MTSL Championships, March 1, 2009

The bank's electronic sign blinked 13 degrees as we drove past this morning on our way to the final meet of the season at Dow High School. A total of 19 teams met this weekend to wrap up the season and crown the fastest swimmers in every event. While Lexy was not the fastest, she finished very respectably, considering a very slow start to the season last fall.

To begin the month of March and end the swim season, Lexy swam three individual events and one relay. She swam the 100 I.M., the 50 Free and the 100 Free. Mom was down on the pool deck as a volunteer timer, so it was Dad's turn to hold the video camera.

The 100 I.M., the event with all four strokes, has always been a strong event for Lexy. She recently broke the minute and a half barrier to qualify for the championship meet. She entered this meet with a 1:28.60, and finished tied for third, dropping one second to 1:27.60. She tied with another girl named Lexie! Since starting the season in November, Lexy has improved her overall I.M. time by more than 10.5 seconds. Way to go, Lex!

Watch the 100 IM. She's in lane 5, in the dark swim cap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIOkh2qjZT0

In the 50 Freestyle, Lexy started the season with a 38.69, and needed a 36 to qualify. She got that just a few weeks ago, and entered this meet with a 35.65. She placed fifth overall in this event, bettering her time by 1.5 seconds, finishing the season with a best time of 34.22. She improved almost 4.5 seconds since November. Another awesome finish.

Watch the 50 Freestyle. Lane 2, dark swim cap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnQl224SMTw

In the 100 Freestyle, Lexy was seeded very well -- among the very best swimmers. She finished last in her heat, and ninth overall, with a time of 1:20.04, about 2 seconds slower than her best time. Her events were pretty close together this morning, so she was a little tired from the first two. Overall, again, a very respectable showing. Since last fall, Lexy has improved in the 100 Freestyle by 11.25 seconds!

Watch the last length and a half of the 100 Freestyle (Ed's finger slipped): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JzuVVwtdk8

Finally, the girls swam their final 200 Freestyle relay, and bettered their combined time by two seconds. They are four strong swimmers, and I hope they can keep this relay team going into next year!

Watch the 200 Freestyle relay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mb5qkdZkjU



Now that the season is over, we are going to try a new class for a few weeks: springboard diving! We'll be back next week with a report on our first diving attempts.