by 
Miner swimmers traveled to Coronado High School in Scottsdale to compete in the final dual meet of the season on Thursday, Oct, 23. The Miners won the meet. The Girls won by a score of San Manuel, 81, Coronado, 58, and the boys won by a score of San Manuel, 96, Coronado, 46.
The Miner Girls relay team of Theresa Sweeney, Elyssia Aguilar, Jazelle Sanchez, and Raya Woods won a close Medley Relay to get things started on a good note. Minutes later, Sweeney won the 200 Freestyle and Sanchez won the 50 Free. After the diving break, Seniors Jazelle Sanchez and Fernanda Vasquez won back to back events (100 Butterfly and 100 Free) in their final dual meet as Miners. Coronado battled back with wins in the 500 Free, 200 Free Relay, 100 Back, and 100 Breast, but in each case Miners finished second to keep earning enough points to seal the victory. A win in the final event, the 400 Free Relay (Sweeney, Woods, Mariela Canisales, Aguilar), was the icing on the cake for the Miner Girls.
The Boys Team continues to look spectacular. Miners won all 11 events, which included six races that Miners finished first and second. The relay team of Will Newman, Alec Newman, Colbey Stratton and Michael Garcia started the win streak. Will Newman set a new school record time of 1:58.52 in the 200 Free on his way to victory. Taylor Woods won the 200 IM followed by a Stratton win in the 50 Free. After the diving break, Stratton won the 100 fly, followed by a win by Garcia in the 100 Free and Will Newman in the 500 Free. The 200 Free Relay team of Woods, Robert Sweeney, Garcia and Jacob Christian won by over 20 seconds. On very short rest, Woods came back to swim his personal best 100 Backstroke for the win. The closest race of the day was the 100 Breaststroke where Alec Newman went stroke for stroke against two competitors from Coronado. During the first three lengths of the race, the Coronado breaststrokers swam slightly faster than Newman, but his great turns allowed him to catch them at the end of each length. His final 25 yards was fast enough to make it to the finish a fraction of a second ahead of both of his opponents. As has been the case most of the season, the Miner 400 Freestyle Relay team of Stratton, Woods, Christian, and Will Newman put the finishing touches on the meet with another win.
Coach Alex Gort was pleased with the number of personal best times that were achieved at the meet. “The hard work is paying off, Miner swimmers are looking great as we approach the big state qualifying invitational meets at the end of the season,” said Gort.
The Miners have completed their dual meet portion of the schedule. For the 2014 season, the Girls finished with a 5-6 record and the Boys finished with a record of 13-1-1. Miner swimmers will be competing in the Southern Arizona Regional Qualifier Meet on Oct. 31 (2 p.m.) and Nov. 1 (9 a.m.) at Canyon Del Oro High School. Miner Swimmers will compete against approximately 20 teams from Southern Arizona.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
by by