Ad Astra’s Age Group Team Best in the Area Again
Ad Astra’s Age Group Team Best in the Area Again
Ad Astra Area Aquatics placed 4th out of 24 scoring teams at the Missouri Valley Swimming Championships over the weekend. Ad Astra, with 18 swimmers, was a third of the size of the top 3 scoring teams who had 83, 72 and 54 swimmers on their rosters. Other area teams finished 17th (Topeka Swim Association) and 22nd (Lawrence Aquahawks). The concentration of performance and power from our team was unmatched as Ad Astra scored more points per athlete on average than any other team at the meet. This is awesome!
It was a true team effort as each swimmer on our roster contributed to team points either individually or as part of a relay performance. We had a female and male swimmer compete in each of the age groups (9-10, 11-12, 13-14) and contribute to the team success. We had 23 Top 3 podium performances over the weekend. Three of our athletes scored as high point winners. Lucy Velte (2nd, 13-14 G), Elle March (1st, 11-12 G) and Melinda Zhang (2nd, 9-10 G). Lucy Velte set two new team records in the 13-14 200IM and the 13-14 100 Freestyle.
We were very lucky to have relays at this meet as well. We had 11-12 Girls and Boys and 13-14 Boys relays at the meet. Relays are the epitome of team competition. Shout out to all our relay swimmers who attended the meet and competed. Each of these swimmers went a personal best in their races and scored double points for Ad Astra.
This, of course, only represents a small percentage of our team. Nearly 70% of our team is recreational, developmental, or working to achieve championship meet swim time standards. We have a place for all levels on Ad Astra. Development is key to the success of any swim program and Ad Astra proves each year to be one of the best if not the best around.
This week we head to Sectionals with the team below where we will be looking to make some noise on a regional level. This is one of the deepest squads we have ever assembled.
Elizabeth Engelbrecht
Gayla Gao
Ella Marsh
Halle McCullough
Molly Nuckolls
Sam Packard
Rebecca Pickert
Lucy Velte
Avery Walz
Tauren Walz
Bradie Ward
Jocelyn Wilson
After this, we head to NCSA Junior and NCSA Age Group with Rebecca Pickert, Bradie Ward, Lucy Velte, Elle Marsh and Banks Anderson. Here we will compete against swimmers from around the country.
Check out our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages for all the details and results from the Age Group Championship meet and the rest of our Championship meets. Like and follow us on each page for up-to-date information.
More photos:
