Terrapins end short course swim season with a bang
Terrapins Swim Team’s 11-12 boys relay of Diego Castaneda, Aden Li, Mason Wendler and Davidka Skov capped a successful short course season with outstanding efforts at the Pacific Swimming Short Course Junior Olympics and Pacific Short Course Far Western Championships. The quartet placed top three in all their relays (200 and 400 medley, 200 and 400 free) at both championships. All four boys made finals and scored points in all of their events, accounting for over 60% of the total team points. Wendler and Skov are from Concord and Castaneda is from Clayton.
The Terrapins age group team put together outstanding results in their final three meets of the 2018-2019 short course swimming season.
The series began with the Pacific Swimming Short Course 14 and under Junior Olympic Championships in Walnut Creek followed by the final c/b/bb+ meet of the season in Moraga, where many of the team’s younger and up and coming swimmers finished their season with a bang.
The season finale was the Pacific Swimming Short Course Far Western Championships at Santa Clara International Swim Center. Considered one of the fastest age group meets in the country, many out-of-state teams participated. The Terrapins had 15 age group swimmers rack up 266 points, placing seventh overall out of over 85 teams. It was the highest placing from any team of 100 swimmers or less in the meet.
Highlighting the end-of-season meets were:
8 and under Morgan Wendler was one of only two eight-year-olds to qualify for both the Junior Olympic and Far Western Championship meets. Wendler made six out of six 10 and under boys championship finals at the Junior Olympics and five out of five finals at the Far Westerns while breaking multiple Terrapin top 10 team records.
10 and under Abigail Keller achieved lifetime best times and made finals in all of her events at both the Junior Olympics and Far Westerns.
11-12 girls Kaya Andresen, Vlada Chekurova and Elizabeth Joseph reached top 10 finals in all of their events at the Junior Olympics and multiple finals at the Far Westerns, all three girls accumulating multiple lifetime best swims.
11-12 girls Lillian Struempf led the way individually scoring at the top of finals in her seven events at both meets. She continued to crush many top 10 team records and broke the Pacific Swimming 11-12 girls 50-yard freestyle record.
11-12 boys Aden Li, Davidka Skov, Diego Castaneda and Mason Wendler led the team scoring, placing top three in all their relays (200 and 400 medley, 200 and 400 free) at both the Junior Olympic and Far Western championships.
Some of the outstanding performances from the last c/b/bb+ meet of the season were by Aubrielle Dorsett (eight-years-old), Abby Ikeda (10), Zoe Thong (10), Madison Branse (12), Grace Cleary (12), Alastair Curran (11), Ozzy Layton (11), David Rubin (11) and Calvin Tam (13).