ELITE NEWS BULLETIN 3-17-08
TEAM SCORES 909.5 POINTS TO PLACE 8TH
AT JO’S;
DART WINS 3; LEVIN, MORRISON (TWICE)
& BOYS 15-18 FREE RELAY PLACE 2ND ;
P. DUVVURI & KOLOGY (3 TIMES) &
BOYS 15-18 MEDLEY RELAY PLACE 3RD;
21 DIFFERENT SWIMMERS SCORE POINTS FOR
ELITE!!!!
Culminating 7 months of hard work, the Elite Swim Club scored 839.5 points to place 10th at 2008 SCY Junior Olympics this past weekend. The point total and place are the highest in team history. Although falling short of Bill’s ambitious challenge of 1000 points, the meet was a coaches dream as the team swam spectacular in every respect. As evidence, 21 different Elite swimmers added to the team point!!!
Despite competing in an extremely limited schedule, Chris Dart lead Elite by winning each of the 3 events he swam in: 100 back-50.22, 100 free-46.29 & 50 free-21.16. Dart’s reduced competition was driven by his preparation for competing at the British Olympic Trials, which he will do in Sheffield, England March 31st thru April 5th. Chris will compete in 6 LCM events, aiming to be chosen to represent the United Kingdom on a Junior National basis this coming summer.
Dart’s teammate and close friend Alex Morrison stepped up and had a “Dart-like” meet, finalling and scoring in 7 different events!! His swims were of the storybook nature: 1) placing 2nd in both the 100 fly 51.25 (a full second drop) & in the 200 fly (1.55.13-a 14 second drop!!!!) 2) placing 4th in both the 200 free (1.43.48-a 3.6 second drop) & the 200 back (1.53.83-3 second drop) 3) 5th place finish in the 100 free (47.65- half second drop) 4) 7th place finish in the 100 back (53.11- a 1.7 second drop). Alex’s most surprising event was the 200 IM, where he dropped 8 seconds to go 1.57.97 and place 4th iin premlims (Alex dropped the evening swim to help his chances in the 100 fly and 100 free). Morrison amassed 92.5 points for Elite.
The 15-18 Boys relays, which consisted of Michael Strand & Ricky Martin along with Dart and Morrison placed 2nd in the 400 free. The quartet also placed 3RD in the 400 Medley and and 4th in the 800 Free Relay.
10 year old Aaron Levin was dazzling, as he erased 21 seconds from his 500 free time (6.09.18) to place 2nd. Aaron placed no higher than 7th in his 8 races (Aaron recovered quite nicely from a dq in his first event the 100 IM, which he would have placed 5th!!!), placing 4th in the 200 free (2.20.97), 5th in both the 50 back (34.44) & the 200 IM (2.37.85), 6th in both the 100 free (1.05.31) & 100 back (1.14.24) and 7th in both the 50 free (29.41) and the 100 fly (1.15.00). Aaron scored 109.5 points for Elite.
11 year old Regan Kology, sick earlier in the week, showed her toughness as she placed 3rd in the three free distance events: 500 free (5.31.09), the
1000 free (11.15.68) and the 1650 free (18.56.11). Regan also finished 5th twice: 100 free (58.06) and the 50 free (26.76)-both personal bests. Regan finished with 90 points.
Showing off her back and fly prowess, 14 year old Priya Duvvuri dropped 2 seconds in the 100 back (1.01.41) to place 3rd in finals on Friday night. Priya also finalled in both her fly events: 100 fly was a 7th place finish (1.00.90) and the 200 fly was a 8th place finish (2.17.75).
Showing her versatility, strength and speed, 9 year old Kaitlin Stearns delivered 61 points for the cause. Kaitlin placed 6th twice (500 free-6.21.52-10 second drop & 100 back-1.13.74) & 7th twice (50 back-34.51 & 100 free-1.05.21).
Also showing his versatility and conditioning was 15 year old Michael Strand, who scored points (42) in each of the 5 stroke events (free, back, IM, breast and fly events!!). Michael’s determination enabled him to win the consolation heat on Sunday night in the grueling 200 fly, dropping 6 full seconds from his previous best and breaking the 2 minute barrier in the process (1.59.98). Michael also placed 8th in the 100 back (53.04), 10th in the 400 IM (4.14.47) & in the 200 breast (2.17.28-4 second drop).
12 year old Lindsay Stearns attacked the grueling 200 fly, dropping 3.7 seconds (2.28.05) to place 6th overall. Lindsay also placed 12th in the 400 IM (5.12.75-10.75 second drop) and 14th in the 100 fly (1.08.05) to finish with 21 points.
14 year old Ali Morreale finaled in both her breaststroke events, placing 7th in the 200 breast (2.34.37) and the 100 breast (1.11.07), both being personal bests and scoring 19 points.
15 year old Ricky Martin continued his development, which impressive swims in the 100 free (48.62-9th place), the 200 fly (2.03.04-12th place) and 100 back (55.97-15th place) to score 16 points. Newcomer Andrea Galea, swimming unattached, scored 15 points as she placed 8th in the 50 back (34.83) and 13th in the 100 back (1.16.96).
12 year old Alli Dorneo placed 13th twice: first in the 100 back (1.08.24), where she dropped 2.8 seconds and then in the 50 back (31.67) to score 8 points. 11 year old Jeffrey Dong also scored 8 points as he finished 11th in the 50 breast (34.37), and 16th place in both the 200 breast (2.44.49) and the 100 breast (1.15.80).
9 year old Chris Balbo posted 6 points in placing 13th in the 100 fly (1.20.70) and 15th in the 500 free (6.37.38). 12 year old Katie Gorman’s 15th place in the 1000 free (12.02.74) and 14th place in the 500 free (5.46.91) to add 5 points. Also scoring 5 points were both 12 year old Sarah Weinbrom, who placed 12th in the 200 fly (2.34.88) and 9 year old Christina Pick, who placed 14th in the 200 IM (2.45.37) and 15th in the 50 back (35.49).
13 year old Michael Li took advantage of scratching into consolation finals in the 100 breast, where he placed 14th (1.10.02) to score 3 points. Also posting 3 points was 10 year old Caroline Nash, who placed 14th in the 500 free (6.39.89).
13 year old Brendan Miller-Radest, who had a astounding weekend in all his swims, scored 2 points in finishing 15th in the 1650 free (17.59.78), dropping 39 seconds. 12 year old Ryan Buckham also added 2 points as he placed 15th in the 50 back (31.16). Gregory Keiser added a point with his 16th place finish in the 100 fly (58.69).
Kaitlin Stearns, Caroline Nash, Christina Pick and Isabel LaRaia teamed up to place 6th in the 10 & Under 200 free relay. Also placing 6th was 10 & Under boys Medley relay of Aaron Levin, Avinish Duvvuri, Chris Balbo and Gregory Niccolai.
Three Elite Relay teams placed 8th 1) the 11-12 Boys Medley relay combination of Ryan Buckham, Jeffrey Dong, Zachie Katz and Richard Yu 2) Boys 13-14 Medley Relay of Spencer Fisch, Michael Li, Gregory Keiser and Ryan Wyer and 3) the 11-12 Girls Free Relay of Regan Kology, Katie Gorman, Rachel Tortorella and Maggie Woodruff.
Full results are posted on the website.
Swimmers who participated in the 2008 SCY Junior Olympics were (# in parathesis is number of best Elite SCY best times): Michael Alelov (1), Chris Balbo (7), Ryan Buckham (9), Chris Dart (5), Jeffrey Dong (6), Alli Dorneo (3), Amy Duren (1), Avi Duvvuri (2), Priya Duvvuri (6), Venkatesh Duvvuri (1), Cassandra Farnow (1), Juliet Felsen (2), Andrea Ferrell, Spencer Fisch (4), Breana Fitzpatrick, Andrea Galea (8), Katie Gorman (6), Scott Harris (1), Matthew Hong (1), Brent Jones, Zachie Katz (5), Gregory Keiser (1), Regan Kology (5), Isabel LaRaia (1), Aaron Levin (8), Michael Li (3), Ricky Martin (8), Brendan Miller-Radest (5), Kara Miller-Radest (1), Ali Morreale (4), Isabella Morreale (3), Alex Morrison (14), Caroline Nash (8), Christina Pick (9), Brittany Ross (1), Andrea Shepard (1), Kaitlin Stearns (7), Lindsay Stearns (8), Michael Strand (8), Rachel Tortorella, Sarah Weinbrom (3), Maggie Woodruff, Ryan Wyer (4) & Richard Yu (7).
STRAND, DART, MORRISON & MARTIN BREAK TWO NJ LSC RECORDS IN
ONE RACE (4 X 50 MEDLEY) AT SECTIONALS:
DART CAPTURES 3RDS IN FREE EVENTS, MORRISON, STRAND ALSO
FINAL,
TEAM PLACES 6th AMONG BOYS SCORES;
Perfectly illustrating the definition of the term elite (a small yet powerful group of people), Elite’s four person Sectional squad accumulated enough points to place 6th within the Men’s Scoring race this past weekend at the Eastern Sectional Championships held the Nassau County Aquatic Center in Uniondale, Long Island. This meet is for all elite level swimmers (qualifying times are faster than the 15-18 Junior Olympic qualifying times) from Maine thru Delaware. Because it is an Olympic year, the meet was held in long course meters, giving swimmers another opportunity to qualify for Olympic Trials.
In a seldom competed relay event, the Elite quartet consisting of Michael Strand (back), Chris Dart (breast), Alex Morrison (fly) and Ricky Martin (free) shattered two New Jersey LSC records simultaneously in the 4 x 50 L:CM Medley Relay with a blistering time of 1.51.25 to place 3rd in the event. Elite’s relay swim broke both the New Jersey Men’s 15-18 Age Group standard (old record: 1.56.43) and the Men’s Open standard (1.55.34). Several other NJ clubs also had teams under the record but Elite’s team was the fastest!
Continuing his amazing swimming, Chris Dart placed 3rd in both the 50 free (24.44) and the 100 free (53.68), both being personal bests. Dart also finaled in the 100 back (6th with a 58.71 time), 200 IM (6th with a 2.12.97 time) and the 100 breast (11th with a 1.09.51 time).
Dart also teamed up with Strand, Martin and Morrison on 4 other relays: 1) the 400 medley relay placed 5th 2) the 200 free relay placed 7th 3) the 400 free relay placed 8th and 4) the 800 Free relay placed 14tth.
17 year old Alex Morrison turned in a personal best while in placing 16th in the 100 butterfly, breaking the minute barrier for the 1st time with a 59.29 time. Morrison also placed 22nd in the 200 back (2.19.52)
15 year old and freshman Michael Strand finaled in the 200 back, placing 20th with a 2.17.98 time.
SPRING
SESSION 2008 TO START:
The Age Group Program (the Wavebusters and the Marlins) will start on Monday, April 7 (the day after the banquet).
For the Marlin Teals and Marlin Blacks, the Spring Session will run until Friday, June 6th .
For the Wavebusters (Wave Teal is optional) and the Senior program, the Spring Summer Session will run thru July 31st .
The Spring Session practice schedule, will be identical to the Winter 2007-08 schedule. The Summer schedule will be provided later this week.
The Senior Program will have two different start dates: 1) for those swimmers who participate only in the 13 & Older Silver-Bronze Championships, the 1st practice will be Monday, March 24 and 2) for those swimmers who participate in the Junior Olympics, practice will start Monday, March 31.
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 2007-08 until long course begins. Long course schedules are still being worked on.
NOMINATIONS
WANTED FOR ESCPO:
Nominations for positions are wanted and needed for the Elite Swim Club Parents Organization. Parents who are interested or who have nominess should email Moya Chew-Lai at moya.chew-lai@prudential.com.
REMINDER:
SCHOLAR/ATHLETE AWARDS WILL BE HIGHLIGHT OF AWARDS BANQUET:
With the conclusion of the 2nd marking periods, swimmers are reminded that the ultimate award an Elite swimmer can earn at the season ending Awards Banquet (Sunday, April 6, 2008) will once again be the Elite Scholar-Athlete Awards. Great grades, in addition to great swim times, are required for a swimmer to earn one of these awards.
These awards will be broken down into three levels:
1) All-American
Scholar Athlete Award: Swimmer must have a 3.5 grade average and at least 1
Sectional Qualifying time. This award is actually a USA Swimming Award and will
be presented by New Jersey Swimming. Elite will also provide a certificate to
those swimmers who have qualified for this award.
2) The Elite
Scholar-Athlete Gold Award: A swimmer must have all A’s and no more than 1 B
(or the equivalent of all A’s and 1 B) plus at least 1 individual Junior
Olympic Qualify Time
3) The Elite
Scholar-Athlete Teal Award: Swimmer must have all A’s and B’s (of the
equivalent) plus at least 1 individual Silver Qualifying Time
In addition to each swimmer receiving an impressive certificate from Elite acknowledging this achievement, from this season forward Elite will post the names of its scholar athletes on its website-forever acknowledging its most special scholar-athletes.
Parents
of grammar school students should remember that Bill will review the grading
legend (assuming A’s and B’s are not given) to ascertain if the swimmer has
fulfilled the academic requirements to receive the award.
Bill is now accepting the scholastic information. If your swimmer made a JO or Silver qualifying time last summer or this winter and then aged up, an applicant must fill out the application form on the team website that will point Bill to the swim in question. All scholastic information needs to be to Bill by Tuesday, March 18.
THINKING SUMMER? THINK SUMMER SWIM CAMPS!:
Although the hot sun and humid weather seems millions of years away, summer is only 6 months away and top-notch swim camps are already taking registrations for the summer of 2007. When planning the upcoming summer, please consider sending your Elite swimmer to one of the numerous swim camps.
Each summer, numerous Elite swimmers spend a rewarding week (or two) at a summer swim camp. The benefits of such a camp are: 1) individual attention by reknown swim coaches 2) an increased knowledge of the sport of swimming and 3) personal growth that occurs as a result of “being on one’s own.” The formula that seems to work best is finding an Elite friend to spend the week with at the swim camp.
If you are considering sending your
swimmer to a swim camp, now is the time to do the research and make decisions (many
of these camps are sold out by mid-Spring). On the
website, under Swim Camps, there is a list of swim camps. Many of these swim
camps close out in late February and early March!!!
Thinking about summer? Think Swim Camps!!
WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK THE WEBSITE:
If you have questions about Elite, your first source of information is Elite’s website located at eliteswimclub.org. When in doubt, first check the website!!! If you do not see what you need, email Bill at eliteswimclubnj@comcast.net