National Team History
Since the early 1970’s, Lakeland Hills has been represented at the YMCA National level. Over 1300 swimmers from over 200 teams across the country come together to to compete for five days and nights in early April for the short course season and late July for the long course season. The meet has evolved over the years, but what hasn’t changed is the uniqueness of this meet. No other meet in the world is quite like YMCA Nationals and you must experience the meet to really appreciate what it has to offer.
Over the years, Lakeland Hills has been proud to see swimmers achieve the ultimate in YMCA National competition in becoming a National Champion. The following swimmers have achieved individual titles in their events:
Short Course YMCA National Individual Champions
| LHY Swimmer | Year | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Buschke | 1983 | 100 Fly | 50.92 |
| Diana Vogel | 1986 | 100 Breast | 1:06.13 |
| Brian Elko | 1996 | 100 Back | 50.17 |
| Brian Elko | 1996 | 200 Back | 1:49.26 |
| Michael Gross | 1997 | 100 Back | 51.73 |
| Gary Grant | 2002 | 100 Fly | 48.73 |
| Gary Grant | 2003 | 50 Free | *20.34 |
| Gary Grant | 2003 | 100 Free | 45.17 |
| Jesse Cohen | 2007 | 400 IM | 3:56.69 |
| Abby Fisher | 2011 | 200 Breast | 2:13.55 |
*YMCA National Record
Lakeland is proud of not only the individual champions, but the relay champions as well.
Short Course YMCA National Relay Champions
| Event | Swimmers | Year | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys 400 Medley Relay | Brian Elko, David Boardman, Brian Cohen, Danny Russell | 1994 | 3:26.92 |
| Boys 200 Medley Relay | Brian Elko, Danny Russell, Chuck Bard, Drew Baker | 1996 | 1:33.53 |
| Boys 400 Medley Relay | Brian Elko, Danny Russell, Chuck Bard, Drew Baker | 1996 | 3:25.00 |
| Boys 200 Medley Relay | AJ Walker, Michael Cordes, Gary Grant, Adam Papendick | 2003 | 1:34.08 |
| Boys 400 Medley Relay | AJ Walker, Michael Cordes, Gary Grant, Adam Papendick | 2003 | 3:25.51 |
| Boys 200 Free Relay | Matt Elko, Michael Cordes, Adam Papendick, Gary Grant | 2003 | 1:24.50 |
| Girls 200 Medley Relay | Katie O’Gorman, Brie Von Rosendahl, CJ Pisano, Alisha Carrazza | 2005 | 1:46.56 |
The team has also achieved milestones with the Boys Team placing 2nd in 1995, 3rd in 1996, 2nd in 2005, 2nd in 2012 and 2nd in 2022. The highest combined finish for the team was in 2012 with 4th place and the girls' highest finish was in 2012 with 7th place. The largest team to represent LHY was 41 in 2019. You can follow the meet by going to the National Y's Website
LHY's 2016 Short Course YMCA National Team
LHY's 2015 Short Course YMCA National Team
