Stingray charges home strong to finish out Pete Ribbins Meet!
After a blistering first night of competition featuring an epic duel in the 1500 and a slew of impressive swims in the 800, Stingray swimmers swung back into battle on Friday and Saturday. With many swimmers fighting fatigue and illness the whole way, Stingray's younger lot provided a spark which kept the team rolling.
Having lied relatively dormant for the entire season, watching their 11-12 female counterparts whoop up on the competition, it was the 11-12 boys who stole the show and took their turn in the spotlight. Jonathan "Bobo" Anderson continued his hot streak from Jamaica, chasing down and overtaking three swimmers in the 50 freestyle for a 2nd place finish in a time of 32.38. Bobo also dropped in the 100 Breast, the 50 Back and the 50 Breast.
The most impressive of swims from the 11-12 Boys though came from John Bodden and the Boys 200 Freestyle Relay. "Little John" swam the most impressive race yet of his short career clocking an 11 second drop in the 100 Freestyle to give him third place overall. Later in the same session, the 11-12 Boys nearly took down the far more experienced and far bigger boys from CBAC in the 200 Freestyle Relay. Bobo Anderson, Alex Dakers, Little John Bodden and Iain Macrae all swam lifetime bests in what was almost one of the biggest upsets of the meet.
Olivia Plunkett and the 8-Under girls also powered their way through competition both Saturday and Sunday, Olivia taking top honors in the Age Group and dropping time in all six of her events. Also standing out, in her first real competition, was Raya Embury-Brown, who popped off impressive first swims in the 25 breast (28.36) and 25 free (21.52).
The swim of the weekend though goes to Ashley Theaker, once again, who chopped 7 seconds off her 200 freestyle on Sunday and came charging back from 4th place, nearly getting touched out at the finish. Seeded third, and swimming next to a girl who has not been beaten in the event for as long as this coach has been on island, Theaker gave her a huge scare, pulling even with a 50 to go, and touching first going into the last 25. Both teams roared to life, willing their swimmers home in a photo finish. Ashley's time was good enough to make her the top qualifier in the event for CARIFTA among the 13-14 girls.
WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS
6 Stingray swimmers raced for the first time in a true, sanctioned competition. Shanti Singh (8), Dimitri Myles (13), Dylan Myles (13), Sarah Harrison (11), Emma Handal (9), and Raya Embury-Brown (8)
Stefanie Boothe swims 1:18.21 to win the 11-12 Girls 100 Fly, a PB by over 3 seconds, qualifying her for CARIFTA in the event
John Bodden shows his speed in the 100 Freestyle, dropping more than 11 seconds and placing third overall in a time of 1:16.47
Wunyae Crawford breaks through in the 100 backstroke with self-proclaimed "perfect streamlines coach!", dropping 8 seconds and finishing with a time of 1:16.44
Sophie Hayman proves her Mighty Mouse strength in the backstroke events, dropping 4 seconds in the 50 (49.34), jumping from 10th seed to 4th place overall. Sophie also placed 4th in the 100 back.
Iain Macrae chopped off 8 seconds in the 100 breaststroke, giving him his biggest drop in almost a full year. His time of 1:41.84 was good enough to earn him third place overall
Keeping things fast in the family, Nick McCallum had somewhat of a breakout performance, dropping 12 seconds in the 50 freestyle, 6 seconds in the 50 backstroke and 17 seconds in the 100 IM.
Ashley Theaker smokes the competition to place first for 13-14 girls in the 200 free, giving her a new CARIFTA qualifying time. This gives Ashley qualifying times in every freestyle distance... 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800.
Olivia Plunkett, Alison Jackson, Cole Morgan and Alex McCallum win high point awards.
Stingray swimmers rock the house with their new cheers, leaving the competition scrambling to come up with new cheers on the spot, just to keep up :D
The train keeps rolling... Onward we go!
