OLY Fall Classic - October 17, 2009

This weekend's swim meet in summary -- four events, four best times!

What was different about this meet? Just about everything. First, it was in the evening. The kids started warming up at 4:30 pm. We are used to swimming in the morning, and early mornings at that. Sometimes we're in the pool as early as 7 am!

With such a late start, we were, of course, worried about what time it would end. But we shouldn't have worried -- this meet was very well run, and we were done by 8 pm. With such a wonderful facility at Oakland University, the club had 12 lanes to work with, and they ran a very efficient meet.

This was also a special meet because it was the first meet that Sydney's boyfriend Julius was able to join us at an away meet. It was his 18th birthday, and Sydney had plans to take him to dinner in Midland. She was a little upset when she found out our swim meet was in Auburn Hills, nearly 90 minutes away. But when I told her, "There are restaurants in Auburn Hills!" she got excited and looked forward to taking Julius to Rainforest Cafe to celebrate. They had a fun time.

While they were off having dinner, Lexy had one of the best meets of her young swimming career. She swam four events -- the 100 Free, the 100 Breast, the 100 I.M. and the 200 Freestyle. When I think about where she was last year at this time, and how difficult swimming in the 9-10 age group was for her, it didn't seem like we would ever see a day like today.

Lexy's first event was the 100 Freestyle, and she was going into it with a 1:18.10. She finished 8 seconds faster, with a 1:10.71! Watch Lexy swim the 100 Free: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql5iLgCHtk0

I should mention now, that I had a very difficult time uploading all Lexy's videos to YouTube, so I will try again tomorrow. . .

In the 100 Breast, she was seeded in the final heat, because she had such a great summer swimming breaststroke. She was able to better her time by about three seconds, finished at 1:32.29. She needed a 1:32.49 to qualify for the state meet, so she achieved that tonight!

In the 100 I.M., we weren't sure how she would do, since she was starting to report fatigue. Also, since the 100 I.M. includes all four strokes, Lexy's backstroke isn't strong, and she finished about three seconds slower last weekend, we weren't looking for any major victories. We got a nice surprise, with Lexy finishing about one second faster than her best time!

Last but certainly not least, the final event for the night, the 200 Freestyle. At 8 lengths, this is still pretty demanding for the 9-10 age group. Last year, Lexy had clocked this event under 3 minutes, which made us very proud. The qualifying time for the event at this level is 2:31, and Lexy finished in 2:35, nearly 22 seconds faster than her best time! We were just thrilled and amazed to see her do so well, so late in the day, and at the end of a meet.

This finish positions her well for the rest of the season, which will likely see her seeded in the faster heats, giving her better competitors and a better chance to further improve her times.

Great job this weekend Lexy!