New Junior National Qualifiers at Gator Swim Club Invite!

Seaman Leads Team in Gainesville as He Qualifies for NCSA Junior Nationals and Helps PCST Get First Ever Junior National Relay!!

Preparing for the Gator Invite can sometimes be a tricky thing to do as we head into the winter.  Everybody is coming straight out of an unusual week of training because of Thanksgiving and our high school swimmers are coming off of an exciting and emotional high school season and State Championships.  In years past this meet has brought at best a mixed bag of results ranging from terrible to legendary.  At this year's meet in Gainesville (Heart of the Gator Nation) though........things seemed different.

We ended up taking about 20 swimmers to the O'Connell Center where the National Champion Florida Gators train and race.  The Tsunamis finished somewhere around 16th place out of around 40-50 teams (haven't seen the final rankings).  We have never been in the Top 20 before at this meet and we were absolutely one of the stronger teams there as we had somewhere between 40-45 swims that finished in the Top 8 overall. m This means we had more swimmers at the highest level in each age group than ever before.  This was fun to see because the Gator Winter Classic always attracts the top swimmers from the entire state of Florida, some of Georgia and some of South Carolina.  The Tsunamis are CLEARLY on the rise!

Tsunamis Qualify Third Current Swimmer For NCSA Junior Nationals (6th in Last Four Years)!!
For each of the previous years from 2007-2009, PCST would qualify one new swimmer for the first level of Junior Nationals called the "NCSA" Juniors (aka "National Club Swimming Association" Juniors.  It is a very difficult meet to qualify for and an incredibly fast meet consisting of about 1,100-1,300 of the top 18 & Younger swimmers in the country.  2010 has by far been our most successful as a team, so it is only appropriate that we end the year with yet another Junior National Qualifier.  Congratulations to Chet Seaman whose 200 Breast (2:09.09) qualified him as the third current Tsunami with Juniors!!

Chet Seaman (Junior National Qualifier)
200 Breast (NCSA Junior Nationals and Winter Speedo Junior Nationals Bonus Time)
100 Breast (NCSA Junior Nationals Bonus Time; only 0.15 off Juniors)
200 IM (NCSA Junior Nationals Bonus Time)
400 IM (NCSA Junior Nationals Bonus Time; only 0.06 off Juniors)

Cody Bronnenberg (National Qualifier)
200 Back (NCSA Junior Nationals and Winter Speedo Junior Nationals Bonus Time)

PCST Qualifies First EVER Junior National Relay Team!!
In March of 2010, I was in Orlando for Junior Nationals with Cody Bronnenberg.  Since it was just he and I, we had plenty of time to kill in between swims and we pondered about how great it will be in 2011 when we have a real "National Team" at that meet.  We talked about how we wanted to get a relay to qualify and how our goal was to have 5 or more swimmers there.  Well guess what??  In 2011 we will!  Your Tsunamis have now qualified our FIRST EVER relay team for the NCSA Junior Nationals.  This means that as of right now, we will have at least 5 swimmers at that meet in Orlando in March!  Anybody else feel like qualifying in individual events and joining our "National Team"???

Boys 400 Medley Relay (NCSA Junior Nationals)
JD Clutch (Back), Cody Bronnenberg (Breast), Chet Seaman (Fly), Michael Duderstadt (Free)

Boys 400 Medley Relay and Beau Brothers Barely Miss US Nationals Times!!
Boys 400 Medley Relay of Cody Bronnenberg (Back), Chet Seaman (Breast), Beau Brothers (Fly), Michael Duderstadt (Free) just barely missed the US Nationals Relay Qualifying Time by only 0.6!!  This means we stand a great chance of qualifying for our first ever National Relay in February in addition to our first ever Junior National relay!  We also just barely missed our 2nd ever US National Qualifier as Beau Brothers was only 0.62 off of the 100 Fly National cut with his 50.51.  Way to go boys!

5 Tsunamis Get New Sectional Times
All this talk about Junior Nationals is exciting but another very difficult level to achieve is the one between Southeasterns and Juniors.  These days the Sectional cuts are only getting tougher to make (especially Summer Sectionals), so it is no easy task by any means to qualify for new Sectionals events.  While we did not qualify any new Sectionals swimmers, we did however, have 5 swimmers achieve new Sectional times!  Way to go Tsunamis!

Victoria Hove: 200 Free (Spring); 400 IM (Spring and Summer)
Michael Duderstadt: 50 Free (Spring); 200 Free (Spring)
Michael Whitehead: 200 Free (Spring and Summer), 400 IM (Spring)
JD Clutch: 200 Back (Spring and Summer)
Chet Seaman: 400 IM (Spring and Summer)

22 New PCST Team Records Were Broken!!
Every championship season it seems like we're breaking massive amounts of team records.  This is not an illusion......it's the truth!  It's almost like we're addicted to breaking team records.  And while it may seem common place to some of you because we break team records so often, keep in mind that we are talking about THE FASTEST SWIMMERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE TEAM!  And yet they just keep coming.  I don't know what else to tell you except stay tuned because we've got so many more team records coming our way.  "You ain't seen nothing yet!"

New 10 & Under Girls Records
Amelia Talkington 100 Free (1:01.06) breaks Jessica Chandlee (1:02.89) from 2001
Amelia Talkington 100 Fly (1:15.09) breaks Nicole Blais (1:16.26) from 2000

New 11-12 Girls Records
Kalanne Krause 50 Free (25.95) breaks Kalanne Krause (26.27) from 2010
Kalanne Krause 50 Free (25.40) breaks Kalanne Krause (25.95) from 2010
Kalanne Krause 100 Free (56.18) breaks Kalanne Krause (56.33) from 2010

New 13-14 Boys Records
Jonathan Ratliff 200 Fly (2:04.66) breaks Michael Whitehead (2:06.07) from 2010
Jonathan Ratliff 200 Fly (2:04.50) breaks Jonathan Ratliff (2:04.66) from 2010

New 15-16 Boys Records
Michael Whitehead 1000 Free (10:10.36) breaks Michael Whitehead (10:18.34) from 2010
Michael Whitehead 1650 Free (16:48.60) breaks Paul Erben (17:33.23) from 2001
Michael Whitehead 200 Fly (2:01.41) breaks Kevin Faulhaber (2:02.18) from 2007
Michael Whitehead 400 IM (4:18.87) breaks Kevin Faulhaber (4:21.10) from 2007
JD Clutch 200 Back (1:58.72) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (1:58.87) from 2009
JD Clutch 200 Back (1:57.69) breaks JD Clutch (1:58.72) from 2010

New Senior Boys Records
Beau Brothers 100 Free (47.36) breaks Beau Brothers (47.61) from 2007
Beau Brothers 50 Fly (23.68) breaks Beau Brothers (23.86) from 2010
Beau Brothers 50 Fly (22.97) breaks Beau Brothers (23.68) from 2010
Beau Brothers 100 Fly (51.33) breaks Richard O'Donnell (52.04) from 2008
Beau Brothers 100 Fly (50.51) breaks Beau Brothers (51.33) from 2010
Cody Bronnenberg 200 Back (1:53.42) breaks Joey Darnell (1:54.57) from 1999
Chet Seaman 400 IM (4:08.15) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (4:09.92) from 2010

New Senior Boys Relay Records
400 Free Relay (3:14.94) Cody Bronnenberg, Michael Duderstadt, Chet Seaman, Beau Brothers
breaks (3:21.76) Beau Brothers, Michael Bernhardt, Garrett Berdanier, Kevin Faulhaber from 2006
400 Medley Relay (3:31.51) Cody Bronnenberg, Chet Seaman, Beau Brothers, Michael Duderstadt
breaks (3:44.12) Cody Bronnenberg, Chet Seaman, Troy vonBlankenburg, JD Clutch from 2010

New All-Time Top Ten Swims
Like I said before, this meet has been hit or miss in the past with most swimmers.  While we were not perfect by any means, we certainly had way more "hits" than "misses" than ever and our list of new all-time top 10 swims proves that.  A special congratulations goes out to Cody Bronnenberg, Michael Whitehead, Beau Brothers and Chet Seaman for having swims that are the fastest for any age group in team history!

New Girls All-Time Top 10 Swims
50 Free: Kalanne Krause 4th (25.40)
100 Free: Kalanne Krause 7th (56.18); Jamie McDonald 8th (56.26)
200 Free: Victoria Hove 2nd (1:57.27)
500 Free: Victoria Hove 9th (5:28.38)
1000 Free: Victoria Hove 3rd (11:03.34)
1650 Free: Victoria Hove 3rd (18:14.66)
200 Back: Hannah Retherford 9th (2:21.22)
100 Breast: Victoria Hove 9th (1:12.76)
200 Breast: Victoria Hove 5th (2:33.85)
50 Fly: Jamie McDonald 6th (29.00)
100 Fly: Jamie McDonald 4th (1:02.22)
200 IM: Kalanne Krause 10th (2:21.12)
400 IM: Victoria Hove 2nd (4:37.79)

New Boys All-Time Top 10 Swims
50 Free: Michael Duderstadt 5th (22.34); Cody Bronnenberg 8th (22.77)
100 Free: Beau Brothers 1st (47.36); Cody Bronnenberg 5th (49.12)
200 Free: Michael Whitehead 3rd (1:46.99); Michael Duderstadt 4th (1:47.37)
1000 Free: Jonathan Ratliff 4th (10:24.24)
1650 Free: Michael Whitehead 1st (16:48.60); Jonathan Ratliff 3rd (17:11.64)
100 Back: Cody Bronnenberg 2nd (52.15)
200 Back: Cody Bronnenberg 1st (1:53.42); JD Clutch 3rd (1:57.69)
50 Breast: Chet Seaman 3rd (28.41)
100 Breast: Chet Seaman 4th (59.64)
200 Breast: Chet Seaman 3rd (2:09.09); Michael Duderstadt 5th (2:19.91)
50 Fly: Beau Brothers 1st (22.97)
100 Fly: Beau Brothers 1st (50.51); Michael Duderstadt 6th (54.95); Chet Seaman 7th (55.44)
200 Fly: Michael Whitehead 3rd (2:01.41); Jonathan Ratliff 7th (2:04.50); Shane Young 9th (2:07.94)
200 IM: Chet Seaman 2nd (1:57.26); Michael Whitehead 7th (2:02.21); JD Clutch 8th (2:02.33)
400 IM: Chet Seaman 1st (4:08.15); Michael Whitehead 3rd (4:18.87); Michael Duderstadt 5th (4:21.73); Jonathan Ratliff 9th (4:27.18)

New Age Group Top 10 Times In Nearly Every Single Age Group!
Just as a reminder, this list denotes new swims that rank in the top 10 all-time for their age group.  Each championship season that passes by leaves a faster list of age group top 10, so everytime you read about this, it's just that much more impressive!

New 9-10 Girls All-Time Top 10 Swims
Amelia Talkington: 50 Free (2nd), 100 Free (1st), 50 Back (2nd), 100 Back (2nd), 100 Fly (1st), 200 IM (3rd)

New 11-12 Girls All-Time Top 10 Swims
Kalanne Krause: 50 Free (1st), 100 Free (1st), 200 Back (2nd), 200 IM (2nd)

New 11-12 Boys All-Time Top 10 Swims
Alex Phlegar: 500 Free (9th), 100 Breast (7th)
Chad McGuire: 100 Breast (5th)

New 13-14 Girls All-Time Top 10 Swims
Hannah Retherford: 100 Free (9th), 50 Back (3rd), 100 Back (4th), 200 Back (4th), 50 Fly (5th), 100 Fly (8th)

New 13-15 Boys All-Time Top 10 Swims
Jonathan Ratliff: 1000 Free (2nd), 1650 Free (2nd), 50 Fly (2nd), 200 Fly (1st), 200 IM (3rd), 400 IM (2nd)

New 15-16 Girls All-Time Top 10 Swims
Jamie McDonald: 50 Free (9th), 100 Free (4th), 100 Back (10th), 50 Fly (3rd), 100 Fly (2nd), 200 IM (9th)

New 15-16 Boys All-Time Top 10 Swims
Michael Duderstadt: 50 Free (2nd), 200 Free (3rd), 200 Breast (5th), 100 Fly (2nd), 400 IM (4th)
Michael Whitehead: 200 Free (2nd), 1000 Free (1st), 1650 Free (1st), 50 Breast (8th), 100 Breast (7th), 200 Fly (1st), 200 IM (5th), 400 IM (1st)
Shane Young: 50 Back (10th), 100 Back (10th), 100 Fly (6th), 200 Fly (4th), 400 IM (8th)
JD Clutch: 200 Back (1st), 50 Fly (10th), 200 IM (6th)

New Senior Girls All-Time Top 10 Swims
Victoria Hove: 50 Free (6th), 100 Free (5th), 200 Free (2nd), 500 Free (7th), 1000 Free (3rd), 1650 Free (3rd), 50 Back (4th), 100 Back (5th), 200 Back (2nd), 50 Breast (5th), 100 Breast (5th), 200 Breast (4th), 50 Fly (5th), 200 IM (3rd), 400 IM (2nd)

New Senior Boys All-Time Top 10 Swims
Cody Bronnenberg: 50 Free (6th), 100 Free (3rd), 100 Back (2nd), 200 Back (1st)
Chet Seaman: 50 Free (8th), 50 Breast (2nd), 100 Breast (3rd), 200 Breast (3rd), 50 Fly (7th), 100 Fly (5th), 200 IM (7th), 400 IM (1st)
Beau Brothers: 100 Free (1st), 50 Fly (1st), 100 Fly (1st)
Troy vonBlankenburg: 400 IM (7th)

New Tsunami Awards Updates
I've already sent out these rankings through email but it's fun to make a big deal about them.  Improved point totals means that particular swimmer had faster swims to move up into higher levels.  High point totals either means they are really fast at a few things, very fast at a lot of things, or REALLY fast at a lot of things!  It's also fun to use these rankings and point totals to compare the well-roundedness of our swimmers to each other and promote a friendly competition amongst them.

9-10 Girls: Amelia Talkington improves 1st (110 points); Heidi Retherford improves 2nd (47 points)
11-12 Girls: Kalanne Krause improves 1st (104 points)
11-12 Boys: Alex Phlegar improves 1st (79 points), Chad McGuire improves 2nd (67 points)
13-14 Girls: Hannah Retherford moves into 4th (31 points)
13-14 Boys: Jonathan Ratliff improves 1st (113 points)
15-16 Girls: Jamie McDonald improves 2nd (58 points); Kristen Ratliff improves 3rd (54 points)
15-16 Boys: Michael Whitehead improves 1st (Team Record 109 points); Michael Duderstadt improves 2nd (98 points); JD Clutch moves into 4th (73 points); Shane Young improves 5th (72 points)
Senior Girls: Victoria Hove moves into 1st (Team Record 73 points)
Senior Boys: Cody Bronnenberg improves 1st (109 points); Chet Seaman moves into 2nd (68 points); Troy vonBlankenburg improves 3rd (62 points); Beau Brothers improves 4th (43 points)

I just got back from Atlanta, GA and the Speedo Junior National Championships with Cody Bronnenberg.  That was probably the fastest most impressive meet I've been to since becoming the Head Coach for PCST and I cannot wait to share it with you.  I also can't wait to tell you about all the great swims we had at our home meet this past weekend as over 95 Tsunamis participated at an IMX and IMReady meet at GCCC.

CATCH THE WAVE!

Coach Jonathan