Flashback Friday - PIAA States 2015

Several years of blogging have occurred at the Jersey Shore Swim blog with over 900 stories and articles posted.  With that in mind, the Jersey Shore Swim blog will occasionally pull out an occasional favorite or interesting item from the archives to share with readers (plus some interesting old stuff never posted) in a series called Flashback Friday.

Below is an article from the Lock Haven Express detailing Jersey Shore's results from 2015 PIAA States.

Lock Haven Swimmers Heading To YMCA States

All athletes experience highs and lows at some point of their competitive sporting career.  The 10-and-under Lock Haven girls got to experience both ends of the spectrum at this past weekend’s Central District Championship meet in York, PA.

The low feeling came right at the start in their opening event, the 200 yard medley relay.  The girls were seeded 7th and were pumped for the upcoming race as top six automatically qualify for YMCA States.  And hard-charging the foursome were as the finished in the four spot.  The excitement was quickly dashed as an official notified the team that they had been disqualified on one of the relay starts.

The extreme high waited in the wings until the very last event of the day, the 200 freestyle relay.  While the foursome of Ana Persun, Kate Butzler, Camryn Bair, and Lilyan Gugino were the top seed, one would think the girls would be a bit hesitant on their relay starts between swimmers.  Could this hesitancy cost them valuable time and lose their position as the top seed?  Nope.  Not only did they win the event, they were aggressive on their starts, timing them perfectly as the next swimmer came into the wall.   It was such a clean and fast swim for the girls that they broke the meet record by 1.5 seconds.

Sandwiched between the low and high of the day, was great swimming from the group.  Of particular noteworthy accomplishments were Persun’s individual swims.  Seeded second and tenth in the 100 individual medley and 50 fly respectively,   she exploded off the blocks to win both.  Those races coupled with several high finishes from her teammates allowed them to capture the 10-and-under age group over the other 25 competing teams.

It is interesting to note the success of the girl's program at the Lock Haven YMCA the past several years .  Every year since 2014, incorporating all their age groups, the girls  have steadily climbed the Central District rankings from 16th to 11th to 9th to 8th.

Jersey Shore had a top place-winner in Keller Griswold’s  50 yard backstroke win.

Complete results can be found here.

Teh psych sheets for next week's YMCA State meet can be found here.

Jersey Shore Swimmers Head to PIAA States

Jersey Shore is sending one of their largest swim teams in recent history to next week’s PIAA state meet in Lewisburg. Excitement is high for not only the swimmers but the coaching staff.  “We took a few swimmers to the state meet last year and they didn’t finish where they wanted,” said head coach Jenna Brooks.  “So here we go again to take another stab at it.”

The Jersey Shore PIAA swim team consists of (left to right), coach Jonathon Palumbo, Emma Butzler, Jordon O’Connor, Allie Moore, Kendra White, Gabbie Moore, Luke Engel, Taylor Fleming, and head coach Jenna Brooks.

While last year was more about individual swims, this year has been more about the team.  This emphasis has shown with the girls qualifying for two relays; the 200 and 400 freestyle.  The relays came into play this year when two freshman, Taylor Fleming and Jordon O’Connor, brought the needed firepower to take the team relays to the next level.  “This is a great experience for the freshman,” said assistant Jonathan Palumbo.  “Being new to this level of competition, relays are a little less stressful than the competition in the individual events.  This will prepare them for the next three years of high-stakes swimming.”

Looking at the psych sheets for the upcoming meet, it appears that this year’s state-wide competition is pretty tough.  The girl’s goals are modest.  First, they would like to swim fast enough to get into at least consolation finals allowing them to be part of the deck festivities.  But the other goal that has been looming over their head is the team’s record board.  Literally, it looms over the pool, as they practice every day.  During kicking drills, heads above water, they can see the times in the relays that they must swim in order to get their names on the board.

The two freshman and juniors Kendra White and Emma Butzler expect to be back next year but not senior Gabbie Moore.  These relays are especially important for her as the upcoming meet will the last time she wears school colors in competition and wants to make a lasting impression. "I'm incredibly excited to be able to finish my high school swimming career at States with these girls,” said Moore.  “We're hoping for some swims at finals and our school records in both relays. It's been a long season but we've put in countless hours in the pool and weight room so I'm excited to see where this opportunity takes us".

Luke Engel is the only sole representative on the boy’s side and will compete in the 100 yard butterfly and freestyle.  Identical to Engel, Emma Butzler will also swim the 100 butterfly and freestyles events individually.

Coaches Jenna Brooks (upper) and Jonathon Palumbo (forefront) go over the drills for the afternoon practice.

Lock Haven University Womens' Swim Program Saved! Or Is It? What a Mess!

Great article in SwimSwam (here) that details the fight to save the Lock Haven University women's swimming program.  Some interesting tidbits in the posting:

• Head coach Joel Blesh was terminated this week.  Why? Who knows.
• Could it be that he is vice president of their coaches union (LHU also wants to eliminate the men's track and field program and their head coach is the president of the union)
• is it over money that the athletes raised for their winter swim training trip but LHU not approve 
• or is simply that coach Blesh fought for the women and paid the ultimate price for speaking out.
• LHU's athletic director and President stated that there will be 'modification' to the women's swim team.  Is the removal of the coach the 'modification'?  Or are there other 'modifications' in store for the women's swim team.

In another publication, the March 7 edition of the Lock Haven Express, there is an article on the LHU's athletic program and these potential cuts. At the very end of the article there is this interesting statement referring to LHU baseball. "In 2009 baseball was cut, he said, but it was reinstated within about a week due to protests."

• One wonders why this women's swimming issue has been so drawn out whereas the baseball issue was resolved within a week.
• were 'modifications' also imposed upon the baseball team in order to continue its existence

This will do wonders for the recruiting process or maybe that is the point.

Day 2 Results of PIAA District IV Swimming (aka Step Back In Time)

Day 2 of PIAA District IV Swimming concluded last night and once again, swimmers, college coaches, and parents had to step into the lobby to wait until results were taped to a window to see how the final results of each event unfolded.  Until someone posts the final results on the District IV page, this is about as good as it gets.

Day 1 Results of PIAA District IV Swimming

Last year, PIAA District IV Swimming results could be found on Meet Mobile.  Not so this year. Best bet is to take a picture of the results that are posted on a window.