Well, I won't have to come up with new words for "best swim meet ever!" We've definitely had better meets. This was just a rough one.
It got off to a good start, with the girls taking first in the Medley Relay, but it wasn't a runaway.
There was a very long span of time between Lexy's first event (the Relay) and her second event, the 100 Freestyle. There were about 50 events to wade through before it was her turn to swim again, and this may have had something to do with her losing a few seconds. Her best time in this event, a 9-10 event, was 1:21.02, and she turned in a 1:28.87. I was on the pool deck timing, so I didn't have a birds' eye view, but Sydney said she missed the wall on her turns twice. On her final turn, she didn't flip, but did a regular turn around. Regardless, Lexy placed fourth overall in this event, swimming against eight other 9-10 year olds. Well done!
The realization that Lexy added seconds put her into a tizzy and she went into a crying fit that resulted in a bloody nose. This affected her later events.
Her third event was the 50 Backstroke, and her best time for this was 47.77. This is also a 9-10 event. She placed 8th overall with a time of 49.19, swimming against 15 other 9-10 year olds. A very respectable finish.
Her final event, the 25 Breaststroke, was great. Her previous best time was a 26.21, and she took off about 2 seconds to finish in second place just a few hundredths of a second behind the winner at about 24.30.
As an 8-year old, Lexy has gotten used to winning or coming in the top three routinely. This was a tough day on the surface, but when you look at what she accomplished - swimming two events that are 9-10 events and placing very respectably - we can chalk this one up to experience and getting ready to turn 9.
Coming next week: The MTSL Championship meet, and the Dolphins Banquet is coming up after that!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Mt. Pleasant Pacers Invitational, Feb 16, 2008
An efficient meet this was NOT. It started about 20 minutes late, and there were numerous delays between events - so much so, I wondered if the host team would be fined for the delays! I noticed a saying on the back of one woman's t-shirt: "Lord, if I have only one day to live, please let me be at a swim meet because they last forever." Amen, sister!!
I'm going to have to start trying to come up with new words for "best swim meet ever!" Lexy went into this meet pretty confident that she would do well. We did our best as parents to manage her expectations, taking into consideration a mild case of the sniffles.
In the pre-dawn ride to the meet we munched on our bagels and sang along to the soundtrack from "Wicked." It was a shorter ride than I remembered, and we ended up getting there 20 minutes early, even with slowing down for icy conditions on some of the county roads.
Lexy's first event was the 100 I.M. and the times on the heat sheet made it appear that she would have some pretty tough competition. It was neck and neck for the butterfly and backstroke lengths, and then, somehow, in the breaststroke length, she broke away, and it was all over. She posted another personal record at 1:37.69, .09 better than last week's 1:37.78. Even her coach seemed surprised at her third length breakaway.
Second on the docket was the 25 Fly, and there was again one other swimmer who looked as though she would give Lexy a run for her money. Lexy has never swum this event under 20 seconds until today, posting a very respectable 18.52. Two heat winners and two first places under our belt, we still had two events to go.
The 50 Free was next and, while Lexy lost about a second in this heat, she still came in first at 39.35. She also won her last event, the 25 Backstroke, posting a 21.86, about six-tenths of a second slower than her fastest time.
With four first places cinched, it was a surprise when she returned to the viewing stand with three first place trophies and one second place medal! It was very confusing, but we weren't going to argue. A few minutes later the assistant coach approached us to let us know she was very unhappy that they had made a mistake and given Lexy a second place medal. She seemed quite upset about the mistake, and they readily exchanged the medal for the trophy. So off we went, back to Midland, having achieved exactly what Lexy set out to do.
Next week, at the Dual Meet against BAYS, I've asked that Lexy be slated for some harder (9-10 yr-old events) so that she'll be challenged to work a little harder for the accolades.
I'm going to have to start trying to come up with new words for "best swim meet ever!" Lexy went into this meet pretty confident that she would do well. We did our best as parents to manage her expectations, taking into consideration a mild case of the sniffles.
In the pre-dawn ride to the meet we munched on our bagels and sang along to the soundtrack from "Wicked." It was a shorter ride than I remembered, and we ended up getting there 20 minutes early, even with slowing down for icy conditions on some of the county roads.
Lexy's first event was the 100 I.M. and the times on the heat sheet made it appear that she would have some pretty tough competition. It was neck and neck for the butterfly and backstroke lengths, and then, somehow, in the breaststroke length, she broke away, and it was all over. She posted another personal record at 1:37.69, .09 better than last week's 1:37.78. Even her coach seemed surprised at her third length breakaway.
Second on the docket was the 25 Fly, and there was again one other swimmer who looked as though she would give Lexy a run for her money. Lexy has never swum this event under 20 seconds until today, posting a very respectable 18.52. Two heat winners and two first places under our belt, we still had two events to go.
The 50 Free was next and, while Lexy lost about a second in this heat, she still came in first at 39.35. She also won her last event, the 25 Backstroke, posting a 21.86, about six-tenths of a second slower than her fastest time.
With four first places cinched, it was a surprise when she returned to the viewing stand with three first place trophies and one second place medal! It was very confusing, but we weren't going to argue. A few minutes later the assistant coach approached us to let us know she was very unhappy that they had made a mistake and given Lexy a second place medal. She seemed quite upset about the mistake, and they readily exchanged the medal for the trophy. So off we went, back to Midland, having achieved exactly what Lexy set out to do.
Next week, at the Dual Meet against BAYS, I've asked that Lexy be slated for some harder (9-10 yr-old events) so that she'll be challenged to work a little harder for the accolades.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Guppy Bowl - Lake Orion, Mich., Feb 9, 2008
We have been looking forward to the Guppy Bowl for weeks, but getting there was quite an adventure! It wasn't a complicated drive down to Lake Orion, but we got about two inches of very wet snow last night -- on top of the foot we got earlier in the week. Getting out of Midland and over to 75 was a white knuckle ride. We saw at least two people in the center median, having just recently slid in. We saw a lot of telltale tread marks that could only mean that there had been many more! About every 20 miles or so we saw someone else who had just gone in or who was getting towed out. A few had their headlights pointing TOWARD us. We were happy to make it to Lake Orion safe and sound.
The Guppy Bowl showcases events for swimmers 8 years old and under. You might be wondering - how many swimmers can there be at 8 years old and under? Twenty-two swim teams entered 233 swimmers! More than two thirds of these were girls, and two were Barracudas -- Lexy and Lydia. They both had a great meet, swimming five events each. A big thank you to Coach Mary Hillebrand (Lydia's mom) who was the coach on deck for the meet.
The U.S.S. meets are typically harder than our local MTSL meets, so we don't go in with dreams of blue ribbons. Our goals are to shave off seconds and turn in personal best times -- which Lexy and Lydia both accomplished. Lexy placed in the top 8 in each of her five events, and came home with two seconds, one fourth, one fifth and one eighth - a VERY successful day!
The first event of the day - and Lexy's first event - was the 100 I.M., one of Lexy's favorites. She recorded a best time of 1:37.78, shaving about 4 seconds off her previous best time. She placed 5th in the event, taking home a really cute Guppy Bowl medal with a green ribbon.
After a substantial lag due to a computer glitch, Lexy got back in the pool and pulled out an 8th place and another best time in the 25 backstroke. She took off about one-tenth of a second to record a 21.18.
A few minutes later she took second place in the 100 Freestyle, winning her heat and scoring a great fleece scarf (the heat winner's prize). This is an event Lexy has only swum twice, and this time she took FIVE seconds off her time, coming in at a very respectable 1:21.02. This is the first 9-year old time that she has achieved.
Her next event was the 50 Freestyle, where she turned in a 37.94 -- about six-tenths of a second faster than her previous best. We think she placed fourth in this race. Finally, she swam the 50 backstroke. This was another heat winner, so she snagged another scarf! I didn't remember her ever posting a time for this in the past, but she beat her previous time by about five seconds, and another second place!
We're glad we got this chance to go to the Guppy Bowl in 2008. Since Lexy will be 9 next year, she will be too old. It was a worthwhile experience. We hope all Lexy's teammates had successful weekends, at the Michigan Open and also the Huron Valley Penguin meet. We are looking forward to the Penguin meet next year.
We're looking forward to next week's meet, the Mt. Pleasant Invitational, in Alma, Mich. These are usually at Alma College - Home of the Fighting Scots! Go Dolphins!!
The Guppy Bowl showcases events for swimmers 8 years old and under. You might be wondering - how many swimmers can there be at 8 years old and under? Twenty-two swim teams entered 233 swimmers! More than two thirds of these were girls, and two were Barracudas -- Lexy and Lydia. They both had a great meet, swimming five events each. A big thank you to Coach Mary Hillebrand (Lydia's mom) who was the coach on deck for the meet.
The U.S.S. meets are typically harder than our local MTSL meets, so we don't go in with dreams of blue ribbons. Our goals are to shave off seconds and turn in personal best times -- which Lexy and Lydia both accomplished. Lexy placed in the top 8 in each of her five events, and came home with two seconds, one fourth, one fifth and one eighth - a VERY successful day!
The first event of the day - and Lexy's first event - was the 100 I.M., one of Lexy's favorites. She recorded a best time of 1:37.78, shaving about 4 seconds off her previous best time. She placed 5th in the event, taking home a really cute Guppy Bowl medal with a green ribbon.
After a substantial lag due to a computer glitch, Lexy got back in the pool and pulled out an 8th place and another best time in the 25 backstroke. She took off about one-tenth of a second to record a 21.18.
A few minutes later she took second place in the 100 Freestyle, winning her heat and scoring a great fleece scarf (the heat winner's prize). This is an event Lexy has only swum twice, and this time she took FIVE seconds off her time, coming in at a very respectable 1:21.02. This is the first 9-year old time that she has achieved.
Her next event was the 50 Freestyle, where she turned in a 37.94 -- about six-tenths of a second faster than her previous best. We think she placed fourth in this race. Finally, she swam the 50 backstroke. This was another heat winner, so she snagged another scarf! I didn't remember her ever posting a time for this in the past, but she beat her previous time by about five seconds, and another second place!
We're glad we got this chance to go to the Guppy Bowl in 2008. Since Lexy will be 9 next year, she will be too old. It was a worthwhile experience. We hope all Lexy's teammates had successful weekends, at the Michigan Open and also the Huron Valley Penguin meet. We are looking forward to the Penguin meet next year.
We're looking forward to next week's meet, the Mt. Pleasant Invitational, in Alma, Mich. These are usually at Alma College - Home of the Fighting Scots! Go Dolphins!!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
BAYS Valentine Invitational - Bay City vs. Midland Dolphins and Mt. Pleasant Pacers
I have never been to such a quick meet! Three hours from warm-ups to finish. That's my kind of swim meet. It was almost a dual meet in the morning since there were only five kids from Mt. Pleasant. We must have had at least 25 -30 from Midland.
Lexy had another great meet. She swam four individual events and two relays. In both cases, the relays were "come from behind" to finish second. Lex played big roles in both those relays to secure the red ribbon. She is a great team player.
In Lexy's first event, the 100 I.M., she came in first and posted another best time of 1:41.48 (previous best was 1:41.76). She also won the 25 Fly (and we think she had a best time, but they weren't posted when we left) and she won the 25 Back (also not posted). In the 50 Free, she added one and a half seconds, but still finished with the red ribbon. UPDATE: We received 5 out of 6 of Lexy's times last night -- she took almost a whole second off her 25 Fly -- from 21.54 to 20.68!! Still waiting for the 25 Backstroke time. . .
The whole Valentine's theme was very cute. The heat winners won heart shaped key chains and necklaces of heart beads. Lex won two keychains and a necklace. She gave one of the key chains away to a younger teammate.
Lex was very excited to win a door prize - a red swim cap that says "I love to swim" and the word "love" is in the shape of a heart. Very cute. Also, we thought they called her name twice, but there was a boy named Alex Ojeda (pronounced o-HAY-da) swimming also! That was funny.
Those high school bleachers are notorious for eating up your belongings! This time, one of Lexy's towels fell through, and there was no way to get under and retrieve it. One of the tiniest girls, Lydia, who is six, was just the right size to squeeze under and get it back! Thank you Lydia!!!
We will be swimming with Lydia again next weekend at the Guppy Bowl in Lake Orion. This meet is only for kids who are 8 and under. This is Lexy's last chance to swim in this meet!
Lexy had another great meet. She swam four individual events and two relays. In both cases, the relays were "come from behind" to finish second. Lex played big roles in both those relays to secure the red ribbon. She is a great team player.
In Lexy's first event, the 100 I.M., she came in first and posted another best time of 1:41.48 (previous best was 1:41.76). She also won the 25 Fly (and we think she had a best time, but they weren't posted when we left) and she won the 25 Back (also not posted). In the 50 Free, she added one and a half seconds, but still finished with the red ribbon. UPDATE: We received 5 out of 6 of Lexy's times last night -- she took almost a whole second off her 25 Fly -- from 21.54 to 20.68!! Still waiting for the 25 Backstroke time. . .
The whole Valentine's theme was very cute. The heat winners won heart shaped key chains and necklaces of heart beads. Lex won two keychains and a necklace. She gave one of the key chains away to a younger teammate.
Lex was very excited to win a door prize - a red swim cap that says "I love to swim" and the word "love" is in the shape of a heart. Very cute. Also, we thought they called her name twice, but there was a boy named Alex Ojeda (pronounced o-HAY-da) swimming also! That was funny.
Those high school bleachers are notorious for eating up your belongings! This time, one of Lexy's towels fell through, and there was no way to get under and retrieve it. One of the tiniest girls, Lydia, who is six, was just the right size to squeeze under and get it back! Thank you Lydia!!!
We will be swimming with Lydia again next weekend at the Guppy Bowl in Lake Orion. This meet is only for kids who are 8 and under. This is Lexy's last chance to swim in this meet!
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