D2 Athletes Shine in Lawrence

 

The D2 results from our AAAA athletes have set the bar high for our next championship meet this upcoming weekend. The 22 athletes that competed in D2’s were positive, swam personal best times, qualified for D1's, and achieved AAA time standards.

As a coach, it was so rewarding to watch our athletes support one another and come together as a team for every race for every athlete. The D2 team for Ad Astra this past weekend was a great reflection of our team. I can't think of one race where I didn't have swimmers by my side cheering on their teammates.

My favorite part of the weekend was the smiles after each race as the swimmers touched the wall. The hard work that these swimmers put in for the season is paying off.

 

The following is a recap of each athlete that competed in D2’s:

 

  • Kathryn Bach- Kathryn competed in four individual races with all personal best times. She finished 13th in her 50 Fly. In her 50 breaststroke she cut 20 seconds from last year.
  • Faith Baxter- Faith competed in three events, swimming two personal best times -including a 6 second time drop in her 100 breaststroke. It was Faith’s goal to qualify for D2’s and it was a great experience for her to compete at this meet!
  • Jillian Cameron- This was Jillian’s first LC meet of the season since re-joining the swimming world. Jillian swam all personal best times, just missing her D1 cut in the 100 backstroke.
  • David Christie- After having a successful meet at Sectionals, David wanted to swim even more. When he returned from Columbia David competed in the mile achieving a D1 cut and finishing 1st in his age group.
  • Ava Cormaney- Ava came to this meet ready to race and achieve her goals. She swam all personal best times and even qualified for D1’s in the 50 breaststroke. Ava finished with a bronze medal in that event. Congrats Ava to making her first D1 Championship Team.
  • Eliot Eckersley- Eliot swam a personal best time in the 200IM and also placed 5th in the 200 Freestyle. Eliot will be competing at D1’s in both breaststroke events.
  • Evan Eskilson- Evan was at D2’s helping out all weekend, and wanted to time trial the 100 fly. In the time trial, he swam an AAA time standard in the 100 fly. Way to go Evan!
  • Marian Frick- Marian competed in two events this weekend. She cut over 13 seconds in the 200 free, qualifying for D1’s and finishing 2nd. In her other event, the 100 backstroke, she cut over 11 seconds, again qualifying for D1’s and finishing 3rd. Marian will compete at D1’s looking to defend her titles in the breaststroke events.
  • Susan Frick- Susan did a great job this season of reaching her goal of achieving D2 time standards. It was wonderful to see her qualify for this meet. Susan scored points for AAAA when she finished 15th in the 200 breaststroke.
  • Maleena Hatfield- Maleena competed in three events. She cut time in the 50 free – with a time fast enough to earn a spot on the D1 11-12 Girl’s Relays. So, congrats to Maleena on making the D1 Team!
  • Simone Herlihy- Simone earned several points for AAAA as she finished in the Top 16 in six events. Simone took home two bronze medals in the 200 back and 100 breaststroke. She added another event to her D1 meet- the 200 backstroke. This was the first time Simone had swum this event. Simone swam 5 personal best times.
  • Kara Krannawitter- Kara’s freestyle events were on fire! Kara qualified for D1’s in the 100 free, 200 free, and 400 free. In the process, she dropped over 3 seconds in the 100, 9 seconds in the 200, and 8 seconds in the 400. Kara also swam a personal best in the 200 backstroke. She finished 2nd, 6th, and 3rd respectively in those three events. Kara will compete in several events at D1’s this upcoming weekend.
  • Ben Maloun- Ben qualified for his first ever D1 Championship Meet in the longest distance event offered- the mile. Ben has been working all season to qualify for D1’s and he has done it. Congrats to you!! Ben also had several best times and finished Top 8 in his events.
  • Grace McCalla- Grace had a breakout meet, swimming personal best times and  averaged greater than 5 second time drops. She qualified for D1’s in the 100 backstroke and took home a gold medal in that event. Grace swam personal bests in 10 events. Congrats to Grace on making the D1 Championship Team.
  • Maggie McCalla- Maggie swam 2 personal best times, cutting over 7 seconds in the 200 freestyle and over 2 seconds in the 50 backstroke. Maggie will compete at D1’s in the butterfly events.
  • Mary Reed-Weston- Mary had only one event to compete in, as she qualified for D1’s in all other events. She swam a personal best time in the 100 fly and will be ready to compete at D1’s this upcoming weekend.
  • Hunter Robinson- Hunter attended this meet to add more events to his D1 Line-up. He broke the one-minute mark in the 100 Free and qualified for D1’s in that event. Hunter swam several personal best times and finished in the Top 8 in four events.
  • Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck- Riley had a spectacular meet as he qualified for his first ever D1 Meet. Riley swam all personal best times in his events, took home a medal in the 100 backstroke, and qualified for D1 meet in both backstroke events. The positive attitude that Riley had the whole weekend was contagious for the whole team. Congratulations Riley!
  • Carter Stacey- Carter swam two events at this meet and she swam personal best times and qualified for D1’s in both. She cut over 7 seconds in her 200 backstroke in the time trial on Sunday. Carter finished 6th in the 100 free with a D1 time standard.  Carter will compete at D1’s this upcoming weekend.
  • Janet Stefanov- After being gone to the Black Sea for over a month, Janet didn’t skip a beat. She swam a personal best time in the 200IM and finished in the Top 16 in two events. Janet will compete in several events at D1’s.
  • Oliver Tillinghast- Oliver had a stellar meet, qualifying for D1’s in the 400 Freestyle. After aging up this season, Oliver knew what he had to do, and went out and achieved it. Oliver took home a gold medal in the 400 freestyle. He also earned medals in the 200 free and 100 free. He also swam several personal best times. Oliver will compete in D1’s this weekend.
  • Emily Venters- Emily had just one event and she swam it with style. Emily took first place, swam a personal best time, and qualified for D1’s in the 400IM. She will be swimming a full schedule of events at D1’s this upcoming weekend.

 

Congratulations to all of these athletes. Please join me in celebrating the success of AAAA swimmers at D2’s.