The Snyder YMCA Stingray Swim Team won their first 1st Place trophy during last weekend’s invitation at Valley High School. (submitted photo).
The Snyder YMCA Stingray Swim Team won their first 1st Place trophy during last weekend’s invitational meet in New Kensington.
Hosted by the Valley Points YMCA at Valley High School, 44 Stingray swimmers participated.
Out of the dozen teams competing, the Stingray girls placed first overall, scoring a total of 1,430.5 points, and the Stingray boys placed third with a total of 703 points. Combined, the Stingrays scored a total of 2,133.5 points, earning the team their “first” 1st place trophy.
The girls 11-and-under 200-yard freestyle relay team even set a standard meet record.
The team, made up of Sofya Recupero, Emma Kolesar, Lauren Bowser and Abby Burk, finished first in a 1:59:84, breaking the standing meet record of 2:01.30 held by Indiana County YMCA. The girls dropped 4.80 seconds off of their seeded time and have qualified to swim the 200-yard freestyle relay at Districts.
The team brought home a total of 118 individual ribbons and medals as well as three high point trophies.
Coaches Mary Ann Lundgren and Atalie Abranovic were extremely proud of the team earning their “first” 1st place trophy.
“All of our Stingray swimmers have been coming to practice determined to improve their strokes and times this season…and the results over these first four swim meets are a testament to all of their hard work and dedication in the pool,” Abranovic said. “We couldn’t be prouder of how far we have come in such a short amount of time.”
After Saturday, 10 swimmers have qualified for Western Pennsylvania Districts:
Evelyn Bliss – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle;
Lauren Bowser –50 backstroke, 50 butterfly, 100 backstroke;
Abby Burk – 50 freestyle, 50 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle;
Arabella Burtt – 50 freestyle, 50 breaststroke, 50 butterfly, 100 individual medley; Malachi Burtt – 50 butterfly, 50 breaststroke, 100 freestyle;
Mattithia Burtt – 100 breaststroke;
Emma Kolesar – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle;
Caleb Matus –50 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 individual medley;
Sofya Recupero - 50 freestyle; Ben Webb – 50 breaststroke;
Ethan Weigel – 50 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 50 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke.
Swimmers compete as a team and as individuals to try to qualify for the District Championship meet that is held at Penn State University in March of 2016. If a swimmer qualifies for the District Meet, he or she will have a chance to qualify for the State Meet, also held at Penn State.