Warm Up info & Patriot Meet Psych Sheet.....
Warm Ups for Saturday & Sunday for the 10 & under Swimmers is at 8 AM Meet starts at 9 AM
11 & Older Swimmers Saturday & Sunday be at Pool by 11 AM
Remember NO Practices at Westchase this Saturday!!
Click here for Psych Sheet for this weekends meet....
Attachments:
Novice Swimmers attend Berkeley Preps Halloween Meet...
Berkeley Prep host a little mini meet every Halloween complete with a costume contest and ghost heats too! A small group of our Novice swimmers attended this fun event. The Westchase swimmers not only did well in the swim meet but took home some prizes in the costume contest as well. Westchase swimmers included Lindsey Marian, Margret Parker, Lauren Sellers, Zuri Ramsey, Kory Kimura and Ryaan Hatoum. These guys had a blast and raced really well. Our Novice swimmers look forward to attending next years bash!
Westchase Swimmers Brave the Cold in Largo....
34 Westchase swimmers braved the coldest October weather since 1927 at the annual Halloween Meet in Largo! An unseasonable blast of cold weather greated our kids on the weekend of October 16th. Best times were not impossible but hard to achieve in these blustery conditions. I was very proud of the determination of our athletes as they raced as hard as ever. High points winners included Matthew Dieffenthaller (4th)& Kory Kimura (5th) for the 8& Under boys. Jabari Ramsey took 2nd in the 10 & Under Boys age group. The 11-12 Boys saw Austin Sellers taking the 2nd place spot & Jared Young taking 5th Julia Cogdil took 10th in the 11-12 Girls. 13-14 Girls saw Michelle Turek taking 2nd place & Jocelyn Williams taking 6th. For the 13-14 Boys Kyle Kimura took 2nd place and Christaain Hazlett took 9th place. A great job in harsh conditions, hopefully next year the weather will be more like Florida and less like Alaska!!
A Fun Weekend in Tampa Bay....
The Westchase swimmers had a fun weekend of October 2nd & 3rd. On Friday, October 2nd, 32 Westchase swimmers headed to the North Shore Pool in St Pete for the Friday Night at the Races Meet hosted by St Pete Aquatics. The kids swam well for early in the season with everyone swimming hard and scoring best times! Event winners included Kyle Kimura, Austin Sellers, Jared Young, Mathew Dieffenthaller, Jabari Ramsey & Michelle Turek, who broke her own week old state record in the 100 Free! Christopher Quach made his first Junior Olympic cut in the 10 & Under Boys 50 Back. Saturday the 3rd TBAY held its' 3rd Annual Beach Swim. With a great crowd from all the TBAY branches, the Westchase swimmers had a blast. We had swimmers from our pool in the 1000, the One & Two Mile open water races as well. After the swimming was done there were sack races, football games & a tug of war! We had so much fun we look forward to next years 4th annual event!
Michelle Turek Continues Record Setting Ways....
Westchase swimmer Michelle Turek broke two more Florida Swimming records at the Highlander Aquatics Meet in Orlando the weekend of September 26-27. Saturday the 26th, Michelle broke the 25 year old 50 Yard Freestyle record set in 1984 by Jennifer Yarnall of Sarasota. The old record of 24.25 stood for a quarter century, until Michelle hit the wall Saturday with new record time of 24.19. But Michelle wasn't quite done yet Sunday,September 27, Michelle broke the 6 year old 100 Yard Freestyle record owned by Chelsea Franklin of Gulf Coast Swimming. Miss Franklin set the the mark of 53.03 in 2003. But now that record belongs to Michelle Turek after she turned in an amazing 52.90 in the pool at Lake Highland Prep School! That makes four 11-12 Girls Florida Swimming records for Michelle Turek in 2009! Michelle turns 13 in October.
Pretty Sweet September Meet...
The Westchase swimmers preformed well at the 13th Annual Sweet September Meet hosted by TBAY at Countryside Country Club the weekend of September 11 to 13. This is our first short course meet of the season and we had several high point winners from our pool. In the 8 & Under Boys Kory Kimura took 2nd place & Mathew Dieffenthaller took the 4th place spot in the points race. For the 10 & under Boys Jabari Ramsey won every race he was in & took home the High Point Title for the 10 & Under Boys. Nine year old Chirstopher Quach took the 5th place spot as well. 11-12 Girls saw Michelle Turek clean up with several first place swims to take the high point title in her age group! Austin Sellers, Jared Young took 2nd & 3rd in the 11-12 Boys High Point. 13-14 Girls High Point was stacked with Westchase swimmers too! Jocelyn Williams, Margret Shumake & Nicole Harder took the 1st,3rd & 4th place high point spots. Way to go guys!!
Westchase Swimmers Help TBAY Win Tampa Area Swim League Championships
15 Westchase swimmers teamed up with the Tampa Palms, Lakeland & Huntersgreen Branches of Tampa Bay Aquatics to help TBAY win the team title of The Tampa Area Swim League Championships for the third summer in a row! Leading the charge for Westchase was Zachary Bennitt & Matthew Dieffenthaller who finished 1st & 2nd in the 8 & Under Boys High Point race! Medalist from Westchase included Zachary Bennitt, 1st place in the 8 & Under Boys 25 Free, 25 Breast and 100 yard IM. Matthew Dieffenthaller 1st place in the 8 & Under Boys 25 Back, 2nd place in the 25 Breast and 3rd place in the 25 yard Free.Ryaan Hatoum took the 3rd place medal in the 8 & Under Boys 25 yard Breast. Kory Kimura took 1st place in the 8 & Under 25 Fly, & 3rd place in the 25 Back. Noah Reinhart won the 11-12 Boys 50 Back & his twin brother Matthew 3rd in the 11-12 Boys 50 Breast. Kellan Wallace rounded out the medalist taking 2nd place in the 10 & Under Boys 100 IM. These Westchase swimmers all scored points to help TBAY to victory. Camryn Barry, Christopher Dieffenthaller, Breanna Hickey, Lindsey Marian, Margaret Parker, Mason Reinhart, and Lauren Sellers. This was a great way to end the summer swim league season!
Lindsey Marian Strikes Silver in Canada...
While vacationing in Canada this summer, Lindsey Marian from our Novice Group competed at the Muskoka Lakes Aquatic Regatta which is a 116 year old tradition. It is the oldest continuously run co-ed regatta in North America. On Saturday August 1st at the Muskoka Lakes Golf and Country Club on Lake Rosseau in Canada , Lindsey won 2 silver medals. The medals were for the girls 9 and under swimming and the Jr. family swimming relay which she did with her father John Marian. All of the swimming was in Lake Rosseau. This is the third year that Lindsey has competed in the Regatta and she will be competing again next year in 2010.
Turek & Sellers Help Lead Florida Swimming To Victory...
Having been a Florida Swimming Zone Team Coach twice myself, '04 in Ft. Lauderdal & '06 in Atlanta I know first hand how intence and gruling and exciting this week long meet can be. From getting on the team bus on Monday, the 800's on Tuesday to the Open Water Swims on Sunday! It is a long meet but it is a lot of fun too. The parade of teams & trading of team gear on Saturday is awsome! And meeting swimmers & coaches from all over the Southern United States is something you can never forget! We are very lucky this year to have two of our Westchase swimmers on the Florida Zone Team. Florida Swimming has now won the Southern Zone meet three years in a row & our two swimmers were a huge part of that victory! Michelle Turek took 2nd place in the 11-12 Girls 100 Meter Free & the 11-12 Girls Open Water Swim! Michelle also placed 3rd in the 11-12 Girls 200 & 400 Free as well as being on the 3rd place 200 FR Relay & 4th place 11-12 Girls Florida Swimming 200 Medlay Relay. Austin Sellers was a big point scorer as well. Placing 8th in both the 11-12 Boys 50 & 100 Meter Breaststroke events & taking 7th place in the 11-12 Boys Open Water Competition. We at Westchase are very proud of these two athletes!
Attachments:
Westchase Swimmers Score Big At Area 3/5 Championships.....
27 Westchase swimmers represented Tampa Bay Aquatics at the recent Area 3/5 Championships held the last weekend in July at St. Petes North Shore Pool. We had several indvidual event winners & loads of new Junior Olympic qualifing times made! Westchase Medalist include- 8 & Under Boys Ryaan Hatoum scored a silver in the 25 Yard Breaststroke. Kendall Allen took 1st in the 10 & Under Girls 100 IM & made her JO cut. She took 2nd in the 10 & Under Girls 50 & 100 Free making both of those JO cuts! Kendal also took 3rd in the 50 Breaststroke. Also medalling for the 10 & Under Girls was Paige Carter. Paige took gold in the 9-10 Girls 50 Free, 100Free, 100 Back, 50 & 100 Breaststroke. She took 2nd in the 9-10 Girls 200 Free & 3rd in the 200 IM making the Junior Olympic cut in every race she swam! Elle Hazlett took a bronze medal in the 9-10 Girls 100 Fly as well. The 11-12 age group saw lot of awards going to the Westchase kids. On the Girls side Julia Cogdill took the silver medals in the 500 Free, 200 Free, 50 Back And a bronze in the 100 Back. Julia made here JO cuts in those events plus the 200 IM, 50 Free 100Fly & the 100 Free. The 11-12 Boys saw Ian Hazlett getting a third place medal in the 200 IM. His brother Tristan Hazlett took the bronze in the 11-12 Boys 500 Free. Tristan also met the JO time standard in the 500 Free,50 Free, 100 IM, 200 Free & 100 Free as well. Sujay Pillai swimming in his last 11-12 meet took home gold in the 11-12 Boys 500 Free, 100 Fly, 100 IM & 50 Fly. He took 2nd in the 100 & 200 free, making the JO cuts in every race he swam! The 13-14 Year old swimmers swam great as well! Christiaan Hazlett took 1st place in the 13-14 Boys 50 Free & 2nd place in the 100 Fly,200 Fly 3rd place in the 500 Free,400 IM, 200 IM & 200 Free. Christiaan made his JO cuts in 100 Fly, 500 Free,200 IM & 200 Free. For the 13-14 Girls Jocelyn Willaims took two Silvers, placing 2nd in the 200 Free & the 200 Breast. She made her Junior Olympic cut in the 200 Breast as well as 200 Back & 200 IM. Magret Shumake rounded out the 13-14 Girls medalist taking second in the 200 Back third in the 200 Free & third in the SR girls 200 Breast. Margret made her JO cuts in the 500 Free, 200 Back & 200 Breast.Nicole Harder, Bella Cogdill, Jimmy Dang,Jabari Ramsey, Matthew & Noah Reinhart all qualified for the evening Finals based on their morning Prelim swims.
Attachments:
Turek & Sellers Named To Florida Swimming's Zone Team....
Westchase swimmers Michelle Turek & Austin Sellers have been named to Florida Swimming's Southern Zone All-Star Team. They will be competing in Orlando at the International YMCA from July 28 to August 1st. They will be swimming in the 11-12 year old divisions againts All-Star Swimmers from all over the Southern United States. This is a big meet with teams from North & South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennissee, Louisiana & Texas! Michelle & Austin were chosen for the Florida Team based on the performance at the past two Junior Olympics!
Westchase Swimmers Help TBAY To A Second Place Team Finish At JR. Olympics....
TBAY at Westchase swimmers charged into FT Myers with a mighty pirate "AARRRRR" To help Tampa Bay Aquatics to a 2nd Place Team Finish behind the Sarasota YMCA Sharks. Leading the charge was Michelle Turek winning the 11-12 Girls 50 & 100 Meter Free. Michelle tied the state record in the 100 Free that was set by former TBAY swimmer Chelsea Nauta in 2001! Michelle also took 2nd place in the 11-12 Girls 200 & 400 Meter Freestyle events. Also scoring silver medals from Westchase were Austin Sellers in the 11-12 Boys 50 & 100 Meter Breaststroke events, Jared Young took 2nd in the 11-12 Boys 100 Back as well as 9 year old Jabari Ramsey placing 2nd in the Boys 10 & Under 50 Breaststroke! Jared & Jabari each took home a bronze medal as well. Jared Young in the 11-12 Boys 400 Freestyle and Jabari Ramsey in the 10 & Under 100 Breast. Kyle Kimura who just turned 13 was a member of the TBAY 13-14 Boys State Record setting 400 Free Relay as well as winning the Consilation Finals in the 13-14 Boys 200 Meter Individual Medlay. Michelle Turek, Austin Sellers, Jared Young, Kendall Allen, Sujay Pillai and Paige Carter were all on medal winning relays as well! Complete meet results can be seen at this link...
Attachments:
15 Westchase Swimmers Qualify For Junior Olympics.....
Holy Cow!!! 15 swimmers from Westchase have qualified for Florida Swimmings Summer Junior Olympics! These young dedicated athletes worked very hard the past few months to end their Long Course 50 Meter Season at one of the fastest Age Group Meets in the country! Congratulations to Kendal Allen, Paige Carter, Julia Cogdill, Nicole Harder, Christiaan Hazlett, Elle Hazlett, Tristan Hazlett, Kyle Kimura, Sujay Pillai, Jabari Ramsey, Austin Sellers, Margret Shumake, Michelle Turek, Jocelyn Williams & Jared Young! Bella Cogdill & Lauren Sellers were also invited to swim on some girls relays so that makes 17 Westchase swimmers heading to Ft. Myers this weekend to compete at the Gulf Coast University Aquatic Center! Good Luck & Swim FAST!!!!
Westchase's Michelle Turek Breaks Chelsea Nuata's State Record..
TBAY at Westchase swimmer Michelle Turek had a very good Largo meet last weekend, which was highlighted by a record breaking swim in the 11-12 Girls 50 Meter Free. Michelle won the event in a time of 27.41. That beats former TBAY & current University of Georgia swimmer Chelsea Nautas old record of 27.57 set back in July of 2001! The time of 27.41 makes Michelle the current number one ranked 11-12 Girl in the United States in the 50 Meter Free. Kyle Kimura had a great meet as well, ending his 11-12 years by winning every event he was in and along the way earning the 1st Place High Point award for the 11-12 Boys age group! Other High Point winners in Largo were Matthew Deifenthaller taking 3rd place 8 & Under Boys with Kory Kimura & Zachary Bennett taking the 4th & 5th place honors! Jabari Ramsey won the 10 & Under Boys 50 Breast, 100 Breast & 200 IM to help him get a 4th Place High Point finish. 2nd in the 11-12 Boys High Point behind Kyle was Jared Young. Austin Sellers won the 11-12 Boys 50 & 100 Meter Breaststroke to help him to a 4th Place High Point finish as well. The swimmers swam well in the record heat & look forward to our next meet in St. Pete!
Westchase Crew of 32, swim well at St Pete's Friday & Saturday at the Races....
32 Westchase swimmers braved the stormiest weather in years to travel to St Pete's North Shore Pool for St Pete's Friday & Saturday at the Races. With only a few weather delays, the meet ran very smooth. Our crew of 32 swam in 154 races & turned in 89 new Personal Best Times with only one DQ! That is very good considering we only had one practice the week leading up to the meet due to rain & lightning during practice times! Individual events were won by Kyle Kimura ( 11-12 100 Back,50 Free, 100 Fly & 100 Free) Michelle Turek (11-12 100 Back, 50 Fly, 50 Back) Jabari Ramsey(10 & Under 50 Fly, 50 & 100 Breast) & Paige Carter who won the 10 & Under Girls 100 Breast! New Junior Olympic Cuts were made by Christaain Hazlett (13-14 100 Fly & 100 Free) Jared Young & Michelle Turek each made their 11-12 800 Free cuts for Junior Olympics in in Ft Myers this July! The next meet up is The Largo " Lightning Invitational" June 19-21 at Largo's S.W. Complex. Meet info is posted at the Swim & Tennis Center on the team bullitin board.
2009 Westchase All-Star Team
Florida Swimming once again defeated Florida Gold Coast at the All-Stars Meet in Indian River Community College on April 4-5 in Fort Pierce, Florida. The final score was Florida Swimming 734 and Florida Gold Coast 538. The scoring system only awarded points to the top two swimmers from each team regardless of overall place and only the top three relays.
Florida Swimming selected 135 swimmers from various swim clubs in the state to compete on their all-star team. The team was separated into three age groups, 10 and Under, 11-12 and 13-14, for boys and girls. Twelve swimmers from Tampa Bay Aquatics (TBAY) competed on Florida Swimming’s All-Star team, six of whom came from the TBAY Westchase swim team. The TBAY Westchase swimmers earned points that contributed to Florida Swimming’s win and brought home several medals.
Among Girls 11-12, Michelle Turek represented the women of Westchase by taking first place in the 50 and 100 Free, third in the 200 Free and seventh in the 500 Free. She also assisted the Girls 11-12 to place first in the 200 Medley Relay and 200 Free Relay.
Among Boys 11-12, Kyle Kimura placed in five events, the 50 and 100 Fly, 200 Free, 200 IM and 500 Free, and third place in the 100 Free. Kyle helped the Boys 11-12 team to place first in the 200 Medley Relay and 200 Free Relay. Austin Sellers placed second in the 100 Breast, and took third place in the 50 Breast and 100 IM. Austin also assisted Boys 11-12 to place third in the 200 Medley Relay and 200 Free Relay. Jared Young, a young 11-year-old, placed sixth in the 200 IM, seventh in the 50 Back and eighth in the 100 Back.
Among Boys 10 and Under, Tristan Hazlett placed third in the 100 Free, fifth in the 50 Free, sixth in the 200 IM and eighth in the 200 Free. Tristan also helped the Boys 10 and Under place second in the 200 Free Relay. Jabari Ramsey placed fourth in the 50 Breast and seventh in the 100 Breast.
Congratulations to our Westchase TBAY All Stars!
By Rachel Sellers, Resident of Keswick Forest
Westchase @ TBAY Swimmers Break State and Junior Olympic Relay Records
At the 2009 Florida Swimming Short Course Junior Olympics during February, Westchase swimmers assisted in 2 medley relays that broke State and Junior Olympic Records. The TBAY Boys 11-12 A-Team squad of Rasmus Skaerpe (Central Branch), Austin Sellers (Westchase), Kyle Kimura (Westchase) and David Wong (Lakeland Branch) took Gold Medal and broke the JO and State Record in the 400 Medley Relay with a time of 4:04.75! The TBAY Boys 11-12 A-Team squad of Rasmus Skaerpe (Central Branch), Jed Rodriquez (Tampa Palms), Kyle Kimura (Westchase) and David Wong (Lakeland Branch) took another Gold Medal and smashed the JO and State Record in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:51.73! It was exciting and AWESOME to watch!
Al Soltis Swim Meet in Clearwater
The Westchase Swim Team had 38 swimmers compete in the Al Soltis swim meet in Clearwater on January 16-18th. Westchase’s Jared Young placed 1st in the 11 and Under boys individual high point winner category. He won 1st place in the 500 Free, 200IM, 50 Fly and 200 Free; 2nd place in the 50 and 100 Free and 3rd in the 50 Back and 100 Breast”.
TBAY Hosts Saturday Morning Races
Tampa Bay Aquatics hosted Saturday Mornings Races at the St. Pete Aquatics Northshore Pool on December 13, 2008. Westchase had 18 swimmers compete in this swim meet. We had 3 swimmers from the Swim Team’s Novice Program compete for the very first time, Zachary Bennett, Kory Kimura and Lauren Sellers (pictured in the photo).
All of the Westchase swimmers performed outstanding. Highlights of the races include:
In the 8&Under Girls, Lindsey Marian placed 4th in the 25 yard Fly, 6th in the 25 Back, 8th in the 25 Free and 9th in the 25 Breast. In the 8&Under Boys, Ryaan Hatoum placed 2nd in the 25 Breast, 3rd in the 25 Free & Breast and 4th in the 25 Fly. Kory Kimura placed 5th in the 25 yard Back and 6th in the 25 Free. Zachary Bennett placed 6th in the 25 Back and 7th in the 25 Free.
In the 10&Under Girls, Paige Carter placed 5th in the 50 Breast, and 8th in the 50 Free and Back. Lauren Sellers placed 9th in the 50 Breast. In the 10&Under Boys, Andrea Stevao placed 2nd in the 50 yard Breast and 3rd in the 50 Free and Back. Chris Quach placed 2nd in the 50 Fly and 6th in the 50 Free & Back.
In the 11&12 Girls, Jocelyn Williams placed 2nd in the 50 Back, 4th in the 50 Free and 3rd in the Sr Girls 500 Free. Julia Cogdill placed 5th in the 50 Free, 7th in the 50 Fly and 8th in the 50 Back. She also placed 6th in the Sr. Girls 500 Free. Tiffany Quach competed and established personal best times. In the 11&12 Boys, Kyle Kimura placed 1st in the 50 Free, 2nd in the Sr. Boys 200 Fly and 3rd in the Sr. Boys 200 Back. Austin Sellers placed 1st in the 50, 4th in the 50 Free, 2nd in the Sr. Boys 100 Breast, and 6th in the Sr. Boys 200 Back. Jared Young placed 3rd in the 50 Free and Breast, 2nd in the Sr. Boys 200 Back and 8th in the Sr. Boys 100 Fly. Mason Reinhart placed 6th in the 50 Back and 9th in the 50 Fly. Efa Emir placed 7th in the 50 Back and established personal best times in other races.
In the Senior Girls, Margret Shumake placed 1st in the 200 IM, 4th in the 500 Free, 6th in the 100 & 200 Back. Bella Cogdill placed 8th in the 50 and 500 Free.
Swim Team Celebrates the Holidays
The Westchase Swim Team celebrated the holidays at their Annual Christmas Party. This was a fun action-packed party filled with Holiday Swim Team traditions . The Annual ut-Eating Contest was a big hit with the kids who were covered all over with powdered donuts on their faces. There were also Santa Sack races on the Volleyball Field that proved to be a blast! This year, there was a special reading of Twas the Night Before A Swimmer’s Meet by April Reinhart, President of the Westchase Swim Team Booster Club. Dinner was served and a kids Christmas gift exchange followed. Merry Christmas to All, they had a really fun night.
As a special treat, we wanted to share our Night Before a Swim Meet with the rest of the Westchase neighbors:
'Twas The Night Before A Swim Meet
"Twas the night before a swim meet and all through the house
Every creature was stirring maybe even a mouse
The team towels were hung outside with great care
In hopes that they would dry in the chilly night air
The swimmers were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of ribbons danced in their heads
And mamma in her kerchief and I in my cap
Had just settled down for a short winter's nap
(those swim meets start early ya' know!)
When out of the darkness my alarm clock started to beep
I sprang from my bed to get ready for the meet
Away to the pool we flew like a flash
Warm-ups are early, gotta' get there quite fast
The moon shone on the water both steaming and still
To get into the pool takes dedication and will
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a little red truck bringing someone near
With a little old driver, so quick on approach
I knew in a moment it must be Kelley our Coach
More rapid than eagles his swimmers they came
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
"Now Austin, now Jared, now Margret and Bella
On Kendal, on Regan, on Victor and Noah
To the top of the platform, to the top of the wall
Now swim away, swim away, swim away all!"
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know that I had nothing to dread;
He paced the whole pool as he went straight to his work,
And filled all the lanes; then turned with a jerk,
And shouting "Stroke, Stroke" he encouraged them all
They did breaststroke, they did backstroke ,yes, they covered them all
And giving a nod, back to his truck he did go
Leaving his swimmers and parents to know
TBAY Westchase is great and our coach is the best
Competing to stay on the top of the rest
But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night."