THE STINGRAY SPLASH, July 13 2025 Edition

Stephanie Talberg

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See CSL results, standings, leaderboards here https://csl.nvblu.com/home/
   
   
   
MEET RECAPS
Last Monday 27 of our swimmers participated in the IM Tough Meet at Chantilly Highlands. There were MANY significant time drops, which tends to happen when IM is the only event swum! 
Our 1-3 medalists were:
Jordan Stephenson - 2nd place Boys 9-10
Kate Li - 1st Place Girls 11-12
Jake Sim - 1st Place Boys 13-14
Darren Kim - 2nd Place Boys 13-14
Kyle Gadsby - 1st Place Boys 15-18
 
On Saturday we concluded our Dual Meet season in the Red Division with a matchup with the winless Burke Centre Stingers. Unfortunately they didn’t remain winless as we were defeated by a score of 309-142. Our final record is 1-4, with Arlington Knights of Columbus taking the overall Red Division trophy. There is chatter of us moving back down to the White Division next summer, we will see what happens in the off-season!
 
Earlier today we parlayed (and partay-ed) at the CSL Relay Carnival. It was a Pirate Theme 🏴‍☠️ and many of our swimmers had fun with it. It’s always a chaotic and crowded time there in Sugarland Run! 
Our 1-3 Ribbon winners were:
Mixed Free Relay 13-14 (Gabe Nguyen, Sasha Obeng, Heidi Shin, Darren Kim) - 3rd Place
Mixed Free Relay 15-18 (Claudia Shin, Noah Sharabi, Stella Obeng, Logan Earle) - 3rd Place
Boys Free Relay Mixed Age (Jordan Stephenson, Aiden Xiao, Gabe Nguyen, Noah Sharabi) - 3rd Place
Girls Medley Relay 15-18 (Claudia Shin, Stella Obeng, Natalie Talberg, Sophie Nguyen) - 3rd Place
 
 
BROKEN RECORDS
At IM Tough 2 Team Records were broken.
Kate Li demolished the Girls 11-12 100IM record with a time of 1:14.10 (Old record of 1:19.12 from 2016).
Kyle Gadsby broke the Boys 15-18 100IM record with a time of 59.28 (Old record of 1:00.65 from 2014).
 
At the Dual Meet, Kate Li struck again by breaking her own Girls 11-12 50M Backstroke record with a new time of 35.65. She also broke the 50M Fly record from 2014 with a new time of 33.84.
 
 
STINGRAY SWIMMERS OF THE WEEK
Congratulations to last week’s swimmers! 🎉
1st Practice: Emma Lee
2nd Practice: Sadie Obeng
3rd Practice: Johnny Van Dalen
   
   
UPCOMING SOCIAL EVENTS
On Wednesday 7/16 we will be having our annual Swimapalooza morning instead of practices.  There will be pancakes, music, games, fun relays, and swimmers can bring floaties for the pool! Also, we will be collecting money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, an organization that helps combat life-threatening childhood diseases. Donations will be given in memory of  Druv Pabba  who was a Stingray for many years (and still holds a few team records) before he was diagnosed with leukemia. He battled the disease valiantly for a couple years before sadly passing away this past March. We will have a box for cash donations as well as a QR code for e-donations. You can give directly to the below link now. We will compile all donations and give one total from the Armfield Farm Swim Team. Please help us to honor Druv’s life and to cure childhood cancers!  https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLH51149PW7WY/checkout/HNWZ6RIG4QZSTRE3UZKKZMUY?src=sheet
 
On Friday evening there will be a pool party at 6-7pm. Join your teammates for a quick social splash and grab & go snacks. There will also be fun temporary tattoos to decorate yourself with before Divisionals. We don’t want to be out too late, swimmers need plenty of rest before the big meet!
 
End of Season Banquet is Saturday evening 7/19 @ 6pm. Join us as we celebrate a busy but fulfilling 8 weeks of swim and camaraderie! There will be a lot of awards to give out and cake to eat. Swimmers don’t want to miss their paper plate award, thoughtfully selected and drawn by their Coaches! Speaking of Coaches, each year we like to collect donations from all families to apply towards a Coaches Gift. We will pool the money and split it evenly amongst all 11 of our Coaches for an end of season gift to say “Thanks!” You can donate at this link up until Friday night.  https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLH51149PW7WY/checkout/IWQKJAAZIARHVIOKXQW4QCAK?src=sheet
   
   
UPCOMING MEETS
The Makeup B Meet with Franklin Glen is scheduled for Wednesday evening 7/16. 🤞that the storms stay away this time but it does look like there is a chance all week long in the afternoons/evenings. We would love for many of our swimmers to get one last chance in to see how far they have progressed this season. We need meet volunteers to make that happen. It is all hands on deck, several of the Board members are unavailable this week to fill last minute volunteer spots. We will need to cancel the meet if there are not enough helpers beforehand.
   
The Red Divisional Meet is coming up on Sat morning July 19 @ Burke Centre. All of the Red Division teams will swim to determine which swimmers get to go to the League All Star Meet on July 26. Swimmer performance at all of the Divisional Meets that day determines All Star selection! There are no relays, no scores, just individual events and fast times. Coaches will select swimmers and the Meet Sheet will come out soon. We will need Volunteers as always. Please go to the Job Signup once you know that your swimmer is entered in the meet. Volunteer slots are assigned by Half. If you have a swimmer in the Free, Back, Breast events, sign up for 1st Half. If you have a swimmer in the Fly or IM events, sign up for 2nd Half. The CSL assigns these volunteer positions and each team must pull their weight to make Divisionals happen!