PIRANHAS CRUSH THE COMPETITION AT 4 MEETS LAST WEEK
Following results of the Piranha swimmers that competed in meets this past week was no easy task. You needed to know three different languages and keep track of the time in four time zones. The results of each of the four meets upheld our teams tradition of getting swimmers to the next level and continuing to do well once you get there.
Two time Olympian and USC Trojan Lynette Lim is considered one of the greatest success stories in our programs history. Lynette has been representing the Piranha Swim Team throughout the summer while competing for a spot on Singapore's World Championship Team. Last week at the Singapore Nationals Lynette won the individual National Championship in the 400 and 800 free and guaranteed her place at the FINA World Championship Meet. World Championships begin in Barcelona on July 19th and Lynette will be swimming the 400 free and the 800 free relay. Lynette is a big part of upholding the Piranha tradition of preparing swimmers for the highest levels.. JO Champion, CIF Champion, NCAA All American, National Champion, and Olympian. She continues to get faster and accomplish bigger and better things. We are proud of you Lynette!
UC San Diego Triton and current Piranha Swim Team member Nick Korth competed at the USA Swimming World Championship Trials in Indianapolis. In the 200 breast he was seeded last at 40th. After winning his heat and dropping three seconds Korth moved up to finish 20th and almost made finals. In the 50 breast Nick did make finals, finishing 3rd in the Consolation heat and 11th over all. Nick may not have grown up a Piranha but his journey through Swimming is an inspirational story. As a High School freshmen he was cut during the tryouts for the JV Swim Team. He stuck with the sport, joined a club team, and by his Junior year of High School had qualified for Sectionals. While swimming with Coach Jeff at his previous team Nick went on to qualify and compete at the Olympic Trials in 2012. In his Freshman year at UCSD he set the NCAA National Record and was the National Champion in the 200 breast. His story is inspirational and proof that setbacks can be the motivation that will lead you to better things. Nick will continue to be a Piranha through the Summer as he is now preparing for Sectionals and the U.S. Open in August.
The Piranha June Age Group team competed in Ventura last week. The number of new cuts and best times were outstanding. Faith Travis became our first (and not last) Summer Junior National qualifier with her victory in the 100 back and also won the 200 Fly.. Coach Ashley D's Silver Group swimmer Devon Richardson earned his first Junior Olympic cut in the 50 free. Coach Gerald's Junior Olympic Group member Kelli Andrade earned 2 Silver medals and swam the 50 and 100 breast in times that currently rank her in the top 10 of the United States. Her training partner Desiree Lewis improved in almost every event and finished in the top 16 of the 50 free. Shelby Andrade took down most of her best times in a big way while earning 5 finals swims and finishing second in the 100 fly and 4th in the 200IM. Alexa Wasserman was in the Championship final of the 400 IM and Consolation Final of three other events including the 200 breast where she dropped several seconds. Every swimmer on our team finished the meet with a best time including Matt Dore in the 50 back, Alissah Koochaki and Lindsey Letellier with four second drops in the 200 fly, Bryce Ramos with huge drops and JO qualifying times in the 100 and 200 back, and Lindsey Letellier with a 35 second drop in the 1500, good enough for 10th place. Most impressive of all is that our swimmers accomplished all of this without resting for the meet to keep our focus on the end of the Summer. The Coaching staff could not be more proud of the results.
Palm Desert High School alum and Piranha Indira Ceranic traveled across the globe on Tuesday to Bosnia for their Championships. She swam 8 events in two days and was victorious in all of them, swimming season best times in most events and achieving two lifetime bests. An important part of being a successful athlete is not letting what you can't control affect you. Traveling that far so close to the meet was not easy. Swimming in a major meet that had no real warm up and warm down lane created quite a challenge as well but Indira rose to the occasion under less then ideal circumstances and swam a very good meet. She will soon be back home and training with her teammates as we prepare for Sectionals, JO's, Eastern Committee Champs, Junior Nationals, and the US Open.
This group of athletes are carrying an an almost 50 year Piranha tradition. This team can help you get to any level of swimming you want to be at and prepare you to have continued success once you get there. Any one of you can be the next Lynette, Indira, Faith, or Nick. Be proud of your teammates and be motivated to continue the Piranha tradition. PIRANHA PRIDE!!!!!!
