ELITE NEWS BULLETIN               1-15-07

 

 

DART QUALIFIES FOR SENIOR NATIONALS!!!

ADDS TWO JUNIOR NATIONAL CUTS AS WELL!!

KOLOGY WINS TWO 10 & UNDER EVENTS!!!

 

            Every swimmer dreams of making Senior Nationals. Most elite swimmers dream it every hour of everyday. Chris Dart will live that dream come this March, 2007.

 

            By dropping a full second in his 100 LCM backstroke event (59.08) this weekend at the Burgdorff Invitational Meet held at Rutgers University, Dart became the first Elite swimmer ever to qualify for USA Swimming’s highest competition in 2007. To place this in proper amazing perspective, Dart’s time is just over a second (1.09) over the Olympic Trials qualifying time!!!!!

 

            Added to the Elite excitement this weekend was the very special performances of Regan Kology, Lindsay Stearns, Michael Strand, Ricky Martin, Zackie Katz, Michael Li and Venkatesh Duvvuri.

 

             Although his 100 back was certainly the highlight of the weekend, Chris’s overall performance at this meet was simply mind-boggling. In 17 races in three days in a long course venue (swimming’s most challenging) during the middle of short course training when swimmers are supposed to be “too tired to swim fast,” Chris posted 15 best times!!! Along the way Chris added two Junior National qualifying times to his resume: during Friday night finals, Chris placed 2nd in the 200 IM with a time of 2.11.36 (representing a 4 second drop from his previous best) and in Sunday night’s finals, Chris placed 5th in the 200 back with a 2.11.21 time (2 seconds faster than his best).  

 

            Shaving seconds off, with reckless abandon, Chris dropped 8 seconds (4.43.24) in the 400 IM swim which swim was just prior to his 100 back final, 7 seconds off his 200 breast time (2.33.62), 2 seconds off his 100 breast time (1.09.73), a second off his 100 fly time (1.00.21) and a second off his 100 free time (.55.58).

           

            Senior Nationals will be held in Long Island this spring (giving Elite swimmers an opportunity to witness the meet and Chris’s swim!!!).

 

            Not to be forgotten were this weekend’s performances by Kology, Stearns, Strand, Martin, Katz, Li and Duvvuri.

 

            10 year old Regan Kology rocketed to two 1st place finishes this weekend. In the 50 free, Kology dropped nearly a second in running away from the field and winning in a 32.70 time. Regan also raced to a 1st place in the 200 free with an extremely impressive 2.36.50 time (dropping 9 seconds from her performance last summer. Kology placed 2nd in the 100 free with a 1.11.87 time (a 5.5 second drop). Kology placed 3rd in both the 50 and the 100 breast

 

            14 year old Michael Strand continued his very impressive swimming. In 9 events, Michael posted 8 personal bests!!! Demonstrating his versatility and his great conditioning from his hard work, Michael stroked to a 2nd place finish in the grueling 400 IM (5.07.12-representing a 12 second drop). Along the way, Michael also placed 3rd in the 200 back (2.24.59-a 2 second drop) and added two 4th place finishes-one in the 100 back (1.08.35) and the other in the 200 IM (2.27.27-a 5 second drop).  

 

            10 year old Lindsay Stearns also had a spectacular meet. Lindsay had a perfect meet: in 7 swims, she had 7 bests!!!  She splashed to a 2nd place finish in the 50 fly (35.78-a 2 second improvement), 3rd place in both the 100 butterfly (1.24.06-an 8 second improvement) and in the 200 IM (3.04.51-an 11 second drop) and two fourth place finishes-50 back (40.27-3 second drop) and 100 free (1.15.22 (4.5 second drop).

 

             14 year old Ricky Martin churned to a third place finish in the 50 free (26.85) and fourth place finishes in both the 100 free (59.15) and the 100 fly (1.06.59).

 

            9 year old Zackie Katz, in his only event, qualified for the New Jersey Summer Zones squad by placing 2nd in the 100 breast (43.76-a 3 second drop).

 

            12 year old Michael Li pumped to a third place finish in the 50 breast (37.63) and a fourth place finish in the 100 breast (1.22.39).

 

            14 year old Venkatesh Duvvuri, in his only event, placed 3rd in the 100 butterfly with a 2 second drop (1.06.15).

                       

Swimmers who participated (# in parathesis is number of best SCY best times): Dart (15), Carolyn Demeo, Priya Duvvuri, Venkatesh Duvvuri (1), Zackie Katz (1), Regan Kology (5), Michael Li (6), Ricky Martin (6), Austin Meszaros, Ali Morreale, Lindsay Stearns (7) & Michael Strand (8).

 

The fantastic results on posted on the website under Meet Results.

 

AGE GROUPERS CONTINUE THEIR IMPROVEMENT IN DUAL VS. CALDWELL:

 

            Elite’s 14 & Under Age Groupers competed against the Caldwell Cyclones this past Saturday at Caldwell. The meet provided an opportunity for Elite swimmers to get updated yard times in the butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke events.

 

            Swimmers who participated (# in parathesis is number of best SCY best times): Arlynn Baer (2), Chris Balbo (2), Megan Balbo (2), Brielle Barba (2), Abigail Bigham (2), Eric Binder (2), Nicole Blum (2), Courtney Brosnan (2), Katie Brosnan (2), Meg Brosnan (2), John Burns (1), Taylor Campolattaro (2), Brannon Cho (2), Ethan Cohen (2), Jonny Crowther (2), Laura Culiuc (2), Elizabeth D’Altrui (2), Amy Duren (1), Sam Duren (2), Avinash Duvvuri (2), Krishna Duvvuri (1), Brandon Faris (1), Madeleine Faust (1), Kristen Fedor (1), Juliet Felsen (2), Emilie Ferguson (2), Andrea Ferrell (1), Victoria Fetner (1), Spencer Fisch (2), Hannah Gleason (1), Joe Gleason (2), Emily Goad (2), Katie Golway (2), Alexandra Gordon (1), Dominique Gordon (1), Katie Gorman (2), Lydia Gracey (1), Rachel Greene (1), Andrea Guacelli (1), Julia Guacelli (2), Payton Hakes (2), Scott Harris (2), Alyssa Hartigan (2), Greg Keiser (1), Victoria Keiser (1), Michael Kellstrom (2), Caroline Kelly (2), Lauren Kelly (2), Brandon King (2), Sarah Kleppe (2), Jared Kovacs (1), Emmie Lai (1), Patrick Lai (2), Isabel LaRaia (1), Ricky LaSalvia (2), Aaron Levin (1), Brandon Li (2), Jessie Lowe (1), Sarah Lowe (2), Megan McEvoy (2), Katie McGrath (1), Sarah McGrath (2), Matthew Migliozzi (2), Brendan Miller-Radest (1), Colin Miller-Radest (1), Kara Miller-Radest, Isabella Morreale (2), Cesar Munoz (1), Madison Munoz (1), Dan Muro (1), Julia Muro, Caroline Nash (1), Gregory Niccolai (2), Rebecca Niccolai (1), Dara O’Gorman (2), Evan O’Hara (2), Nick Pachiolo (1), Christina Pick, Gabrielle Pick (2), Michelle Pick (2), Chris Plunkett (2), Taylor Savarese (2), RJ Serruto (2), Andrea Shepard (2), Bethany Stachenfeld (2), Kaitlin Stearns (2), Lexi Tedesco (1), Spencer Todd (1), Sydney Todd, Emily Torre (2), Jennifer Torre (1), Rachel Tortorella (2), Spence Turkington (1),  Andrea Tyminski (2), Michael Wang (2), Sarah Weinbrom (2), Paige Willian (1), Maggie Woodruff (2) & Harry Woods (2).

 

LESS IS MORE: IF YOU ARE SICK: BE SMART.

PLEASE DO NOT COME TO PRACTICE OR MEETS:

 

            Reports are coming into coaches that swimmers who are sick are still coming to practice and meets, presumably to keep up their attendance records. These efforts are actually extremely counter productive for the sick swimmer and for their teammates.

 

            If a swimmer is sick, their 1st and ONLY priority is to get better. Energy expended at practice depletes the energy sources of the body to fight off sickness (thus, the swimmer is likely to become sicker and remain sicker longer). This is not what coaches want: we can only effectively train healthy swimmers.

 

            In addition, a sick swimmer at practice or a meet will likely get OTHER SWIMMERS SICK. This is extremely counter productive.

 

            Missing a practice is the right thing to do if a swimmer is sick. Please think twice before sending a lethargic, coughing swimmer to practice.   

                    

 TRYOUT INFORMATION NOW POSTED:

 

            Information regarding Elite’s tryouts and Spring Practice Schedule is now posted on the website. The practice schedule is identical to the Winter 2006-07 until long course begins. Long course schedules are still being worked on.

CHAMPIONSHIP MEET SCHEDULE ALTERED; SEE TENTATIVE MEET SCHEDULE:

            As a result of a NJ Swim Coaches Meeting Wednesday, Jan 4, there are significant changes to the Championship Meets held in February.

            The changes are: 3 State Meets will be held: 1) Junior States (14 & U)  2) Senior States B (15 & Over) and Senior States A (Open Ages). Elite will attend all three meets but the meets are mutually exclusive (no swimmer can attend more than 1 of the 3 meets.

           In addition, the 8 & U Mini-Championships to be held at Seton Hall University are now schedule for Saturday, March 3.

TOP 10 ALL-TIME TIMES IS UPDATED:

 

            The Top 10 All-Time Times list has been updated to include Winterfest Times. The list is posted on team website under Top 10 Times.

 

            There are many, many Elite swimmers who have cracked into Elite’s top 10 this year. Check it out!!!

 

PROMOTIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN EARLY FEBRUARY:

 

            Coaches will be working on recommendations for those swimmers who have earned a promotion into the next higher training group for the Spring 2007 Session during the next few weeks. Parents and swimmers are reminded that there are 3 criteria a swimmer must pass to be recommended for a promotion:

 

1)      Attendance. Swimmers being recommended to move into the Marlin Black, Wave Teal, Wave Black and Wave Gold training groups will need a minimum of 70% attendance to be considered.  Swimmers being recommended to move into the Senior Preps and Senior training group will need a minimum of 85% attendance to be consider.

 

2)      Stroke Technique. Coaches will be recommending those swimmers who are proficient in their stroke technique to perform at the next higher training group

 

3)      Training. Swimmers training in the A or AA training groups within their training group will be the only ones considered.

 

Swimmers will be notified of their status for the Spring 2007 Session by mail.

 

SICK? COULD BE YOUR LACK OF “AT HOME” SWIMMING DETAILS!!!

 

Are you sick? Got the flu, strep or a bad head cold?  Your sickness is probably caused by your own lack of swimming details!!!

 

Since we are heading towards our championship season (late February/March), this is the most crucial segment of your training season. Each swimmer needs to practice their “at home” swimming details: drinking lots of fluids, eating properly and often, getting enough sleep and dressing properly for winter.

 

There are literally dozens of swimmers that ignore these vital “at home” swimming details, and most of these swimmers end up missing significant training and/or actually missing their meets because they do not live their “at home” swimming details. These swimmers literally shorten their training seasons due to their sickness!!!

 

One new swimmer phenomena that is just plain crazy is the “sandal/no sock look” in zero degree weather. Swimmers who dress like this are literally begging to get sick. One Elite swimmer actually got frostbite 2 years ago due to not dressing properly on the way home from swimming on a particularly cold night. Ever tried swimming with frostbite?

 

Be a winner: do your swimming details at home and at school, in addition to at the pool!!!

         

WEATHER AFFECTING PRACTICE? CHECK WEBSITE & EMAIL:

 

            Weather will have an affect on practice schedules and meet starting times. When in doubt, check the Elite website and your email for information regarding time changes due to weather.

 

Be advised that both Newark Academy and Morristown Beard tend to close down at the forecast of bad weather. In addition, safety is extremely important. Thus, weather is likely to interrupt practice and even if it does not, parents should make decisions based upon their comfort level regarding travel to and from practice.

 

NINE (9) HIGH SCHOOL SWIM TEAMS TO AFFECT PRACTICE TIMES IN DEC, JAN & FEB; PLEASE CHECK SCHEDULE DAILY!!!!:

 

            During the December, January and February, nine (9) high school swim teams will be using either Newark Academy or Morristown-Beard pools for practices and for meets. These additional teams will affect Elite’s practice schedule virtually every day.

 

            Newark Academy Varsity (Boys & Girls), Newark Academy Middle School and Millburn High School (Boys and Girls) use the Newark Academy prior to and after Elite Swim Practices. On days where these teams have a meet, the Elite schedule will be reduced.

 

            Morristown-Beard Varsity (Boys & Girls), Morristown Middle School and Villa Walsh use the Morristown-Beard School pool prior to Elite Swim Practices.  On days where these teams have a meet, the Elite schedule will be reduced.

 

            Wave Blacks are reminded that practice on Saturday’s will be held from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm at Morristown-Beard School.

             

LOST AND FOUND:

 

            There is a Lost and Found at Newark Academy which is already overflowing with t-shirts, sweatshirts, goggles, fins, etc. If you have lost something, check out the lost and found. AND put your name on everything you own so it can get back to you!!!