2020 Al Soltis Swim Saturday recap

It was an amazing and busy Saturday for the Sun Coast swimmers at the 2020 Al Soltis Memorial Senior Swim Meet.

The morning brought two separate pool completions going on at the same time. On the east end of the pool was the 12 & under competition. Alex Cobb (12) dropped time in the 50 back and free. Jerry Randall (12) dropped time in three of his three events. Casey Phillips (8) in his first big meet where he dropped over 6 seconds in his 50 free. Lucas Spann (6) also in his first big meet dropped time in the 50 back and free, but it was his swim in the Senior Boys 100 yard backstroke that gained big cheers as this 6-year-old swam against 16, 17 and 18 year olds and never stopped with a time of 2:08.32. Alexis Swiggett (11) had some excellent swims but it was her first-time swim in the 100 breast with a time of 1:52.67 that was a sight to see. All of these young and new swimmers looked like they have been swimming for years.

On the west side of the pool were our 13 & over swimmers. These largely year-round competitors are just starting out the new year when personal bests times are often not expected. Arianna Bugner (15) dropped big time in the 100 breast and 50 free. Grace Burkholder (14) had an impressive day in all her events qualifying in all three events for B finals. Dean Carey (13) had personal bests in the 100 breast and back. Noah Christian (18) had strong swims and qualified for B finals in the 100 breast. Garrett Hickman (14) smashed his personal best time in the 100 back and 50 free and qualified for second-alt in B finals in the 100 breast. Genevieve Kennedy (16) swam a personal best in the 100 back, as did Hannah Laycock (18) in the 100 breast. Justin Rieck (13) dropped time in both the100 back and 50 free. Landon Vincent (15) crashed his PBs in the 100 breast and 100 back. Marshall Wilson (16) swam PBs in the 100 breast and 100 back while qualifying for A finals in the 50 free. Drew Jenkins (14) was the big morning swimmer qualifying for A finals in all three of his events.

Saturday night A and B Finals were no disappointment, where the finishes were even stronger than in the morning prelims session. This meet is unusual as prelims are swum on a 25 yard short course, and finals are swum on a 50 meter long course. Grace finishes moved up in the 400M free and 50M free. Noah moved up two places in the 100M breast. Drew had super finishes moving two places in the 100M breast and one in the 100M back. Drew finished the night earning an impressive 33 points.

Sun Coast is back in the pool on Sunday for what looks to be an outstanding session.

Follow these links for a full list of results:

·  Saturday Prelim East Pool Results

·  Saturday Prelim West Pool Results

(Photo credit Angelique Hickman)