2009 MBR Lowstate Qualifier
The 2009 Myrtle Beach Riptides Lowstate Qualifier was a GREAT meet for the Riptides! We had 19 swimmers compete in the meet, which is the largest number of swimmers we have ever had compete in a single meet. We had a 75% increase in personal best times - 68 total; 6 new SCS q-times; and 1 new SCS qualifier!!!
We also had so many new "first-time" swims, the list would be very long! And out of all the swims, our number of dq’s continues to shrink. Our swimmers continue to learn, continue to improve and continue to move onto the next level - Education, Participation, Graduation!
Jesse Perl led all swimmers with the two largest improvements of the meet - a 52 second drop in the 1000 free and a 44 second drop in the 1650 free; both were new SCS q-times. Jesse also picked up a new SCS q-time in the 100 fly.
Megan Prouty had the next single largest improvement with a 26.8 second slashing in her 200 breaststroke. Just behind Megan was Zary Gouin with a 26.5 second improvement in his 100 IM. Quinna Muthard cut 20.7 seconds in her 100 IM and Andi Churchill shaved 20.1 in her 500 free to round out the swimmers with at least one swim with a 20 second improvement.
Chad Bateson earned two new SCS q-times. In his first attempt at the 400 IM, Chad earned a q-time. Later in the meet, Chad did a time trial in the 200 free to earn his final SCS q-time.
Eddie Bateson rallied to earn his first 11-12 SCS q-time in the 100 back, removing 1.3 seconds from his previous best.
Meet RESULTS
The 2009 Riptides State Team is now complete: Chad Bateson, Eddie Bateson, Julia Campbell, Lauren Campbell, Megan Kingsley, Keenan Lineback, Phil Mustert and Jesse Perl. Good luck in Spartanburg!
Just as important as the swimming was how extremely well our meet was conducted. A huge thanks goes out to dryside Meet Director Elaine Campbell who coordinated with all of the committees to make this meet, perhaps the smoothest run meet ever in Myrtle Beach! Virtually every visiting coach thanked us for hosting such a great event. Everyone deserves a pat on the back for the overall success of the Qualifier.
Also, a huge thank you to Rob Schreer who, again, referreed our meet. Rob has been a fixture at Myrtle Beach meets and has been a tremendous resource for our team and our new officials. Rob even hosted a Starter’s clinic for several of our officials (who I believe will now be certified as Starters).
With all the experience we have gained in meet operations, we are quickly developing a reputation for some of the best meet-hosting in SC. Our next Riptides-hosted event will be the 2009 12/Under Grand Prix Championship, Feb 21-22. We will offer a Stroke and Turn clinic for those parents interested in learning how to become an official. And several months from now, in July, we are going to need all of our resources to pull off the biggest meet of the year, the 2009 SC Swimming Long-course State Championships/Finale meet.
So, congratulations to all of our Riptides - swimmers, parents and coaches. Although small in size, we are large in spirit and quality of programming. Our membership is truly making the Riptides The Finest Swim Team in the Grand Strand.
