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Will Newman (14) competes.
Jeanine Apuron | Sea Lions
Tabitha Kellam (10) on the starter block.
Jeanine Apuron | Sea Lions
Mason Stewart (8) competes.
Jeanine Apuron | Sea Lions
The San Manuel Sea Lions traveled to Anthem Merrill Ranch Swimming Pool in Florence to compete against the Parkside Piranhas on Saturday. The Sea Lions won the meet with 1035 points, while the Piranhas finished with 553 points.
The Sea Lions were ready to swim as the meet began with the Individual Medley (IM) Events. In every age group Sea Lions swimmers not only won the race, but had multiple swimmers earn points by finishing in the top six places. The IM is considered the all-around event of swimming since competitors swim one fourth of the race in each of the competitive strokes (Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle).
The coaches were pleased with the number of swimmers that competed in the IM at the meet. It takes a level of mastery to be able to swim all four competitive strokes and the conditioning to swim it since it is the longest race for all age groups in the summer league.
After showing that the Sea Lions had the best all-around swimmers, it was on to the Medley Relay events. Just as the IM is an indicator of an all-around swimmer, the Medley Relay is an indicator of team strength since each member of the relay swims a different competitive stroke. The Sea Lions won eight of the 10 Medley Relays leaving little doubt as to who was the better team.
Tabitha Kellam (10) and Will Newman (14) each swam the maximum number of events and won all of them.
The following swimmers had first place finishes on Saturday:
Nevaeh Derrick, 8, (IM, Fly, Back, 50 Free, Free, Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Malayah Renteria, 8, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Ethan Kellam, 8, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Conner Dadow, 8, (Free Relay);
Rocky Andrade, 8, (Fly, Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Joey Castellanos, 8, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Mason Stewart, 8, (IM, Back, 50 Free, Breast, Free, Medley Relay):
Briana Castellanos, 9, (Medley Relay);
Ben Fister, 9, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Tabitha Kellam, 10, (IM, Fly, Back, 100 Free, Breast, Free, Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Evan Apuron, 10, (Fly, Back, 100 Free, Free, Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Riley Stewart, 10, (IM, Breast, Medley Relay);
Hunter Hill, 10, (Medley Relay);
Genevieve Estrada, 10, (Free Relay);
Rianna Estrada, 10, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Brian Mulholland 10, (Medley Relay);
Alicia Galarza, 11, (Medley Relay);
Nate Fister, 11, (IM, Fly, 100 Free, Free, Medley Relay, Free Relay);
BaiLee Hill, 12, (Medley Relay);
Darien Apuron, 13, (Back, Medley Relay);
Gianna Sweeney, 13, (IM, Fly, Breast, 100 Free, Free, Medley Relay);
Jimmie Madrid, 11, (Medley Relay);
Jayden Smith, 12, (Medley Relay);
Garry Dadow, 12, (Medley Relay);
Andres Valenzuela, 12, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Raquel Ortiz, 13, (Fly, Back, 100 Free, Free);
Michael Primero, 14, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Antoinio Darame, 14, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Will Newman, 14, (IM, Fly, Back, 100 Free, Breast, Free, Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Jacob Christian, 15, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Colbey Stratton, 15, (Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Alisha Smith, 16, (Free Relay);
Taylor Woods, 16, (IM, Back, 100 Free, Medley Relay, Free Relay);
Jazelle Sanchez, 17, (Free, Free Relay);
Timothy Mulholland, 17, (Breast, Medley Relay, Free Relay).
This was the first swim meet for two swimmers on the team. After several weeks of practice Justin McBride (9) and Brianna Galarza (14) took the plunge and swam in their first competition. Both swimmers competed in the 50 Free at the meet and looked good enough to add additional events next week.
Mason Stewart was named Sea Lions Beast of the Week. As an 8-year-old swimmer on a team full of great 8-year-old swimmers, Mason was able to win five hotly contested individual races at the meet. His teammates Rocky Andrade, Emerik Zovko, Joey Castellanos and Ethan Kellam pushed hard to close finishes, but Mason had what it took win the 100 Individual Medley, 25 Backstroke, 50 Freestyle, 25 Breaststroke and 25 Freestyle. Most races were decided by mere fractions of a second. Mason worked hard in practices during the week and was part of the winning Medley Relay team and swam double duty in the Freestyle Relay.
The Sea Lions will host a meet against Eloy and Florence on Saturday, June 21 at the San Manuel Pool beginning at 9 a.m.
There is still time to join the team – contact Alex or Wendy Gort at 896-2190 or stop by the San Manuel Pool between 4 and 6 p.m. (Mon-Fri) for more information.
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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