Photos from yesterday at the pool. It was a good day. Matt swam the 100 Freestyle, going in with a 55.75 seed time, swimming a 55.22 in the morning during prelims, and finishing the night in finals with a 55.31, and 12th place for the 100 Freestyle at state. Ta Dah...not bad at all in an aging up year! The photo above shows Matt trying his hardest to keep up with those older kids on the return 50 of the 100...he is in lane 7 (lane one being furthest to the right). He and Justin were the only 15 year olds to make it back for finals, Justin finishing 24th, I think...he has been swimming against Justin, who swims for another Hamilton County team since he was seven...it's always fun to see them swim together each year...sometimes Matt wins, sometimes Justin does...they always enjoy competing against each other.
Yesterday was also Harrison's birthday, so he has now aged up and needs to swim with the 15 and aboves...a big jump as that includes everyone over the age of 15, and the guys' bodies are just so much stronger the older they are. Harrison had a swim off last night to try to get into the finals, but alas, he was just a tad slower than the other guy. Photo at the right is the walk away from the blocks after the elimination...no smile, but not too disappointed either...Harrison always rolls with the punches.
The photo on the left is of Cameron, who is from northern Indiana and was Matt's roommate at the fancy pants Arizona camp in June. They were all hoping Cameron could get his Jr. National cut then in the 100 Breaststroke, but it was not to be. Last night he went into finals with a 1:07.91, needing a 1:07.89 for the cut. After finals, he finished with a 1:05 something as I was so excited for him that I forgot to write it down...he finished first at state and got his Jr. Nat cut! The coach of the winner hands out the medals, and his coach was not able to be there, so standing in is Chad, one of the coaches that coached them all in Arizona at the camp and meet. Matt really enjoyed Chad as a coach. Congrats to Cameron!
In that same race, Scott D. of CSC medaled and here is a nice shot of Scott coming back from the podium. Please pray for Scott's family. His mother Cindee, is one of the CSC coaches (Matt thinks so highly of her as a coach), Scott swims with Matt, and Scott has a brother Brian...a couple of days ago Scott's dad, Ken, was riding his bicycle and was struck by a motorist, apparently thereby forcing Ken into the oncoming traffic where he was struck again. Ken is in very serious condition, in an induced coma, at this time, and many prayers would be appreciated. Prognosis uncertain, will keep you posted.
The CSC girls' 800 Freestyle Relay finished first last night, much to everyone's excitement, as they really had to swim their hearts out to achieve that win...a touchout at the very end, making things very exciting for the crowd. Congrats to Rhiannon, Sarah K., Carly, and Elizabeth!
Matt swam on the 800 Freestyle Relay last evening. Photo at the left is Stevie, Matt, Andrew, and Charles waiting not-so-patiently in line for their turn to swim. They went in seeded fourth and finished third, probably because they were all determined to get a medal at state one way or another, and only the top three places get a medal for relays. Hardware being very important to this crowd always. If you have hardware, you have proof.
And, the last shot of the evening is of the boys and their medals as they headed out to sleep on all the glory and prepare for the next day. Reading left to right, Matt, Charles, Andrew, and Stevie. Yep, it was a pretty great day for them.