|
Marconi Transatlantic Invite - RESULTS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bear
#4 (d1/s1): B 11-12 200 Medley (2:25.91Y ) – Dropped almost 2.5 seconds finishing with a 2:23.50 time
#8 (d1/s1): B 11-12 50 Free (27.83Y ) – I was wrong…he dropped another .65 seconds, finishing at 27.18…this also gives him a sectional cut!
#44 (d2/s3): B Open 500 Free (5:27.76Y ) – The goal here was under 1:05 splits…which would be under a 5:25…he did it going 5:23.37 – this is a 13 year old state cut.
#56 (d2/s4): B 10-12 200 Back (2:22.97Y ) – Dropped over 2 seconds finishing with a 2:20.89. Moreover, he raced next to the defending state champion in this event, and had a lead on him in the first 100…falling off the pace just a bit in the back half.
#72 (d2/s4): B 11-12 100 Fly (1:06.71Y ) – About what I expected…dropped 1.67 seconds finishing in a 1:05.04. This one upset Bailey, as Bear is not swimming fly as fast as she is.
#78 (d2/s4): B 11-12 100 Medley (1:20.65Y ) – Huge drop expected and Bear delivered. He dropped 12.14 seconds finishing in a state cut time of 1:08.51. Bear swam this from the 3 of 5 heats because his seed time was so old. Meaning there was no one for him to really race. He blew away the field. In fact, he actually lapped a couple of the kids in the outside lane and he won his heat by over half a pool length. He also almost won the event, as he finished second only 1 second behind the winner. It was at this point his coach told us (and later him)…”Did you see that?” Ok, he’s not a distance swimmer, he’s just a swimmer, that boy has some sprint in him too…”
#108 (d3/s6): B Open 1650 Free (NT ) – Bear’s goal was to break 19 minutes…that means swimming 1:09s. He did the following:
1:04.76
1:08.34
1:07.61 (signaled him for circle swimming)
1:08.30 (signaled again for circle swimming)
1:08.56
1:08.74
1:08.48
1:09.19 (signaled to pick it up just a little)
1:09.13 (again signaled to pick it up just a little)
1:08.31
1:09.05 (signaled to pick it up)
1:07.28
1:08.34 (at this point the coach tells me he has a lot left, signal him to pick it up)
1:05.83
1:05.24
1:04:47
31.37 closing 50…
18:33.00
To put this swim in perspective here is some interesting information:
- This was an open event with 20 kids ranging in age from 11 to 18 (Bear being the second youngest). He finished sixth overall, beating 6 high schoolers.
- The 18:33.00 time is a 14 year old state cut
- This time is also only .21 seconds from a AAAA time
Unfortunately, this race also preceded the remaining races on his schedule, so fatigue certainly became a factor.
#114 (d3/s7): B 11-12 100 Free (58.56Y ) – fought though this one and still amazingly in my opinion managed to swim sub-60 – 59.06
#120 (d3/s7): B 11-12 100 Back (1:09.18Y ) – This one really seemed to show his fatigue. He started out keeping up with the same state champ from the 200 back, but fell off the pace right at the 50 turn, and faded badly. Finished with a respectable, given the circumstances, 1:10 69.
#134 (d3/s7): B 11-12 50 Fly (31.47Y ) – So after the 1650 and the signs of fatigue in the 100 free and the 100 back, I didn’t expect much. This race stared off and at the 25 turn, Bear was tied with about 4 other kids. Coming down the home stretch, Bear and 2 others separated themselves from the pack. Coming into the wall Bear didn’t breath from outside the flags hoping to win the event. He came up .03 seconds short. But he did drop 1.47 seconds, earning a state and sectional cut with a time of 30.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
So Bear appears to be heading into a different level of swimming from not only from Brett, but also potentially Bailey. While that is to be expected, I didn’t see it coming this quickly. Bear still looks soft with a decent amount of baby fat. He hasn’t hit that part of puberty where he builds a ton of muscle. Don’t get me wrong, he’s strong, but I think he still has a good bit of growing to do.
The coach is extremely pumped up about Bear and his chances at State. In fact he told us, ok, we have to keep him healthy and out of his own head (he has a tendency to be a bit of a hypochondriac – exaggerating pains – or at least not being able to differentiate between muscle pain, joint pain, and chest/asthma pain).
Now, there is a good possibility that he will flatline for a bit now, meaning there isn’t much more room for improvement. The taper for state and sectionals will be very important for him. I know he’s currently pumped up and working hard at practice, I have my fingers crossed this continues.
|