PCST Brings Home 2nd Place Visiting Team Trophy from Coast Meet!

Smith and Ashley Bring Home The Hardware To Lead PCST At Rick Byers Memorial Invite!

The Tsunamis took home the second place visiting team trophy at the 11^th Annual Rick Byers Memorial Invitational this weekend in Fort Walton, Florida.  Twenty-two swimmers, accompanied by Novice Coaches Kelcee and Brad, amassed a large enough total to finish 3rd overall and second place for visiting teams. And since our Tsunamis had a "split squad" for the weekend with over 50 swimmers competing in the ATAC meet at the same time, I'd say that means our 22 at Coast were AWESOME!!! 

Leading the way for the Tsunamis were Four swimmers who brought home individual high points awards for their age group. Age Group swimmers Khloe Smith (8&U) and Marisa Ashley (10&U) both received first place high points trophies, showing that they are two of the best swimmers in their age group in the entire region!  Meanwhile, Age Group swimmer Sean Adams (11&12) and Junior Group swimmer Michaela Ashley (13&14) each received a sixth place high points trophy, bringing home some incredibly valuable points for the Tsunamis.

High Point Awards:
Khloe Smith (8 & Under Girls) 1st Overall
Marisa Ashley (10 & Under Girls) 1st Overall
Sean Adams (11-12 Boys) 6th Overall
Michaela Ashley (13-14 Girls) 6th Overall

PCST Novice Swimmers Dropping Time Like Crazy! (From the words of Coach Kelcee Smith)

Huge time drops, overcoming nerves, and making new friends describe the experiences the fourteen Novice swimmers had at the meet this weekend. The only Tsunami representing the 8&U boys, Danny Matacchiero, dropped time in the 25 Freestyle, 25 and 50 Backstroke, 25 Butterfly, and stepped up as an alternate in the boys 10&U Medley Relay. Similar remarks can be made for 10&U Cade Miles, who dropped time in the 100 IM, 50 and 100 Freestyle, and the 50 and 100 Backstroke. Teammate, Mason King (10&U), also had really impressive swims, dropping time and showing significant stroke improvement.

Girls in the 10&U group also had impressive performances. Hailey Myers dropped time in the 100 IM, 50 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke (23 seconds!), and the 50 Breaststroke.  Similarly, Savannah Lindig dropped time in the 100 IM, 50 Breaststroke, and the 100 Freestyle. Stephanie Lindig (11-12) dropped time in the 100 IM, 50 Breaststroke, 50 Backstroke, and 100 Freestyle.

Special recognition must go to Web and Olivia Burke as well as Kathryn Ballard who participated in their first major meet, learning how to manage nerves, cheer for their teammates, and understand the importance of practice. Overall, Coach Kelcee and Coach Brad were very impressed by all the Novice swimmers.

Age Group and Junior Group Post Terrific Swims! (from the words of Coach Kelcee Smith)

The seven Age Group swimmers that participated in the meet brought home three of the four high point trophies and accomplished many personal goals as well. High point winner, Khloe Smith (8&U), dropped time in the 25 and 50 Freestyle, 25 and 50 Backstroke, 25 Breaststroke, and the 50 Butterfly. Marisa Ashley also dropped time in just about every swim, the most being in her 200 Freestyle race (8 seconds), making for exciting races. Teammate, Hannah Altman (10&U), also dropped time in the 100 IM, 50 Freestyle, 50 and 100 Backstroke, 100 Breaststroke, and 200 Freestyle (11 seconds).

The only boy to represent the Tsunamis in the boys 11-12 category was Sean Adams and he proved to be a very reliable teammate! Besides winning a 6^th place high point trophy, Sean dropped time in the 50 Freestyle, 50 Breaststroke, and 200 Freestyle (6 seconds). Similarly, Michaela Ashley was the only girl representing the Tsunamis in the girls 13-14 category. Like her sister, Michaela put on a show and had both coaches as well as her teammates on their feet. She dropped time in the 50, 100 and 200 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke, 100 (4 seconds) and 200 Butterfly, and 200 IM.

The 11-12 girls group that participated in the meet demonstrated many of the qualities that PCST prides itself in, such as team work, good sportsmanship, and competitive drive. Age Group swimmers Catherine Burke and Jordan Miles showed improvements in the 100 and 200 Freestyle and the 50 Butterfly. Catherine dropped 13 seconds in her 100 Breaststroke and 11 seconds in the 100 Freestyle. Ann-Marie Wheless (11-12) also showed significant improvement in her races. She dropped time in the 50 Backstroke, 50 and 100 Freestyle, and the 50 Breaststroke, all after spending a week away from practice, sick with the flu.     

Overall, our coaching staff was very  impressed with leadership, perseverance, and good example set by the older Age Group and Junior swimmers.