Tidal Waves versus Waves

In their last regular meets of the swim season, the Four Seasons Tidal Waves (FS) visited the Bradley Farm Waves (BF) on a morning when the storm clouds seemed threatening over the pool. As the swimmers dove in for warm-ups the coaches questioned how long the meet would go before the storms hit that seemed to have settled into their place over the pool.

            To start off the meet in the 10 and under boys 100 meter IM Forrest Hitchcock (BF) started off in the lead and held the lead for the race. Behind him there was a fight for second between Riley Burch (FS) and Matthew Ahern (BF) with Burch out-touching Ahern in the end. Madison Kauffman started with an early lead for the girls’ race with Susanna Adams making a good effort to catch up on Freestyle but with Kauffman holding her lead to win the race, both girls swim for Four Seasons. In the 11-12 age group Jack Adams (FS) was out to an early lead and he was able to hold the lead and win the race, for the girls’ race Allison Pritz (BF) had a big lead throughout the entire race. Alan Zhai (BF) started with an early lead for the 13-14 boys race and was able to increase his lead and win the race. In the 13-14 girls race it was much closer with Natalie Pritz (BF) followed closely by Camryn Koch (FS), who made a good effort to catch up on the Backstroke lap, with Pritz able to pull out the win for her team. Sean McCrone (BF) started off with the lead in the boys 15-18 IM and was able to increase his lead during the lap of Breaststroke, for the girls Katie Degutis (BF) started with the early lead and held it with Maria Fe Cruz Castillo (FS) close behind.

            Jumping ahead to the 9-10 boys’ 50 meter Freestyle Scott Musgrave (BF) dove in with an early lead that he was able to build on after the flip-turn. In the girls’ race the swimmers started out in a very close race with Susanna Adams with a slight lead, which she was able to increase after her flip-turn. Raymond AbouSamra (FS) and Jack Adams (FS) had a close race with Raymond in the lead for most of the race with Jack almost catching up to him in the last 15 meters.  For the girls’ race Allison Pritz (BF) had a huge lead and held it for the whole race. In the 13-14 age group Alan Zhai was again out with a slight lead with TJ Alvy (FS) close behind and for the girls’ race Natalie Pritz (BF) had a slight lead throughout the race and she won by a touch. Sean McCrone had a commanding lead for the boys’ 15-18 race and in the girls’ race Katie Degutis again had the early lead and increased her lead throughout the race.

            The 6 and under 25 meter Backstroke race was a nail-biter with Daley Adams (FS) with a slight lead over the rest of the pool. For the girls it was a photo-finish race between Zayna Flynn (FS) and Isabella Roselle (BF). To start off the 7-8 Backstroke races Marcus Diccox (BF) had the lead early on in the race and was able to hold it through the race to get first. Alyssa Rardin (FS) was the leader of the girls’ race and she was able to hold the lead with Maya Velasquez (FS) in a close second. To start off the 50 meter Backstroke races Forrest Hitchcock came out with the lead and held it throughout the race. For the girls’ 9-10 race Elise Velasquez (FS) was able to get an early lead and she increased her lead through the second lap of the 50 meters.  It was another race between Four Seasons swimmers in the 11-12 Backstroke with Jack Adams, Raymond AbouSamra and Jonvier Hall-Walker coming out of their starts with an early lead. Adams was able to clinch the win with AbouSamra and Hall-Walker close behind. Allison Pritz was able to start the race with a big lead again and went on to win the race. TJ Alvy started off the 13-14 boys Backstroke race in the lead with Elliott Ray (FS) close behind, Elliott was in the lead after his flip-turn. Danielle Barr (BF) was out with the lead in the 13-14 girls Backstroke race and she was able to increase her lead after her flip-turn. Sean McCrone again had a huge lead for the 15-18 boys Backstroke race and glided into the wall for the win. It was another close race for the 15-18 girls with Maria Fe Cruz Castillo close behind Katie Degutis who went on to win the race.

            In the 8 and under Breaststroke races it was Marcus Diccox with the win for the boys and Kimberly Musgrave (BF) with the early lead and win for the girls. The 9-10 boys 50 meter Breaststroke was led off by Tanishq Sundaresan (BF) with Riley Burch close at his heels. The girls 9-10 race was a much closer race, all of the swimmers were about even until the turn when Susanna Adams took the lead and held it throughout the rest of the race. Raymond AbouSamra was out with an early lead in the 11-12 boys Breaststroke with Jack Adams and Bertram Zhai (BF) racing for second place with Adams out-touching him by one stroke in the end. It was an equally close race between Kate Kaufman (BF) and Caitlin Thompson (FS) in the 11-12 girls Breaststroke, Kaufman was able to beat Thompson for first by one touch. Alan Zhai was at it again in the boys 13-14 Breaststroke race, starting off strong and finishing a half lap ahead of the rest of the swimmers. Danielle Barr was able to get the lead again in her 13-14 Breaststroke race. It was a more exciting race for the 15-18 boys Breaststroke with the whole pool being almost equal for the first 25, after the turn Joseph Bermingham (BF) was able to turn his slight lead into a bigger lead to win the race. Maria Fe Cruz Castillo was able to lead and win the girls 15-18 Breaststroke race.

            In the 8 and under boys Butterfly race Mark Orosco (FS) had the win while for the girls Alexandra Roselle (BF) had the lead with Alyssa Rardin almost catching her at the end of the race. Matthew Ahern started off the 9-10 boys Butterfly race with the lead but Scott Musgrave (BF) was able to catch up and win the race. The 9-10 girls Butterfly race was another close race with Erin Barr (BF) and Susanna Adams head-to-head until the end, with Barr just out-touching Adams. Raymond AbouSamra led the pack of 11-12 boys in the 50 meter Butterfly race but Bertram Zhai was able to catch him and win the race. Allison Pritz had the lead again for the 11-12 girls and was able to have a big lead by the end of the race. Alan Zhai was again ahead of the pack in the 13-14 boys race with TJ Alvy close at his heels for most of the race. Sean McCrone again had a big win in the 15-18 boys race while for the girls Katie Degutis was able to have a big win as well.

            The relays started off with the 8 and under boys relay from Bradley Farm with a big win, while the girls’ race was much closer with Four Seasons close behind Bradley Farm. The 9-10 100 Medley relays were split with the Bradley Farm Waves relay clinching first for the boys and with the Four Seasons Tidal Waves relay clinching first for the girls. The 11-12 100 Medley relays were split as well with Four Seasons winning the boys relay and Bradley Farm winning the girls. It stayed split for the 13-14 race as well with the Four Seasons boys winning and the Bradley Farm girls winning. In the 15-18 the results were also split with the Bradley Farm boys dominating and the Four Seasons girls winning their race. In the Mixed Age 200 Freestyle relay the boys’ race was close until the 15-18’s were in the water when Sean McCrone gained an insurmountable lead to clinch the win for Bradley Farm. For the girls Mixed Age relay the Bradley Farm girls were in the lead for most of the race and held it until the end.

            When all was said and done the meet went well for both teams and each had a positive outlook unto what the next week held: training for the Championships/All-Stars Meet.