LIQUID LIGHTNING PLACES THIRD OVERALL AT 14 & UNDER LONG COURSE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Pool of Talent Runs Deep
LAKE ORION, MICH.—Eight state champion titles boosted the Liquid Lightning (LL) swim team to third place overall out of the 59 teams that competed at the Michigan Swimming 14 and Under Long Course State Championships, held July 26-July 28, at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich.
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Four relay state champion titles prove that LL’s pool of talent runs deep: Caroline Xu, Sydney Kushak, Sydney Stricklin, and Lauren Sielicki earned first in the Girls 10 and Under 400 M Medley relay; Kushak, Stricklin, and Sielicki also teamed with Sarah Cole to come in first in the 400 M Free relay.
In the Girls 11-12 division, Courtney Connolly, Emily Shores, Claire Abbasse, and Fernanda Camacho Castro were state champions in the 400 M Medley Relay; Connolly, Abbasse, Camacho Castro, and Alexandria Waack also won first in the 400 M Free relay.
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LL’s 11-12 age group also produced four state champion titles in individual events: Abbasse in the Girls 100 M Free; Connolly in the Girls 50 M Back; and Jorge Roman in both the Boys 50 M Breast and Boys 100 M Breast events.
Abbasse also placed third in the 50 M Free, 200 M Free, 400 M Free, and 200 M Individual Medley (IM), as well as fourth in the 200 M Back on her way to earning second place in her division’s High Point competition.
State Champion Connolly also placed second in the 200 M Back; third in the 100 M Back; fourth in the 200 M Free and 200 M IM; and eighth in the 50 M Breast. Connolly also was part of a three-way tie for fourth place in the 11-12 Girls High Point race.
Other top-16 finishers in the 11-12 Girls division were: State Champion Camacho Castro (fifth in the 100 M Free, sixth in the 100 M Back, seventh in the 50 M Free and 200 M Free, eighth in the 400 M Free, and ninth in the 200 M Back); Emily Goodman (seventh in the 200 M Fly); Caroline Guglielmetti (15th in the 200 M Back); Rhianna Hensler (14th in the 100 M Fly and 10th in the 200 M Fly); Reese McCorry (sixth in the 100 M Breast and 200 M Breast, seventh in the 50 M Breast, 11th in the 50 M Back, and 12th in the 100 M Back and 200 M IM); Katie Miller (16th in the 200 M Fly); Emily Shores (fourth in the 100 M Breast; 11th in the 50 M Breast and 200 M Breast); Sophie Smythe (14th in the 200 M Breast); Haley VanBuskirk (10th in the 400 M IM and 16th in the 200 Free); and State Champion Waack (15th in the 100 M Free).
On the Boys side in the 11-12 division, State Champion Roman also swam to third place in the 200 M Breast; seventh in the 400 M IM; eighth in the 400 M Free; and 11th in the 200 M IM. Rounding out the rest of the 11-12 age group, Daniel Reimchen placed fifth in the 100 M Breast; seventh in the 50 M Breast; and eighth in the 200 M Breast.
Joseph Scola placed top 16 in each of his Boys 10 and Under events: fourth place (50 M Breast, 100 M Breast); sixth place (100 M Fly); 11th place (50 M Back and 50 M Fly); and 12th place (50 M Free).
In the Girls 10 and Under division, State Champion Stricklin, who placed third in the High Point competition for her age group, also swam her way to second place in the 50 M Free, 100 M Free, 50 M Fly, and 200 IM. She also was third in the 200 M Free and sixth in the 50 M Back.
State Champion Sielicki, who was eighth in the Girls 10 and Under High Point contest, also had multiple top individual finishes, including third in the 100 M Fly; fifth in the 50 M Back and 100 M Back; seventh in the 50 M Fly and 200 M IM; and 15th in the 100 M Breast.
State Champions Kushak, Cole, and Xu also enjoyed fine performances in individual events. Kushak came in 13th in the 100 M Free; Cole came in ninth in the 100 M Back, 11th in the 50 M Back, and 12th in the 200 M IM; and Xu placed 11th in the 100 M Breast, 13th in the 100 M Fly, 14th in the 400 M Free, and 16th in the 200 M IM.
Also in Girls 10 and Under, Meghan Fleury placed third in the 50 M Free and seventh in the 100 M Back, and Olivia Cassise came in ninth in the 50 M Back and 15th in the 50 M Free.
LL’s 13-14 division swimmers also made their mark at meet. On the Girls side, Sarah Hennings was 10th in the 100 M Fly and 15th in the 200 M Fly, and Madeline Welsh swam to ninth in the 100 M Breast. For the Boys, Jared Warzynski was 15th in the 200 M Fly.
The team will celebrate its Long Course success with a season-ending beach party and then start training in September for the Short Course season, which runs until March 2014. For more information about the team, or to schedule a tryout, please visit www.liquidlightning.org or contact Coach Colin Dolcetti at coachcolin@liquidlightning.org.
