DCST Senior Swimmers Kick-off 2011 – 2012 Winter Season DCST Bull Dog and National Team practice members started the Winter Season with a USS Meet at Waubonsie Valley High School (Aurora, IL) on September 30 – October 2. With only 15 swimmers in the meet, DCST took third place. Due to the fact that these swimmers have only been practicing for three weeks, not many best times were expected. However, this did not stop Mikaila DiCostanzo (7 best times in 10 events), Austin Bockman (6 best times in 10 events)...

DCST Swimmers Excel at Zone Meet – Ye Wins 100 Backstroke Three DCST swimmers represented Team Illinois at the Central Zone Championships. Athena Ye, Nolan Fergus and Alexa Miller all helped Team Illinois beat all-star teams from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Lake Erie. Athena Ye won the 9 – 10 Girls 100 Meter Backstroke. She also had 4 other top 6 finishes in the 50 Meter Butterfly (2nd), 50 Meter Backstroke (3rd), 100 Meter Butterfly (6th), and 200 Meter Individual Medley (6th). Athena was also on the 200 Meter...

DCST sent 12 swimmers to the Illinois Age Group Championships on July 28 – 31st. All 12 of our swimmers had a great meet including Athena Ye who was crowned State Champion in the Girls ages 9 – 10 100 meter Backstroke. As a team, DCST had 35 best times out of 43 swims for an impressive improvement rate of 81%. Swimmers with best times were: Alexa Miller 6/7 Abby Pardridge 2/2 Elissa Roose 2/3 Athena Ye 6/7 Michael Carlson 4/6 Phil Cutsinger 1/1 Nolan Fergus 6/7 Daniel Hein 2/2...

Once a DCST swimmer achieves a national qualifying time, they are challenged to try to achieve National All-American status. After they have achieved this status, the coaching staff challenges them to see how far up DCST’s All-Time National All-American list they can climb. DCST’s All-Time National All-American Rankings 1 Grant Alef 33 2 Emily Launer 32 2 National Championships 3 Matt Chambers 18 4 David Gordon 16 5 Grace Waller 15 6 Michael Gordon 14 7 Travers Smith 13 Chad Thompson 13 9 Kate Taylor 11 Emily Waller 11 Valerie...

DCST National Results – Day 5 DCST Women Finish with Highest Placing Ever The DCST women finished in 14th place at the YMCA National Championships in Atlanta for their highest placed finish in team history. On Friday, the relay team of Emily Launer, Valerie Jones, Sharron Isola and Katie Hallenbeck dropped 2.6 seconds to finish in 13th place. All four swimmers earned National All-American honors. In finals, Emily’s lead off split in the 100 meter Backstroke was a new team record. Valerie also set a team record earlier in the...

DCST National Results – Day 4 Alef Takes 3rd in 200 Backstroke Grant Alef was DCST’s top placing finisher on Day 4 of the YMCA National Championships with his 3rd place finish in the Men’s 200 meter Backstroke. Grant earned National All-American honors and new team record with his 1.4 second time improvement. Kei Ishimaru also earned National All-American honors and a new team record with his 7th place finish in 50 meter Butterfly. He improved his time by 0.9 seconds. Also in the 50 meter Butterfly, Daniel Hein set...

DCST National Results – Day 3 Launer Wins 2nd National Title DCST’s distance women had another huge day at the YMCA National Championships. One day after becoming the second DCST swimmer to win an event at Nationals, Emily Launer became the first DCST swimmer to win two National Titles with her victory in the 800 meter Freestyle. Launer’s time of 8:59.65 was an 8 second time improvement over her personal best and previous DCST team record. Valerie Jones (26 second time improvement) and Caitlynn Moon (17 second time improvement) finished...

DCST National Results – Day 2 Launer Crowned National Champion Day 2 of the YMCA National Championships was highlighted by Emily Launer winning the 400 meter Freestyle by an impressive 2.4 seconds over the second place finisher. Emily is the second swimmer in the history of DCST to be a National Champion. In prelims, Launer lowered her previous best time by 2.6 seconds, and in finals, she went an additional eye popping 4.5 seconds faster. For her effort, Emily was named National All-American and set a new DCST Team Record....

DCST National Results – Day 1 Distance Girls Get DCST off to Fast Start Valerie Jones and Caitlynn Moon got DCST’s National Meet off to a great start on Monday night with their outstanding performances in the 1500 meter Freestyle. Both girls earned National All-American honors and had huge time improvements. Valerie finished 11th with her 28 second time drop, while Caitlynn’s 10 second time drop earned her 19th place. For Valerie, this was the 6th time in her career she was named National All-American; while it was the first...

Listed below is an article from the DeKalb Chronicle about DCST's National Team. Unfamiliar waters By JAKE DUGGER - [email protected] Comments( No comments posted) | Add Comments Tara Gidaszewski of Sycamore works out at the Kishwaukee YMCA on Thursday afternoon as the Kishwaukee YMCA/DeKalb County swim team prepares for the YMCA Nationals. (Rob Winner – [email protected]) Buy Daily Chronicle Photos » It is never easy competing in unfamiliar territory. Swimmers on the Kishwaukee YMCA/DeKalb County swim team take it as a challenge. The 2011 YMCA National Long Course Swimming Championship,...