Clarion County YMCA Riversharks Tie In Season Opener (12/14/15)
Clarion County YMCA Riversharks Tie In Season Opener
(By Maureen Lavan)
The Clarion County YMCA Riversharks regular season swim team opener was a showdown against their closest rival, the Brookville Barracudas, in dual meet action on Saturday, December 5th.
(Photos by Matt Lerch) Beau Verdill qualifying for Districts in the 50-yard Freestyle
The Riversharks quickly started earning points in in both individual and relay events winning the Girls 8 & Under, Boys 9-10, Boys 11-12, Girls 13-14 and the Boys 15-18 age categories.
Top to bottom, the Clarion County YMCA swimmers had solid performances throughout the day leaving first-year coach Derek Nelson pleased with the way things are trending at the start of the season. “The results of this meet indicate we are on the right path with our training and I expect better times the further we get into our season,” he said. “It was a fun meet. I was happy to see the swimmers cheering for their teammates, each and every race.”
Brothers Kyle and Adam Bettwy racing in the Freestyle
The boys turned in some impressive times with multiple swimmers beating the times needed to qualify for the 2016 YMCA District Meet.
The Boys 9-10 age group had a strong meet. Patrick Young qualified in the 100 yard Backstroke and the 100 yard Butterfly. Bailee Verdill beat the mark for the 200 yard Freestyle. Brayden Murray earned a spot in the 100 yard Freestyle. All three dropped times in other events where they already qualified for Districts. Adding Jake Nowaczyk, the foursome swam a 2:27.95 in the 200 yard Freestyle relay for a District qualifying race.
The Boys 15-18 200 yard Medley Relay team of Adam Bettwy, Mason Burns, Marshall Powers and Kyle Bettwy turned in impressive times and qualified for Districts. Burns then went on to qualify in the 200 yard Breaststroke.
Parker Boyden with a picture perfect dive
Beau Verdill reached for the wall and qualified in the Boys 11-12 50 yard Freestyle. A point of pride for the Boys 8 & Under age group was having all Riversharks finish in the top 12 of the 15 competitors in the 25 yard Backstroke.
For the girls, the 13-14 age group of Brianna Warner, Alayna Murray, Lydia Seaton, Bethany Cater and Clara Gourley led the way turning in top three times in most events. Mykenzie Cox, Rachel Smith, Parker Boyden and Kendall Dunn won the Girls 11-12 200 yard Medley Relay with each adding points for top times in individual events.
Scoring the points to win the Girls 8 & Under category were Jenna Dunn, Acacia Felmlee, Gwyn Manno, Brinley Kiskadden, Ashlyn Clark and Alicyn Burford, many of whom were competing in their first-ever swim meet.
Mason Burns in the Butterfly
The Clarion County YMCA Riversharks are back in the water on Saturday, December 19th in a tri-meet competition against State College YMCA and Juniata Valley YMCA.
The Clarion County YMCA Riversharks are a community-based swim team that emphasizes individual growth as part of a team. Boys and girls ages 5 through 18 are eligible to join. Team members come from throughout Clarion County.
Mykenzie Cox in the Breaststroke
For more information contact the Clarion County YMCA at 814-764-3400, find the Riversharks on the web at http://www.clarioncountyymca.org/river-sharks-home or on Facebook: Facebook.com/ClarionRiversharks.
(Thanks to Maureen Lavan for this article and to Matt Lerch for the photos.)