2024 SNS Spring Champs
Day 1
Today was a beautiful day for swimming and the Vaca Waves sure to advantage of the perfect weather. We were camped out in a sweet spot, thanks the Brady Family for bringing the team tent and hooking up the Coaches with a cool view of the pool.
We started off with some big swims in the 400 IM by our Senior swimmers who led the way to some serious drops! Mind you some of the athletes just swam the 400 IM two weeks ago at the Napa Meet.
And ended the day with some awesome relays! Thank you to our relay only athletes who came out today to support the team. Love this!!!
Here is how our athletes did:
Nicky Barrow: dropped 4 seconds and placed 2nd overall heading into Finals. Oh and new Swagr cut!!! He sat on his time for the 50 back. He can back to Finals and dropped almost a second! He clinched 2nd overall.
Emily Blair: first timer at Spring Champs! She swam the 100 breast today as her first event for the weekend.
Jude Cabral: he was slated to come back for Finals in the 400 IM so he just needed a legal swim. He sat on his times for the 50 fly and the 100 back but came back for Finals and placed 7th and 6th in those events. For the 400 IM he swam it perfectly and amazing underwaters!!! He placed 3rd overall in that event.
Keahi Holokahi: she swam the 400 IM and dropped 8.5 seconds moving up to 16th overall. She also had drops in the 100 free and 50 fly.
Lilly Howard: she killed it in both the 200 free and the 100 fly. In the 200 free she evenly split the race. This tells Coach she definitely has more to give but I can't complain with a 10 second drop right?! In the 100 fly she finaled and dropped again in Finals giving her a new time of 1:31.93 with 8th place overall.
Jewely Lightfoot: she dropped in The 100 free is now part of the sub minute club!!! She also placed 3rd overall in the 1000 free.
Ashton Martinez: he had an awesome first day and dropped in both the 100 free and the 50 fly.
Piper Miller: great swim for the 400 IM and dropped 6.8 seconds!!! She sat on her time in the 100 free but turned it around in the 200 breast dropping 1.31 seconds.
Millie Molten: first timer at JO's! She has some good body alignment in the 50 back.
Maxum Weber: He looked so good in the 400 IM!!! He dropped almost 5 seconds earning a new time of 5:03.52. With the fast turn around he sat on his 100 free time.
Alyssa Fraga: Right on her best time for the 100 free and did really well. She goes “Coach, I kicked the whole way!” She dropped a bit in the 100 back earning a best time of 1:14.21.
Our relay only swimmers came to represent! Being on a relay is a huge privilege and they really helped our team.
Daniel Barrow: he stepped in for big bro (Nicky) and earned a new personal best in the 100 free, 1:32.37.
Makenna Brady: helped out in the 400 IM 14 & under in the freestyle leg of the race. She earned a new best time of 1:06.51.
Natalie Bulris aka Little Bulris: she swam the butterfly leg in the 400 IM and wow!!! She got a new PR dropping a second giving her a best time of 1:16.22.
Ray Fields: man oh man!!! So he had a previous time of 1:44.39 and smashed that time. He earned a new time of 1:32.47. Watch out for this kid. I see a JO qualifier in the very near future.
Sofia Finger: she looked so smooth in her 100 free of the relay. So smooth she knocked down her time to a 1:11.76!
Layla Lightfoot: she swam the 100 backstroke in the 400 IM. She was a little nervous going into the race. She split her race well.
Kailey Ramos: she swam the 100 breast in the 400 IM Relay. She dropped four seconds and earned a new time of 1:32.87!
This was a fantastic first day for all our athletes! Proud of everyone.
#wavestrong
Day 2
Right now our team is place 9th out of 18 teams and being in the middle of the pack with a small but mighty group is not too shabby at all.
The weather was not as nice in the morning with cloudy skies and a slight breeze but that did not stop our athletes! It was an even better day with sweet drops.
We started off the day with some 400 free relays and right after the 500 free.
Daniel Barrow-stepped up again to swim in the boys 12 & under relay and was off his best for his 50 free leg in the relay. For the 25 free this was the closest he has gotten to his best time in awhile and everything was connecting. We just needed to get off the blocks a little quicker.
Nicky Barrow-started his day off with the 500 free and dropped 11.69 seconds!!! This was huge!!! He placed 2nd overall. In the 100 back he sat on his time but had very little time to recover from the big swim in the 500 free. Dropped over a second in his 50 free clinching a spot in Finals and placed 7th overall.
Emily Blair-was the breast leg in the 200 IM Relay and did amazing!!! She swam the 50 free with a really good reaction time off the block.
Jude Cabral-started his day with the 500 free dropped big time and then came back for Finals and dropped a total of 12.88 seconds. This is hard to do when you dropped in the morning and then turnaround to drop even more time. He earned a SWARG cut in the 500 free. He sat on his time for the 100 IM but swam it well during prelims and finals finishing 5th place overall.
Keahi Holokahi-was the first leg of the 400 free and dropped time earning a new best time of 1:03.52. She swam the 200 back and dropped 2.56 seconds!!! In the 100 IM she had another PR warning a new time of 1:14.69. She has a great day!!!
Lilly Howard- she jumped in and helped out in the 12 & under 400 Relay last minute. Way to step up and get it done!!! She swam the 50 free earning a new best time of 32.01 and swam the 100 IM with little rest earning another best time of 1:30.
Jewely Lightfoot-in her 200 back she dropped almost three tenths! She got her very first tech suit today and decided she wanted to suit up for 1650 free. Not a bad choice because she dropped 1.29 seconds and clinching 5th place in her age group.
Ashton Martinez-started with the 500 free and demolished his old time. He secured a spot in Finals and overall dropped 9.41 seconds. He went a 6:00.08. He got out of the race and was mad… He wants to go under 6:00. Love the fire and was placed 7th overall. Oh and this is the first time he finaled in the 11-12 age group!!!
Millie Molten- swam the 50 free and the 100 IM. She had recently made the time standards at the Napa Meet only two weeks ago. So it is very hard to turn around and drop two weeks later.
Emma Patrick- one of our mighty 8 & unders swam the 50 free and dropped a second along with taking only one breath!!! Oh and did I mention she placed 5th overall. She also started the 10 & under 200 IM Relay and dropped time in the 50 back.
Kurt Ramos- came to race today! He dropped in both the 25 breast and 25 free. He placed 2nd in the 25 breast and placed 7th in the 25 free.
Alyssa Fraga-she swam the 200 back and did well! She split it pretty well with only a 3 second spread from her first 100 and second 100.
Maxum Weber-he was right on his best time in the 100 breast. But he did amazing in the 500 free! He dropped 7.40 seconds and made it back for Finals. He was so shocked he made it back and was amped to be a finalist. It was cool to witness him being proud.
Our relay only swimmers came back today and did very well along with contributing the team's points.
Sofia Finger-swam two relays today. in the 400 free relay she was a little off her best time but she is going to get that time again. Trust. She swam in the 200 IM Relay and was right on her best time in the 50 free. She will be back tomorrow and will get a best time. Just have this feeling.
Layla Lightfoot-was the last leg of the 400 free and dropped 4 seconds from her best time!!! 1:05.48 to be exact!!! She was a little hesitant on swimming the 50 fly in the 200 IM Relay… But she squashed her old time of 43.28 and dropped almost five seconds! This tells me she is going to be swimming this at the home meet. Cough cough nudge nudge.
Kailey Ramos- joined us in the 200 IM 12 & under relay. She killed it in the 50 breast and dropped two seconds earning a new time of 43.26.
We had a great day. The Coaching Staff is very proud.
Day 3
The time change was rough!!! Well at least for the Coaches and myself but the athletes didn't seem to mind at all because in true Vaca Wave fashion we brought our A game.
We had five Finalists and 1 alternate. After Finals was an awards ceremony and guess what guys… We placed second in the small teams category!!! This was HUGE for Vaca because we haven't brought home an award in over 15 years!!! Big shout out to the athletes who came and competed this weekend. WE DID IT!!!
Thank you to all the parents who volunteered with timing and officiating. Your support of the athletes and Coaching Staff means so much. The parents are a part of this big W. IT TAKES ALL OF US to make this happen.
Here is how the athletes did:
Daniel Barrow- our mighty 8 year old athlete swam two relays and the 50 free. He had a fantastic swim with a consistent kick and long freestyle strokes.
Nicky Barrow- competed in two relays and swam two individual events. In his 100 free he dropped 4.17 seconds and took 3rd place in Finals. This is a new Swagr Cut!
Emily Blair- swam in two relays and two individual events. She was right on her best times. She just secured the times a little over two weeks ago so being around her best times was pretty awesome.
Makenna Brady-so two weeks ago she had a big drop in her 500 free. Today she swam it again and dropped another 1.21 seconds!!! This is very hard to do but she with all her hard work she made it happen. She also swam in the relay getting a new time of 30.22.
Natalie Bulris aka Little Bulris-swam in the 200 free relay and had one individual event. She has been working on this all season long… She is now part of the sub 30 crew in the 50 free. Securing a time of 29.89!
Jude Cabral- competed in two relays and two individual events today. He finaled in both individual events and placed 4th in the 200 IM and 8th in the 50 free.
Keahi Holokahi-she swam in two relays and two individual event. She sat on her time in the 500 free but she managed to still get a spot as second alternate and she was ready to swim if someone didn't show. She has been eager to drop in her 50 free and she made it happen in the relay!!! Giving her a new time of 29.23!
Lilly Howard-she had two individual events and contributed in the relays. She dropped big time in the 200 IM clinching a Finals spot! She ranked 9th overall.
Jewely Lightfoot- huge swim in her 500 free dropping 4.96 seconds and placing 7th in Finals! She also dropped in the 200 free and 50 free too! Nice!!!
Ashton Martinez-he had a breakout weekend with big swims and continued to do that on the third day. He came back for finals in the 200 IM and dropped 3.65 seconds finishing in 9th place and did I mention he dropped in his 50 free!
Piper Miller-this was her first time at the Spring Champs Meet with individual events. She had a lot of events for today. She competed in one relay and three individual events. She was right off her best times and continued to stay positive throughout the day. She cheered for her teammates and stuck around for Finals to support them. This was really cool!!!
Millie Molten-she was a huge help in our team's relays and was right off her best time in the 100 free. She was pretty pumped all day with good energy.
Emma Patrick-she is a stud! She helped in the girls 10 & under relay and placed 5th in the 25 back for 8 year old girls!!!
Kurt Ramos-swam in two relays and two individual events. He dropped in both personal events! He placed 6th in the 25 back and 5th in the 50 free!
Noah Zenobia-first time JO qualifier and he showed up to swim!!! He dropped in his 25 back and placed 9th for 8 year old boys.
Alyssa Fraga swam the 200 free and the 50 free. She was right on her best times. Overall she had a great meet and was the mama bear of all the kids during the meet. She took on the leadership role.
Maxum Weber swam the 200 free and earned a new PR with a 2.41 seconds drop!!! He sat on his 50 free time but that was okay with him.
These two athletes were our oldest athletes at Spring Champs and both help lead the cheers each morning along with Jewely Lightfoot. It was really cool seeing these two athletes step up and be the role models at the meet.
Our Relay Only swimmers were ready to race today!!!
Davis Batzer-came to swim in the boys 10 & under relay and he had a two second drop in the 50 free!!!
Ray Fields-was the third leg in the 200 free relay. His old time was 34.18 and he dropped down to 31.85!!!
Sofia Finger-she was ready to swim in the relays today! She earned a new time in her 50 free of 33.79. It was pretty awesome.
Layla Lightfoot-helped the team in two relays and dropped in her 50 free earning a new time of 30.90!
Kailey Ramos-swam in two relays and she rocked it! She dropped in her 50 free giving her a name PR of 30.64.
What an awesome weekend of racing and fun for Vaca. Super pumped for our team!!!
