May Flowers LC Invitational Recap

Last weekend, we started off the 2024 Long Course season at the King County Aquatic Center. Wave swimmers showcased their prowess in the water with great determination and sportsmanship, embodying the spirit of teamwork and excellence that defines our team. This meet served as a testament to the team's commitment to training and dedication to their sport, setting the stage for a successful season ahead.

Age Group 2

After three weeks of training for our first long course meet of the season, AG2 swimmers came in and crushed their old times, swam dozens of first-time long course races, and picked up many PNS Champs cuts and new US motivational times. An excellent first weekend of racing…including only two DQs! I’m looking forward to y’all continuing to work hard and race even faster in June!

• Max Malinoskyi gave us our most impressive swim of day 1 in his 400 IM, with a beautiful long butterfly stroke and a speedy back leg to grab the early lead. He hung through the breaststroke then crushed the freestyle leg and finished 8^th overall. He also averaged 5+ second drops on all his events, including a PNS cut in his 50 Back.
• Olivia Liu used beautiful body position and a smooth glide to perfectly pace her first-ever 200m Breast and easily pick up a PNS Champs cut. She also had drops of 20+ seconds in her 100 Breast and 400 Free and earned four Champs cuts total.
• Fiona Herman has worked hard on smoothing out her freestyle, which allowed her blast her way past the competition in the 50 Free and earn a PNS Champs cut. In the 200 IM, she showed her greatly improved breaststroke where she ran down several swimmers on the 3^rd 50, then crushed the final free leg. She also swam her first-ever 200m Fly, scoring 2^nd place, and earning another PNS Champs cut.
• Benji Ovendale is one of our noobs and he has focused hard in practice at fixing his freestyle head position and it really paid off as he cruised easily to a best time and earned a PNS Champs cut in his 50 Free. On Day 2, his 100 Free was even faster as he not only earned a Champs cut, but earned his first-ever A time by 0.09!
• Norah Braun is another AG2 noob and has proven to be one of our hardest workers. She’s applied herself to improving her breaststroke and in her final meet as a 10&U, it paid off big as she picked up her first-ever A time in the 100 Breast. She ended up earning a new motivational cut in all six races.
• Nika Svirydovich has outworked everyone in AG2 since the start of long course season and earned B or BB times in all her first-ever long course meet. Her best race was her 50 Breast where she earned a PNS Champs cut with outstanding timing on her glide and powerful kick and body position.

Senior 1

The Senior 1 Group had 27 swimmers compete at the May Flowers Meet. For most of the group it was the first time competing in a long course meet since last summer. As a whole the group did an awesome job of stepping up and racing hard. We used this as a training meet so the swimmers got no rest leading up to it and we were more focused on swimming well and executing race strategies than times. Even though they were tired we had several swimmers step up in a big way and absolutely crush their old best times. It was incredible to see the group swimming so well so early into the season. I am looking forward to the next meet and a fast fun long course season.

• Daniel Chen is a newcomer to the group and the increased intensity and volume of training have already started to pay off for him. He has been crushing workouts since moving into the group so it was no surprise that he crushed all of his old times. He swam a super strong 200 Breast, breaking 3 minutes for the first time and dropping 9 seconds. 
• Peter Hansen due to traveling plans hasn’t competed in a meet since early March and he really made the most out of his first meet back. He has been training hard all the way through and it showed, producing best times in all of his races. He swam an incredibly gutsy 200 Fly hanging on in the end to finish with a 17 second drop.
• Ani Purkayastha was dialed in and ready to race from the very start of the meet. She is always focused on the task at hand and on doing all of the little things the right way. That really shows in her racing as she is able to go out and execute the plan the way she wants to. She decided to swim the 400 IM for the first time in long course and turned in a stellar race, after breezing through the fly she turned on the jets for the back then finished the race strong qualifying for champs her first time out.
• Maya Surugiu is another newcomer to the group who proved that she can step up and race in pretty much any event and be successful. She had probably the most diverse schedule of events and she rocked all of her swims from the 200 Fly to the 400 Free. She had an awesome 200 IM, dropping 10 seconds.
• Gabe Traina showed that his speed in the pool is not limited to just short course, he doesn’t need the walls to swim fast. He looked awesome in all of his sprint events, not to be considered only a sprinter though he turned in a super strong 200 Back. His most exciting race of the meet was the 100 Free where he surged the last 10 meters to win his heat and just missed breaking the 1:00 barrier by .06 seconds.
• Isabella Vasilescu continued to show her strength in the longer races. She started the meet off with a bang dropping 17 seconds in the 400 Free and just let the ball keep rolling from there. She turned in best times in all of her races. She had a very exciting 200 Fly where she was able to stay strong through the last 50 of the race and turn in a 9-second drop and almost breaking the 3:00 mark.

Age Group 1

The AG1 kids tackled their first Long Course of the Season and did an amazing job. Saturday presented some transition and learning for the group as some swam in the LC Pool for the first time ever and most others for the first time since last July. The excited part for the group was watching them come back on Sunday more comfortable and more confident and making the adjustments needed for the LC Pool. It was great to see and resulted in some amazing swimming and times. Standout Swims of the Meet:

• Alex Wang – I have to start with Alex’s 50 Back, where he shot off the start like a cannon and kept his stroke spinning strong through the finish, getting an AAA time for the event (the first ever for the AG1 Group, but definitely not the last). Great work Alex and congrats on the new cap!!!
• Hayley Chou – Hayley swam in her first ever Long Course Meet and did an amazing job, racking up 4 B times over the weekend. Her standout swim for me was her 200 Free where she went out controlled but strong and kept her stroke going and legs kicking to bring it home strong for that last long 50. Great job!!!
• Alexander Hor – Alexander had a great first LC Meet. He picked up 5 B cuts out of his 6 swims and did an awesome job in all 6 swims. His shoutout swim has to be his 100 Breast where the work we have put in to lengthening out his stroke and controlling his glide started to really show with how well he was able to finish the last 50.
• Siena Stahlkopf – Siena had a really strong weekend and swam in 4 brand new Long Course events and dropped time in the other 2. Her stand out swim for me was her 50 Free where she kept her kick going and put all those hard kick sets to work to power her through the 50. Great work Siena.
• Owen Wilson – Owen had a tremendous first LC Meet picking up BB Times in 5 swims and an A Time in the 6^th. Owen’s special shoutout has to be for his 100 Breast, where he kept his insweep quick and hands powering forward in his stroke the whole 100 without slipping off his tempo. Great work Owen.
• Berit Dunn and Lingyi Li – I am going to shoutout both swimmers here together because they both had a great weekend of swimming with lots of best times (Berit dropped in 4 events completed her first for 2 others and Lingyi dropped time in 6 events and completed one event for the first time). I shout them out together because they were both the lone 400 Free Swimmers from the AG1 Group and both did an amazing job, keeping a controlled first 200 and then being able to work down the back 200 to have strong finishes. Great Work to both.

Senior Epic

Senior Epic kicked off the long course season doing a great job in our first meet. I was coaching another meet in Arizona that same week and was following the May Flowers results on Meet Mobile. I was very satisfied to see so many strong swims and best times achieved during the weekend. Enjoy some highlights from our group:

• Anderson Quinn crushed the meet and went 6 best times! His outstanding swims were the 100 Free where he dropped 3.30 seconds breaking the 1:00 barrier for the first time and the 200 IM where he had a solid 5.81 second drop. Both swims were A times for Quinn.
• Adrian Juco had an excellent meet and brought home 6 personal bests! His strongest swims were the 200 IM where he dropped 3.15 seconds and the 400 Free where he had a monster 27 second drop and was able to break the 5:00 barrier for the first time.
• Samantha Merriam has been doing a lot of kick work due to a shoulder injury and was a good example of how swimmers with a strong kick can improve in their swimming.  Sam went three best times (100 Breast, 200 IM & 50 Fly) and swam right at her times in the 100 Fly & 100 Free.
• Kevin Flannery came strong to the meet, went four best times and had some huge drops during the weekend. Kevin swam a lifetime best in the 100 & 200 Breast dropping 5.34 and 10.53 seconds respectively. Both swims were A Times and AGRs cuts.
• Boston Borg has been increasing his training, getting stronger and managed to swim a great meet. He went a personal best in both 50 & 100 Free and grabbed two new AGRs cuts in the process. He also swam right at this time in the 200 Free.

Good job to all Senior Epic swimmers! We will continue to work hard to get stronger, faster and better in the upcoming months.

Senior Prep

Senior Prep had an excellent meet with lots of new PNS Champs cuts, motivational times, and first-time swims! A huge shout out to Dami Jung who raced the 100 Free, had one heat of rest, and then swam the 200 Fly! Well done, Sr Prep!

• Alex Arlouski dropped 14 seconds in his 100 Free and 31 seconds in his 200 Free and picked up two new BB times and three new B times
• Ahana Bhattacharya earned new motivational times in every race and dropped 10+ seconds in four of those races
• Evan Deng dropped time in all the races he had a time for, swam the 100m Fly and 200m Back for the first time, and earned several new motivational cuts
• Rihit Gandhi swam four new races: 100 Back, 200 Breast, and the 200 & 400 Free and earned new motivational cuts in his other three races
• Caden Gray dropped time in five races (including -26.5 seconds in his 100 Fly), swam the 200m Back and 400 Free for the first time, and earned an AA time in the 50 Back
• Olivia Henaire earned an A time in all seven events, including her first-ever 1500 Free
• Karina Maksyutov had time drops of 11+ seconds in four races, including a -29.5-second drop in her 200 IM and earned her first long course BB time in the 50 Free
• Beata Sobol dropped time in every race, highlighted by a -46.5-second improvement in her 400 Free, swam the 200m Fly for the first time, and picked up five new motivational cuts

New US Motivational Times

 AAA 

• Oleg Arlouski – 100 Fly
• Claire Gao – 100 Fly
• Sophia Gorveatt – 400 Free
• Ethan Lin – 100 Breast
• Alex Wang – 50 Back

 AA 

• Boston Borg – 50 Free
• Nik Brusilovski – 100 Fly, 100 Free
• Addy Clarke – 50 Back, 50 Free
• Ellen Feng – 50 Fly
• Claire Gao – 400 Free, 50 Back
• Bennett Geitz – 200 Free
• Sophia Gorveatt – 100 Fly, 100 Free
• Caden Gray – 50 Back
• Adrian Juco – 200 IM, 50 Free
• Dami Jung ­ 50 & 100 Free
• Anton Mazepa ­ 50 Free
• Irene Qu – 50 Back
• Max Smagley – 50 Fly
• Maya Surugiu – 100 Breast, 200 IM
• Alex Wang – 100 Back
• Daniel Xia – 200 & 400 Free
• Landon Yuan – 50 & 100 Breast

 A 

• Quinn Anderson – 100 Free, 200 IM
• Oleg Arlouski – 200 IM
• Bianca Bensen – 50 & 100 Free
• Norah Braun – 100 Breast
• Deniz Cankaya – 400 IM, 50 Back
• Daniel Chen – 100 & 200 Breast
• Addy Clarke – 100 Back, 100 Free
• Rhea Dawani – 50 Breast
• Berit Dunn – 100 Breast, 200 IM, 50 Back
• Kevin Flannery – 100 & 200 Breast
• Claire Gao – 200 Back
• Bennett Geitz – 50 & 100 Free, 100 Back
• Sophia Gorveatt – 200 Back, 50 Free
• Caden Gray – 50 & 100 Free, 100 Back
• Peter Hansen – 50 Free
• Olivia Henaire – 50, 100, 200 & 1500 Free; 50, 100 & 200 Breast
• Fiona Herman – 50 Free
• Nora Herman – 400 Free
• Vivian Hu – 50 Back
• Iris Huang – 100 Free
• Adrian Juco – 100 & 400 Free
• Dami Jung – 50 & 100 Back
• Maria Kokhan – 100 Back
• Lingyi Li – 50 Breast, 50 Fly, 50 Free
• Rinat Maksyutov – 50 & 100 Back, 50 Free
• Andy Nguyen – 100 & 200 Breast
• Benji Ovendale – 100 Free
• Ani Purkayastha – 100 & 200 Back
• Irene Qu – 100 Back, 50 Free
• Max Smagley – 100 Back
• Dan Sun – 50 Back
• Max Sun – 50 & 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 IM, 50 Back
• Maya Surugiu – 50 Free
• Gabe Traina – 50 & 100 Free
• Lasya Viswanadham – 50 Free
• Alex Wang – 50 & 100 Free
• Owen Wilson – 50 Back
• Daniel Xia – 100 Back
• Andy Yang – 400 IM

 BB 

• Gahl Ami ad – 100 Fly
• Quinn Anderson – 1500 Free
• Alex Arlouski – 100 Fly, 50 Free
• Bianca Bensen – 200 Free
• Aman Bhatt – 50 & 100 Back, 100 Breast
• Ahana Bhattacharya – 100 & 200 Back, 50 & 100 Free, 50 Fly
• Adele Bokach – 50 Free
• Norah Braun – 50 Breast
• Lucy Broyles – 100 Back
• Deniz Cankaya – 100 Free, 200 Back
• Daniel Chen – 50 & 100 Free
• Henry Cheng – 200 Breast
• Addy Clarke – 50 Breast
• Rhea Dawani – 50 & 100 Free, 200 IM, 50 Back
• Lucas Deng – 50 & 400 Free, 100 Back, 50 Fly
• Evan Deng – 100 Breast, 100 Fly
• Berit Dunn – 100 & 400 Free
• Ellen Feng – 200 Free
• Tyler Fernandez – 50 Back
• Rihit Gandhi – 50 Free
• Ella Gao – 50 Back
• Henry Geitz – 100 Back
• Abby Gong – 100, 200 & 400 Free; 200 IM
• Feifan Gong – 50 Back
• Sophia Gorveatt – 200 Breast
• Caden Gray – 200 Back, 400 Free
• Blakely Hansen – 100 Breast
• Peter Hansen – 100 Breast, 100 Fly
• Penelope Hepkin – 200 IM
• Fiona Herman – 50 & 100 Fly, 200 & 400 Free, 200 IM
• Nora Herman – 200 Back
• Olivia Horng – 50 & 100 Free, 100 Fly, 50 Back
• Vivian Hu – 50 & 100 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Fly
• Yuzuki Ishizuka – 400 IM, 50 & 100 Free
• Elaina Jiang – 100 Back, 50 & 100 Free, 50 Fly, 50 & 100 Breast
• Dami Jung – 100 Fly, 400 Free
• Haim Jung – 50 Free
• Elise Kabacki – 50, 100, 200 & 400 Free
• Kirill Kadach – 100 & 200 Back, 200 & 400 Free
• Eva Kalicinski – 50 Breast, 100 Back
• Maria Kokhan – 50, 100 & 400 Free; 200 Back, 50 Breast
• Avery Lee – 50 Breast, 50 Free
• Lingyi Li – 100 Back, 100 & 400 Free, 100 Breast
• Yihan Li – 50, 100 & 200 Back; 50 & 100 Free
• Jonathan Liu – 50 & 200 Free
• Olivia Liu – 50, 100 & 200 Breast; 100 Free, 50 Fly
• Emily MacDonald – 50 Fly
• Karina Maksyutov – 50 Free
• Rinat Maksyutov – 50 & 100 Breast, 50 Fly
• Max Malinovskyi – 50 Back, 50 Free
• Lainey Meyer – 100 & 200 Back, 50 Fly
• Andy Nguyen – 400 Free, 50 Back
• Kieran O’Gorman – 400 Free
• Andrew Ouyang – 100 Breast, 50 Back, 50 Free
• Benji Ovendale – 50 & 200 Free, 50 Back, 50 Breast
• Vien Pogue – 100 Back, 400 IM
• Beatrix Pressman – 50 Back
• Ani Purkayastha – 100 Fly, 400 IM
• Irene Qu – 100 Free, 200 & 400 IM
• Tim Rakovchuk – 50 & 100 Fly, 200 IM, 50 Back
• Rachael Rose – 50 & 200 Breast, 100 Free
• Amaris Rus – 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 Free
• Joshua Rus – 400 Free
• Sanvi Shrivastava – 100 Fly
• Max Smagley – 50 Breast
• Beata Sobol – 50 & 400 Free, 50 Fly
• Keira Spitze – 50 Back, 50 Breast
• Siena Stahlkopf – 50 Back, 50 Free
• Dan Sun – 200 IM, 50 Free
• Han Sun – 50 & 200 Back, 50 Free
• Max Sun – 100 Back
• Nika Svirydovich – 50 & 100 Breast
• Gabe Traina – 100 & 200 Back
• Megan Traina – 400 Free
• Molly Traina – 200 IM
• Vedah Tuladhar – 100 Back, 50 Free
• Edi Vasilescu – 50, 100 & 400 Free; 100 Fly, 200 Back, 200 IM
• Bella Vasilescu – 100 & 400 Free, 200 IM
• Anna Ventura – 50 & 100 Back, 100 Fly, 50 & 100 Free
• Aditeya Verma – 100 Fly
• Lasya Viswanadham – 100 Back, 100 Fly
• Alex Wang – 200 IM
• Natalie Whitbeck – 50 Back, 50 Free
• Owen Wilson – 100 Back, 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 50 & 100 Free
• Arjun Yadav – 50 & 100 Free
• Andy Yang – 100 & 200 Back, 50 & 100 Fly, 50 Free
• Isshin Yokoyama – 200 & 400 IM, 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 Back
• Kenshin Yokoyama – 100 Breast, 50 & 100 Free, 50 Back
• Ally Yuan – 50 Back, 50 Free
• Landon Yuan – 100 Back, 100 Free, 200 IM, 50 Fly
• Grace Zhang – 50, 100 & 200 Breast

 B 

• Gahl Ami ad – 100 Back, 400 Free
• Phoebe Anderson – 100 & 200 Breast, 400 Free
• Alex Arlouski – 100 & 200 Free, 200 IM
• Aman Bhatt – 100 Fly, 100 Free
• Ahana Bhattacharya – 100 Fly
• Norah Braun – 50 & 100 Back, 100 Free
• Lucy Broyles – 50 & 100 Free, 50 & 200 Back, 50 Breast
• Roman Byelykh – 100 Back, 200 Free
• Deniz Cankaya – 50 Breast
• Leo Chen – 50 Fly
• Henry Cheng – 100 Free, 50 Fly
• Hayley Chou – 50 & 100 Back, 50 & 200 Free
• Evan Deng – 100 & 200 Back
• Mira Erdim – 50 & 100 Back, 50 & 100 Free, 50 Breast
• Kaito Falk – 50 & 100 Back, 100 Breast, 50 & 100 Free
• Tyler Fernandez – 50 & 100 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 200 IM
• Rihit Gandhi – 100, 200 & 400 Free; 50 Back, 200 Breast
• Ella Gao – 100 Breast, 50 Fly, 50 Free
• Rory Geitz – 50, 100 & 200 Free; 50 Back, 50 Breast
• Feifan Gong – 100 Back, 50 & 100 Free
• Abby Gray – 100 Free, 50 Back
• Caden Gray – 100 Fly
• Blakely Hansen – 50 & 100 Back, 50 & 200 Free
• Peter Hansen – 200 Fly
• Fiona Herman – 200 Fly
• Nora Herman – 200 Breast
• Lauren Hizzey – 100 Breast
• Alex Hor – 50 & 100 Back, 100 Breast, 50 & 100 Free
• Olivia Horng – 100 Back
• Yuzuki Ishizuka – 200 Back, 200 Breast
• Haim Jung – 100 Breast, 100 Free, 50 Back
• Elise Kabacki – 200 IM, 50 Back
• Eva Kalicinski – 50 & 200 Free, 50 Fly, 50 Back
• Adam Kantor – 50 & 100 Breast, 50 Free
• Yihan Li – 400 Free, 200 IM
• Anika Lichtenberg – 100 Back, 50 Free
• Jonathan Liu – 100 Back, 100 Free, 400 IM, 50 Fly
• Sophie Liu – 100 Breast
• Eleanor Lopez – 50 & 100 Fly; 50, 100, 200 & 400 Free
• Elizabeth Luo – 50 & 100 Free, 200 Back, 200 IM, 50 Fly
• Yuna Ma – 50 & 100 Breast, 50 Back
• Karina Maksyutov – 100 Back, 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 IM
• Max Malinovskyi – 100 Fly, 100 Free, 400 IM
• Lainey Meyer – 100 & 200 Breast
• Andy Nguyen – 100 Free
• Melissa Nguyen – 50 Back
• Maksim Nikitenko – 100 Back, 50 & 100 Free
• Albert O – 50 Breast
• Andrew Ouyang – 100 Back, 100 Fly
• Beatrix Pressman – 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 50 & 100 Free, 200 IM
• Tim Rakovchuk – 50 & 200 Free
• Rachael Rose – 50 & 100 Back, 400 Free
• Sanvi Shrivastava – 400 IM
• Max Smagley – 200 Back, 200 Breast, 200 Fly
• Beata Sobol – 100 Breast, 200 Fly
• Keira Spitze – 50 & 100 Free
• Siena Stahlkopf – 100 Free
• Leo Steijn – 100 Back, 50 & 100 Breast
• Dan Sun – 100 Breast, 50 Fly
• Han Sun – 100 & 400 Free, 100 Breast
• Nika Svirydovich – 50 & 100 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast
• Vedah Tuladhar – 200 & 400 IM, 200 Back
• Ella Tulanon – 200 Breast, 400 IM
• George Ursulenko – 100 Free, 400 IM, 50 Breast
• Bella Vasilescu – 200 Fly
• Aditeya Verma – 50 Back, 50 Fly
• Alex Wang – 100 Breast
• Natalie Whitbeck – 100 & 200 Free
• Arjun Yadav – 100 & 200 Back, 100 & 200 Breast, 400 IM
• Aiden Ye – 50 & 100 Breast, 50 Back, 50 Fly, 50 Free
• Kenshin Yokoyama – 100 Fly
• Ally Yuan – 100 Fly, 400 Free
• Bella Zhang – 50 Back
• Grace Zhang – 100 & 200 Free, 200 IM
• Serena Zhang – 50 & 100 Back, 50 & 100 Breast, 200 IM, 100 Free
• Maggie Zhou – 50 & 100 Breast, 50 Fly
• Andrew Zhu – 50 Breast

WAVE ON 3!!