Reports of WSY National Team at YMCA Nationals in Fort Lauderdale written by Coach Mike

Day 4  (April 8th)

(Reported 4/9 11:30am) WOW, what a meet In my 15 years at West Shore, this is definitely the best National meet ever.  As a team (Men and Women), we finished 3rd........the highest total score in history for WSY (and that dates back to 1972).......that means we took 1st place at East Districts, 1st place at PA State Championships, and 3rd Place at the YMCA National Championships (The two teams ahead of us were ME Lyons YMCA from Ohio, and Plymouth, Michigan).  Specifically, the girls team took 2nd place overall (1st was Plymouth, Michigan), and the men took 9th.  Full Team Scores are here  Day 4 was our best day yet......after 4 days of 85 degree weather, 5:30 AM swims, and 10pm bed time, our team came together more than ever.

The evening started off with the girls 200 free relay.....the relay team of Tricia Weaner, Alyssa Toran, Leah Gingrich and Allison Luttermoser were off to prove we were the best team in PA, as we were seeded behind a quick Reading YMCA Team.  The WSY girls took 5th place (yes in front of Reading) with a time of 1:37.54.  The men were up next.  We made a relay line up change from the AM session, and had Nick lead off rather than Nate, and it paid off big time.  The team of Nick Schwartz, Alex Goldsmith, Nate Stare, and Brad Gorter won the consolation heat (9th), shaving 1.5 seconds off their AM swim to finish with a time of 1:26.22.  Next up was Leah's 200 Fly.  An event that Leah loves to swim, but fatigue was showing on her.  We figured by this point she had already raced a total of 4,000 yards (this does not include the 6,000 yards per day of warm-up).....this was actual meet racing.  She entered the water, and swum like a champ.  When she hit the wall, at the finish she could barely get out of the water.  She swam a 2:06.58, and received 8th place.  We almost had to carry her to the warm down pool........this 14 year old was ready to fall over.....her team mates came around her and gave her the momentum to get ready for the all important 400 Medley relay......she still had to get through another 100 free, and the 400 medley was looking like a very tight race....more on that later.  Next up was Mary Flynn's 100 breastroke.  Mary swam a life time best time a week ago at Y states, and was seeded 8th going into finals at this meet.  Mary hit the water and we could tell she was ready to race.  In the end, she moved up to 6th and finished with a time of 1:05.81.  Mary was off to the warm down pool with Leah to get ready for that Medley relay.  On the men's side, Josh Barr was ready for his first individual event "night swim" of the week.  Josh swam a very good 100 breastroke, and finished 15th with a time of 1:00.33.  As like the girls, Josh was off to the warm down pool to get read for the men's 400 medley.

Last event of the meet was finally here.  The crowd was cheering like crazy as the 400 medley is always a great race.  the girls were up first.  After a prelim swim of 3:54.30 (placing 3rd), the WSY team of Tricia Weaner, Mary Flynn, Allison Luttermoser, and Leah Gingrich was ready to race into the Top 2.  Tricia led off with one of her biggest competitors of the meet (14 year old Lauren English, of Montclair New Jersey) in the backstroke.  Tricia was out fast and finished with a split of  55.47, up next was Mary Flynn who split 1:05.45 in the breastroke, then Allison Luttermoser was next in the fly, and she split 58.24.  As Leah dove in the water we were tied for 3rd place.......could we get in the Top 2........Leah split a very fast 51.60, and the team got 2nd with a final time of 3:50.89, an improvement of about 4 seconds from the morning.  The men were next....seeded in an outside lane (1), the guys were looking to be in the Top 5.  Nick Schwartz led off with a time of 53.45, Josh Barr was up next and split 1:00.22, then Alex Goldsmith dove in and swam a 51.28 in the fly, and Brad Gorter brought in home in a very quick 45.63 for the WSY team to place 4th.

As a side note, during the time trials today Drew Soisson swam the 1650 in a lifetime best time of 16:32.00.  Drew did not even have the qualifying time (16:59) for this event for the meet.  Not only did Drew make the qualifying time, but had he swum the event in the meet he would have been 21st out of 43 swimmers...........not bad Drew!!!!

After finals, we hosted the WSY Beach Party for all of the Pennsylvania teams.  We had about 175 swimmers attend, and it was fun for all.  I must thank all of the WSY parents that were on this trip, as they were a super group with their cheering in the stands, showing up with their WSY Parent Shirts, and assisting at all times with the team.  This trip would not have been as successful without all of the WSY parents that were in attendance.  Thanks to Joe Feldish, and Denise Soisson who volunteered as meet officials for the week (and Denise Soisson did this all week without her luggage.....her luggage was lost last Sunday, and still has not been found.....imagine an entire week in Florida with the cloths you wore on the place, plus some others she bought while she was here)

I also must Thank Mr Alan Byles and any other WSY parents that were involved with him and his nomination of myself for Coach of the Year.  I was one of four coaches nominated for this, and I feel very honored. My fellow coaches at this meet did select myself as "Coach of the Meet", which again I feel very honored, and as I explained to the WSY swimmers this award is a reflection of their swimming, and discipline.  So in the end, we not only swam well in the water, we won 2 awards out of the water, which include Alex Goldsmith's Outstanding Participant Award.  Many photo's were taken at the meet, and will be included next Sunday in the WSY Annual Banquet.  We hope everyone is planning on attending this Annual event to honor our WSY Swimmers of all ages, for a year of hard work and dedication to the YMCA.  Congratulations to all swimmers, weather you were at this meet, or following at home, you are part of the WEST SHORE YMCA COMPETITIVE SWIMMING PROGRAM which just received 3rd place in the combined team placing at the 2004 YMCA NATIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!!

Day 3  (April 7th)

(9:15pm)  Tricia Breaks the National Record in the 200 Backstroke.......winning time is 1:58.13 to earn the 4th National Title for WSY swimmers .  The night began as our very own Alex Goldsmith gave a very inspirational devotional message to all of the swimmers and parents in the grand stand.  Alex spoke of his memories of over 10 years swimming with the YMCA.  After the devotional message, Alex was chosen as the recipient of the Outstanding Participant Scholarship.  To read about this award, click here  Congratulations Alex.  The night continued with Leah Gingrich swimming in her 3rd final.  Leah swam in the 400 IM, and swam her lifetime best time of 4:28.29, and received 5th place.  Tricia was up next, and after missing the 200 back National record last year, and missing her own National Record in the 100 back this year......she was out to make a statement.  In then end, she swam her best time and broke the National record (the first of the meet for any swimmer).  The girls team then came together as they swam the final in the 800 free relay.  Kim Jezerick, Allison Luttermoser, Leah Gingrich, and Tricia Weaner swam to a 5th place finish with a time of 7:41.90.  Splits were Tricia 1:54.80, Allison 1:54.80, Kim 1:59.79, and Leah 1:52.51. 

After three days of competition, the WSY girls remain in 2nd place, the guys 10th, and overall as a team we are 3rd.  Scores may be found here.  The meet concludes Friday with the 200 free relay, 400 medley relay, 100 breastroke, and 200 fly.  Overall, we had a very successful day, and the team is ready for the forth and final day.........more tommorrow....

(2:45pm) Well.......the longest day of the meet had some good swims at prelims.  Many of the swimmers are starting to feel the fatigue that usually sets in after Day 3.  After a long AM session, the team came back for the team lunch and now everyone is sleeping until the team meeting at 3:15pm.  The sun is really hot down here, and I think we have gone through over 300 bottles of water.  Today's prelims saw Leah qualifying 8th for tonight's finals in the 400 IM with a lifetime best time of 4:28.91.  Tricia was up next in the 200 back, where she was seeded first.  She went 2:00 to hold on to the top seed going into tonight's finals.  The next event was the grueling 800 free relay.  The guys team of Drew Soisson, Nick Schwartz, Alex Goldsmith, and Brad Gorter improved their time by over 13 seconds, but just missed a night swim.....they got 19th.  The girls had a great swim.  The team of 12 year old Kim Jezerick, Allison Luttermoser, Tricia Weaner, and Leah Gingrich (who split a very fast 1:51) is seeded 5th place tonight, and is hungry for that top spot......Their prelim time was 7:42.39

Finals begins tonight at 6pm, where Alex Goldsmith will lead devotions, and a very special award will be given.......I will explain tonight what I am talking about as it is a surprise......

Day 2  (April 6th)

(10:30pm) Day 2 brought us lots of sun, and many fast swims.  First of all I want to Thank everyone who has been sending us emails.  It really helps out the team to know everyone is following.  I especially want to thank all of the "WSY Alum's" that have been emailing the swimmers.  You do not realize the impact you have on the swimmers who are here, right where you were.  Keep the letters coming   mike@wsyswim.org

Leah Gingrich started off the evening  swimming the 1000 free where she won her 2nd National Title (2 titles, 2 swims)  Leah's winning time was a lifetime best 9:56.70 (as a side note, she was the only swimmer in the meet under 10:00, and she split it 4:48/4:58).  In the 200 Breastroke today, Mary Flynn placed 13th with a lifetime best time of 2:23.28.  We did not have any scorers in the 200 freestyle, but we had some great times out of WSY athletes.  Tricia Weaner came back to swim at night in the 100 fly to place 11th with a time of 57.46.  The relays were next.  The girls went first (we were seeded 2nd right behind Plymouth, Michigan)  The team of Tricia Weaner, Allison Luttermoser, Alyssa Toran, and Leah Gingrich placed 2nd with a winning time of 3:30.90.  Next came the men's team 400 free relay, where the team of Brad Gorter, Alex Goldsmith, Nathan Stare, and Nick Schwartz placed 5th with a time of 3:10.78.

The team is now resting as 5:30am wake up call comes very early.  Tomorrow's events include 400 IM, 100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, and 800 Freestyle Relay where 12 and under Kim Jezerick will be swimming her very first National level relay........Think she is nervous????

After 2 days, the girls remain in 2nd, the men are 6th, and we are 3rd in the combined.  Full scores are here  A nice newspaper from the Florida Sun-Sentinel covering our swimmers is here

 

Day 1 (April 5th)

(3:50pm) We had some great swims this AM.  The weather is sunny and about 85 degrees.  Leah Gingrich led off the meet with a very fast 4:53.42, an improvement of almost 6 seconds.  Leah is seeded first for tonight finals.  This is Leah's first finals.  Tricia Weaner was up next and swam a 55.88 to again go into tonight's finals seeded first.  Tricia holds the National record in this event.  Both Tricia and Allison Luttermoser will be swimming the 200 IM in Finals tonight.  Tricia's prelim time was 2:06.42, and Allison's was 2:06.79 (a lifetime best).  Not to be outdone, on the men's side Brad Gorter will be seeded 9th in tonight's finals in the 50 free.  It was now time for the relays..........and we came up "Big".  On the men's side, the team of Nick Schwartz, Joshua Barr, Alex Goldsmith, and Brad Gorter is seeded 1st in the 200 Medley Relay, and on the women's side the team of Tricia Weaner, Mary Flynn, Leah Gingrich, and Allison Luttermoser is seeded 7th in the 200 Medley Relay.

Josh Barr will sing the National anthem to begin tonight's finals session.  The meet has 1,536 swimmers and there are about 3,000 spectators in the grandstand (you will be able to pick them out at the banquet next Sunday, as they are all "burnt to a crisp")

(9:45pm) What a great evening, The evening started out with over 1,200 swimmers parading around the pool as part of opening ceremonies.  Our very own Sam Goldsmith was dressed as Abe Lincoln as part of an "Americana" theme, along with other swimmers dressed as the Statue of Liberty, George Washington, and Ben Franklin.  We then heard Josh Bar sing the National anthem, as a side note......Josh was about 75% of the way through the National Anthem, and then all of the sudden, music just started playing through the sound system, as Josh was singing.........in front of over 3,000 people, Josh "kept his cool", waited for the problem to be fixed, and then finished the National anthem......then received a standing ovation from the crowd for his patience..............then it was time for some swimming.....Leah Gingrich, swimming in her first National final in the 500 free made a statement that she was the one to beat.  Leah took her first 200 out at a blistering 1:53, and at the finish took first place in a time of 4:51.03.........NATIONAL CHAMPION LEAH GINGRICH!!!!!! Tricia Weaner facing tough competition from another 14 year old, Lauren English from New Jersey, took 2nd place in the 100 back (no one broke Tricia's National record) with a time of 55.66.  Allison Luttermoser and Tricia Weaner scored points in the 200 IM with times of 2:07.17 and 2:08.70 respectively.  On the men's side, Brad Gorter took 9th place to win the consolation heat in the 50 free with a lifetime best time of 21.40............Now it was time for the relays (and that is where you can score big points)........then men took off first with Nick Schwartz swimming backstroke, and then Josh Barr swam Breastroke, Alex Goldsmith was up next to swim the fly, and Brad Gorter swam a very impressive 50 freestyle anchor leg to bring the second WSY National Title home.  The WSY Men's Team winning time was 1:35.87.  The Girls were up next.......after barely making the championship final, the WSY girls came up big in the 200 Medley Relay.  Tricia Weaner led off in the backstroke, Mary Flynn swam a wonderful breastroke, and Leah Gingrich swam the fly, and our freestyle anchor was Allison Luttermoser.  We had tough competition from Plymouth, Michigan and in the end the WSY girls came in a very close second with a time of  1:46.02 (a 3 second drop from the AM session)

After Day 1 WSY is in 1st place OVERALL.  The WSY Men's team is in 6th, and the ladies are in 2nd.  Scores are here.  We have another tough day ahead of us with the 1000 free, 400 free relay, 200 breastroke, 200 free and 100 Fly.  Any emails you may have for the team email me, and I will pass them along at our 3:30pm daily team meetings......more later