how impressed they are with how organized, efficient, and courteous our volunteers are. This past weekend I received compliments from Thursday night all the way thru the conclusion of the meet, and am still receiving them today thru emails. Even though the days were long, the weather extremely hot, and a tropical storm to boot, the Shark volunteers were hard at work all weekend long. My deepest appreciation and thank you for all that you do for the kids in the program and the coaching staff. Sincerely, Coach Brown Thank You Senior Champs Volunteers - 7/25/10
We asked and you responded - Thank You Senior Champs Volunteers! It was, without a doubt, the most well organized, smoothest running meet the Sharks have ever hosted. We proved once again that the Sarasota Sharks put on the best swim meets in Florida. Thank you volunteers, coaches, and Sarasota YMCA! We were forwarded a copy of the following letter from the National Officials Evaluators who were in attendance at the Senior Champs meet: "Nancy and I would like to let you know and give many kudos to the meet team for the very successful running of the Florida Senior Championships last weekend in Sarasota. Most people have no comprehension of how difficult it is to “pull off” a quality function of this size and to do the whole “show” the way it should be done. Stuart, Eva, Sue and Angela Caldwell made this meet “happen”. "The SYS effort was unbelievable. The deck organization, air conditioned hospitality tent, deck signage, shaded officials deck chairs, crowd control and marshaling were outstanding. The logistical effort, pre-meet planning and follow through showed a yeoman effort and should be recognized. We have done many meets at this facility and around the country and this meet puts SYS in the top few teams and organizations able to “do it right”!!! "It was a pleasure to work with this professional crew. Thanx to all!!" -- Dick and Nancy Nelson Sharks Win 5th Straight LC Senior Champs - 7/25/10
The Sharks not only put on a great meet out of the pool, but in the pool as well, as they won their 5th straight Florida Swimming Long Course Senior Championship. The four day meet, July 22nd thru 25th, was hosted by Sarasota and was blessed with dedicated volunteers, decent weather, and fast swimming. The Sharks won the team title by 455.5 points over 2nd place TBAY (1,627 pts. to 1,171.5 pts.); a total of 41 teams and 650 swimmers participated in the meet. Five Shark records fell at the meet: Nancy Hu reset her own 11-12 girls' 200 meter fly record by almost 4 seconds from just 2 months ago; Campbell Lee reset his boys' 11-12 400 meter IM record by over 8 seconds from May; the Open boys' 400 free relay team of Pat Ceddia, Will Kazokas, Nick Caldwell, and Alex Katz broke the record from last summer by almost 1.5 seconds with a 3:32.86; the 13-14 boys'400 medley relay team of Roman Zaremba, Patrick Wall, Liam McKane, and Alexander Katz lowered their record from last week's J.O.'s by over half a second; and the 13-14 boys' 800 free relay team of Katz, McKane, Wall, and Ian Amistoso smashed the old record from the 80's by almost a minute. Additionally, a slew of Selby Pool individual records fell including: the men's 50 free record broken by Swim Florida's Pavel Babaev; the men's 100 free record broken by Blue Dolphins Matthew Curby; the men's 800 free record broken by Shark Nick Caldwell; and the men's 200 IM record broken by Club Nole's Emerson Harris. Selby Pool relay records were broken by: the Gator Swim Club's women's 400 free relay team of Hillary Petersen, Christine Kerr, Danille Kerr, and Riley Flanagan; the Shark women's 800 free relay team of Katheryne Muth, Rachel Harrington, Danielle Valley, and Shelby Leonard; the Shark women's 400 medley relay team of Ashlee Linn, Bethany Leap, Taylor Katz, and Katheryne Muth; the Shark men's 400 free relay team of Pat Ceddia, Will Kazokas, Nick Caldwell, and Alex Katz; the Shark men's 800 free relay team of Kirt Davis, Pat Ceddia, Derek Pridemore, and Nick Caldwell; and the ATAC men's 400 medley relay team of Hunter Hinson, Joe Hosford, Scott Fortier, and Joe Ziegler. Individual High Point Top 50 finishers for the Sharks were:
Marissa Harrington made a new Senior National LC cut in the 800 free. Making New Junior National LC cuts were: Nick Caldwell (100 & 200 back); Taylor Katz (200 IM, 200 back, and 800 free); and Derek Pridemore (400 free). Congratulations to everyone involved in making this one of the best meets ever hosted by the Sarasota Sharks. Congratulations to the Shark coaches and swimmers on their 5th straight Long Course Senior Championship title. Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now available. Sharks Capture 10th Straight J.O. Championship - 7/18/10
The Sharks took a large contingent (70 qualifiers) to Orlando the weekend of July 15th thru 18th to defend their streak of 9 consecutive J.O. titles. When the weekend was over the Sharks had added a 10th consecutive title by sweeping the girls, boys, and combined team competition. Never in the history of Florida Swimming's Junior Olympic Championship has any team come anywhere close to such a title run.
The Sharks, with 2,758 combined team points, beat 2nd place TBAY by 885 points, and 3rd place Bolles by 1,432 points. The Sharks were led by newly crowned J.O. champions: Alexander Katz who went "six for six" in individual wins (200, 400 & 800 free, 200 & 400 IM, and 200 back); Nancy Hu with 4 wins (200 & 400 free, 100 fly, and 200 IM); Spence Atkins with 4 wins (50 & 100 free, 50 fly, and 50 back); Liam McKane with a win in the 100 free; and Roman Zaremba with a win in the 100 back. Relay champions were: the 10 & under girls 200 medley relay team of Isabel Traba, Morgan Davie, Cindy Dong, and Sophia Law; The 11-12 girls 200 free relay team of Spence Atkins, Shealyn Atkins, Nancy Hu, and Samantha Cahoone, and the 400 free, 200 medley and 400 medley teams of Atkins, Atkins, Hu, and Peyton Hunkapiller; and the boys 13-14 200 and 400 medley relay teams of Roman Zaremba, Patrick Wall, Liam McKane, and Alexander Katz - this team also set new J.O. and Florida Swimming LSC records in these two events. Nancy Hu also set new J.O. and Florida Swimming LSC records in the 11-12 girls 100 fly with a 1:04.76. The boys 400 free relay team of Katz, McKane, Ian Amistoso, and Wall also broke the old J.O. record but finished second in the event and did not set the new mark. New Shark Individual records were set by: Alexander Katz who swam six events and set six new records - in the 13-14 boys 100 free (breaking the 33 year old record by Jack Salzman), 200 free (Pat Ceddia from 2006), 400 free (Austin Detra from 2004), 200 back (breaking Tripp Schwenk's 1986 record), 200 IM, and 400 IM (Austin Detra from 2004); Nancy Hu who set three new records - breaking her own 11-12 girls 100 fly and 800 free records and Corinne Showalter's 200 IM record from 2003; Spence Atkins who set three new records - breaking the records in the 11-12 girls 100 free (Kristen Linehan from 1982), 50 fly (Annie Babicz from 1998), and 50 back (Shelby Leonard from 2005); Patrick Wall set two new records - breaking the records in the 13-14 boys 100 breast (Scott Stier from 1984), and 200 breast (Ryan Falk from 1998); and Liam McKane who set two new records in the 100 fly and 200 fly (breaking Tucker Atkins' marks from 2008 in both events). Additionally, breaking, but not setting the new marks were Roman Zaremba in the 13-14 boys 200 back, Liam McKane and Patrick Wall in the 400 IM, Nancy Hu in the 11-12 girls 50 fly, and Spence Atkins in the 100 fly. New Shark Relay records were set by: the girls 11-12 team of Spence Atkins, Shealyn Atkins, Nancy Hu, and Peyton Hunkapiller in the 200 medley, 400 medley and 400 free relays; the boys 13-14 relay team of Alexander Katz, Patrick Wall, Liam McKane, and Ian Amistoso in the 200 & 400 free relays, and the team of Katz, Wall, McKane, and Zaremba in the 200 & 400 medley relays. Finishing in the Top 8 of their individual events were: Ian Amistoso (7th - 100 breast, 8th - 200 breast); Patrick Amistoso (7th - 100 breast, 8th - 50 breast); Shealyn Atkins (6th - 100 back); Spence Atkins (1st - 50 & 100 free, 50 fly, 50 back, 2nd - 100 fly); Ellen Berdusco (2nd - 1500 free, 4th - 200 fly, 800 free, 5th - 100 fly, 6th - 200 & 400 free); Albert Cela (4th - 200 breast, 5th - 200 IM); Morgan Davie (3rd - 50 & 100 breast, 8th - 200 IM); Cameron Davis (3rd - 400 & 1500 free, 5th - 800 free, 7th - 200 fly, 8th - 200 free); Keanan Dols (7th - 200 IM); Cindy Dong (4th - 50 & 100 fly, 5th - 200 IM, 6th - 100 back, 7th - 400 free); Dirk Hamel-Wood (3rd - 1500 free, 4th - 800 free); Nicholas Hernandez-Tome (3rd - 200 & 400 free, 5th - 200 IM); Nancy Hu (1st - 200 & 400 free, 200 IM, 100 fly, 2 - 50 fly & 800 free); Alexander Katz (1st - 200, 400 & 800 free, 200 & 400 IM, 200 back); Dave Lattimer (8th - 100 back); Bethany Leap (2nd - 200 breast, 3rd - 100 breast, 4th - 400 IM, 6th - 1500 free, 7th - 400 & 800 free); Campbell Lee (2nd - 200 IM, 3rd - 100 breast, 4th - 800 free & 100 back, 5th - 400 free, 7th - 200 free); Liam McKane (T- 1st - 100 free, 2nd - 200 free, 100 & 200 fly, 4th - 400 free, 5th - 400 IM); Matthew O'Donnell (4th - 200 back, 6th - 100 back, 7th - 800 free, 8th - 1500 free); Niamh O'Grady (5th - 100 free, 7th - 100 back); John Pelton (5th - 1500 free); Brett Riley (3rd - 100 back, 4th - 50 back, 8th - 200 IM); Matthew Smithburger (5th - 100 fly, 6th - 400 free, 7th - 50 fly); Isabel Traba (8th - 100 back); Patrick Wall (2nd - 100 breast & 1500 free, 3rd - 200 breast, 400 IM, 800 free, 6th - 400 free); Alexander Webster (4th - 100 back, 200 & 400 free, 7th - 50 back); and Roman Zaremba (1st - 100 back, 2nd - 200 back, 6th - 1500 free). Individual High Point Top 50 finishers for the Sharks were:
Congratulations to the Shark swimmers and the coaches for a truly outstanding accomplishment! Full Meet Results, Individual Shark Results, and a Photo Page are now posted. Sectional Meet Results - 7/12/10
Twenty Shark Senior team swimmers made the trip to Gainesville over the July 8th thru 11th weekend for the Southern Sectionals meet at the University of Florida pool. Despite the small size of the team, the Sharks combined team finished 4th overall out of 45 teams. New Senior National LC cuts were achieved by Nick Caldwell (1500 free) and Danielle Valley (800 and 1500 free). New Junior National LC cuts were made by Nick Caldwell (200 IM and 1500 free), Taylor Katz (200 & 400 free, and 200 fly), and Katheryne Muth (50 free). Danielle Valley was Sectional Champion in the girls 1500 with a 16:43.09; she also had a 5th place finish in the 800 free. Other Sharks finishing in the Top 8 of their individual events were: Nick Caldwell (2nd - 400, 800, 1500 free, and 4th - 400 IM); Patrick Ceddia (3rd - 200, 800 free, 5th - 400 free, 7th - 1500 free, and 8th - 200 fly); Marissa Harrington (3rd - 1500 free); Taylor Katz (5th - 200 fly, and 8th - 200 back); Ashlee Linn (6th - 100 back); and Derek Pridemore (8th - 800 free). Sharks finishing in the Top 50 in Individual High Points were: Girls - Taylor Katz (12th place); Danielle Valley (T-13th); Marissa Harrington (T-31st); and Ashlee Linn (T-36th). Boys - Nick Caldwell (4th); Patrick Ceddia (5th); and Derek Pridemore (T-37th). The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. GCST Last Chance Meet Results - 7/3/10
Thirty-five Sharks went to Ft. Myers on Friday, July 2nd for a last chance shot at making J.O. or other cuts. New J.O. cuts were made by: Alex Boehm, Jade Coury, Morgan Davie, Lily Donoghue, Peyton Hunkapiller, Paiton Krebs, Gabby Kuehhas, Grace Patrice, Kate Patrice, John Pelton, and Laura Toth. Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Shark Open Results - 6/27/10
The Sharks hosted over 400 swimmers at the 10th Annual Shark Open during the weekend of June 25th - 27th at the Selby Aquatic Center. Thirteen teams from as far away as Colorado and Indiana were represented at the meet. A few weather delays hampered the first night of the meet somewhat, but all-in-all it turned out to be a great meet with lots of fast swims. The host team finished first in all three team categories, while Evergreen (Colorado) Swim Team took the visiting girls team title, and Highlander Aquatics took the visiting boys and combined team titles. Nancy Hu continued her assault on the Shark records by breaking the 11-12 girls 800 meter freestyle record held by Nicole Maglich from 1996, and the 100 butterfly record held by Annie Babicz from 1998. Additionally, new Shark Alexander Katz set his first Shark record in smashing (by over 3 seconds) the long-standing boys 13-14 200 IM mark set in 1978 by Jeff Wentz. New J.O. cuts were made by: Ian Amistoso, Patrick Amistoso, Hayden Aristizabal, Maxime Auge, Alex Boehm, Brian Boehm, Tyler Carmichael, Albert Cela, Drew Clark, Jack Clark, Reid Colett, Jade Coury, Keanan Dols, Cindy Dong, Daniel Erlenmeyer, Alexander Gusev, Tyler Habib, Dirk Hamel-Wood, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Arik Katz, Austin Katz, Michael Knoch, Vanessa Knoch, Paiton Krebs, Gabby Kuehhas, Dave Lattimer, Sophia Law, Bethany Leap, Tyson McDonald, Matthew O'Donnell, Niamh O'Grady, Carter Page, Grace Patrice, Kate Patrice, John Pelton, Matthew Pelton, Stasia Pietraszun, Kirsten Quinn, Brett Riley, Matthew Smithburger, and Madison Tyle. Individual High Point Top 10 finishers for the Sharks were:
The Full Meet Results, Individual Shark Results, a Photo Page, and the coaches TM Results File are now posted. Time Trial Meet - the Time Trial Results, Individual Shark Results, and the coaches TM Results File are now posted. Tampa Bay Classic Results - 6/7/10
The Sharks took almost 150 swimmers to the "Tampa Bay Classic" swim meet held the weekend of June 4th thru 6th at the North Shore Pool in St. Petersburg. The Sharks ended up in first place in the combined team category at the 10 team meet. Making new J.O. cuts were: Patrick Amistoso, Hayden Aristizabal, Alex Boehm, Drew Clark, Tara Degeorge, Faryn Duff, Eric Erlenmeyer, Alexander Gusev, Tyler Habib, Dirk Hamel-Wood, Peyton Hunkapiller, Alexander Katz, Austin Katz, Zachary Kishpaugh, Michael Knoch, Bethany Leap, Tyson McDonald, Matthew O'Donnell, Carter Page, John Pelton, Laura Toth, and Alexander Webster. Individual High Point Top 10 finishers for the Sharks were:
Sharks Y-Nat Team Featured in June Swimming World Magazine - 6/4/10The June issue of "Swimming World Magazine" features a large article on the Sharks remarkable win at April's YMCA National Championships ("YMCA Nationals - The Streak Continues"). Look for it in your postal mailbox in the next few days or, if you're a premium member, you can download it on Swimming World magazine's website. Summer Day Camp Information - 6/1/10
Sharks summer day camp will start next Monday (6/7) from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm for the entire week. Campers should bring a lunch, sunscreen, bathing suit, shorts, tee-shirt and sneakers. Please sign up across the street at the Y – drop ins are welcome. Please call Coach Watts for further info at 922 9622 ext 1323. Please help support the Sharks Camp. Note from Ex-Shark Amy (Wieland) Williamson on Nancy Hu's 200 Fly Record - 5/20/10
The Sharks received a gracious note from Amy (Wieland) Williamson congratulating 12 year-old Nancy Hu for breaking her Shark record in the 200 fly from the 1970's; it read in part as follows: "Congratulations to Nancy Hu for breaking my 37 year old record in the 200 Meter Fly! Please give her my congratulations. ...Swimming is a fantastic sport and the Sharks gave me a foundation for great success and perseverance in life! Best of luck to Nancy Hu and the rest of the Sharks for a fantastic meet! " Amy Williamson (formerly Amy Wieland) Vice President - Performance Matters Memorial Meet Results - 5/16/10
The Sarasota Sharks hosted the Kent B. Holdren Memorial Meet at the Selby Aquatic Center on May 14th thru 16th. Fifteen teams and 635 swimmers took part in the timed final, long course meet. When it was all over there were 4 new Shark records and 41 Shark swimmers had new J.O. cuts. Campbell Lee set three new Shark records in the boys' 11-12 age group category and Nancy Hu set a new record in the girls' 11-12 category. Campbell set new marks in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:33.99 (over 2 seconds faster than the old record), the 200 fly with a time of 2:33.65, and the 400 IM with a time of 5:19.29. Nancy broke the 37 year old record held by Amy Wieland in the 200 fly with a 2:24.71 (an incredible 4.8 seconds faster than the long-standing record). Making new J.O. cuts were: Patrick Amistoso, Hayden Aristizabal, Spence Atkins, Maxime Auge, Samantha Cahoone, Tyler Carmichael, Sophie Cattermole, Albert Cela, Drew Clark, Reid Colett, Jade Coury, Talia Daniel, Morgan Davie, Cameron Davis, Faryn Duff, Eric Erlenmeyer, Alexander Gusev, Tyler Habib, Dirk Hamel-Wood, Lara Hernandez-Tome, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Gabby Kuehhas, Dave Latimer, Sophia Law, Bethany Leap, Peyton Leap, Tyson McDonald, Liam McKane, Tyler O'Brien, Matthew O'Donnell, Niamh O'Grady, Grace Patrice, John Pelton, Matthew Pelton, Lance Prosperi, Kirsten Quinn, Brett Riley, Matthew Smithburger, Isabel Traba, Madison Tyle, and Alexander Webster. Individual High Point Top 10 finishers for the Sharks were:
The Full Meet Results, Individual Shark Results, and TM Results File are posted. New Shark Head Coach - 5/9/10
Congratulations are in order to Steve Brown, who, in a very well-deserved move, was officially named the Head Swimming Coach of the Sarasota YMCA Sharks. Steve started with the Sharks in the 1990's and has been one of the major stabilizing factors for the Junior and Senior teams over the past few years. It was obvious to anyone who attended this year's Shark Awards Celebration just how much love and respect the swimmers have for Steve and his assistants. Congratulations Steve! - the Sharks are in excellent hands. Patrick Wall Wins Hurricane Man OW Swim - 5/9/10
Several Shark swimmers and masters swimmers swam in the 2010 Hurricane Man Open Water Swim on May 8th at St. Pete beach. Of the 350+ swimmers who participated, fourteen-year-old Shark swimmer Patrick Wall was the overall winner of the 2.4 mile swim with a time of 45:02.00. Twelve-year-old Shark swimmer Lily Donoghue won her age group (11-12) in the 1K OW swim and her Shark teammate, Carla Motta, was 8th. In the boys 10 and under 1K OW swim, Shark swimmers were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd - Jared Repassy (1st), Clark Dean (2nd), and Matthew Nutter (3rd). Shark swimmer Jimmy Dean was 5th in the boys 11-12 1K OW swim, and Nick Telep was 8th in the boys 13-14 category. Congratulations to these Shark swimmers! SYS Awards Banquet - 5/9/10
It was a near record turnout of over 500 Shark swimmers and family members for the annual Sharks Awards Celebration held at the Venice Community Center. This was a chance to honor all of the Sharks and their accomplishments for the 2009-2010 year, and especially our 10 graduating Seniors who made their farewell speeches. Shark Graduating Seniors:
Winning this year's Mary Champney Award were: Jesse Bessire, McKayla Lighbourn, and Rocky Raybon. Winning the first annual Larry Shofe Olympic Spirit Award was Jacque Garcia. A special "Thank you" to everyone who worked so hard to put this year's celebration together, it is a huge undertaking. Thank yous: Linda Theofanous, Judy Kiyonaga, Barb and Trisha Maddy, Kim Motta, Lisa Bradbury, Pam Wall, Rachel Bowman, Donna Cahoone, Angie Graham, Mike Leap, Peter Hegwein, Ginger Clark, Mark Davis, Kara and Amy Plocharsky, and Peg Rauch. Congratulations to all of you, as well as the coaches, and of course, as always, the real stars of the show - our swimmers. WFLA Meet Results - 5/4/10
A skeleton crew of Sharks, about 50 swimmers, participated in the WFLA Spring Open held April 30th - May 2nd in Largo. No records were broken, but there were many fine swims and plenty of personal bests turned in. Finishing in the Top 3 in their events were: Ian Amistoso (3rd - 200 free & 200 breast); Cindy Dong (3rd - 200 free); Faryn Duff (3rd - 400 IM); Dirk Hamel-Wood (2nd - 400 free); Ava Jones (3rd - 200 fly); Will Kazokas (1st - 100 fly, 3rd - 100 free, 100 back & 200 IM); Dave Lattimer (3rd - 50 free); Bethany Leap (1st - 200 breast, 2nd - 200 fly); Shelby Leonard (3rd - 200 free); Ashlee Linn (3rd - 50 free); Liam McKane (1st - 100, 200 & 400 free, 200 back & 200 fly, 3rd - 100 back); Katheryne Muth (2nd - 200 & 400 free); Matthew O'Donnell (2nd - 200 back, 3rd - 200 fly & 400 free); Derek Pridemore (1st - 400 free, 2nd - 200 free); Amber Stich (1st - 400 free); Ryan Turner (2nd - 200 back & 200 IM, 3rd - 200 & 400 free, 200 fly); Danielle Valley (1st - 200 free & 200 fly, 2nd - 400 free, 3rd - 200 breast & 200 IM); Patrick Wall (1st - 100 breast & 200 IM, 2nd - 200 breast); and Roman Zaremba (1st - 100 back). Making New J.O. cuts were: Tyler Carmichael, Sophie Cattermole, Faryn Duff, Dirk Hamel-Wood, Gabby Kuehhas, Dave Lattimer, Bethany Leap, Matthew O'Donnell, and John Pelton. The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Drew Maddy Feature - 5/2/10
Great article on Shark swimmer and triathlete Drew Maddy. GCST Spring Open Meet Results - 4/25/10
The Sharks kicked off the 2010 Long Course season by traveling to Ft. Myers the weekend of April 23rd - 25th for the GCST Spring Open. There were many personal best times and 35 Shark swimmers made new Junior Olympic cuts at this meet. Making new J.O. cuts were: Ian Amistoso, Patrick Amistoso, Hayden Aristizabal, Austin Averett, Ellen Berdusco, Alex Boehm, Samantha Cahoone, Drew Clark, Jack Clark, Jade Coury, Talia Daniel, Morgan Davie, Michelle Dols, Cindy Dong, Daniel Erlenmeyer, Alexander Gusev, Dirk Hamel-Wood, Natalie Hegwein, Lara Hernandez-Tome, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Bethany Leap, Peyton Leeson, Liam McKane, Carolina Morales, Tyler O'Brien, Matthew O'Donnell, Niamh O'Grady, Stasia Pietraszun, Lexy Raybon, Brett Riley, Amber Stich, Isabel Traba, Madison Tyle, Danielle Valley, and Alexander Webster. Individual High Point Top 10 finishers for the Sharks were:
The Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are posted. Sharks Earn Hard-Fought YNAT Titles in Ft. Lauderdale - 4/12/10
The Sarasota Sharks Y-National team, 39 strong, headed to Ft. Lauderdale's International Hall of Fame Aquatic Complex for the YMCA National Short Course Swimming and Diving Championships held on April 7th through 10th. The 3-time defending Sharks were down the entire meet and things looked rather bleak after the first two days, but then the true championship character of this team came through and they fought back through adversity for an amazing come-from-behind victory in both the girls and combined team categories; the boys finished a very close 3rd. The relays were heart-stopping and arguably the most exciting in Shark history, and each finals swim had tremendous significance as the combined team won by a mere 4 points (660 to 656) over runner-up Middle Tyger, the slimmest winning margin in over 10 years at Y-Nationals. In the end, it all came down to the boys 400 medley relay, the last event of the meet, as the Shark boys needing a 7th place or better finish to clinch the title, came through with a nail-biting 6th place performance which sealed the team victory. The girls team ended up winning over Middle Tyger by 25 points (403 to 378), and the boys were just 31 points behind 1st place YOTA and 21 points behind 2nd place Middle Tyger. The veteran swimmers acted and swam like leaders and the younger swimmers stepped up in fearless fashion. Despite everything that this team has been through over the past 2 years, when the chips were down they performed like the gutsy champions that they are. They did what they knew they had to do to bring home the titles (an amazing and unprecedented 6th straight championship for the girls and an equally impressive 4th straight combined team title). Perhaps the most impressive thing of all, through it all they showed an incredible degree of sportsmanship and class. Nick Caldwell broke two YMCA National Records: in the 500 free, he swam a 4:20.28 breaking the Y-National record by 1.46 seconds, and in the 1000 free, he swam a 9:00.17 breaking the Y-National record by 2.77 records. Nick also broke the Shark records in these categories in both the 15-16 and Senior age groups, in addition to resetting his own record in the 15-16 200 free with an 800 free relay lead-off of 1:37.53. Other Shark record breakers were: Danielle Valley who broke the 13-14 girls record held by Corinne Showalter in the 1650 free by a whopping 5.14 seconds setting the new mark at 16:22.88, and in the 400 IM, Danielle set the new mark at 4:19.53; Ashlee Linn also reset her own Shark record in the Senior girls 100 back with a new mark of 54.88. In addition, the boys 200 freestyle relay team of Will Kazokas, Kirt Davis, James Pagan, and Nick Caldwell broke the Shark record set at last year's Y-Nats by 6 hundredths of a second with a 1:26.00. National Champions from the Sharks were: Nick Caldwell (Nat'l Champion - boys 500 free and 1000 free) and Danielle Valley (Nat'l Champion - girls 1650 free). Other top eight finishes were turned in by: Nick Caldwell (3rd - 1650 free & 8th 400 IM); Rachel Harrington (4th - 200 fly); McKayla Lightbourn (3rd - 1650 free & 8th - 400 IM); Ashlee Linn (4th - 100 free, 5th - 100 back, 6th - 200 IM); Katheryne Muth (3rd - 1000 free, 8th - 100 & 500 free); Derek Pridemore (5th - 1000 & 1650 free); John Silvers (8th - 1650 free); Ryan Turner (7th - 1650 free); and Danielle Valley (2nd - 1000 free, 4th - 500 free & 400 IM). Shark Relays in the Top 16 were: National Champions - girls 800 free relay team of Rachel Harrington, Danielle Valley, Ashlee Linn, and Katheryne Muth provided the "Race of the Meet" by erasing a mid-race 5 second deficit to end up winning by almost 1 second; the girls 200 & 400 free relay team of Linn, Harrington, Shelby Leonard and Muth both finished in 2nd place; the girls 400 medley relay team of Linn, Bethany Leap, Harrington, and Muth finished 5th; the girls 200 medley relay team of Linn, Leap, Leonard, and Muth finished 14th; the boys 800 free relay team of Nick Caldwell, Derek Pridemore, Will Kazokas, and Ryan Turner finished 3rd; the boys 400 free relay team of Caldwell, Kazokas, James Pagan, and Marty Rauch finished in 6th place; the boys 400 medley relay team of Rauch, Kirt Davis, Kazokas, and Caldwell also finished 6th; and the boys 200 free relay team of Kazokas, Davis, Pagan, and Caldwell finished in 8th place. Top individual point getters for the Sharks were: Danielle Valley (67 pts.), Nick Caldwell (67 pts.), Ashlee Linn (48 pts.), Katheryne Muth (45 pts.), Derek Pridemore (37 pts.), Rachel Harrington (35 pts.), McKayla Lightbourn (33 pts.), John Silvers (22 pts.), Ryan Turner (19 pts.), Raquel Raybon (9 pts.), Cameron Davis (8 pts.), Jesse Bessire (6 pts.), Kirt Davis (6 pts.), Joanna Murphy (5 pts.), Ellie Berdusco (3 pts.), and Shelby Leonard (2 pts.). New Senior National cuts were achieved by: Katheryne Muth (1000 free); Derek Pridemore (1000 free); and Danielle Valley (500 & 1650 free, and 400 IM). New Junior National cuts were achieved by: Rachel Harrington (500 free and 200 fly); McKayla Lightbourn (1650 free); Katheryne Muth (500 & 1000 free); Derek Pridemore (1000 & 1650 free); and Danielle Valley (400 IM). Congratulations to the swimmers for their dedication, hard-work, and determination to uphold the Shark legacy; to the coaches for their long hours, expertise, and obvious love of our swimmers; to the parents for their enthusiasm and undying support; and to the Sarasota YMCA for their continued faith in the Shark program. It was an amazing meet and truly illustrated what the Sharks are all about. We should all be proud of this program and appreciative of the people responsible for making it the success that it is. Click for Large Format Podium Photo for Downloading. Click for Team Roster and Team Photos, YMCA Short Course Championships Webpage, Full Meet Results, Team Scores, Individual Shark Results, and Photo Pages. Question of the Day: One Shark swimmer has been a member of every Y-Nat championship team since 2005 - can you name this swimmer? Answer: Rocky Raybon. Sharks Welcome Coach Brent Arckey - 4/12/10
From Senior Head Coach Steve Brown: We are excited to have Brent Arckey as part of the Sharks family. Brent comes to the Sharks from the Gator Swim Club and will start with us on Monday, April 12th. He will be coaching the Senior 2 group, assisting with the Junior group, and helping with the Senior group at morning practices. Please be sure to extend a warm welcome to Brent when you see him at the pool. Sharks Help Fla. Swimming to All-Star Title - 4/12/10Shark swimmers helped the Florida Swimming All-Star team sweep the dual meet with Florida Gold (SE Florida) on April 10th and 11th, at the IRCC pool in Ft. Pierce. The annual two-day meet matches the best age group swimmers from the state in a three session, dual meet format. Spence Atkins reset her own Shark record in the 11-12 girls 100 free with a new mark of 54.89. Spence also had two wins in the 50 free and 100 free and four 2nd places in the 50 & 100 back and the 50 & 100 fly. Nancy Hu had a win in the 200 IM, two 2nd places in the 100 IM and 200 free, and two 3rd places in the 50 & 100 fly. Michael Knoch had 2nd place finishes in the 50 & 100 free. Campbell Lee had a 2nd place in the 200 IM. Matthew Smithburger had a 3rd place in the 100 fly. The Sharks named to the team were: Morgan Davie, Michael Knoch, Matthew Smithburger, Spence Atkins, Nancy Hu, Campbell Lee, Niamh O'Grady, and Dirk Hamel-Wood. Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Area 3/5 Meet Results - 3/22/10
The Sharks hosted more than 1100 swimmers at the 2010 Area 3-5 Spring Championship held on March 19th through 21st. The first two days were blessed with fair skies and mild temperatures, but Sunday's afternoon and finals sessions were called off because of thunderstorms, leaving many swimmers who were hoping for cuts, out of luck. One Shark record was broken: Nancy Hu broke the 11-12 girls 200 yard fly record set in 2004 by Rocky Raybon, with a 2:10.59. The Area 3-5 meet is a "below J.O." meet, meaning that swimmers with J.O. or Senior Champ cuts can only "swim up" in the Senior/Open division and there are no individual or team points awarded during the meet. Shark swimmers making new J.O. cuts at the meet were: Patrick Amistoso, Axel Auge, Ellen Berdusco, Sophie Cattermole, Jade Coury, Talia Daniel, Cameron Davis, Natalie Hegwein, Lara, Hernandez-Tome, Gabby Kuehhas, Alex Lager, Bethany Leap, Paige Lewandrowski, Tyler O'Brien, Matthew O'Donnell, Niamh O'Grady, Rachel O'Grady, John Pelton, Matthew Pelton, Stasia Pietraszun, Lance Prosperi, Lexy Raybon, Brett Riley, Samantha Smithburger, Laura Toth, Isabel Traba, Danielle Valley, and Alexander Webster. Sharks qualifying with new Y-Nat cuts were: Jacque Garcia (200 back), Dirk Hamel-Wood (1000 free), A.J. Jones (200 back), Liam McKane (1000 free), Derek Pridemore (200 back), Danielle Valley (200 fly), and Chyna Yelding (200 back and 400 IM). In the 1650 Time Trial which took place on Sunday afternoon, McKayla Lightbourn and Dirk Hamel-Wood both qualified in the 1650 free. Twelve year old Nancy Hu also made Y-Nat cuts in the 400 IM and 200 fly but she won't be able to compete until next year due to her age. Full Meet results and Individual Shark results are available as is the Coaches' TM results file. Developmental Meet Photos - 3/14/10
Check out the Future Shark Stars at the recent Developmental Meet at Selby Aquatic Center. Senior Champs Results - 2/28/10
The Shark Senior teams went to Orlando for the Florida Swimming Spring Senior Championships on the weekend of Feb. 25th thru 28th and came away with a hard fought 3rd place finish, behind the University of Florida and Bolles. The 39 team, four day meet was the season ending championship meet for many of the participating teams from around the state. No Shark records were broken, but Nick Caldwell broke the Florida Swimming Senior Champs record in the 1650 by over 13 seconds with a 15:21.58. Shark swimmers finishing in the Top 25 of their respective age groups in individual points were: 15-16 Girls: Rachel Harrington (T-13th); Shelby Leonard (T-17th); and Ava Jones (T-24th). 15-16 Boys: Nick Caldwell (high point winner); and Derek Pridemore (18th). Open Girls: Ashlee Linn (14th); Katheryne Muth (17th); and McKayla Lightbourn (T-20th). Making new qualifying Y-Nat cuts were: Rebekah Baker (200 breast); Jesse Bessire (200 breast, 1000 free); Gregg Cesaroni (1000 free); McKayla Lightbourn (1000 free); Katheryne Muth (200 back, 1000 free); James Pagan (400 IM); and Andy Watts (400 IM). Full Meet Results and Individual Shark Results are now posted. Sharks Win 9th Straight Junior Olympics Title - 2/21/10Seventy-five Sharks went to Clearwater over the February 18th - 21st weekend determined to extend the Sarasota J.O. winning streak, and that is exactly what they did. The Sharks finished with 2,349.5 overall points compared to second-place Bolles' 2,020.5 points, a 329 point margin. Sharks scoring more than 50 points were, Danielle Valley (107 pts.), Patrick Wall (106 pts), Campbell Lee (93 pts.), Nancy Hu (92 pts.), Spence Atkins (86 pts.), Michael Knoch (85 pts.), Cameron Davis (76 pts.), Liam McKane (69 pts.), Roman Zaremba (66 pts.), Ellie Berdusco (58 pts.), Matthew Smithburger (56 pts.), and Matthew O'Donnell (56 pts.). Finishing in the Top 10 in high points for their respective age groups were:
New Shark records were set in the following categories: Girls' 11 & 12 - Nancy Hu broke Annie Babicz's records from 1998 in both the 100 IM and the 200 IM, and also bested Annie's record in the 100 fly, however, Spence Atkins reset Annie's record in the 100 fly, and also set new marks in the 50 fly and the 100 free. The 400 free relay team of Nancy Hu, Sophie Cattermole, Spence Atkins, and Amber Stich reset the old mark from 2006 by over 3 seconds, and the 400 medley relay team of Atkins, Cattermole, Hu, and Shealyn Atkins reset the mark from 2005 also by over 3 seconds. Boys' 11 & 12 - Campbell Lee broke Benji Hershberger's record from 1995 in the 1000 free. Boys' 13 & 14 - Patrick Wall broke Scott Stier's 1984 record in the 100 breast and Ryan Falk's 1998 record in the 200 breast, as well as resetting his own mark in the 400 IM. The 200 and 400 medley relay teams of Roman Zaremba, Patrick Wall, Liam McKane, and Rees Cattermole set new marks in these events (by over 4 seconds in the 400). New Y-Nat cuts were made by: Spence Atkins (100 fly), Ellie Berdusco (500, 1000, & 1650 free, and 400 IM), Cameron Davis (200 back), Nancy Hu (200 IM), Bethany Leap (500 free, 400 IM), Liam McKane (400 IM), Niamh O'Grady (100 free, 100 back), Kara Plocharsky (1000 free), and Patrick Wall (500 & 1000 free). Nine consecutive Florida Swimming Junior Olympic titles is an unprecedented accomplishment, and it is testimony to the high quality of the Sarasota YMCA program, its coaches, and swimmers. Congratulations to our great coaches, hard working swimmers, and devoted parents! And yes, it is still fun to race to win! The Full Meet Results, Individual Shark Results, and Final Individual and Team Points are posted. J.O. (Partial) Team Photo and a Photo Page are also posted. Sharks Named to Zone Select Camp - 2/17/10Shark swimmers Cameron Davis and Patrick Wall have been invited to the 2010 USA Swimming Southern Zone Select Camp. Cameron and Patrick will be joining 54 other elite young swimmers from around the South at the camp to be held May 27th thru 30th at the University of Louisville. Selection is based upon fastest event times and total IMX Power Point scores from May 1st to August 31st. The complete list of swimmers is posted. Congratulations to these swimmers! Sharks Extend Deepest Sympathies - 2/14/10
The Sharks wish to extend their deepest sympathies to Coach Steve Brown and family in the recent loss of his father. Phil Brown passed away in Illinois a few days ago after a short illness. He has been a fixture in the stands over the years cheering on the Sharks at Y-Nationals and many other Shark swim meets. We will all miss him. Y-States Results - 2/7/10The Sharks took 190 swimmers to the Florida YMCA State Swimming Championships and came away with another team title sweep in the three day meet. The 13 team, 700 swimmer meet was held at the Orlando International YMCA aquatic facility on February 5th thru 7th. Although no Shark records fell, there were plenty of great swims and the number of Shark J.O. qualifiers grew as well. Making new J.O. cuts were: Patrick Amistoso, Hayden Amistoso, Alex Boehm, Tyler Carmichael, Drew Clark, Jack Clark, Reid Colett, Jade Coury, Genesis Dolgetta, Michelle Dols, Faryn Duff, Daniel Erlenmeyer, Eric Erlenmeyer, Matthew Garcia, Natalie Hegwein, Lara Hernandez-Tome, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Peyton Hunkapiller, Gabby Kuehhas, Alex Lager, Dave Lattimer, Bethany Leap, Carolina Morales, Tyler O'Brien, Matthew O'Donnell, Matthew Pelton, Stasia Pietraszun, Lance Prosperi, Amber Stich, Laura Toth, and Madison Tyle. Making new Y-Nat cuts were: Rebekah Baker (200 fly) and 12-year old Nancy Hu (100 fly). Finishing in the Top 10 in high points for their respective age groups were:
The Full Meet Results and the individual Shark Results are now posted. Coaches' TM Results File is also posted. Shark Y-Invitational Results - 1/18/10
The results for the four Shark YMCA Invitationals held Jan. 8th, 9th, and 15th are posted below: Y-Invite #1: Full Results Shark Results Y-Invite #2: Full Results Shark Results Y-Invite #3: Full Results Shark Results Y-Invite #4: Full Results Shark Results Newest Shark Arrives - 1/18/10
The newest Shark has arrived. Riley Corinne Brown, joined the team at 11:11 am, Monday, Jan. 18th, at 9 lbs., 1 oz. - 21 inches. Mom and baby are doing well, Dad says he's "still trying to recover". Congratulations, Brown family. One more and you'll have a girls' relay team. GCST Meet Results - 1/17/10
The Sharks swam at the GCST Winter Invitational held Jan. 16th - 17th at the FGCU pool and came away with team wins in the combined, girls, and boys categories. Although no Shark records were broken over the weekend, several new J.O. cuts were attained by Shark swimmers.
Making new J.O. cuts were: Patrick Amistoso, Axel Auge, Ellen Berdusco, Samantha Cahoone, Rees Cattermole, Sophie Cattermole, Genesis Dolgetta, Cindy Dong, Faryn Duff, Matthew Garcia, Tyler Habib, Nicholas Hernandez-Tome, Bethany Leap, Matthew O'Donnell, Carter Page, Lexy Raybon, Laura Toth, and Madison Tyle. Finishing in the Top 10 high points of their respective age groups were:
The Full Meet Results, Individual Shark Results, Individual Scores, and Team Scores are posted. Coaching Changes & Upcoming Schedule - 1/11/10
From Coach Watts: Upcoming Schedule: Friday, Jan. 15th - YMCA make up meet at 6:30 pm (this is for swimmers who need a 3rd Y-meet; informal with no fee, we will make up the heats behind the blocks).
Gulf Coast Meet (Jan. 16th & 17th) - meet starts at 8:30 am; warm-up (Jr. & Sr.) - 6:45 am; warm-up (Gold & below) - 7:40 am For those not attending the GC meet - practice Saturday is 8:30 to 10:30 am for Black to Senior. Monday, Jan. 18th - MLK holiday - no school, we will run our regular Saturday morning schedule. Tuesday, Jan. 19th - Professional Day - no school for most. Regular Sat. morning schedule. We will run a 4:30 to 6:30 pm practice for those who cannot make the morning practices. Saturday, Jan. 30th - Y-State pre-meet party at the Berlin YMCA Teen Center 5:30 to 8:30 pm; all swimmers welcome. Linda Theofanous will be Party Chair. See attached Coaching Changes schedule. ^back to top |
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8301 Potter Park Dr. Sarasota, FL 34238 (941) 922-9622 Web site founder: T.J. Lathrop Web site editor: Bob Clark |
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