USC Swim Club Finishes Strong at IM Extreme Challenge

Six swimmers from the Upper St. Clair Swim Club participated in the second annual Northeast IM Xtreme Challenge Games.

Nationally, six regions conduct the event, of which the Northeast meet was the largest. The event in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 27-29 included approximately 540 swimmers, ages 11 through 14, from states West Virginia east and Virginia north.

Kate Bellas, Mia Beyerl, Maeve Lersch, Abby Matheny, Meghan Matheny and Olivia Shaffer represented USCS. Many swims were personal best times and several other times were close to personal best times.

Mia Beyerl placed first out of 75 girls in the 11-year-old group, outscoring her nearest competitor by more than 100 points. She took first in the 200 individual medley, second in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly, third in the 100 breaststroke and seventh in the 500 freestyle.

Abby Matheny placed 16th out of 94 girls in the 12-year-old group (the largest group of the meet).

Kate, Maeve, Meghan and Olivia all posted several personal best times.

The USA Swimming IM Xtreme Challenge Games promote and reward versatility in age group swimming while advocating greater participation and development across a range of events. The goal is to enable long-term success in swimming. Top Sixteen Awards were given for overall finish of five events (groups 11 and 12) or six events (groups 13 and 14). Scoring is based on performance using USA Swimming’s Power Point System, which allows for ranking nationally.

Swimmers compete based on their age at the meet. Eleven and 12-year-olds competed in a pentathlon, which included the events; 500 FR, 100 BK, 100 BR, 100 FL, 200 IM. Thirteen and 14-year-old swimmers competed in a sextathlon, which included the events; 500 FR, 200 BK, 200 BR, 200 FL, 200 IM, 400 IM.

Mia – 500 FR (7) pb, 100 BK (2), 100 BR (3), 100 FL (2) pb, 200 IM (1) pb
Abby – 500 FR (9), 100 BK (14), 100 BR (28), 100 FL (19), 200 IM (18)
Olivia – 500 FR (28) pb, 100 BK (37), 100 BR (37), 100 FL (31) PB, 200 IM (36)
Maeve – 500 FR pb, 100 BK (40),100 BR pb, 100 FL pb
Kate – 500 FR pb, 100 FL pb, 200 IM pb
Meghan –200 BR pb, 200 FL pb & 200 IM pb, 400 IM pb

Share your congratulations with the Upper St. Clair swimmers. Tell them in the comments.