Weekly Wave: January 11, 2026
Nampa Qualifier:
Sawtooth swimmers dove into 2026 with a powerhouse performance in Nampa, sending 28 swimmers to kick off the new year in style. What was meant to be a warmup for next week’s Sawtooth Invite turned into a full-on showcase of speed, grit, and rising talent. The team stacked up win after win—Clio sprinted to two victories, Zachariah dominated the 25 free and 50 fly, and Marcus and Hank C each swept all three of their events. Julia, McCoy, Henry, Aiden, Ava, Cody, Brayleigh, Ian, Gabi, Ares, and Sedona all added big wins of their own, proving Sawtooth strength runs deep across every age group and stroke.
By the end of the day, Sawtooth swimmers had shattered 46 personal bests in just 82 swims and racked up an incredible 23 event wins. If this meet was just the warmup, the upcoming Sawtooth Invite is about to be electric.
Saturday Best Times:
25 Free: Clio, Zachariah & William
200 Free: Marcus, Aiden, Ian & Cody
100 Breaststroke: Hank, Ares, Gabi, Brayleigh Aurora & Madeline
50 Breaststroke: William, Linkon, Otto, Henry, Cody, Clio, Angela & Raquel
200 Backstroke: Ian & Anja
25 Backstroke: William
100 Free: Zachariah, Linkon, McCoy, Otto, Aiden, Julia, Raquel & Aurora
50 Fly: Zachariah, Aiden, Julia, Sophie, Ava, Raquel, Brayleigh & Madeline
200 IM: McCoy, Hank, Julia, Angela & Anja
Swimmer Tips:
Dolphin kick feeling a little stuck? Here are three variables to play with at practice to unlock your underwaters.
3 Training Strategies for Faster Underwaters
Tennis Ball Breaststroke is a drill in which swimmers hold a tennis ball under their chin as they swim down the pool performing breaststroke, working on keeping the tennis ball in place in order to set proper head position.
Swim Drill: Tennis Ball Breaststroke
Swimmer Promotions:
Over the Christmas break week we saw 14 Sawtooth swimmers reap the benefits of their continued hard work and dedication by being promoted to new groups. Marcus & Micah moved from the Blue group to the Bronze group; McCoy, Hank W, Angela & Avery were promoted from the Bronze group to SR Prep group; Declan, Adley & Jack were moved from the Bronze group to the Silver group; Ares, Vince & Jillian went from the Silver group to Gold group; and Madeline & Hank C jumped up from the Gold group to the Senior group! Congratulations to all the swimmers who moved up groups this fall. The next round of group moves will take place after the Winter & Spring Championships in February & March.
This Week’s Schedule:
January Birthdays! 🎂
We would like to wish all of our Sawtooth swimmers celebrating their birthdays this month a very Happy Birthday! We are excited to celebrate with you all!
Boone Yerxa - Jan. 1 (16) Brayden McCullough - Jan. 20 (18)
Zachiaria Sivaraj - Jan. 2 (8) Madeline Weak - Jan. 21 (16)
Vince Vuturo - Jan. 9 (17) Dylan Murillo - Jan. 21 (17)
Ryo Motoyama - Jan. 9 (11) Escher Graves - Jan. 24 (7)
Sedona Stratton - Jan. 11 (16) Charlotte Leavitt - Jan. 26 (13)
Amelia Presleigh - Jan. 12 (17) Addison Lopez - Jan. 27 (16)
Will Broms - Jan. 18 (9) Abby Daycock - Jan. 30 (15)
Weekday Parking at ICAC:
Parents & swimmers - please remember that the main parking lot at ICAC is designated for swim lesson users Monday through Thursday from 4pm to 6:30pm. We realize that parking in the dirt lot is not ideal, however there is parking on Diamond street. Thank you all for understanding, we want to make sure we are being good tenants of the facility.
Upcoming Team Events:
Sawtooth January Invite (January 16-18 - ICAC):
Sawtooth will be hosting a 3 day meet over MLK weekend with teams from Snake River, Washington, Oregon, Montana & Wyoming. There will be prelims & finals for 13 & over swimmers and timed finals for 12 & under swimmers. This team hosted event is a major meet for the club and all swimmers are encouraged to attend. Meet information is posted and signups are open on the team site.
SRS Winter Championships (February 13-15 - West YMCA):
Winter Championships will be held at the West Y pool again this season and we are excited to have as many kids as possible participating in the meet. The meet this season will be 3 full days of Prelims & Finals. This is our local championships and an amazing opportunity for our club to show the other teams and swimmers in the LSC what Sawtooth is working towards as a club. All Swimmers who are qualified for this meet should plan on attending. Meet information and sign ups will be available asap.
