2014 CA May Breakout meet
Riptides Compete at USC:
The Myrtle Beach Riptides swim team competed at the 2014 Carolina Aquatics May Breakout meet during the Memorial Day weekend. The event was hosted at the University of South Carolina. Eighteen members of the Riptides competed in the event, garnering 76 personal best times and 5 new SC State Championship qualifying times.
Danielle Flaherty led the Riptides with a perfect 10-for-10 personal best times. Flaherty also added two State Championship q-times in the 400-meter freestyle (5:12.8) and 200-meter breaststroke (3:14.2). Flaherty’s most improved event was the 800-meter freestyle by more than 30 seconds.
Peyton McWhorter and Ella Speir were also a perfect 8-for-8 in personal best times. McWhorter had the largest improvement of all swimmers by slashing over 40 seconds in the 400-meter freestyle. McWhorter earned her first 11-12 State Championship q-time in the 50-meter backstroke.
Speir’s best improvements were by more than 20 seconds in the 200-meter Individual Medley (IM) and 100-meter breaststroke.
Ty Kinner-Costello swam to 7 personal best times and a new State Championship q-time in the 200-meter butterfly. Andi Churchill earned her new State Championship q-time in the senior 800-meter freestyle by dropping more than 10 seconds from her previous best time. Hannah McDonough earned a new SC State Championship q-time in the 50-meter freestyle.
Rafael Adi, Chad Bateson, Keyon Berenji, Connor Churchill, Joel Cox, Jake Flaherty, Walker Harwell, Ethan Nechemia and Chase Teasley each swam to multiple personal best times at the meet. Connor Campbell, battling flu-symptoms, swam several events close to his bests.
Kailey Habib competed in her first-ever long-course meters (Olympic length) meet and nearly earned a State Championship q-time in the 50-meter freestyle. Chloe Stampfle also competed in her first-ever long-course meet, swimming the 50-meter freestyle, backstroke and butterfly and the 100-meter breaststroke.
Said head coach James Smith, “The CA May Breakout meet was very good for Riptdes. It was just our second long-course meet of the season and the swimmers looked very good. Many were tired from heavy training, but were still able to post best times and State Champ standards.”
The next meet for the Riptides will be the Cuttino Invite in Savannah, GA, June 20-22. This is the final meet of the season before the summer championships which begin in July.
