District Championships Bring New Southeastern Qualifiers!

Tsunamis Shine at Districts in Every Single Age Group!

There was a reason I wanted as many Tsunamis to attend the District Championships in Pensacola as possible............because we had a blast swimming fast!  (And I knew that was going to be the case!).  While we did not achieve our team goal of 75 swimmers entered in the meet, we got very close with 68.  When all was said and done, we ended up having about 60-62 Tsunamis compete because a few of you got bit by the sickness bug.  But those of you who were there racing fast.................wasn't it a GREAT WEEKEND???  :)

On Sunday evening as I was driving home from Pensacola, I had a couple of hours to reflect on the weekend and all of the events that took place.  The two words that kept creeping into my mind were "pride" and "fun".  I was so proud of how well our Tsunamis swam, and I was even happier to see them with smiling faces nearly the entire weekend.  In particular, I want to give great praise to Coach Brian for getting our Age Group swimmers ready for fast swimming.  Over the past year, the Age Group program grew rapidly from 45 swimmers to over 70 at one time, making it increasingly difficult to prepare a large number of swimmers for their championship meets.  Brian, however, is a master at it and it showed that at the District Championships with nearly every swimmer going best times as well as four swimmers achieving new Southeastern qualifying times.

In addition to the pride I had in our Age Groupers, I was so excited to see as many Seniors and Novice swimmers going multiple best times over and over.  I knew our novice were going to be awesome, so I made sure we had a few of our novice coaches there at the meet.  That's my way of reminding our novice swimmers just how important the meets are!  We had so many great swims that you are going to read about, but the part that does not show up in the statistics is how well we came together as a team throughout the entire meet.  We had swimmers cheering all weekend long, staying in a positive mindset, and bringing energy to their teammates.  It was a beautiful thing to see and I look forward to more of it in future PCST meets.

Josh Dean Leads PCST in the 8 & Under Southeastern Championships!
For those of you who are new to learning about how the Southeastern and District Championships work, let me clear some things up for you so you understand just how awesome the next achievements are.  In order to swim at the Southeastern Championships, you must have a qualifying time.  They are often very difficult to achieve, and the youngest age group is the 10 & Under division.  This means there are rarely 7-8 year olds at the SES Championships, leaving the District Championships as the official Southeastern Champs for the 8 & Unders.  If you finish in the Top 8 in and individual event or the Top 4 in a relay, you will receive a Southeastern Championship medal!  Trust me guys.........these are hard to come by!

Each year we have had swimmers earning medals in the 8 & Under Championship Meet, and 2012 was no different.  Our highest finisher was Josh Dean as he ended up in the Top 6 in both of his breaststroke events.  To add to that, not only did he put himself in the Top 10 All-Time for the Tsunamis with those swims, he was also a part of both of the awesome 8 & Under Boys relays that finished in the Top 3 overall.  Congratulations to all of our upcoming boys who earned the prestigious medals over the weekend in Pensacola.

8 & Under Top 8 Scorers
Josh Dean: 25 Breast (4th), 50 Breast (6th)
8 & Under Boys 100 Medley Relay (2nd): Trevor Hemming, Josh Dean, Luke Maggiore, Alex Fulton
8 & Under Boys 100 Free Relay (3rd): Josh Dean, Alex Fulton, Luke Maggiore, Trevor Hemming
8 & Under Girls 100 Medley Relay (5th): Carline Freisthler, Hannah Altman, Gretchen Freisthler, Emma Martin
8 & Under Girls 100 Free Relay (6th): Gretchen Freisthler, Emma Martin, Hannah Altman, Leila Ebrahimnejad

Hall, Hallam, Ashley, Paine and Hicks All Achieve New Southeastern Qualifying Times!
The Distict Meet was created to serve two main purposes.  First, it was designed to be an end of the season championship meet for those who were yet to qualify for Southeasterns.  However, it was also meant to be a "last chance" to qualify for the big meet in Knoxville.  Most years we are lucky enough to get one, two or even three swimmers to add SES cuts.  This year though, we are proud to announce new Southeastern times from 5 Tsunamis!!  Two of those swimmers, Sarah Kate Paine and Ben Hicks, qualified for the first time ever!!  Congratulations to both of you as well as Alexis Hall, Michaela Ashley and Kyla Hallam for getting your new Southeastern times!  Well done!

New SES Cuts
Alexis Hall (13-14 Girls) 200 Back
Kyla Hallam (13-14 Girls) 200 Breast
Michaela Ashley (13-14 Girls) 200 Breast
Sarah Kate Paine (10 & Under Girls) 100 Fly
Ben Hicks (10 & Under Boys) 50 Back, 50 Breast, 100 Breast

7 Individuals and 5 Relays Win Events at District Championships!
There's nothing like being the fastest swimmer in the meet!  Congratulations to the following swimmers who won individual and relay events at the District Meet.  There are some VERY good swimmers at this competition each year, making it quite difficult to come away with a win.  And each of the swimmers below did just that.  :)

Event Winners
Sarah Kate Paine (10 & Under Girls): 200 Free
Alexis Hall (13-14 Girls): 400 IM
Michaela Ashley (13-14 Girls): 200 Breast
Alex Phlegar (13-14 Boys): 200 Fly
Chad McGuire (13-14 Boys): 100 Breast
Casey Pridgen (Senior Boys): 100 Back
Brandon Ramirez (Seniors Boys): 1650 Free
13-14 Girls 400 Medley Relay: Alexis Hall, Michaela Ashley, Kyla Hallam, Sophia Dorr
13-14 Boys 400 Free Relay: Zacary Chamness, Dillon Lehnhardt, Chad McGuire, Alex Phlegar
13-14 Boys 400 Medley Relay: Dillon Lehnhardt, Chad McGuire, Alex Phlegar, Zacary Chamness
Senior Girls 400 Free Relay: Shannon Doyle, Emily Fisher, Hali Naggiar, Michaela Ashley
Senior Girls 400 Medley Relay: Shannon Doyle, Tyler Miles, Hali Naggiar, Emily Fisher

Loads of Tsunamis Finish in Top 8 Overall!
The following swimmers proved to be among the best of the best at the meet.  This full list of strong swimmers is direct evidence that we have a large contengency of swimmers that are right there on the cusp of attending the Southeastern Championships!  And since it is our goal to have over 30 swimmers this summer at that meet, I challenge each and every one of you to work your hardest starting right now so you too can be a part of that championship team!

Top 8 Finishers
10 & Under Girls: Marisa Ashley, Sarah Kate Paine, Heidi Retherford, Reagan Swindler, Isa Gobel, Bailey Brady
10 & Under Boys: Ben Hicks
11-12 Girls: Peyton Baranowski, Theyrn Compoc
11-12 Boys: Nico Gobel, Cole Tillman, Reid Metcalf
13-14 Girls: Michaela Ashley, Alexis Hall, Kyla Hallam, Sophia Dorr, Tyler Miles
13-14 Boys: Dillon Lehnhardt, Alex Phlegar, Chad McGuire, Zacary Chamness
Senior Girls: Emily Fisher, Hali Naggiar, Shannon Doyle
Senior Boys: Marat Yakupov, Casey Pridgen, Brandon Ramirez, Mitchell Christensen

Ben Hicks Leads Tsunamis With Near Team Record and New All-Time Top 10 Age Group Swims!
As you can see below, there were a whole bunch of new swims in the age group all time top 10 at the District Meet.  One swim in particular though, really stood out!  Ben Hicks established himself as one of the upcoming premier young boys in the region with some HUGE best times and near team records.  His 50 backstroke in particular, was not only a 6 second drop officially, but he only fell short of the PCST team record (held by Coach Chris Duncan in fact), by only 0.08!  That record has stood for so long that I didn't even know during his race what it was because we hadn't had a boy close to it until now.  Fantastic job all around Ben, and congratulations to the swimmers below who are now among the greatest we have ever had!

New Age Group Top 10 All-Time Swims
8 & Under Boys: Josh Dean 25 Breast (8th), 50 Breast (9th)
9-10 Girls: Heidi Retherford 50 Back (7th), 100 Back (10th), Sarah Kate Paine 50 Fly (9th), 100 Fly (8th), Marisa Ashley 200 IM (7th)
9-10 Boys: Ben Hicks 50 Back (2nd), 100 Back (9th), 50 Breast (9th)
13-14 Girls: Alexis Hall 50 Back (7th), 100 Back (6th), 200 Back (5th), 400 IM (10th); Kyla Hallam 200 Breast (7th), 50 Fly (10th); Michaela Ashley 200 Breast (9th)
13-14 Boys: Dillon Lehnhardt 50 Breast (6th)
15-16 Girls: Shannon Doyle 200 Breast (10th)

Fun Stories From Districts!

I told you earlier that the weekend was a blast and filled me with pride!  Here are some perfect examples of that.  I really could go on forever with other stories, but I have to get to practice soon and need to stop typing, haha.

Cheering Smiley Faces a HUGE Hit!
I told the swimmers ahead of time that if I caught them cheering for their teammates at the end of the lane, they would get a special smiley face on their hand from me personally.  Honestly, I'm shocked I didn't run out of sharpies because at times I felt like I spent more time handing out smiley faces than I did getting to actually cheer for the races myself!  haha!  If you go to the front page of our website, you'll see a pictures of a few of our girls holding their arms out proud of their massive amounts of smilies.  Mom and Dad..........I know they were a pain to scrub off on Sunday night............but it was worth it!  The kids had a blast with those smiley faces and not only did they cheer, they knew exactly who they were cheering for too.  Watching that put a big smiley on my own face all weekend long.

Caroline Freisthler Takes Her Mark Ballerina Style!
For those of you who don't know, Carolina is 5................and absolutey precious!  The blocks at the GPAC pool are kinda huge and when she stood behind them, you could barely see the top of her cap because they completely eclipsed her.  But when she got up on that block, you knew she was ready to go when she took her ballerina stance before they said "take your mark." haha!  It was so great that I asked her to show me again so I could get a picture of it.  Check out the team pictures at the bottom of this article on the website. :)

Hamp Brasfield Swims Two x 50's At the Age of Four!
There is only one way you can tell Hamp is four years old and that's because he's no Andre the Giant.  (Yes, that's an old reference, but you get the point). :)  When you watch him in the water though, he swims like he's 7 or so.  Now, while that may not sound like a big difference, that's like saying a 10 year old swims like a college swimmer.  Watching him swim a 50 free and 50 back over the weekend was absolutely amazing.  When I was four, I was pretty darn good and was lucky to make it across with doggy paddle.  Simply awesome Hamp!  We are proud of both you and your brother Pate for some fantastic swims at Districts. :)

Tsunamis "Fans" Bring SES Cuts to Hallam and Ashley in Time Trial!
My favorite moment of the weekend was just that................a moment.  While the literal definition of a moment is about a minute and a half, I'm sure you get the picture.  :)  On Sunday morning, as we were concluding the early session and getting ready for the younger swimmers in the afternoon, Kyla Hallam and Michaela Ashley had a special moment.  We had a ton of swimmers and parents at the end of the lanes to cheer them along (along with Nico Gobel in his freestyle race that also led to a super fast best time).  Both girls had fallen just short of the SES qualifying time the day before and wanted another crack at it.  Those girls absorbed that energy from the "GOOOOOOO" cheering they heard on every single breath they took, and transformed it into two of the fastest swims in the history of the team for 13-14 girls.  Both girls were under the SES time!!  It was emotional and exciting and I love replaying it in my head.  I was proud of the girls as well a Nico, and proud of the swimmers for helping them get there.  Well done everyone!

Ramirez Drops 34 Seconds in 1650 After Swimming 200 Fly and 400 IM Already!
How many of you can swim a 200 Fly?  How many of you can swim a 400 IM?  How many of you can swim a 1650 Free??  Not a whole lot of hands up, huh?  Well, how many of you can swim the 400 IM, then the 200 Fly, and still have enough spice left to come back and drop 34 seconds in the 1650???  There is only one hand up now ladies and gentleman, and it's Brandon Ramirez!  When I was watching the beginning of the distance race commonely known as "The Mile", I was at the other side of the pool finishing up our girls' relays.  I was keeping an eye on his splits and progress and realized he was doing GREAT.  So, with the fear of screwing it up by going to the side where he could see me, I did something I never do and that's watch a race from the end of the lane.............all 66 laps of it.  When all was said and done, Brandon showed the benefit of his Senior 1 training in great fashion by dropping 34 seconds overall and breaking the 19 minute barrier for the first time ever.  It was very exciting and I'm super proud of Brandon for it!

Pridgen Proves To Be Great At All Strokes! 
When Casey Pridgen came to me and said he wanted to do both of the breaststroke events at Districts, I was shocked.  History has shown that this wasn't exactly his strongest stroke, and that's me being polite about it.  But if there is something else that history has taught us here in Bay County, it's that PCST knows how to produce great breaststrokers!  So when Casey proceeded to drop 15 or so seconds in the 200 Breast, and another 7-8 seconds in the 100 Breast, I can't say I was too terribly surprised.  We love our breaststroke here, what can I say? :)  You know what this means now though Casey???  We may have another star IM'er on our hands! 

CATCH THE WAVE!

Coach Jonathan