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The Sea Lions travelled to Tucson to swim against the Aquabears on Saturday, June 20. In what has been a drought of youth sports so far this year, it was nice to begin competitions. The Sea Lions were excited to take on the Aquabears after narrowly finishing second to them at the League Championship Meet in 2019. Even though the Sea Lions won many races and achieved 73 best times, the Aquabears held off the Sea Lions 759 – 681.
Coach Alex Gort was excited with the way the Sea Lions swam at the meet.
“The Sea Lions looked very sharp and had some nice time improvements. We were just outnumbered at their pool. The meet in our pool on July 11 (against the Aquabears) should be good one,” he said.
A couple of 7 year old girls swam very well at the meet. Alianna Riney and Kori Andrade had an awesome meet and topped it off with a 1-2 finish in the Breaststroke.
Jocelyn Hudson (10) knows that her biggest competition is on the Aquabears team and came to race. Joceyln won the Butterfly and Freestyle by a large margin.
Ethan Erickson and Cooper Dale finished 1st and 2nd in every 11-12 Boys race. Cooper won the Backstroke, while Ethan won the Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Freestyle.
The 13-14 Boys, finished 1-2-3 in every event. Mason Stewart lead the way winning all of his races on Saturday. Martin Madrid and Joey Castellanos help finish the sweep.
Some of the best competition was in the 15-18 Boys age group. Every race was close, but at the finish Evan Apuron found a way to get to the wall first, winning all 5 of his races.
The following swimmers had first place finishes on Saturday:
Alex Ervin, (6), (Fly, Breast);
Kori Andrade (7), (Breast);
Jocelyn Hudson (10), (Fly, Free);
Cooper Dale, (12), (Back);
Ethan Erickson, (12), (Fly, Breast, Free);
Mason Stewart, (14), (Fly, Back, 100 Free, Breast, Free);
Evan Apuron, (17), (Fly, Back, 100 Free, Breast, Free);
Both Martin Madrid and Genaveeve Lopez showed that they have what it takes to be named Sea Lions Beast of the Week.
Genaveeve Lopez (11) had a good week of practice and looked very strong at the meet against some older and more experienced 12 year old girls. Genaveeve began swimming just last year in swimming lessons and has improved to where she is finishing a close second in several races against the fastest 12-year-old girl in the league. Coaches are delighted about how she is developing as a competitive swimmer.
Martin Madrid participated in his first swim meet as a 13-year-old on Saturday and showed great form and endurance in all his events. Beginning at age 13, swimmers compete in longer races – what used to be a 50 yard Butterfly becomes a 100 yard Butterfly. He competed against bigger stronger boys and finished in the top 3 in all his races. Martin showed he can compete against anyone.
The combination of chlorinated swimming pool water and sunshine makes swimming a safe and fun way for kids to exercise and compete. There is still time to join the team – contact Alex or Wendy Gort at 896-2190 or stop by the Mammoth Pool between 4 and 5:30 p.m. (Monday-Friday) for more information.
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