Awards Banquet Caps Off Successful YMCA Swim Season

The Lock Haven YMCA swim team celebrated the end of the 2013-2014 season with an Awards Banquet at the Lock Haven Elks Lodge this past Sunday.  While the two seniors (see program below), 32 swimmers that made YMCA Districts (here), and the 8 members that advanced onto States (here) were recognized for their high achievements, head coach Jim Meriner spent much of the afternoon on the swimmers who made contributions to the cohesiveness and camaraderie of the team throughout the whole winter.

Every year, swimmers leave the sport because they age out or spend time concentrating on another sport.  Those empty slots are readily filled by swimmers of all age groups, young and old.  To acknowledge the effort of new swimmers, the ‘Rookie Award’ was given to first year swimmers who competed at most home and away meets.

Jonathan Hughes was one of nine who earned this award.  “He attended our meets and never allowed all the confusion and excitement to get to him,” said Meriner.  “In fact, he was more like a seasoned veteran out there, not an unexperienced first year swimmer.”  In addition to Hughes, the other swimmers that garnered rookie awards were Joseph Caimi, Logan Edmonston, Kylie Garman, Autumn Garman, David Lindsay, Brody Rhine, Chrissy Smith, and Julian Wilt.

Coach Meriner then moved onto the Coach’s Award.  These are given to those swimmers who are the glue that holds teams together, always at practice and practicing correctly, great attitudes and work ethic, and cheer and encourage others.   Loren Glossner was one of the recipients of the award.  “At the second practice (9-12 year olds), the kids are still learning to listen and behave to some extent,” Meriner told the crowd.  “Loren is the exception.  She hears what we say the first time, goes and does it, and never needs to be told twice what to do.”  Nash Berfield, Ethan Dale, and Madison Bair also received the award.

First place finishes and numerous placings helped the YMCA team to a 10-1-2 regular season record but some swimmers were recognized at the banquet for more than just their ability to score points.   Emily Bartlett was just one example of several swimmers that earned the Extra Effort Award.  “Emily is a good swimmer, who does everything she can for our team:  practices hard, listens well, swims any event without complaint, swims well, and scores points,” said Meriner.   “She is more than just a person who can score points; she is a big help to the coaches with her attitude and effort.”  Other swimmers that populated the list for the Extra Effort award were Emily Bartlett, Elise Cygan, Anna Drouin, Madison Myers, Sam Rockey, Leslie Shadle, Maia Crowell, Loren Glossner, Carter Drouin, and Josie Lins.

All Lock Haven YMCA swimmers dropped time at some point throughout the season in at least one event.  Special acknowledgement occurred at the banquet, in the form of the Most Improved Award, for those few, such as Jack Drouin, that moved into a higher level of competition by their hard work.  “From last summer to spring, Jack has made tremendous improvement in every stroke, especially breaststroke,” said Meriner.  “He was able to qualify for the district meet in the freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke, and was very close in the IM.  That illustrated steady improvement across the board, with Jack now competing with swimmers who are looking to be state qualifiers, which is a much higher level of competition that before.”  Swimmers Morgan Brian, Rebekkah Meriner, and David Orndorf were also recipients.