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Reports of WSY National Team at YMCA Nationals in College Park Maryland written by Coach Kim and Kristin
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Friday 8/4/06 9pm
Here are some notes from the two newest members of the WSY National Team (Jon Rubritz, and Cookie McIntyre)
Team was redefined for me this Summer nationals, and so was my 400 IM.
This event for me is painful (and probably everyone else) This morning I was so nervous I could barely eat. When I was up at the block, most of my team was behind me. As I came into each 100 I could see and hear them and it really pushed me to go harder. I never really thought that cheering really helped but believe me, I would not have been able to push through it without my teammates. I learned at the meet that WSY is a great team because people want the best for you and for you to do well as much as you do. Cookie McIntyre
Greetings from College Park, Maryland. This is Jon Rubritz and this is my first nationals with the West Shore YMCA. I previously swam on this team approximately 5 years ago and returned to finish out my swimming before I go off to college. This summer nationals has been an experience like non other. It showed me both sides of being on an elite team, both good and bad. The good being training with an awesome team, working with renowned coaches and learning how to dance with Marianne Flynn. Bad things being training in the distance lane and getting beat by a little 16 year old girl, aka Leah. However, I realize all the pain and sacrifices have all been worth it. I have been swimming excellent at summer nationals along with everyone that is here and have exceeded my expectations at this meet. Hope all is well and you are enjoying your summer. Jon Rubritz
Well, the meet is finally over. WSY was well represented in finals this evening. We had 9 swimmers come back and swim this evening. The evening started off with Claire Loht dropping 13 seconds in her mile to finish 8th.
Our girls 200 free relay of Ashlyn Stumpf, Emily Weaner, Mary Flynn and Alie Zelenky swam better than their prelim time to finish 14th. Our night continued with Cookie McIntyre and Lauren McCleaf in the 200 fly. Both girls took off a second from their prelim swims. Cookie finished 7th and Lauren finished 11th. Allison Sheely had a great prelim swim to get her into the consolation finals for the evening. She continued to improve with another personal best in the evening to finish 16th overall. Mary Flynn had a personal best in her 100 Breast finishing in 4th place. Sam Goldsmith swam a nice 100 breast after Mary. He ended up 15th for the event. Our girls 400 Medley relay team of Emily Weaner, Mary Flynn, Cookie McIntyre and Alie Zelenky took off 4 seconds from the morning to move up from their 6th seed to take 4th in the event. All the girls improved their splits from the morning.
Overall the team had 82% best times. The coaches are very pleased with how the team swam this week. The swimmers really stepped up this week with some great swims. As a team WSY finished 6th. The boys team, all 4 of them, finished 16th out of 53 teams. Our girls team finished in 5th place. The team finished off the week with a nice dinner out at Dave and Busters.
Thanks again for following........Coach Kim and Kristin
Thursday 8/3/06 9pm (West Coast Time)
Mike reporting remotely as there are problems in Maryland with the internet connection, so I will report from California. WSY saw many great swims today with Cookie putting up a great time in the finals of the 400 IM going 5:10.59. Jon swam a very fast 54.45 in the 100 free, and the girls 800 free relay swam to a 5th place going 8:51.31. Going into the final day of competition, WSY is in 6th place overall (men 9th/girls 5th) Friday is the last day of the meet and there are big points to be scored in relays (200 free and 400 medley relays). As we get communication from Maryland, I will have Coach Kim and Kristin update, and upload a few more pictures.
Wednesday 8/2/06 11pm
The flow of excitement from yesterday has carried over to the swims today.
We had a lot of great swims today in both prelims and finals. Jon Rubritz made it back tonight in both of his individual events. He took of three seconds in both events, 100 fly and 200 free this morning to make it back tonight. He continued to take a half of a second off in the 100 fly to place 12th overall. He then got back in to finish 6th in the 200 free. Claire Loht started the night off well by finishing 10th in the 800 free. All three of our breastrokers that swam tonight had a best time. Cookie McIntyre took off 4 seconds in her 200 breast to finish in a 2:44.74, a 10th place finish. Mary broke the 240 mark with a 2:39.95 to take 5th. Sam Goldsmith got 4th in the boys 200 breast with a time of 2:31.14. Our girls 400 free relay team of Emily Weaner, Ashlyn Stumpf, Mary Flynn and Alie Zelenky won the consol heat with a 4:06.03, more than 2 seconds faster than this morning. The kids seem to be having a great time and we are excepting some really good swims tomorrow. After 2 days of competition, we are in 5th place overall.......
Coach Kristin and Kim...ps, we have updated many pictures of the meet here
And now some words from Matthew Hershey:
Tuesday was great. I made a YMCA nationals final heat for the first time and not only a final heat but the A final. Too add to the enjoyment, I finished third. It's my very first final and I got third. It felt great to have the support of my team and they all knew how important this was to me.
I've always watched other swimmers make finals, but I never knew how great it felt. When I touched the wall and saw the three next to my name, I could not contain myself. I ran over to my team to receive a hug from the entire team. Also, I had the support of my family. My dad and girlfriend drove for two hours to see me swim for twenty four seconds. They sat through three hours of other swimming to watch me swim one lap. I want to thank my dad and my girlfriend Nikki for that support and I cannot thank them enough. I hope you younger swimmers look forward to one day making it to Nationals. It really is a fantastic meet to go to and a lot of fun too.
Wednesday 8/2/06 5pm
We had some great prelim swims today. The WSY swimmers are "Rallying" as a team and each of the swimmers are understanding the power of staying positive and working as a team. The athletes that keep positive and rely on their great summer training are seeing some rewards in the water. WSY swimmers competing in the finals this evening include: Mary Flynn, and Cookie McIntyre (200 breastroke), girls 400 free relay, Jon Rubritz (100 fly), Sam Goldsmith (200 breastroke), and Jon Rubritz (200 freestyle).....more after finals this evening.....good luck to all WSY Swimmers, both here and in California
We received an email from Kayla Ricedorf today to the WSY Swimmers (Kayla will be leaving in a few days to attend North Carolina State):
Coach Kristin, Coach Kim, and Nats. Team,
AHHHH you guys are doing awesome!!!! I have read the reports so far and seen some of the pictures that have been put up. It seems to me that you guys are having a funnn time and kicking butt at the same time! I know the morale of this team and I know you will continually do better and better throughout the week! I would have to say that right now I am really missing those 5:30am warmups...haha have fun!! But really I think they help...so don't skip them...especially you Tart! I'd also miss the food their because it is mighty good...but I'm not there... so eat some for me! And remember the best cheer ever 2-4-6-8 West Shore Y!! Sammy G I'm sure has led that one! Well good luck to all of you for the rest of the week and I will be checking up every day to see how well you guys are doing!!!!
ROCK IT,
kayla renee(Xena
Tuesday 8/1/06 11pm
To explain today in one word...WOW! West shore had a great showing in prelims this morning with 9 swimmers making it back to finals tonight. 6 swimmers made it back in individual events and both girls and boys medley relay made it back to finals. There will not be a dull moment during finals. Hopefully the Cudas will have some great performances tonight that we can tell you about later. So far, the West Shore Y National Team is kicking some butt on the east coast and I hope our West Shore Y swimmers on the west coast are doing the same! The weather is not the only thing causing a heat wave in Maryland. Good Luck to all our swimmers!
- Allison Sheely
MARY FLYNN NATIONAL CHAMPION!!!!
Well, with the first day done, WSY has seen much excitement. We had 9 kids swim tonight in finals, 6 of them in individual events. Emily Weaner started us off with a wonderful swim, taking off a second from her prelim time to place 11th. Her time was a sectional cut. Our breastrokers did not let us down then either. Alie Zelenky improved her 15th seed going into tonight to end up 12th in the 50 breast. We are pleased to say that WSY has a new national champion. Mary Flynn went into finals seeded first in the 50 breast and touched the wall first in a 33.65. Sam Goldsmith bettered his time from this morning and finished the 50 breast in 31.53 to take 4th in the event. Mary got right off the podium and right behind the starting blocks to take 9th place in the 200 IM with a time of 2:26.08, a second and a half better than the personal best she set this morning. Cookie McIntyre continued the success of WSY by taking 11th in the IM with a time of 2:27. 79. Matt Hershey followed with an amazing 50. Matt started this morning with a 25.18 in the 50 free. He promised to break the 25 second mark this morning and followed up with that promise and was seeded 4th going into tonight. He ended up posting an excellent time of 24.53 to tie for 3rd. Our two relays both swam well tonight. Our girls medley relay of Jess Feldish, Mary Flynn, Emily Weaner and Alie Zelenky swam 2:04.95 to take 8th. Our boys relay of Matt Hershey, Justin Beegle, Jon Rubritz and Sam Goldsmith took 16th in their race with a 1:54.69.
Our swimmers from tonight were not the only ones who swam well. All those that competed in the morning swam excellent. We had 21/24 swim from this morning end with a personal best time. The kids are having a blast cheering for each other and swimming fast. More to come tomorrow....
- Coach Kim & Kristin
Monday 7/31/06 11pm
In coach Mike's absence, Kim has asked me and the other seniors to relay updates from this years Long Course Nationals. This being my 4th YMCA summer nationals, I have some basis for comparison with this year. This is one of the smallest teams we have even taken, both on the men's and women's side. With Mike and some key point scorers off in California, one might count out the WSY going into the meet. However, looking at the psych sheets and perceiving the sense of excitement and focus among my teammates, I feel encouraged rather than deterred. This meet will provide a chance for some of our younger swimmers to step up and fill roles on relays and in individual races. As I'm sure Mike has noted before, success at this meet is not determined entirely by first places. It is the consolation swims, the 5 second time drops to make finals than move teams towards success. While me may be lacking some key first place swimmers, I see more potential finalist and consolation finalist swimming on this National team than ever before.
- Sam Goldsmith
Sunday 7/30/06 11pm
The team arrived in College Park today about 2pm. After we got everyone in their hotel rooms, it was off to the pool for the first practice of the day. By the excitement level, the WSY National team looks ready to swim fast. On Monday, we will get up at 5am to be at the pool by 5:30am so that we may simulate normal "competition days". We will report more later