Fantastic Year at the Junior Olympics! Recap Here.

The team’s coaches and board of directors wanted to give everyone a recap of the our success for this seasons final competition.  The 2023 Junior Olympics were held June 28-July 3 in Hampton Virginia.  Our athletes traveled down with their respective age groups and were housed in two different short term vacation rental homes.  While at their houses, the girls had chaperone(s) who prepared home cooked meals and kept them organized and on schedule. The girls ate, slept, practiced and lived together as a team. Each group was able to do a little sightseeing in nearby Virginia Beach. 

12 & UNDER TEAM
For many of the 12 and Unders, this was their first Junior Olympics and the coaches were very proud of their hard work and determination.  This group had two solos, two duets, one team and one combo qualify.  Here are the highlights: 

COACHES: Kristina Sullivan & Gigi Grizanti
CHAPERONE:Katie Wheeler

SOLOS: Julie Li - 12th & Nora Murphy - 15th
 ** Nora was also the top Swimkin placement in Figures

DUETS: Nora & Julie - 8th

TEAM: 12th  COMBO: 8th
Christine Li, Julie Li, Nora Murphy, Jane Shin, Calista Viljoen, Zimo Wen, Lucy Wheeler

YOUTH TEAM
The 13/15 or Youth Team had one solo, one duet and their team qualify to compete.  Three of the
athletes were bumped up to compete with the Juniors for the Acro competition. The highlights
for these girls were:

 
COACHES: Julia Grizanti
CHAPERONE: Amy Pecoraro
 
SOLO: Kutty Morris -15th 
** Kutty had the Youth Teams highest placement in Figures

TEAM: 13th place and pre-swimmers for the Finals competition.
Madelyn DiGaudio, Isabella Hernandez, Kutty Morris, Danica Pecoraro, Emme Targia

ACRO: With the Junior Team - 4th Place
Madelyn, Kutty, Danica 

JUNIOR DIVISION 
Most of the juniors have swam together for many years and have a great relationship and bond. They have tackled increasing levels of difficulty and have handled the ups and downs of the season really well.  It all came together with some fabulous swims, great teamwork, jaw
dropping lifts and beautiful artistry.  The athletes, families and coaches all have so much to be proud of.  
 
COACHES: Debbie Latchford & Cindy Ehlers
CHAPERONE: Jen DuPlantie

JUNIORS 15-17
Swimkins had two soloists and one duet in this section of the junior division. 

TECH SOLO: Caitlin McNamara - SILVER MEDAL

FREE SOLO: Jamie Starck - BRONZE MEDAL

TECH DUET: Caitlin & Jamie - GOLD MEDAL
 
FREE DUET: Caitlin & Jamie - 4th Place
 

JUNIORS 18-19
This meet was a bittersweet one as it was the last competition for seniors Carly Ermer and Angelie Roger.  Angelie will be moving on and swimming Division I with the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University.  Carly will also be swimming Division I with the Cardinals of the University of the Incarnate Word in Texas. Qualifying routines for JOs were two soloists, one duet, team and the acro routine.  There were lots of nailbiting moments with many high performing teams pushing the levels of difficulty. Competition  was fierce and placements often moved between the Prelim and Finals. The girls swam their hearts out and in the end EVERYONE brought home a medal(s).

TECH SOLO: Carly Ermer - SILVER MEDAL
Angelie Roger - 4th Place

FREE SOLO: Carly Ermer - GOLD MEDAL

TECH DUET: Carly & Angelie - BRONZE MEDAL

FREE DUET: Carly & Angelie - SILVER MEDAL

TECH TEAM - 6th Place
Samantha Grady, Carly Ermer, Caitlin McNamara, Angelie Roger, Jamie Starck, Sabrina Starck

FREE TEAM - SILVER MEDAL 
Samantha Grady, Carly Ermer, Caitlin McNamara, Angelie Roger, Jamie Starck, Sabrina Starck

ACRO - 4th Place
Samantha Grady, Carly Ermer, Caitlin McNamara, Angelie Roger, Jamie Starck, Sabrina Starck, Madelyn Di Gaudio (Youth Team), Kutty Morris (Youth Team) - Danica Pecoraro (Youth Team)