About 320 swimmers competed yesterday, and the meet ran smoothly under mostly cloudy skies. The McDowell Mariners volunteers kept the meet moving and running smoothly all day long, all the way through the award presentations at the end of the meet. The meet began on time at 9:15 and continued until the last relay was run at about 5:30pm, making for a long day for the swimmers, coaches, and volunteers. About halfway through the meet, coaches and parents from the six different teams broke up the day with the annual "Fools in the Pool" relays, where coaches and parents get a chance to hop in and cool off, as well as show off their best strokes and, in some cases, belly flops.
There were a lot of great races throughout the day, and VTST was well represented by the 53 swimmers who ended up competing. Those who competed swam great races on the way to second place. McDowell was in second place for most of the meet. After event 66 (of 82), VTST was behind by only 24 points, and the McDowell Mariners head coach turned to me and said, "I don't know if we can hold you guys off through the [freestyle] relays." It was then Coach Lauren and I really got excited because we knew after looking at the upcoming events that we were in a great position to pull off an upset for second place.
The kids got really pumped up, fought hard, and swam their hearts out in those relays. It paid off, as VTST took second place by 2.5 points after the conclusion of the last race. It was a much better finish than any VTST member expected going in to the meet, but in the end, everyone swam incredibly well making second place a reality.
In the events, 8and Under Emma E. took first in the 100 Individual Medley and 50 Freestyle, Paige B. took first in the 200 Individual Medley, Zachary K. took first in the 200 Individual Medley, 100 Freestyle, and 100 Breaststroke, Jenna Claire B. took first in the 25 Backstroke. Many of our swimmers finished second and third in multiple events. Many of the medley relays took second, but it was the finishes in the freestyle relays which helped bring home second place honors. The VTST 9-10 Girls Free Relay edged out Morganton for first by .02 seconds in one of the biggest wins of the day. The 15-18 Boys Free Relay was neck and neck for first until Valdese's Alec B. closed out Morganton's Josh B. on the last leg for a win by just under 2.5 seconds.
Many VTST swimmers earned individual high-point honors for the meet. For the 8 and Under girls, Emma E. took first place. In the 9 and 10 girls, Samantha R. earned second place and Grace L. earned third place. MacKenzie B. took third place for the 11-12 girls, and Paige B. took third place for the 13-14 girls. The older boys from VTST made a big impact, as newcomer Keegan R. tied for third place honors in the 13-14 boys events. In the 15-18 boys, Zachary K. took 2nd place after winning all of his individual events, and Alec B. took third place.
I was incredibly impressed by the way everyone swam yesterday. They fought for every finish, for every point. It was a great way to wrap up the season, and I couldn't be any prouder of the team. Every single swimmer contributed, and with the points being as close as they were, every single swimmer mattered.
Keep watching the blog over the next few days to get details on our end of the year banquet, where we will give out some awards, ribbons, medals, and gather one last time to celebrate a great season and a great team!
THANKS FOR ANOTHER FANTASTIC SEASON TORPEDO FAMILY!
