Young Swamis Represent at Candy Cane
Young Swamis Represent at Candy Cane
AMERICAN FORK, UT -- Fourteen SWAMIs of Green & Gold, ranging in ages from 7 to 11, dove into the warm waters of American Fork Recreation on December 7th, 2012 in what, for many, was their maiden voyage into the world of USA competitive swimming.
Great races were plentiful for these young SWAMIs as they covered quite a swath of territory, racing in 25-yard breaststrokes, 50-yard butterflys, and 100-yard Individual medleys to name a few. 10-year old Rising Swami II swimmer Nele Kaufusi headlined the performances by finishing 1st in the 50-yard breast, a pair of 2nd place finishes in the 50 back and 50 fly, and adding a third place finish in the 50 free.
"I was just having fun out there," Nele noted with calm coolness, reminiscent of a seasoned Joe Montana. "Just took them a race at a time and tried to do what coach David told me before each race."
8-year old Jaquelin Castrejon had a field day as well, finishing Top 10 in all four events she swam. Budding star Sephra Masina also turned in some noted races with a 2nd place in the 100 free, and two 4th place finishes in the 50 fly and 50 free, respectively.
For the girls team as a whole, there were ten SWAMIs competing, while on the boys side, four rounded out the "fleur di troops". The SWAMIs indicated they can't wait to get back to practice and ready themselves for the next challenge.
"They were pretty jazzed to say the least," head age group coach David Valdes said. "They kept asking me, 'when's the next meet! When's the next meet?!'" There is more work to do for sure but just seeing them compete--for some, this was the first time--it was good to see. We're improving skills and gaining confidence. That's all you can ask for."
RECAP - Young Swamis Represent at Candy Cane Mini Meet
8 & Under Girls
Jaquelin Castrejon - 25-yd Back - 4th place, 50-yd Back - 10th place, 50-yd Free - 11th place, 25-yd Free - 5th place
Taryn Ledbetter - 25-yd Back - 8th place, 50-yd Back - 7th place, 50-yd Free - 6th place, 25-yd Free - 4th place
Sephra Masina - 100-yd Free - 2nd place, 50-yd Fly - 4th place, 50-yd Free - 4th place
Violet Nuttall - 25-yd Back - 3rd place, 50-yd Back - 3rd place
Lorena Thompson - 100-yd Free - 3rd place, 50-yd Fly - 5th place, 50-yd Free - 5th place
Eva Zamora - 25-yd Back - 9th place, 50-yd Free - 5th place
8 & Under Boys
Ollie Pelton - 25-yd Back - 8th place, 50-yd Free - 10th place, 25-yd Free - 7th place
10 & Under Girls
Nele Kaufusi - 50-yd Breast - 1st place, 50-yd Back - 2nd place, 50-yd Fly - 2nd place, 50-yd Free - 3rd place
Lucy Nuttall - 100-yd Free - 14th place, 50-yd Back - 17th place, 50-yd Free - 22nd place
Daniela Thompson - 100-yd Free - 8th place, 50-yd Fly - 5th place, 50-yd Free - 14th place, 100-yd IM - 4th place
10 & Under Boys
Jesus Corona - 100-yd Free - 20th place, 50-yd Free - 18th place
Brett Lyman - 100-yd Free - 15th place, 50-yd Back - 10th place, 50-yd Free - 13th place
11-12 Girls
Mazzie Pelton - 100-yd Free - 22nd place, 50-yd Free - 17th place
11-12 Boys
Brian Hulleberg - 50-yd Back - 12th place, 50-yd Fly - 6th place
