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Reports of WSY National Team at YMCA Nationals in Fort Lauderdale written by Coach Mike
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Saturday 4/8/06 1:55pm
Well the 2006 YMCA National meet has come to a close and all members of the team are at the beach. Last evening was very exciting with many highlights. The meet started off with Leah swimming the mile, and did the crowd ever get their money's worth. Leah was once again racing Corinne (from Sarasota). These two were never had more than 4 tenths of a second separating them. At the end Leah's time was 16:17.34 (previous best time 16:42.53), and Corinne's time last evening was 16:17.36. Two hundredths separating them, and top top off the race Leah set a New YMCA National record (previous record was 16:19.05). Earlier in the day in this timed finals event Claire Loht went 17:11.82 (previous best time was 17:41.13) to place 15th in the event. Results of the mile are here. In the afternoon time trials, Erin Luley swam the mile and went 17:48.31 (previous best time was 18:10.50). On the men's side, Drew Soisson swam his file under the hot Florida sun and had a very exciting race. Drew's final time was 16:15.75 (previous best time was 16:39.38) placing him 10th, and this time by Drew breaks the oldest WSY Team Record as well (previous record was 16:27.17 held by John Mattson from 1971). The Girls 200 free relay was next. The the WSY team of Tricia Weaner, Ashlyn Stumpf, Erinne Butler, and Leah Gingrich went 1:37.36 to place 6th. Tricia was up next in her 200 fly. As all of the athletes, fatigue was really starting to be a factor in this four-day meet with long hot days, and little sleep, and "always on the go", not to mention making sure you are keeping your body hydrated, and mentally stay focused. Tricia had a great 200 fly finishing 7th with a final time of 2:05.92. Next up was Sam Goldsmith who had the task of being the only member of the men's team to score points for the evening (keeping us in the combined team title race). Sam had a great race and finished 14th with a time of 1:00.20. Now it was Mary Flynn's turn to demonstrate her breastroke. This was a very hotly contested race. Mary finished 7th in 1:05.38. It was very important that Mary got to the warm down pool and join Tricia who was still in the pool, because they had to get their awards at the awards ceremony, and then get right back up to race in the 400 Medley relay, where WSY is the defending National Champion. This would be a very close race, as Triangle YMCA from Raleigh had some fast girls, and the WSY girls knew this. The consol heat went first giving the WSY girls some added rest, but now it was show time.....lights turned on bright reflecting off the pool, crowd on their feet, and every member of the WSY National Team behind the blocks showing the great support that this meet brings out in our team. Tricia was up first, then Mary dove in for the breastroke, first time qualifier Emily Weaner held down the butterfly leg (splitting 58.18) and next up was Leah who had to fend off the freestyle champion from Triangle. It was a very close race, and both teams were very tired. Your WSY girls swam a great race, finished 2nd with a time of 3:50.30. After all of the swimming concluded, and everyone had the relief of knowing no more 5:15am wake-up calls, it was time to get the team awards. WSY finished 3rd in the overall team scoring, and the girls team finished 3rd as well. Now it was time to go back to the hotel, celebrate our success after not only a four day meet, but 30 plus weeks of training during the past year. This was the first time all week that the athletes got to spend time with their parents at a great Pizza Party at the hotel. The team even had some energy to go to the beach and play some friendly competitive "touch football" with other team from around Pennsylvania. Believe it or not about 3am, the team was sleeping and preparing for their "FREE DAY" (which is today) at the beach. Even though there was no competition, everyone was up early as today is the day to spend at the beach. We have one more team meeting remaining later today where we will go over all of our accomplishments, each member of the team will talk about something new they learned about a team member, unfortunately we will have to say goodbye to our Seniors who will have to follow from their college dorm room next year, and several of our WSY Senior Class of 2006 have already told me it will be very hard. We will also have to say good bye to Coach Derek who next year will be at this meet with his own team the Joliet YMCA Jets, from Joliet, Illinois. Tonight the team will take their annual trip to Dave and Busters restaurant, and then prepare for the flight home tomorrow.
I will leave you with yet another email from WSY alum Anthony Randall, who from his college dorm room has always been one of our biggest supporters. As Anthony told me one time, until you actually attend the YMCA National meet, you have no idea the impact it has on your life. It has been great reporting from the meet, and I hope everyone from the WSY family has enjoyed following. It has been a long week, and I as well as the remainder of the team will enjoy our week off next week, and then once again re-join as a family back at the YMCA for Spring Training, Stroke Clinic, and then Summer swimming, as YMCA Long Course Nationals (here are the qualifying times) will be here before you know it, and your WSY National team will once again be competing. Thanks for following, and here is Anthony's email. See you all at the WSY Awards Banquet:
Congrats on a Job Well Done,
I wish I could be there personally to say to congrats but I'll have to settle to do it through email. I hope you all had a great time down there in Florida because it doesn't get much better than the good times with great people down there at Y Nats. I hope you all swam well but more importantly you left it all in the pool. Races don't always go as planned and their not supposed to its part of life, but I hope you enjoyed giving it your all and helping your teammates out. If there is anything I learned from the Y its that hard work will always prevail in the end maybe not at the meet you want it to or the biggest but there will be that one day where everything will click and you'll swim the race of your life. Cremo- its hard to believe that your almost leaving the Y, I remember you when you where that annoying 8 year old on the bus with Peter Duke, I'm glad you stuck it out. Nick, glad Mike was able to deal with you this long because you have truly become a great swimmer. Leah- my hat off to you for holding off that swimmer from Sarasota, I can't imagine the pain you both were in. The best part of that is that our training trip (in college) is at Sarasota Y so you better believe that next year I'm wearing my Y nats jacket all around that pool deck. I'm proud of every single one of you and hope you are proud of yourself as well. You have shown the country that no matter what WSY will always be one of the best programs in the Nation. Enjoy your time off.
Ok I have to leave you with another email from a really "Old Guy" that at one point shaped my life and continues to do so. He is one of my and the team's biggest supporters, and some of you may have met him last year at the YMCA awards banquet as he put together that ever so wonderful video:
Dear Coach Mike:
I enjoy your daily reports from Fl. Looks like the team is doing very well. You have to be very proud of these kids and of your program. It seems like only yesterday, that I was apart of this group with you and your sister. This meet brings back great memories of what the "YMCA" stands for and seeing the kids all have a good time and swimming their best. Good luck to the swimmers and congratulations to you and the coaching staff for your time and effort in training these swimmers. We are proud of the WSY and the swimming program has put this "Y" on the map.
Good Luck DAD
Thursday 4/6/06 11:00pm
I will keep things short this evening so Coach Derek does not find me sleeping at my computer again, and the alarm clock is set at 4:15am, so I will be getting extra sleep tonight. Each day just keeps getting better. Today was out best Day 3 in a long time. The evening started off with Leah going 4:15.45 to win her 3rd National Championship of the meet in the 400 IM (yes she does swim more than freestyle). Next up was Tricia in the 200 backstroke. Tricia is the National record holder in the event, however her competitor Ashley Jones from Illinois has out touched Tricia the last two years, and being that Leah just beat Ashley in the 400 IM, Tricia was ready to take her down in the 200 back. Tricia won the event, her first National Championship of the meet with a time of 1:58.66. Two events, 2 WSY National Championships. Congratulations to Mary Flynn who had a great finals swim in the 400 IM as well. Next up was Nick Schwartz who had a remarkable swim this morning in the 200 back. Nick went out after the win and at the 100 yard mark was in 2nd place, but then his legs got tired and he finished 8th. This was a great swim for Nick. Next up was the 800 free relay (My favorite relay event). This year there was a new rule placed into the meet, and that said the 800 free relay was a timed final event, meaning we only had to swim it once, so you better get it right the first time. The WSY Team of Tricia Weaner, Emily Weaner, Leah Gingrich and Claire Loht, brought home a 2nd place in the event with a winning time of 7:31.29. At the end of the evening the team scores showed WSY in 4th place in the combined scoring (15 points out of 3rd), the men are 14th, and the ladies are in a battle for 2nd place. The ladies are currently 3rd, but could move to 2nd, or could move to 4th, so you can see Day four will be very important for all WSY swimmers. Everyone is sleeping right now (actually is Coach Derek right behind me, and yes he does snore......sometimes even the rooms next door ask what is that noise......ask him about it), and will be ready for our last day of early swimming. Day four features 2 relays (200 free relay, and 400 medley relay), plus the 100 breastroke, 200 fly, and the mile. It will be a very important day for our team, and we appreciate everyone following. I received a great email from Coach Jeff today telling me that many back home are following, and let me tell you we do appreciate it.........Here is Coach Jeff's email:
Mike,
I was at the Y today and there are a bunch of fired up future WSY National swimmers following the meet. I’m hearing from parents that swimmers are asking all too often, “When does swimming begin again?” It seems like everyone is following the meet online – I’m certainly glued to the computer, wishing that I could be in Fort Lauderdale. Although I am not there, I am there in spirit. Keep the momentum going and enjoy every moment!
- Coach Jeff
Thursday 4/6/06 1:00pm
OK OK OK, so yes I got lazy last evening. I attempted to upload video and the internet connection at the hotel decided to slow down, therefore it was taking 30 minutes to upload one vide clip. Then as I was uploading pictures, I must have fallen asleep at the desk here in my hotel room, as the next think I know Coach Derek wakes up and is tapping met on the back as he thought something happened to me. That was 12:45am and I knew I had to be up about at 4:30am today.......so I went to bed. We had a great Wednesday evening, with some awesome swims. Leah won her 2nd National title this year winning the 200 free in a close battle with Corinne from Sarasota. Mary and Macy had some great swims in the 200 breastroke, both scoring in the Top 8. Sam Goldsmith had an equally impressive 200 breastroke on his way to establishing a new WSY Team record for the event. Tricia swam the 100 fly and swam very well, scoring in the Top 8. At the end of the evening both relays swam very well, and after a long evening (the evening sessions are going until 9pm.....keep in mind each of these swimmers is in the pool at 5:50am each day) both the men's 400 free relay, and women's 400 free relay swam very well. At the end of the evening we were in 4th place overall (2 points out of 3rd), the guys were 13th place, and the girls were 3rd (18 points out of 2nd).
5:30am cam around very early today however the team spirits seemed very high, and we had a great warm-up at the pool. The temperature has been in the low 90's here with some very hot sun, so the team needs to stay hydrated and relaxed. This morning's prelim session saw some great times with the following swimmers swimming fast enough for evening swims: Both Leah and Mary will get to swim their 400 IM tonight, both swimming lifetime best times today. Nick Schwartz decided he was going to show me his versatility today, showing me that he can swim more than a 100 of any stroke. Nick will be back in the Top 8 in the 200 back. Tricia will be back in the 200 back, in an event where she is the National record holder. The guys swam their 800 freestyle relay in a timed finals event, and the team of Matthew Hershey, Steven Gasparini, Steven Doemland, and Drew Soisson bettered their seed time by 4 seconds. The girls 800 free relay will swim this evening, where they are 2nd seed. As I explained to the team this morning, now is when we really need to be sure we remained focused and make certain to come together as a team. The team support will help us through the next day. There will be some fast swimming tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow will feature 2 relays. Both the 200 free and 400 medley relays will be swum, and relays are worth 40n points to the winners. Thanks again to Steve Doemland for all of pictures you see on the web site. I will continue to do my best to get the video on the site. I will leave you with an email from Josh Barr who is a sophomore at Duquesne University. Two years ago Josh was part of the WSY Men's National Team who placed 3rd as a team at this meet:
Hey Coach Derrick, Kim, Mike, and all you swimmers!
It looks like the dominating force known as the WSY swim team is back at it again. Big ups to Sam for representing the WSY men's team in the 200 breaststroke at finals. Good luck to you and Cremo in the 100 breast. Great job at finals Nick, it's great to see you in the top 8. Drew, what an amazing 1000 time. Can't wait to swim against you next year at the clarion meet! Congrats to Leah for getting yet another national gold! Mary, lets make it two individual golds for the women tonight! All of you are swimming so well! I can't wait to see how the rest of the meet goes. To those of you on your first national trip, congratulations on making it this far, there is sure to be many great memories and swims to follow. Don't let the enormity of this meet get to you. For those of you who are seniors; Cremo, Steve, Drew, Nick, Kayla, and Erin, this is your last year swimming so give it all you have! Even though you might think Mike can be annoying in the morning with him blasting the air conditioning and such, you will miss every minute of every national meet when you look back at your years with this team. It goes by fast so cherish it for all its worth. Good luck again to everyone and make this former Barracuda proud! KICK SOME BUTT OUT THERE!
Josh Barr
Wednesday 4/5/06 1:50pm
Where do I start for today's prelims session. I mentioned yesterday how it does take the first day to "get into the meet". Two of the best swims came at the end of the meet in the 1000 freestyle. Drew Soisson (previous best time was 9:57.27) took off very fast in his 1000, and never let up. He finished with a time of 9:42.71, which will be Top 16 (The Top 8 swim at night in this timed final event, and Drew was 2nd going into the final heat this evening). About 10 minutes later first year qualifier Claire Loht, took off in her 100 free as well. Going into the meet Claire's best 1000 time was 10:39.40. At the 500 split Claire was at 5:04.33 (as a side note Claire's best 500 time she did yesterday was a 5:05), so we knew we were on pace to have a great swim. Claire began to lap the field, and finish with a time of 10:13.43, which is in 4th place going into tonight's final 8th, so both of our swimmers in the 1000 will score team points. Other finals swims tonight are Tricia Weaner in the 100 fly, Sam Goldsmith, Macey Keath, and Mary Flynn in the 200 breastroke, Leah Gingrich in the 200 free, and both the women's and men's 400 free relays will be swimming tonight. We have a very busy night, and when most teams at this meet are beginning to show signs of fatigue, the WSY swimmers are gaining steam. I leave you with another email from Anthony Randall (WSY Alum attending University of Rhode Island):
Dear Nats. Team,
Wow!!! What a first night you all had, so many great swims that it would take forever to list them all. I don't think any club from PA and soon to be in the nation has as much talent as you all have down there in Florida. I have already begun to make everyone hate me at school for how good you guys are swimming. Its kinda funny to think that most of you could swim in college right now and do pretty well. My hat goes off to those who made finals and consuls and my shoes and hat goes off to you Leah. I see all that hard work is really paying off and i'm glad because you all deserve it especially after some of mikes practices. I see mike is still doing those annoying and tiring early morning swims. It may be a pain but believe me you have an edge on everyone else because the pool is less crowded. I saw this mornings results, man, so many people coming back, tricia, leah, 2 in the 200 breast, sam holding it down for the guys in the 200 breast, congrats sam and the girls and guys relay. It seems that you all are peaking and hitting your tapers at the right point and I'm glad. I hope you all continue to swim your hearts out. If there was one thing I learned from swimming at the Y that has helped me here at URI, its that sometimes it doesn't always go to the fastest it goes to the person that is willing to endure pain the longest. Countless times I've swam bad and it has affected my swims the rest of the meet. Y nats is soo long and most of you have many swims that you can't get down on yourself if one swim doesn't go your way, you have to go back to the basics and finding the reasons why you swim- to have fun that will help you get back in the meet mentally. All of you are swimming for a tradition that thrives on closeness to help you become great, you have nothing but support from those who have swam at the Y and we wish you all the best. So wear those WSY jackets with pride because you have people all over the country cheering you on......
City Boy Randall
"Leave it all in the pool, show no mercy for the clock doesn't have eyes"
Tuesday 4/4/06 10:15pm
Wow...first evening of finals competition, and WSY swam very well. Even before the swimming started, we had opening night ceremonies tonight where all of the athletes paraded around the pool. The theme of the meet this year is cartoon characters and super heros. What team do you think was selected to have several of their swimmers "dress up" as Disney Characters.......you got it WSY. Thanks to Jess Feldish, Steve Doemland, Steven Gasparini and Adri Phillips for their great acting skills. Several pictures are here. The meet started off with Tricia getting 3rd place in the 100 backstroke (55.88). Nick was up next in his 100 backstroke. Believe it or not Nick was the first WSY male swimmer to represent the team in the Big Final (Top 8) since a guy by the name of Brian Herman (about 1999). Nick finished 6th in a time of 51.98. Leah was our first WSY National Champion this year going 4:42.20 in the 500 free. Mary and Grace had great swims in the 200 IM. Mary went 2:06.25 and Grace went 2:10.81. Nick was up again in his 50 free, where he finished 11th with a time of 21.46. In the girls 200 medley relay, we were up against some tough competition from the team from Raleigh, who have great sprinters. Tricia, Mary, Leah and Erinne got 2nd place with a time of 1:45.48. Raleigh went on to set a new National Record in the event. On the men's side, if you do not make the Big 8, then it is very important that you win the consol final......and the WSY guys team went out fast, beginning with Nick's lead off of 23.81(fastest split in the event). John, St. John, and Matthew finished up the event with some equally impressive splits. The guys went 1:36.18 to place 9th. At the end of the evening the WSY Men's team was in 9th place, the girls in 4th place, and overall we are 3rd (just outside 2nd). Total team scores after Day 1 are here. Tomorrow is another big day in the hot (yet wonderful) sun. All of the swimmers are in bed and will be awake about 5am for their 5:45am wake-up swims. We have 3 more long days to go, and it is very important at this meet that you pace yourself, and do not expend a lot of emotional energy in one day. I will begin uploading video this evening, but hey Coach Mike needs at least 3 hours of sleep him self.......so we will see how far I get. Special thanks to Steve Doemland who has been capturing most of the video. I will leave you with a great e-mail from Gene Noone (WSY Class of 2005 now swimming at Villanova)
Dear Mike, Derek, Coach Kim, and 2006 WSY National Team,
The reason I am writing to you is to say good luck! As you have already realized (some might have yet to, i.e. the Schwartz brothers) I am not at Nationals this year. I know this is sad and it wouldn’t be happening if Allison Luttermoser had come through on our plan to hijack a plane to Ft. Lauderdale and pose as gate guys. But that’s besides the purpose because I am there in spirit.
Firstly, congratulations on making it. It is one of the most competitive and fun meets ever. I’ve followed your high school meets and can see all of your GMG Inc. practices have paid off, but this week is a great opportunity to swim even faster. The meet itself creates the perfect atmosphere to do best times, so take advantage of that.
Also, keep the “team” tradition WSY has shown at every Nationals meet alive. Every race, it doesn’t matter if it is prelims or finals, cheer on your teammates on from behind the blocks. We know, as do other teams, that WSY is the best at this.
Also listen to Mike, no matter for how long he talks, and the other coaches, when they say to stay hydrated (Zypherhills in Nalgenes), get sleep, eat right (Ruth and Blanche?), be a team, and swim fast. I would love to have another Y Nats swim and when you reach my age, so will you, so don’t waste a swim, do everything you can to make every swim you have perfect. I now swim with 5 Y Nationals veterans. They all say Y Nats was one of the best if not the very best meet they have ever swam at, so make this meet worth while.
Lastly, I would like you all to have fun. But not so much fun that you feel the need to hunt sharks, I’m talking to you Cremo and Hershey. Enjoy wake-up swims at 5:30, van rides, your roommates, watching the endless heats of prelims, the swims at finals, get some Smoothie King, scream during each other’s swims, and take my word for it when I say use sunscreen, seriously.
This national team has the potential to accomplish a lot. The girls:
keep the podium tradition alive and go for some wins and records while you’re at it. To the guys, I see a huge amount of potential for the most night swims for a Men’s National team in recent years. You are all capable of making big things happen for the Men’s team, in the words of a wise fellow I once knew: Man Up! You are the hardest working and most dedicated athletes at this meet, so step up to the blocks knowing that you are the best.
Some specific shout outs, Seniors on the team (Cremo, Kayla, Drew, Steve, Nick, Erin), have fun, you’ll wish you could be at Nats this time next year, make your last trip, your best! Sammy G., hoss it! Tricia, just try not to get three strikes as hard as this may be to do, but more importantly swim fast! Leah weah, swim fast! Ash, good luck and swim great! Mary, good luck dancing up to your races and during them! To everyone who’s been there before and are there for the first time, swim fast and have a great time!
I wish I could be there with you all and miss all of you. Good luck to everyone and swim your fastest.
Gene Noone
Tuesday 4/4/06 2:30pm
Hello to all.....I do not have to much time right now as we have a team meeting at 3pm, and then need to begin moving the kids back to the pool for finals. I have lots of good video and some photo's that I will upload later this evening. It will be late. Toda's prelims session went well, and it does take a session to "get into the meet" We had some GREAT swims this AM including Claire Loht (13) who was entered with a 5:13 in the 500 free and finished with a 5:05 (26th place.....). Some other swims of note for first year swimmers. Emily Weaner went 2:11.82 in the 200 IM (previous best was 2:13.25), Steven Gasparini went 55.89 in his 100 backstroke (previous best was 56.21), and Grace Tarka went 2:08.49 (previous best 2:06.64) in the 200 IM to get an evening swim (16th place). WSY swimmers that will be competing this evening include Leah Gingrich in the 500 free, Tricia Weaner in the 100 back (where she is the National record holder), Nick Schwartz in the 100 back, Nick Schwartz in the 50 free, Mary Flynn and Grace Tarka in the 200 IM, and both the girls and guys 200 medleys will be swiming this evening. Here are a few emails I have received to pass on to WSY swimmers:
Hey Mike- tell everyone to kick some butt and swim fast!! I know they will all swim soo fast!!! GO WSY!!! CONGRATS ON MAKING IT TO THOSE WHO DID AND GOOD LUCK!
Ryan Smith (Senior at UCONN)
I just wanted to wish everyone the best of luck as the meet starts tomorrow!
I hope you guys are having fun down there so far, I'm sure you are having a blast. Swim fast, I'll be checking how you guys are doing during my free periods at school. Most importantly have fun. It's not everyday that you get to experience something like this in your life. Many swimmers would kill to be in your suits right now, to experience something as exciting as a national swim meet like this. You guys worked so hard this year, and I'm 100 % positive it will all pay off. What I remember most from when I swam was the team aspect and how amazing people performed when the whole team was behind someone. Show your support to each other and the fast swimming will be there. You'll remember the fun times so much more than you will remember a bad swim or two. Go out, have fun and show everyone what WSY swimming is all about!
I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures and the awesome swims at my desk at school!!!
Coach Kristin
Yo to mike, Kim, Derick, Rose, my bro Sami J. and the whole WSY team down in Florida. There were some fast swims today. As always, the girls team is looking strong and is in a position to dominate. Keep it up and smoke the chumps that try to get in your way.
To the Men's team:
congrats to Gasperini for swimming in his first winter national meet. This one will be tough, as my first meets were, but it keeps getting better from here.
Big up yourself to Nick Schwartz for finaling in an individual at nationals, the first individual male WSY swimmer to do so since Brian Herman, way back in the day (also in the 100 back). Take it to them tonight.
Y nationals is a tough meet because it is so long and there are so many distractions. Stay focused and swim your own races and you'll succeed. This is the last meet of the year, so leave nothing in the pool.
I've been trying to think of ways to get you pumped up for your swims, so I've sent along a song straight from the US Virgin Islands. My roomate is from the carribbean and I've been listening to the island rhythms all season long to get pumped up. This is one of the best island reggae beats ever, so listen, get psyched, and as the song says, "stay on guard"
Alex Goldsmith (Yale University)
I was on the WSY team at Y Nationals in 1979 to see Kim Linehan set the 500 free record. It was an amazing swim by an amazing swimmer. But that record has been owned by a Sarasota Y swimmer for entirely too long. It's time to knock that one out of the record books. I'd love to see Kim's name replaced by "Leah Gingrich, West Shore Y". Go Leah!!
I've been following the prelim results, and the kids are swimming fast. Tell them to keep up the good work. They have tons of people cheering for them back home.
Regards,
Amy Chick Bani (WSY Class of 1982)
Monday 4/3/06 8:45pm
Well, we had a great team meal this evening at Bennigans, where everyone enjoyed some great food, and had time to socialize prior to the beginning of four big days of WSY Swimming. At our team meeting today, the thought of the day was given by Senior Kayla Ricedorf, and Juniors Sam Goldsmith, and Ashlyn Stumpf. Here is Video of their "Thoughts". I also captured some video of our team dinner. I leave you with a great email that was read to the team today from WSY Alum Allison Luttermoser, who is finishing her freshman year at Virginia Tech. 5:15am will be here before you know it, and the team needs to "get out front" on the first day of competition. Real Time Results may be found here.