SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month: December
Catfish
Mercerwood Shore Club: Kaili Xu
Kaili had a significant breakthrough at the Divisional Meet this December! Kaili has taken on a bit of a leadership role knowing the interval and helping others stay on track during practice. Kaili is working hard on perfecting her strokes, she is working hard to learn new drills and apply them to her overall strokes. Congratulations Kaili, keep up with your positive progress!
Mt. Rainier: Emmy Staley
Emmy has come a long way and has become a leader in the Catfish group. She has mastered all the Catfish skills and has shown the desire to continue to improve. Emmy always has a positive attitude in practice, and works very hard. I am looking forward to the rest of the season.
The December Catfish SMACtastic swimmer of the month is Paxton Couty! Paxton has shown great improvement across all four strokes due to his great attendance and effort in learning new skills. Paxton also brings a positive attitude to practice daily and makes practice more enjoyable for his teammates.
View Ridge: Evelyn Voght
Evelyn has quietly progressed to becoming one of our best sources to demonstrate good technique to the rest of her Catfish teammates. Her fluid strokes show an understanding of attention to detail, and an ability to understand swimming motions. As she develops more self confidence, Evelyn will find that as she keeps demonstrating good technical skill in all four strokes, this will lead to a greater ability to swim efficiently and therefore, faster.
Central/MIBC: Sheldon Liu
Sheldon Liu is the Central Catfish SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month for December. Sheldon has made some progress this month. He has learned to flutter kick properly, pointing his toes, which ultimately will lead to a stronger freestyle and backstroke. He has also become one of the main demonstrators for breaststroke as he has one of the best breaststroke kicks in the group! Good job Sheldon and keep up the good work!!
Evergreen: Louise Baisch
Louise works hard to develop new skills, she listens intently, and she is learning the process of fast swimming with her Training Group. She is leading her lane, demonstrating skills, and her good attitude is contagious, which makes everyone around her better. Thank you, Louise!
Fife: Presley Passarini
Pressley is our SMACTastic Swimmer of December for the Fife Catfish group. Presley made big improvements with his kick and his breaststroke pull this month. Especially to make sure he’s kicking well on free. Every practice he makes sure that he knows what exactly to focus on, and takes feedback well to make the changes he needs to improve.ember Mini Meet.
Stroke Development
Mercerwood Shore Club: Nina Wright
Nina's increased excitement for swimming has become very apparent after the Divisional Meet this December. Nina is looking forward to going to more meets and improving her times and technique! Nina is a leader in the MSC Stroke Development group, her positive outlook and smile is infectious to everyone around her! The coaches are looking forward to seeing her progression throughout the rest of the season! Congrats to Nina!
Mt. Rainier: Olivia Theofolis
Olivia without a doubt has become a leader in the group. She is always leading the lane, leading the group and wanting to be the best in the group. Olivia is always aware of what we are doing in practice, and always does it with a smile.
Kent/KCAC: Della Dontai
The December Stroke Development SMACtastic swimmer of the month is Della Donati! Della comes to practice every day eager to learn, improve, and take on challenges. She leads by example, often answering questions, staying on sendoffs, and giving her best effort in sets. She raises the bar for the entire group with her great practice behaviors.
View Ridge: Annika Winters
Annika is a multi-sport athlete, who is a late blooming swimmer. Her technical progress in all four strokes speaks to her coachability and her time improvements this season reflect her hard work leading her lane in practice. Annika will be challenged to take on new events in the coming months and we anticipate her progressing toward IMX. into position for an IMX score.
Central/MIBC: Parker Walls
Parker Walls is the Central Stroke Development SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month for December. Parker had his first meet in December at divisionals and has been absolutely ecstatic about the next meet. He consistently asks what he can do to improve, what qualities and skills he needs to improve on to join Age Group, and is overall a very respectful and coachable athlete. Good job this month Parker!
Evergreen: Hudson Avery
Hudson has grown to be a great kicker, he takes pride in demonstrating fast streamlines, and he helps to lead his lane. He is making his Training Group better every day and he loves swimming fast. His good attitude is contagious, he understands that skill development is everything, and everyone around him is better because of it. Keep working hard, Hudson!
Newport: Cara Fan
Cara Fan is this month's SMACtastic swimmer for Newport! This is Cara's second season at Newport, and it's a treat to watch her thrive and grow. Always smiling and working her hardest, Cara does an excellent job of leading by example. All of her strokes and techniques are improving whilst her confidence grows. Thank you for being such an excellent listener and for your continued commitment and effort! Great job Cara!
Fife: Hattie Martin
Hattie is the SMACTastic swimmer of the month for the Stroke Development group at Fife. Hattie this month has stepped up to be a leader in the group. She has made a point this month to focus on and learn what it takes to move up to Age Group. She has improved greatly with her underwater kick, especially while she’s doing a tough set. Hattie also has gotten much more focused in this month, doing a much better job listening and knowing exactly what we’re working on with each set.
Mercerwood Shore Club: Doyel Yang
Doyel has seen significant time drops at the December Divisional Meet, which is no surprise to any of his coaches! Doyel has become a lane leader, he stays on top of the intervals and is always working hard to improve his strokes and times! Doyel is new to the MSC Age Group this year and has been fun to watch grow as a swimmer! Doyel is a racer whether we are doing harder intervals or racing relays at practice he gives it his all and his meet results show the improvements! Congratulations Doyel!
Mt. Rainier: Mackenzie Bernier
Mackenzie has done a great job of working in practice. The results from all her hard work paid off at 14&Under champs in December. Mackenzie has taken all the skills and has applied them to her racing. She does a great job of making adjustments and is very coachable. She comes into workout with a great attitude and always has a smile on her face. I am excited to see how the rest of her season goes.
Kent/KCAC: Antony Gau
Antony Gau is the Kent Age Group SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month for December. Antony has shown dramatic improvement since joining Age Group in September. Antony responds extremely well to stroke correction and makes the necessary changes. Antony’s efforts in practice resulted in an outstanding PNS 14-Under Championship Meet and his first Age Group Regional Cut in the 100 Fly! Congratulations Antony!
View Ridge: Yara Yee
Yara does an incredible job of executing the focus points of sets. No matter how long or short or difficult the set, Yara excels at locking in, swimming with intention, and applying the feedback she’s given. These habits showed up in a big way for her at 14&U Champs, where she won a swim-off and ended up taking third place in the 50 breaststroke.
Central/MIBC: Miele Jorgenson
Miele Jorgenson is the Central Age Group SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month for December. Miele had a great month of December to finish out the year. From great attendance, qualifying for regionals in multiple events, breaking 30sec in the 50 freestyle, to being on an A relay at champs. Good job Miele and keep up the good work!
Evergreen: Elizabeth LeRoy
Elizabeth has grown to become a fabulous Training Partner and Big Buddy. Her consistent attendance and effort is leading her to believe that she can do anything with her Training Group, and she is always happy to help new swimmers. Her good attitude is contagious, she understands that skill development is everything, and everyone around her is better because of it. Keep working hard, Elizabeth!
Fife: Louis Tsai
Louis is our SMACTastic Swimmer of December for Age Group at Fife. He's been going faster and working more than ever before in practice, and it’s been paying off for both him and the rest of the group. In practice, Louis makes sure to ask questions so he can know exactly what we’re working on and how to improve it. With this, Louis swam in his first championship meet this month, putting down best times in all of his events and making finals for the first time.
Age Group Performance
Mt. Rainier: Colter Morgan
Colter is an absolute pleasure to have in AGP. He comes in everyday ready to work, and ready to give 100% effort. Colter has a way of making the group come together with his positive attitude. He applies skills that he works on in practice at meets and he has seen great improvement through the season. Keep up the great work Colter.
Kent/KCAC: Joshua Buchanan
Joshua Buchanan is the Kent Age Group Performance SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month for December. Joshua comes to practice with a great attitude and ready to put in the work. Joshua’s effort and attitude have a great impact on the rest of the group, raising the level of performance daily. Joshua’s efforts in practice were rewarded with great results at the PNS 14-Under Championship Meet. Congratulations Joshua!
View Ridge: Dior Webb
Dior has had an excellent block of training starting in November, running through December, and now going strong in January. She’s embraced getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and not being afraid to fail in practice. It’s been such a pleasure to watch her transform into a real lane leader in this group.
Central/MIBC: Ali Walker
Ali is the SMACtastic swimmer for the Central/MIBC AGP for the month of December. Ali came into this season with clear goals, and has been focused in practice as she has been working towards them. Each practice Ali has worked to be better than her previous practices, whether it was through technical parts of her swimming or through effort. It has been great to watch Ali grow into the leadership role she has filled this season, and see her final at 14 & under champs and Senior champs in December.
Senior
Kent/KCAC: Maddie Prior
The SMACtastic swimmer of the month from the Senior group is Maddie Prior. Maddie has shown great attendance over the past month, as well as great effort at practices to improve both technique and endurance. This work paid off at Divisionals where she recorded a 13 second improvement in the 200 free, amongst many other great swims. Keep up the great work!
Viewridge: Cole Leahy
Cole learned the meaning of practicing with intention in November and December, and it showed at his December championship meet. He’s done significantly better at identifying and engaging with the purpose of each set and what he’s working on, and I can’t wait to see how these new skills translate into his high school season.
Fife: Traysen Guymon
Traysen is the SMACTastic swimmer of the month for the Senior group at Fife. Traysen has been staying consistent with his practices this month while still participating in baseball and his high school team. He’s done especially well in practice this month of pushing himself on long freestyle sets, while still remaining focused on improving his technique and making a point to get his breaths better. Traysen has had a few great best times in his high school meets this month, especially dropping time in his 200 and 500 Free.
Senior Performance
View Ridge: Clara Jones
Clara capped off a very successful Champs meet with her second Futures Cut of the early season. Clara is a racer who thrives on big moments. She is a gifted athlete who has parlayed hard work, consistent practice attendance and personal drive into achieving high level goals.
Central/MIBC: Rhea Orazem
Constant attendance and being a good teammate makes Rhea our SMACtastic swimmer for the SP group. She’s upbeat, makes her teammates better and has shown improved discipline doing harder things in practice on a more regular basis. She really shined at Senior Champs making her presence felt in several finals. It started with being aggressive in prelims.
Central/MIBC: Molly McCorriston
The National group’s SMACtastic Swimmer for the month of December is Molly McCorriston. All month, she embodied the high-level behaviors we talk about in the National group.
Because of her consistent effort and attention to detail, Molly had a tremendous pair of championship meets in December. She earned PRs in her primary and secondary events including a new Futures’ qualifying time in the 200 breaststroke. In addition to her awesome performances in the water, Molly was invested in her teammates and showed up behind their lanes more times than a swim coach can count.
