Tsunamis Are Medium Team Southeastern Champions!

Three Individual Champions Lead Tsunamis To Medium Team Southeastern Championship and Top 10 Overall Finish!!

Each year our team goal at the Southeastern Championships is to finish higher than we have ever finished as a team.  The overall team rankings at the meet are clearly the most important stat that we care about.  Two years ago I remember staying behind at the end of the meet, anxious to see the team scores in hopes of PCST finally breaking into the Top 30 overall at the meet!  We did so with a 27th place finish and you would have thought we won the meet based on my excitement for our progress.  In 2010 we made a HUGE jump all the way to 13th place, which is not too shabby considering there are over 70 teams in Southeastern Swimming.  This year though, our biggest team goal was to finish in the Top 10 overall and WE DID IT!!  Your Tsunamis tied with Auburn Aquatics for 9th overall with 548 total team points!!

Top 10 Teams at Short Course Southeasterns 2011
1) Excel Aquatics...................................2838.50 points
2) Nashville Aquatic Club......................2781 points
3) Memphis Tiger Swimming................1386 points
4) Huntsville Swim Association.............1195 points
5) City of Mobile Swim Association........916.50 points
6) Pilot Aquatic Club-Knoxville................897 points
7) Baylor Swim Club...............................876.50 points
8) Birmingham Swim League.................853.50 points
9) Panama City Swim Team..................548 points
9) Auburn Aquatics.................................548 points

At each Southeastern Championships, they divide the teams up in to divisions based on how many swimmers they have competing at the meet.  There is a small team category (14 & few swimmers), a medium team category (15-29 swimmers), and a large team category (30 or more swimmers).  For the last few years, PCST has been in the medium team category but have finished last in that division each time.  I'm proud to say that times have changed and your Tsunamis have tied with Auburn Aquatics to become the Medium Team SOUTHEASTERN CHAMPIONS!!!  It came down to the last event with Auburn and we tied them in spite of the fact that they had 29 swimmers in the meet and we had 19.  Nonetheless though, Auburn is an incredible team and we are so very proud to be champions with them.  Very soon you will see a banner at Frank Brown Park hanging from the wall that says "2011 Short Course Southeastern Team Champions".  So when you see that, remember all the work you put in to earn it and be proud.

The Panama City Swim Team has been around for over half of a decade.  We got our first Southeastern Champion in 1989 and have only had 3 others since then for a grand total of 4 champions in 50 plus years.  The last person to win a Southeastern Championship is Paul Erben in 2003.  Paul went on to become an Olympic Trials qualifier for the Florida State Seminoles after his years in Panama City.  After an unbelievable weekend at the 2011 Short Course Southeastern Championships in Nashville, TN in late February, the Tsunamis have added 3 more swimmers to that elite list of champions!  Those 4 previous swimmers had won a total of 5 events.  At Southeasterns these 3 swimmers won a total of 8 events!!  Here are your new champions.

Jonathan Ratliff was the first to become at Southeastern Champion on Thursday with the 13-14 Boys 1000 Free.  Since boys of all ages swam the event together to save time, Jonathan did not know he won the race until after he was already in the warm down pool.  Once we checked all of the other times from the remaining 13-14 boys and realized Jonathan had indeed won, I sent his good buddy and training partner (Michael Whitehead) over to be the one with the honor of passing along the good news.  Our young 14 year old star was not done there though.  He went on to win the 500 free in one of the most exciting come from behind races I have ever seen, while also adding the 1650 free title to his belt on Sunday afternoon.  If you want the play by play of that 500 free race, I'll GLADLY tell you the story because it was unbelievable!!

Jonathan Ratliff (13-14 Boys 3 Time Southeastern Champion!)
500 Free (4:43.92)
1000 Free (10:00.14)
1650 Free (16:48.39)

Cody Bronnneberg has been progressively moving up the ladder on the Southeastern food chain to the point where he's standing on top.  After his amazing weekend in Nashville where he won 4 DIFFERENT EVENTS.........he is now sitting as one of the top 5 swimmers in the entire nation!  His 200 Breast time of 2:01.43 qualified him for the 2011 Summer Nationals, which is the highest level meet in the country for 2011 and the highest level meet you can qualify for in short course.  (Read more about that in our national team news article).  Cody is a perfect example of how hard work, a good attitude, going above and beyond and enjoying yourself can take you very far in this sport.  He won each and every one of his four main events including victories in the 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 200 IM and 400 IM.  He may have made it look easy at the meet, but trust me............he had to work his tail off to get there.  Congrats Co!!

Cody Bronnenberg (Senior Boys 4 Time Southeastern Champion!)
100 Breast (56.00)
200 Breast (2:01.43)
200 IM (1:52.86)
400 IM (4:00.82)

Beau Brothers set very high standards for the team during his senior year in high school when he became the FHSAA State Champion in the 50 Free and scored points at his first ever Junior Nationals.  After taking a little over a year off after swimming 2 years in college, Beau came back to swim for the right reasons............because he enjoyed it and wanted to see how good he could get.  When you swim for the pure enjoyment of the sport, good things come your way.  After finishing 3rd in the 50 his senior year at SES Champs, Beau knew that a Southeastern Championship was within his reach.  In Nashville, that all came to fruition as he won the 50 freestyle and became the first swimmer in PCST history to break the 21 second barrier in the 50 (doing it twice in fact!)  Now that Beau will be starting a new chapter of his life with the military, he will be going out on top as a champion for the Tsunamis.  Good luck to you Beau and well done!!

Beau Brothers (Senior Boys Southeastern Champion!)
50 Free (20.73)

Jonathan Ratliff Brings Home 2nd Place High Point Trophy for 13-14 Boys!
After each meet you hear me talk about how difficult it is to earn a high point trophy from the event.  Could you imagine taking all of the swimmers from the entire state of Tennessee, all of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle and trying to win a high point trophy??  It's so tough in fact, that PCST has never had a swimmer earn a high point trophy at the Southeastern Championships.............never until now.  Congratulations to Jonathan Ratliff who won 3 events in the 13-14 year old boys age group to finish tied for 2nd in an incredibly competitive age group.

Cody Bronnenberg Takes A Growing PCST National Team To New Heights!
This one deserves it's own article!!!  I'm saving the space on this article to write an entire new one about our National Team.  So when you're done reading about all of the amazing Southeastern Championship swims, please go back and check out the exciting news about our growing National Team! (PS.....I may not have time to type it up today but it'll be up there soon I promise, ha!)

Talkington, Gordon and Ratliff Take Home Top 3 Finishes!
Until this meet, having a swimmer finish in the Top 3 was the biggest most exciting thing that had happened to the Tsunamis each season since I've been here.  While we may have 3 new Southeastern Champions, let me remind you that it is still a HUGE deal to finish in the Top 3 in an individual event because that means you too are one of the very best in the entire meet!  Congratulations to Colleen Gordon and Amelia Talkington for proving just how incredible they are with their awesome 3rd place finishes.

Collen Gordon; Senior Girls 200 Free (3rd 1:52.03)
Jonathan Ratliff; 13-14 Boys 200 Free (3rd 1:46.27), 200 Fly (3rd 2:01.49)
Amelia Talkington; 10 & Under Girls 50 Free (3rd 27.37), 100 Free (3rd 59.55), 500 Free (3rd 5:59.08)

Chet Seaman Adds Four Top 8 Finishes To The List
At the end of each Southeastern Championships I receive a bag with all of our team medals in it for the Top 8 individual and Top 4 relay finishes.  Last year I was so excited that our bag was actually a little heavy, but this year it was REALLY heavy!  Along with Jonathan, Beau, Cody, Colleen and Amelia, Chet Seaman added 4 medals to that heavy bag.  It's not easy to final in 4 events but he did it! 

Amelia Talkington is a star!  There's no way around it!  For her to finish in the Top 7 in every single event is nothing short of incredible.  All season long she's proven she's the best at each meet she attends and this meet showed that she's one of the best from ALL teams!  And congratulation to Colleen Gordon for putting together such impressive performances all weekend long.  Even after a 9 month break from the sport, Colleen was able to come in and become the fastest swimmer in the history of the team and we would have had a hard time finishing in the Top 10 without you.  Great job both of you!

Beau Brothers; Senior Boys 100 Fly (4th 49.95), 200 Free (4th 1:41.47)
Colleen Gordon; Senior Girls 100 Breast (8th 1:06.06), 100 Fly (7th 57.68)
Jonathan Ratliff; 13-14 Boys 100 Free (6th 50.20), 400 IM (5th 4:21.15)
Chet Seaman; Senior Boys 100 Breast (6th 59.43), 200 Breast (5th 2:08.71), 200 IM (7th 1:57.31), 400 IM (6th 4:10.67)
Amelia Talkington; 10 & Under Girls 200 Free (5th 2:14.57), 100 Back (6th 1:11.06), 100 IM (6th 1:11.27), 200 IM (7th 2:35.53)

Whitehead, Escobar, Duderstadt and McGuire Add Top 16 Performances
In the senior division, the competition is so great that they actual award points to the Top 16 swimmers.  This means that up and coming senior stars like Michael Whitehead, Evan Escobar and Michael Duderstadt earned very valuable points for the team!  Without you, we literally would not have won the medium team Southeastern Championship!  And for Chad McGuire to finish in the top 10 for the 11-12 boys 100 breast, I cannot tell you how exciting that is.  He was only a half second off making finals and breaking the team record in that event.  Needless to say, he's going to be a tough one to beat this summer in Knoxville!!

Michael Whitehead; Senior Boys 1000 Free (11th), 500 Free (10th), 1650 Free (12th) 
Evan Escobar; Senior Boys 1000 Free (16th)
Chad McGuire; 11-12 Boys 50 Breast (15th), 100 Breast (10th)
Michael Duderstadt; Senior Boys 200 Free (16th), 100 Breast (16th), 400 IM (13th in prelims), 200 IM (10th)
Colleen Gordon; Senior Girls 100 Free (14th)

Senior Relays Bring Strongest Performances Ever!
There are only a handful of teams in the region that can even post a "B" team for a senior relay.  Not only did we post two very fast boys "B" relays, but they darn near almost scored points!!!  Those "B" relays were so fast that 12 months ago they would have set the team records!  Now though, our "A" relays for boys and girls DID in fact break team records and finished with some of the best relay swims we have ever had.  The Senior Boys 400 Medley Relay not only qualified for US Nationals for the first time ever, but they finished 3rd place overall (highest senior relay ever), and nearly pulled out the 2nd place finish as they just missed Huntsville by only a few tenths of a second.  If you want to read more about our National Qualifying relay, please check out the additional news article about our National Team.

Senior Boys 400 Medley Relay (3rd) 3:28.87 with Cody Bronnenberg, Chet Seaman, Beau Brothers, Evan Escobar
Senior Boys 400 Free Relay (4th) 3:11.36 with Cody Bronnenberg, Michael Duderstadt, Evan Escobar, Beau Brothers
Senior Girls 400 Free Relay (15th) 3:41.63 with Victoria Hove, Nicole Gazia, Jamie McDonald, Colleen Gordon

45 Team Records Go Down in Flames in Nashville!
At the last two Southeastern Championships in 2010, the Tsunamis broke right about 50 team records at each of those meets.  I keep saying that I'm waiting for that to slow down and yet here we are again with another 45 team records broken in a single weekend.  I must say..........our records are getting pretty darn fast too.  If you don't believe me, check out our team records section of the website and you'll see what I'm talking about.  In spite of that............down they go and I couldn't be happier!  Congratulations to each and every Tsunami who broke a team record in Nashville.  You are the best we have ever had!

Amelia Talkington (10 & Under Girls)
50 Free (27.37) breaks Amelia Talkington (28.15) from 2011
100 Free (59.55) breaks Amelia Talkington (1:00.51) from 2011
100 IM (1:12.44) breaks Amelia Talkington (1:12.63) from 2011
100 IM (1:11.27) breaks Amelia Talkington (1:12.44) from 2011

Jonathan Ratliff (13-14 Boys)
500 Free (4:43.92) breaks Michael Whitehead (4:50.42) from 2010
1650 Free (16:48.39) breaks Michael Whitehead (16:56.18) from 2010
200 Fly (2:03.00) breaks Jonathan Ratliff (2:04.50) from 2010
200 Fly (2:01.49) breaks Jonathan Ratliff (2:03.00) from 2011
400 IM (4:21.15) breaks Michael Whitehead (4:25.40) from 2011

Michael Duderstadt (15-16 Boys)
50 Free (22.04) breaks Kevin Faulhaber (22.26) from 2007
100 Fly (53.73) breaks Kevin Faulhaber (54.31) from 2007
200 IM (1:56.87) breaks Michael Duderstadt (1:58.24) from 2010
400 IM (4:15.72) breaks Michael Whitehead (4:18.87) from 2010

Michael Whitehead (15-16 Boys)
500 Free (4:43.66) breaks Michael Whitehead (4:44.99) from 2010
1000 Free (9:53.09) breaks Michael Whitehead (10:10.36) from 2010
1650 Free (16:37.91) breaks Michael Whitehead (16:48.60) from 2010
200 Fly (2:01.17) breaks Michael Whitehead (2:01.41) from 2010

JD Clutch (15-16 Boys)
200 Back (1:57.52) breaks JD Clutch (1:57.69) from 2010
200 Back (1:56.79) breaks JD Clutch (1:57.52) from 2011

Colleen Gordon (Senior Girls)
100 Free (53.31) breaks Andrea Erben (53.73) from 2002
200 Free (1:52.95) breaks Andrea Erben (1:53.34) from 2002
200 Free (1:52.03) breaks Colleen Gordon (1:52.95) from 2011
50 Breast (31.26) breaks Sara Evans (31.41) from 2009
100 Breast (1:06.06) breaks Sara Evans (1:06.71) from 2008
50 Fly (26.94) breaks Elvira Chiccarelli (27.49) from 2008
100 Fly (57.68) breaks Shanna Halsell (58.25) from 2001
200 Fly (2:10.12) breaks Elvira Chiccarelli (2:11.20) from 2008
200 Fly (2:06.17) breaks Colleen Gordon (2:10.12) from 2011

Beau Brothers (Senior Boys)
50 Free (20.83) breaks Beau Brothers (21.03) from 2007
50 Free (20.73) breaks Beau Brothers (20.83) from 2011
200 Free (1:42.64) breaks Beau Brothers (1:43.54) from 2010
200 Free (1:41.47) breaks Beau Brothers (1:42.64) from 2011
50 Fly (22.90) breaks Beau Brothers (22.97) from 2010
50 Fly (22.77) breaks Beau Brothers (22.90) from 2011
100 Fly (49.95) breaks Beau Brothers (50.51) from 2010

Cody Bronnenberg (Senior Boys)
50 Breast (26.36) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (26.58) from 2010
50 Breast (26.30) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (26.36) from 2011
100 Breast (56.00) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (56.64) from 2010
200 Breast (2:01.43) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (2:05.16) from 2010
200 IM (1:52.86) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (1:53.19) from 2010
400 IM (4:03.55) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (4:06.75) from 2010
400 IM (4:00.82) breaks Cody Bronnenberg (4:03.55) from 2011

Senior Girls 400 Free Relay
Victoria Hove, Nicole Gazia, Jamie McDonald, Colleen Gordon (3:41.63) breaks
Jessica Hassler, Shanna Halsell, Marisa Sweetser, Andrea Erben (3:42.22) from 2001

Senior Boys 400 Free Relay
Cody Bronnenberg, Michael Duderstadt, Evan Escobar, Beau Brothers (3:11.36) breaks
Cody Bronnenberg, Michael Duderstadt, Chet Seaman, Beau Brothers (3:14.94) from 2010

Senior Boys 400 Medley Relay
Cody Bronnenberg, Chet Seaman, Beau Brothers, Evan Escobar (3:28.87) breaks
Cody Bronnenberg, Chet Seaman, Beau Brothers, Michael Dudersdtat (3:31.51) from 2010

TONS AND TONS of New All-Time Top 10 Swims To Update!
Speaking of the best we have ever had.  Here is an updated list of the all-time fastest swims in the history of the team regardless of age.  If you would like to look at this complete list, go to "Team Rankings" at the top of the website and start setting your goals for getting into the all-time top 10.

New Girls All-Time Top 10
50 Free: Colleen Gordon 4th (25.23)
100 Free: Colleen Gordon 1st (53.31)
200 Free: Colleen Gordon 1st (1:52.03); Nicole Gazia 5th (1:59.26)
500 Free: Victoria Hove 7th (5:24.03)
1000 Free: Nicole Gazia 6th (11:11.70)
1650 Free: Nicole Gazia 7th (18:38.45)
200 Back: Jamie McDonald 6th (2:19.49)
50 Breast: Colleen Gordon 1st (31.26)
100 Breast: Colleen Gordon 1st (1:06.06)
50 Fly: Colleen Gordon 1st (26.94)
100 Fly: Colleen Gordon 1st (57.68); Victoria Hove 6th (1:02.45)
200 Fly: Colleen Gordon 1st (2:06.17)

New Boys All-Time Top 10
50 Free: Beau Brothers 1st (20.73), Michael Duderstadt 3rd (22.04), Evan Escobar 8th (22.67)
100 Free: Michael Duderstadt 3rd (48.18), Cody Bronnenberg 5th (48.81), Evan Escobar 6th (49.02), Michael Commins 9th (49.86), Michael Whitehead 10th (50.02)
200 Free: Beau Brothers 1st (1:41.47), Michael Duderstadt 3rd (1:44.94), Evan Escobar 4th (1:46.25), Jonathan Ratliff 5th (1:46.27), Michael Whitehead 6th (1:46.28)
500 Free: Michael Whitehead 1st (4:43.66), Jonathan Ratliff 2nd (4:43.92), Evan Escobar 3rd (4:50.26)
1000 Free: Michael Whitehead 1st (9:53.09), Jonathan Ratliff 2nd (10:00.14), Evan Escobar 3rd (10:04.10), Troy vonBlankenburg 7th (10:32.11)
1650 Free: Michael Whitehead 1st (16:37.91), Jonathan Ratliff 2nd (16:48.39)
100 Back: JD Clutch 3rd (54.30)
200 Back: JD Clutch 3rd (1:56.79), Shane Young 9th (2:06.23)
50 Breast: Cody Bronnenberg 1st (26.30), Chet Seama 3rd (28.24), Michael Duderstadt 4th (28.40
100 Breast: Cody Bronnenberg 1st (56.00), Chet Seaman 4th (59.43), Michael Duderstadt 4th (59.94)
200 Breast: Cody Bronnenberg 1st (2:01.43), Chet Seaman 3rd (2:08.71)
50 Fly: Beau Brothers 1st (22.77), Michael Duderstadt 6th (25.29), Evan Escobar 8th (25.65)
100 Fly: Beau Brothers 1st (49.95), Cody Bronnenberg 3rd (52.86), Michael Duderstadt 5th (53.73), Evan Escboar 7th (55.18), Chet Seaman 8th (55.28)
200 Fly: Michael Whitehead 2nd (2:01.17), Jonathan Ratliff 4th (2:01.49), Shane Young 8th (2:05.87)
200 IM: Cody Bronnenberg 1st (1:52.86), Michael Duderstadt 2nd (1:56.87), Evan Escobar 8th (2:02.30)
400 IM: Cody Bronnenberg 1st (4:00.82), Michael Duderstadt 3rd (4:15.72), Jonathan Ratliff 6th (4:21.15)

Best Championship Ever Yields Greatest Swims In PCST Age Group History..........Naturally!
This complete list can also be found under "Team Rankings" at the top of the website.  These are the fastest swimmers in each age group in the history of the team.  It's loads of fun to go through the list to see how our current swimmers are breaking the times and records of the older swimmers who are swimming so great for us now and are leading the team.

9-10 Girls
Amelia Talkington 50 Free (1st), 100 Free (1st), 100 Back (2nd), 100 IM (1st)

9-10 Boys
Nico Gobel 100 Free (6th), 100 Fly (4th), 200 IM (4th)

11-12 Boys
Chad McGuire 50 Breast (3rd), 100 Breast (2nd), 100 Fly (9th)

13-14 Girls
Hannah Retherford 50 Free (5th), 100 Free (7th), 50 Back (3rd), 100 Back (3rd), 50 Fly (4th), 100 Fly (3rd)

13-14 Boys
Jonathan Ratliff 50 Free (4th), 100 Free (2nd), 200 Free (2nd), 500 Free (1st), 1000 Free (2nd), 1650 Free (1st), 100 Fly (2nd), 200 Fly (1st), 400 IM (1st)

15-16 Girls
Nicole Gazia 200 Free (2nd), 1000 Free (3rd), 1650 Free (4th)
Jamie McDonald 200 Back (4th)

15-16 Boys
Michael Duderstadt 50 Free (1st), 100 Free (2nd), 200 Free (2nd), 50 Breast (2nd), 100 Breast (2nd), 50 Fly (2nd), 100 Fly (1st), 200 IM (1st), 400 IM (1st)
Evan Escobar 50 Free (3rd), 100 Free (3rd), 200 Free (3rd), 500 Free (2nd), 1000 Free (2nd), 50 Fly (3rd), 100 Fly (3rd), 200 IM (6th)
Michael Commins 100 Free (4th), 200 Free (7th), 50 Fly (7th), 100 Fly (8th)
Michael Whitehead 100 Free (6th), 200 Free (4th), 500 Free (1st), 1000 Free (1st), 1650 Free (1st), 100 Fly (5th), 200 Fly (1st)
Shane Young 50 Back (10th), 100 Back (9th), 200 Back (7th), 50 Fly (9th), 100 Fly (6th), 200 Fly (3rd), 400 IM (8th)
JD Clutch 100 Back (2nd), 200 Back (1st)

Senior Girls
Colleen Gordon 50 Free (4th), 100 Free (1st), 200 Free (1st), 50 Breast (1st), 100 Breast (1st), 50 Fly (1st), 100 Fly (1st), 200 Fly (1st)
Victoria Hove 100 Free (5th), 500 Free (5th), 100 Back (3rd), 100 Fly (5th)

Senior Boys
Beau Brothers 50 Free (1st), 200 Free (1st), 50 Fly (1st), 100 Fly (1st)
Cody Bronnenberg 100 Free (3rd), 50 Breast (1st), 100 Breast (1st), 200 Breast (1st), 100 Fly (3rd), 200 IM (1st), 400 IM (1st)
Chet Seaman 50 Breast (2nd), 100 Breast (3rd), 200 Breast (3rd), 100 Fly (5th)
Troy vonBlankenburg 400 IM (6th), 1650 Free (3rd), 1000 Free (3rd)

8 Swimmers and 3 Relays Qualify for the NCSA Junior Nationals!
This too will be talked about in greater detail in the additional news article about our National Team.  In the meantime, congratulations to the following swimmers who will be in Orlando, FL March 14-19 to compete at Junior Nationals.  Cody Bronnenberg qualified but will not be attending as he prepares to make a run at qualifying for Olympic Trials this summer.  Other swimmers who have qualified and will be competing are Chet Seaman, Victoria Hove, Michael Duderstadt, Michael Whitehead, JD Clutch, Evan Escobar, Jonathan Ratliff, Michael Commins.  I can't wait to bring you great news from Junior Nationals next week.  The most swimmers we have ever had at this meet previously was only 1 at a time.  So taking a team of 8 qualified swimmers in the Nike National Team gear is going to be great!

CATCH THE WAVE!

Coach Jonathan