Hello Alcoa Swim & DIve Families,

We had a fantastic weekend with some really outstanding swims! A third of our times were Best-Ever swims. That is HUGE! You may have seen our Social Media post shouting out our Top 16 finishers- we had an incredible EIGHTEEN Top 16 swims! This is important for our upcoming KISL Championship-the Top 16 score points that contribute to our overall score. Results have been posted HERE.

But those were definitely not the only successes! Here are a few more things we want to shout out because we are SUPER-proud of these moments:

• Nathanael Ward dropped almost 9 seconds in his 50 free and over 4 seconds in his 50 back. This was his first time swimming in a large meet and at such a big facility. It didn’t phase him at all, and he was a big-time cheerleader for his teammates. We love to see it!
• Tokgnar Davis had some huge time cuts-over 5.5 seconds in his 100 IM, almost 2 seconds in his 50 Breast, and about a half second in his 50 Fly. He also pulled out an incredible 25.65 split to anchor the boys Free Relay. What rock-star swims!
• Mark Galbraith started feeling under the weather shortly after warmups, but still pulled it together to swim on the MS Boys’ relays. He definitely defined being an Alcoa Leader on Saturday. We hope you feel better really soon Mark!
• Allana Hicks was early and ready to race! We appreciate her dedication to our new middle school team.
• Parker Kivett swam the 200 free for the very first time and he most certainly did NOT come in last. In fact, he placed 36th overall! Incredible for a first-time swim. He also had a big 4 second cut in his 100 free. Keep up the hard work, Parker!
• Miller Rothenberg had the fastest 50 Breaststroke split of any swimmer in the Girl’s Medley Relay and qualified for State Championships in the 100 Breaststroke. Amazing job, Miller!
• Tungsten Davis dropped time and placed in the top 8 in all of his individual events, including an almost 5 second drop in the 100 free that put him just .15 from breaking a minute! These are some big-time swims-Congratulations Tungsten!
• Lily Dutton had best times in ALL of her events and pulled off a super-fast freestyle anchor on the girls Medley Relay-incredible job Lily!
• Avery Kyte showed some serious speed on MS Boy's relay-breaking :30 in a 50 free for the first time ever!
• Boone Kilday had our biggest cut of the meet, dropping a crazy 10.41 seconds in the 100 IM. Rockstar Swim Boone!
• Tori Goff and Margaret Murray had amazing mid-season swims and placed the highest for our girls in the HS Division, with Tori taking 3rd in the 200 IM and Margaret placing 3rd in the 100 Back. Killer swims, girls!
• Cora Ruyack and Patrick Collins did well swimming in a large natatorium and shook off all the nerves for some incredible and consistent races.
• Emerson Hill was having some serious back pain but still insisted on swimming all of her events and even cut time in her 200IM. Great tenacity, Emerson…. that will pay off when you are feeling 100%.
• Ethan Scruggs rocked it this weekend, having a best-ever 50 free time and placing 2nd in the 100 Breast. Incredible swims Ethan!
• Finally-even Kaden Newman and Carson Coker were consistently checking in when they weren’t able to be there to swim. Thanks for showing so much Tornado spirit!

This was a big meet and we hope everyone learned at least a few things that will help them as we prepare for our end-of season championship meet: the KISL CIty Championship on Jan 23/24th- right back at Allan Jones Aquatic Center. It is VERY important that you get to practice as much as possible over the next month leading up to City! We have spent a lot of time working on technique and will rely on what we have learned as we start building up our strength and endurance. Every practice will count-so make sure to get to as many as possible.

Continue to RSVP on the Heja App to let us know if you will be at practice. Note that our Holiday Schedule includes as many 11AM practices as possible- having daylight practices is very helpful so we have tried to schedule as many as we can.

We have had some interest from parents and friends in purchasing our team-issued t-shirt. Coach Selena is reaching out to the vendor to see if it is possible to have an order placed. Please check the Heja app for updates.

Have a great week!

Coach Selena, Coach Selena, Coach Adrienne, and Coach Ethan