ELITE NEWS BULLETIN               12-19-05

 

FANTASTIC FINISH TO 1ST HALF OF SEASON:

DART, MESZAROS, ROSS FINAL IN PITT;

LI, DUVVURI & DEMEO LEAD YOUNGSTERS AT HOLIDAY:

 

            Comparable to the torpedo-like finish that is taught at our practices, 28 Elite swimmers provided an impressive display of swimming by accelerating into the finish of the 1st half of Elite’s 2005-06 Winter Season.

 

            At the Christmas Invitational Meet in Pittsburgh, Chris Dart concluded his career as a 14 year old by swimming 12 straight best times (and 13 of 15). Dart’s list of accomplishments was simply astounding:

           

            1) finishing 1st in the 13-14 Boys 100 yard backstroke with a 53.57 time, that was just short of a NJ State Record (53.32). This swim was his 6th race of Saturday and swum within 1 hour after racing both the 400 IM (4.16.06-fastest 400 IM in Elite history of any age!) and the 200 breast (2.15.70) in championship finals. Dart’s back time was the 2nd fastest overall at the meet when including the 15-16 and Open events!!

 

2)  Dart finished 8th in the 400 IM-an open age group event!

 

3)  Chris placed 2nd in the Boys 13-14 200 breast.

 

            4) swimming under the magical 1.50 mark in the Boys 13-14 200 free for the 1st time, placing 6th with a 1.49.40 time

           

            5) finishing 1st in the Boys 13-14 200 back prelims with a 2.01.10

 

            6) placing 2nd in the Boys 13-14 200 IM with a 2.00.10

 

            7) placing 2nd in the Boys 13-14 100 Fly with a 54.16 time

 

            In addition to Dart, two other Elite swimmers qualified to swim at finals in Pittsburgh. Austin Meszaros, competing the Boys 15-16 50 free, placed 7th with his 23.20 time. Earlier in the day, Meszaros cruised to a personal best of 23.12. Brittany Ross qualified for finals with a 6th place finish in the preliminaries in the Girls 13-14 200 butterfly (2.22.61). Unfortunately, Elite returned home prior to the start of the Sunday finals so Ross was unable to compete in that event at finals.

 

            Representing Elite at the Christmas Invitational were: Crissy Condus (3), Chris Dart (13), Cassandra Farnow (3), Julianne Furdyna, Alex Gonazalez (1), Katie Inglese, Kim Jones, Katie Kilcullen (1), Danielle Martinez, Colleen Mason (3), Austin Meszaros (4), Maggie Nelson (1), Brittany Ross (1) and Veronica Smith.  

 

At the Holiday Classic Meet at Rutgers, 7 different Elite swimmers finished within the top 16 fourteen times.

 

Twelve year old Priya Duvvuri & 11 year old Michael Li led the Elite youngsters. Duvvuri had 3 top 16 finishes, highlighted by her breaking the magical 30 second marker in the Girls 11-12 50 yard butterfly with a 6th place finish of 29.90. Priya also placed 8th in the 50 back (31.52) and 15th in the 100 back (1.08.68). Priya posted best times in all 7 of her races. Li continued his impressive swimming by having 4 top 16 finishes: 1) 6th place in the 50 breast (34.20)  2) 9th place in the 200 breast (2.42.88)  3) 13th place in the 100 breast (1.15.80) and 4) 16th place in the 50 fly (31.38).

 

Twelve year old Carolyn DeMeo added to Elite’s excitement by rocketing to a 3rd place finish in the Girls 11-12 50 Free with the fastest Elite all-time swim of 26.92!! DeMeo also added a 12th place finish in the 50 yard fly with a 30.50 time.

 

Ten year old Krishna Duvvuri placed 10th in two of his events: the Boys 10 & U 100 breast (1.29.53) and 50 fly (34.80). Ten year old Lindsay Stearns continued her amazing development this year by dropping 3 more seconds in the 50 fly (35.43) and placing 10th. 

 

Ten year old Peter Davey dropped 5 seconds off his 200 yard IM time with a 14th place finish (2.56.47). Ten year old Courtney Brosnan cruised to a 15th place finish in the 100 back with a 1.20.42 time.

 

Swimmers who represented Elite were: Courtney Brosnan (4), Ryan Buckham (1), Peter Davey (6), Carolyn DeMeo (4), Krishna Duvvuri (4), Priya Duvvuri (7), Greg Keiser, Regan Kology (1), Emmie Lai (1), Michael Li (8), Ali Morreale (1), Chris Plunkett (1), Nicki Ross (3) & Lindsay Stearns (1).

 

HOLIDAY PRACTICE SCHEDULE ALTERED: PLEAVE REVIEW: 

 

On Monday, December 19, 2005, Newark Academy revised its schedule during the holiday week which negatively affects Elite’s practice time on Friday, December 23 and Monday, December 26. Elite will not be able to use the NA pool on either of these days.

 

Elite is attempting to secure pool time at Morristown-Beard on both of these days. Please review the practice schedule throughout the week to confirm the practice schedule.

 

MERCHANDISE ALERT:

 

            The Elite Merchandise purchased thru the Elite Parent’s Fundraiser Committee can be picked up at Newark Academy at during practice times on Thursday, December 22. If Elite secures pool time on Friday, December 23, the merchandise will also be available on that day at practice.

 

OLYMPIAN TARA KIRK COMING TO ELITE:

 

            Bubblely breaststroker Tara Kirk, an Olympic Silver Medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games, will visit Elite on Saturday, January 28, 2006. Elite is now taking reservations for the clinic-and smart swimmers have already signed up. There is a special Tara Kirk webpage on Elite’s website: check out her accomplishments!!

 

            Tara will be at Morristown-Beard from 2 pm to 6 pm. Tara will 1) discuss her swimming experiences (including the 2004 Athens Olympics),  2) stretch and warm-up swimmers 3) give stroke instruction and 4) get into the water and swim with Elite swimmers!!!

 

            Tara will be the 6th Olympian who has visited visited Elite for a (4 hour) stroke clinic. Past Olympians to visit Elite are: Dr. Ron Karnaugh, Tom Wilkins, Jenny Thompson, Janet Evans and Neil Walker.

 

            Originally from Washington State, Tara is a graduate of Standford University and an 11 time NCAA Champion!! Also noteworthy is that Tara, and her sister Dana, were the 1st sisters to qualify for the same US Olympic Squad.

 

            Tara is known for her ever present smile and gracious personality. One can check out Tara’s career by going to the USA Swimming website (usaswimming.org) and reading her bio under “swimmers.”

 

SWIM MEETS ON THE HORIZON:

 

            Elite’s meet schedule remains extremely very busy thru the middle of December. Upcoming meets include:

 

            1) Saturday, January 7th and Sunday, January 8th: Winterfest at Rutgers. Only qualifying swimmers will attend. Meet information is posted.

 

            2) Friday, January 14 thru Sunday, January 16: Burgdorff Invitational at Rutgers. Only qualifying swimmers will attend. Meet information is posted

 

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 2006.

 

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!!

 

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 phenonem 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 last year 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:

 

            As yesterday’s snowstorm displayed, 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.

 

SUMMER LONG COURSE MEET SCHEDULE REVISED:

 

            Adjusting to the increased participation in summer “long course” competition, New Jersey Swimming has announced a restructure of the schedule of its championship meets.

 

            To meet the additional interest in summer competition (last summers meets were terribly overcrowded), NJ Swimming will hold a Bronze Level Meet this summer in addition to “moving back” the Junior Olympic competiton.

 

            Junior Olympics will be held Friday, August 4 thru Sunday, August 6, 2006 at Rutgers University. Silvers will be held Saturday, July 22 and Sunday, July 23 at Rutgers (same weekend as in the past). Bronze will be held on Saturday, July 29 and Sunday, July 30 in Bayonne (at an outside venue!).

 

 

HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS TO START PRACTICE; PLEASE REVIEW PRACTICE SCHEDULE: 

 

            The Newark Academy, Millburn High School (at Newark Academy) and Morristown-Beard High School Swim Teams will begin their seasons starting tomorrow (Tuesday, November 15). How does this affects Elite?

 

            1) on normal practice days, Newark Academy will practice until 5:15 pm (our start time). Elite swimmers will be required to stay out of the pool until NA has concluded their practice and has left the pool deck

 

            2) on normal practice days, Millburn will begin practice after Elite has concluded practice at NA at 8:30 pm. On these days, Elite swimmers will need to exit the pool area quickly

 

            3) on normal practice days, Morristown-Beard’s practice will not affect Elite

 

            4) on those days when one or more of these teams host meets, Elite’s practice schedule will be affected (practice may start later than 5:15 pm or conclude earlier than 8:30). When possible, these changes will be highlighted on the Elite two week scheduled posted on the website 

 

            Elite swimmers need to remember that we are guests of both Newark Academy and Morristown-Beard School, and we need to act accordingly.