ELITE NEWS BULLETIN               11-03-08

 

TEAM MOMENTUM CONTINUES AS SWIMMERS CELEBRATE FALL:

C. BALBO (2), A. GALEA, KOLOGY (3), NASH, SEBASTIAN (2), K. STEARNS, STRAND & 10 & UNDER GIRLS FREE RELAY WIN EVENTS;

CHO, COYNE (2), CRITCHLEY, DONG (2), A. DUREN, J. FELSEN, A. GALEA, J. GORHAM (2), M. HONG (6), KATZ,  M. LI, B. MILLER-RADEST (3), NASH, SEBASTIAN (6) & A. SHEPARD ADD 30 JO SWIMS:

POSSIBLE SECTIONAL CUT TIME BY 15-19 BOYS RELAY!!

 

            Starting from the first event, when the foursome of Kaitlin Stearns, Andrea Galea, Caroline Nash and Christina Pick out-sprinted their competition to win the 10 & Under Girls 10 & U 200 Free Relay, the Elite swimmers built on last weekend’s success to produce a 2nd magnificent team performance in two weeks, this time at the Fall Festival of X-Cellence held at Princeton University.

 

The team’s performance was as brilliant as the autumn colors they passed to and from Princeton. Competing against 31 other teams (NJ Swimming has approximately 60 teams), Elite won 12 of 104 events (11.5%!!). 15 Elite swimmers added 30 new Junior Olympic times to the team totals (3 new swimmers!!). Team JO total is now at 32 swimmers in 192 events!!! The team also re-wrote the Top 10 All-Time Times chart, which has been updated and is now posted on the website to include both last week and this week’s performances.

 

            The 15-19 Boys 2nd place finish in the 4 x 50 Free Relay (1.32.23), consisting of Ricky Martin, Michael Strand, Adam Weinbrom and Silas Newcomb is a possible Sectional qualifying time. While this year’s Sectional times have not yet been posted, this time is 4 tenths of a second under the last two year’s SCY qualifying times! Since Elite’s older boys are closely grouped in the 50 free, the spots on this relay will likely remain in flux throughout the year!!

 

12 year old Regan Kology continued her superb swimming by winning 3 individual events: 200 Free (2.04.22), 50 free (26.65) & the 200 IM (2.23.89 fastest Elite swim at this age by 3 seconds). Kology followed up these superb swims with two other ones: 2nd place finishes : 100 free (56.97-1st Elite swimmer to swim under 57 seconds in this event!) & 500 Free (5.26.44-1st Elite swimmer to swim under 5.30 in this event!).

 

12 year old Ryan Sebastian also built on last weekend’s superb effort to win 2 individual events and place no higher than 4th in any event. Ryan won the 200 IM (2.17.40) and the 200 Fly (2.16.35). Ryan also placed 3rd in his three Saturday swims: 200 back (2.15.78), 100 fly (1.01.98) & 400 IM (4.50.70) & placed 4th in the 100 back (1.04.51). To put Ryan’s performance in proper perspective, EACH of Ryan’s 6 swims are #1 times in Elite’s All-Time performances for Boys 11-12. Ryan’s 400 IM time is 20 seconds faster than the 2nd best time ever performed by an Elite swimmer in this age group!!!!

 

Coming off 4 wins last weekend, 10 year old Chris Balbo won his last 2 events: the 100 fly (1.14.21) and the 500 Free (6.11.74). Both were significant as Chris was tied with the 2nd place finisher on the 3rd time yet won the fly event by 5 seconds. Chris then followed up by dropping 25 seconds in this 500 free!!! Chris also placed 3rd in the 100 back (1.17.57) and 4th twice (200 IM-2.43.66) and 100 free (1.07.58).

 

15 year old Michael Strand won the 400 IM (4.18.35) placed 3rd in the 100 back (53.60) and 5th place finish in the 200 back (2.01.24). Michael also had significant drops in his sprint free swims (50-22.60 & 100-50.43-missing a JO cut by .04).

 

10 year old Caroline Nash not only won the 50 butterfly with a 31.94 time, but earned a Junior Olympic time in the event for the 11-12 Age Group (significant to Caroline as she ages up later this month)!! Caroline placed 2nd in the 100 fly (1.14.31-a 2 second drop from last week!), 3rd in the 50 free (30.93) & 5th in the 500 free (6.46.89).

 

10 year old Kaitlin Stearns won her last event, the 500 free, with a 9 second drop (6.12.37) from last year’s JO performance. Kaitlin also placed 2nd in two events (100 free-1.03.79- just faster than Kology’s best as a 10 year old and top Elite time) and the 50 back (33.65) while finishing 3rd in the 200 IM (2.49.16). Kaitlin also placed 5th in the 100 back (1.13.83).

 

10 year old Andrea Galea won her 1st event, the 200 IM (2.42.27) and followed that swim up with a 2nd place finish in the 100 back (1.11.44). BOTH swims are the fastest ever by an Elite swimmer in that age group!! Andrea also added a 4th place finish in the 100 free (1.05.90) and in the 100 fly (1.19.60).

 

12 year old Matthew Hong also performed fabulously, as he went gold in each of his 6 swims: 400 IM (5.25.01), 100 fly (1.09.99), 100 back (1.08.43), 50 back (31.91), 100 free (1.01.63) & the 200 fly (2.42.90). Matthew’s top finishes were 5th places in the 400 IM and the 200 fly!

 

14 year old Brendan Miller-Radest added 3 Junior Olympic times to his resume, in the 200 free (1.59.37), 100 fly (1.01.86) and the 200 IM (2.17.04).  Miller-Radest’s 400 IM swim (4.44.19) was his highest place-4th while he also placed 7th in the 500 free (5.15.94).

 

14 year old Michael Li nailed to Junior Olympic qualifying times with his 100 back (1.02.52) and 200 IM (2.14.12) swims; Li’s 400 IM time of 4.43.59 placed him 3rd and his two breast swims (100-1.07.24 & 200-2.27.12) were 5th place finishes. All 6 of Li’s swims were personal bests.

 

10 year old Jimmy Coyne joined the Junior Olympic squad with two tremendous breaststroke swims: 50-43.58 & 100-1.35.17)! 14 year old Brannon Cho also posted his 1st JO time in the 13-14 Age Group with his 200 back swim of 2.18.41.

 

12 year old Jess Gorham doubled her JO total to 4 with two great swims in the backstroke (100-1.11.08 & 200-2.34.48). 12 year old Jeffrey Dong also scored a deuce in additional JO swims with his 100 back (1.11.01) and 100 free (1.01.52) swims! Jeff’s 200 breast swim (2.40.18) placed him 3rd in the event while his 100 breast swim (1.12.59) placed him 5th overall.

 

12 year old Andrea Shepard’s 4th place finish in the 200 IM was a gold swim (2.29.55). Andrea also dropped 12 seconds in the 500 free (5.48.54) for a 7th place finish. Ms Shepard now owns 11 JO qualifying times.

 

10 year old Amy Duren stroked to JO swim in the 100 fly (1.26.98) for 9th place. 12 year old Juliet Felsen churned to a JO qualifying time in the demanding 200 breast event (2.56.42).

 

12 year old Zach Katz scored his 10th JO qualifying time, this one being the 200 IM (2.31.98). Despite being sick, 10 year old Matthew Critchley added a JO qualifying time to his stack of 6 in the 50 breast (42.92).

 

Other very notable performances were:

 

1)      12 year old Lindsay Stearns, who placed 2nd in the 200 fly (2.27.63), 3rd in the 200 IM (2.27.25) and 5th in the 400 IM (5.13.43)

2)      10 & Under Girls 200 Medley relay, consisting of Alyssa Hartigan, Andrea Galea, Caroline Nash and Kaitlin Stearns placed 2nd

3)      17 year old Cassandra Farnow’s 3rd place finish in the 400 IM (4.57.05)

4)      14 year old Ryan Wyer’s two 4th place finishes: 100 fly (58.99) and 100 free (52.35)

5)      15 year old Priya Duvvuri’s 5th place finish in the 400 IM (4.59.10)

6)      13 year old Matthew Ahlmeyer’s 7th place finish in the 200 fly (2.28.10) and 8th place finish in the 400 IM (5.04.87)

7)      10 year old Christina Pick’s 8th place finish in the 200 IM (2.54.19)

8)      16 year old Ricky Martin’s 8th place finish in the 100 free (49.67)

9)      10 year old Scott Harris’s 6 personal best swims

10)   12 year old Kara Miller-Radest’s 16 second drop in the 500 Free (6.13.31) & 20 second drop in the 200 IM (2.38.77)

11)   16 year old Adam Weinbrom’s 5 personal best (6 if you count his dq in the 200 IM)

12)   12 year old Alli Dorneo’s 5 JO swims (unfortunately, Alli ages up in early March)

13)    10 year old Jared Kovac’s two JO swims (unfortunately, Jared also ages up)

 

Swimmers who participated (# in parathesis is number of best Elite SCY best times):  Matt Ahlmeyer (5), Jenni Allocco (1), Lindsay Anderson, Chris Balbo (6), Jeffrey Beamer (6), Abbie Bigham (4), Emily Buckman (1), John Burns (1), Meggie Butler, Brannon Cho (5), Morgan Conley (3), Jimmy Coyne (4), Matthew Critchley (3), Victoria D’Altrui (1), Tad Deatly (1), Jeffrey Dong (6), Ali Dorneo (5), Amy Duren (4), Krishna Duvvuri (2), Priya Duvvuri (1), Venka Duvvuri (1), Cassandra Farnow, Juliet Felsen (4), Andrea Ferrell (1), Spencer Fisch (4), Breana Fitzpatrick (2), Andrea Galea (6), Emily Goad (1),Emily Gorham (4), Jess Gorham (4), Kevin Greener (2), Amanda Grywalski, Andre Guacelli (3), Scott Harris (6), Alyssa Hartigan (3), Matthew Hong (6), Patrick Hong (2),  Andrew Huang (2), Zach Katz (6), Greg Keiser (2), Victoria Keiser, Brandon King (3), Sarah Kleppe, Regan Kology (5), Jared Kovacs (5), Emmie Lai (3), Aaron Levin (2), Michael Li (6),  Sarah Lowe (1), Ricky Martin , Dani Martinez, Katie McGrath (5), Sarah McGrath (4), Karl Melchior (2), Matt Migliozzi (1), Brendan Miller-Radest (5), Kara Miller-Radest (4), Ali Morreale, Isabella Morreale (3), Daniel Muro (4), Caroline Nash (4), Silas Newcomb (2), Dara O’Gorman (4), Nick Pachiolo (2), Christina Pick, Gabrielle Pick (1), Michelle Pick (1), Brittany Ross, Monica Samtani (1), Taylor Savarese (3), Daniel Scherb (1), Ryan Sebastian (6), Andrea Shepard (6), Abigail Shvorin, Kaitlin Stearns (5), Lindsay Stearns (4), Michael Strand (2), Abir Thakur (3), Erica Takahashi (3), Michael Tortorella (2), Rachael Tortorella (1), Caroline Watt (3), Adam Weinbrom (5), Sarah Weimbrom (4), Ryan Wyer (2) & Richard Yu (3).

 

DATES CHANGED FOR 9-10 SILVER BRONZE CHAMPIONSHIPS AND 11-12 SILVER BRONZE CHAMPIONSHIPS

            The dates for the 9-10 Silver Bronze Championships and the 11-12 Silver Bronze Championships have both been moved back one week (giving our swimmers an additional week in the training cycle). Please check the updated Meet Schedule posted on the website. In addition, two 11-12 times have been corrected on the NJ Swimming website. 

 

            Elite will be hosting the 9-10 Silver Bronze Championships at Newark Academy. All Parents of 10 & Unders (including 8 & 7 year olds) are expected to work this meet. Please mark your calendar.

 

TOP 10 ALL-TIME LIST HAS BEEN UPDATED & POSTED:

 

            Since there have already been significant additions to the list, Elite’s Top 10 All-Time List has been updated thru this past weekend and posted on the team website. Check out the new additions!!!

 

DISTANCE DERBY 3 WEEKS OUT; PLEASE CONTACT DEBBIE SCHERB:

 

            As it is now November, Distance Derby is only 3 weeks away. If your child is in the meet and if you have not already done so, please contact Debbie Scherb, Meet Coordinator, to coordinate your efforts at the meet. This meet is one of Elite’s efforts to provide our swimmers and all NJ Swimming members an opportunity to provide competitions (yesterday, X-Cel and White Waters provided that opportunity for the swimming community!).

 

            Debbie Scherb’s email address is: debra.scherb@novartis.com.

 

LOST ITEMS AT MEETS BROUGHT BACK TO NEWARK ACADEMY:

 

            Items that are left at swim meets and that are clearly Elite belongings are brought back to Newark Academy on the Monday following the meet. If the item has a name in it, it is easily returned to its rightful owner. If your shirts, caps and suits do not yet have your name in them, please take the time to do so in order to insure your belongs get back to you.

 

TWO UNEXPECTED AND INTERESTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ELITE SWIMMERS:

 

Being among the best usually provides unexpected and interesting opportunities. Here are two for Elite Swimmers to explore:

 

Olympian in the neighborhood: Gary Hall, jr at Drew University on Nov 15th:

 

Three time Olympian Gary Hall Jr. will be hosting a seminar at Drew University to raise awareness for World Diabetes Day. Hall will conduct a two hour clinic with a swim-a-thon at the end to raise money for diabetes on November 15th at 10am.  All the proceeds will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Fund. 

 

            Gary has challenged those who want to attend to raise $15,000 for this event!!

 

Attached to this memo are the registration and donation forms.

 

Journalism Internships Available with Swimming World/BAC Long Course January Meet:

 

            With the overwhelming success of the Summer 2008 Bejing Olympics and what swimming as a sport provided, Swimming World and joined forces with Berkeley Aquatics Club to provide journal internships involving the BAC Long Course Winter Meet (formerly known as the Burgdorff Invitational) this coming January.

 

            Those who are pick will have an opportunity to interview Olympians, be involved in producing content for Swimming World’s magazine and website, and interact with the Swimming World Staff.

 

            Forms for applying for the internship are attached to this memo.

 

TIMING EMAILS LISTED AS SPAM; PLEASE ADD CAROLYN BALBO AND MARY D’ALTRUI TO YOUR EMAIL LISTS:

 

Several people informed Carolyn Balbo, one of Elite’s timing coordinators at the meet yesterday that the timing e-mails that she sent out went to their SPAM folder.  Please add both Carolyn’s e-mail address cbalbo@comcast.net and Mary’s D’Altrui’s e-mail md‘altrui@guideline.com to your address books. Hopefully this will prevent future e-mails from going to SPAM Folders.

 

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!!!