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High Point Winners are Tabitha Kellam 1st Place (13), Evan Apuron 1st Place (13), Ben Fister 2nd Place (11) Not Pictured Ethan Kellam 1st Place (10). Congratulations! Jeanine Apuron | Apuron Photography
Over the weekend of January 20-22, the Sea Lions Swim Team competed in the Havasu Winter Challenge Swim Meet at the indoor pool at the Lake Havasu Aquatic Center. The meet featured some very good competition from the entire State of Arizona. The Sea Lions finished with 454 points in 6th place behind several of the powerhouse teams from the Phoenix area. Four Sea Lion swimmers were awarded High Point Trophies in their respective age groups. High Point trophies were awarded to the person in each age group that scored the highest number of points up to a maximum of nine races over the weekend.
Ethan Kellam (10) won the first place high point trophy in the 9-10 Boys age group. Even though most races were close, Ethan won 8 out of the 9 events, finishing 2nd in the 50 free by a fraction of a second.
Ben Fister (11) received the second place high point trophy in a tough 11-12 Boys age group. In a weekend of racing that featured many very good 12 year olds, Ben won 4 out of the 9 events he swam and ended up just two points out of first place. Ben is looking like he is ready for the upcoming Junior Olympics and State Championship Meets.
Two 13 year old Sea Lions had the meet that dreams are made of. Both Tabitha Kellam and Evan Apuron competed against some of the best 13-14 year old swimmers in the state. In fact, after looking at the psych sheet (which shows the pre-race best times) it looked like both swimmers would have to have a tremendous meet to finish in the top 3 high point standings. As the weekend unfolded, that is exactly what happened. Tabitha began by swimming the 1500 Freestyle 45 seconds faster than ever before as she battled during the entire race and finally pulled ahead in the final 200 yards to win. Evan found a way to win a very close 200 Freestyle race – a race in which the top 3 swimmers finished within a half second of each other. The rest of the weekend, there were many other close races and many times Tabitha and Evan both found ways to finish first. After all the racing was done, Evan had won 5 out of 9 races (finishing no worse than second) and was awarded the First Place High Point Trophy for 13-14 Boys. Tabitha ended up winning 7 out of 9 races and was awarded the First Place High Point Trophy for the 13-14 Girls.
Sea Lions Mixed Relay Team includes Riley Stewart (13), Tabitha Kellam (13), Darien Apuron (15) and Evan Apuron (13). Jeanine Apuron | Apuron Photography
In addition to the outstanding accomplishments by the high point trophy winners, Sea Lions had several more notable accomplishments. Mayo Stewart (11) won 2 events (200 Fly and 200 Back) on his way to a 4th place finish in the 11-12 Boys high point standings. The 200 Mixed (2 boys, 2 girls) Open (any age) Freestyle relay team of Evan Apuron, Riley Stewart, Tabitha Kellam, and Darien Apuron won a close and exciting race. Sea Lions Swimmers achieved 6 new Junior Olympic Qualifying times and 3 new State Championship qualifying times.
The indoor swim meet was a great change from the outdoor meets that the Sea Lions usually attend and was very timely with the cold and wet weather. The Sea Lions will be attending the Junior Olympics in February and the State Championship Meet in March. The San Manuel Sea Lions Swim Team practices in Oro Valley during November – March while the water is too cold to hold practice in San Manuel or Mammoth. Anyone interested in more information on the Sea Lions can contact Alex Gort (896-2190) or check the team website, sealionsswimteam.com.
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.
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