JO WRAP UP

This past weekend the best of the best 14 and under swimmers in Potomac Valley gathered at the University of Maryland for some fun exciting swimming.  The Mako swim team was well represented with 54 swimmers representing all of our groups in the meet.  Our swimmers swam exceptionally well achieving many personal best throughout the meet.  We had a few swimmers who experienced rough weekends, some for the very first time, but we are so proud of the way you handled the situation.  You all did not let a bad swim keep you down, you responded each time by stepping onto that starting back and going after it time 
after time.  In this sport as in any other it is a lesson that has to be learned and all of you responded in a way that you can hold your heads high and be proud of your accomplishments.  The true mark of a good athlete are not the wins, but how they respond to the challenge after being knocked down.

It’s hard to see now but it is a lesson that will help you all through your lives.

As coaches we too struggle with every stroke you take when you are having a bad race, but at the same time we know that from time to time it’s a struggle we know you have to go through from time to time.  From this struggle we know you will emerge on the other side a stronger swimmer and more importantly a better person.  We get it the work and sacrifices are, well, hard.  To have gone through all of that and now you are faced with disappointment and self doubt and faced 
with moments where your efforts in the races feel unrewarded.  But it is exactly at these times where instead of hiding behind self imposed excuses, you open yourselves up to the struggles, and disappointments and surge forward.  We have talked all year about mental toughness, and how you have to find a way too move on from both the good swims and the disappointing swims that occur. I am so proud with all of you as you worked through this past weekend.

Mako Top 16 finishers were;

Emily Radcliffe 50 free (5th), 100 free (12th), 50 back (4th), 100 back (10th), 50 fly (10th), and 100 IM (13th). 

Rebecca Prunty 50 fly (12th), and 100 fly (11th)

Sadie Buckley 100 free (16th), 50 back (9th), 100 back (11th) and 100 IM (12th)

Riley Miller 50 back (16th), and 50 fly (12th)

Katherine Helms 50 free (4th), 100 and 200 free (3rd), 500 free (1st), 400 IM (would have been 10th but scratched final)

Sophia Cloutier 100 back (16)

Kendall Vess 100 fly (18th)

Adrian Coray 50 free (10th), 100 free (13th), 200 free (6th), 50 back (5th), 100 back (9th), 200 back (11th)

Blake Madsen 50 back(8th), 50 breast (8th), 200 IM (8th), 100 breast (10), 50 fly (11th), 100 IM (8th)

Ben Farello 50 Back (8th), 50 fly (5th), 100 fly (17), 100 IM (10th)

Brady Dasher 50 free (4th), 100 free (9th)

Ethan Birkholz 50 free (11th), 100 free (9th)

Jack Renner 200 breast (20th)

We want to thank all of the Mako relay swimmers who showed up and did an outstanding job.  A special shout out to the kids who came back and swam the Mix Gender Relays at night.  We hope it provided all of you with a different perspective and you had some fun with them.  Many of our lead off swimmers took advantage of their positions and posted personal best times in the relays.  Many of the relays had best times and placed in the top 10 during the meet.

Congratulations to all of our Mako JO qualifiers on a successful meet.