Good Morning Canterbury,

That was an amazing weekend! So many swimmers went best times, won events, and stepped up to swim fast in relays when we really needed it. Going into the meet Canterbury was seeded to get 5^th place overall and came into the meet with the 5^th most swimmers. On Saturday our 12 and under swimmers had an amazing day. Both of our 8 and under relays got first place, and the star studded 11-12 relay of Maddie Bynum, Hugh Harrell, Drew Hotem, and Lane Jacobs won both of their relays against a fast Hungary Creek team, setting some GRAL records in the process. Despite all the fast swimming on Saturday we ended the day in 6^th overall.

On Sunday our 13 and ups started out with a bang. Lila Weeks got first place in the very first event. Our fast swimming didn’t stop there. We had a great morning session with lots of time drops. All of our morning relays got first or second. In the afternoon everyone kept swimming fast, highlighted with Lincoln Harrell’s amazing 100 meter breaststroke win, breaking Coach Jack’s GRAL record by a massive 4 seconds. Our afternoon relays also swam amazing with every relay getting first second or third. After an absolutely phenomenal Sunday we passed Wyndam and Fox Hall, far exceeded expectations, and got third place overall, behind Burkwood and Church Run.

While we didn’t get first overall, we certainly had the fastest swimmers there. Breaking down the points scored per swimmer Canterbury had the most out of every team. Burkwood scored 12.4 points per swimmer, Church run scored 15.3 points per swimmer, and Canterbury scored 17.9 points per swimmer!

Green Caps

Jane Eldred: Jane has been working super hard at champs practice, consistently supporting her friends and swimming fast. At Champs she swam great and got first in the 100 IM. Great Job Jane!

Alex Bryner: Alex similarly worked super had at all the champs practices. At Champs he swam amazing dropping three seconds in his 50 breast and getting first in the event. Great Job Alex!

Coaches Highlights

Coach Zach: My highlight of day one was Hudson Spiglemyer’s 50 freestyle. He was a little nervous going into the meet but crushed it all day. In his 50 freestyle he absolutely rocked. He dropped 9 seconds and had the top time out of all swimmers even though he was in the JV division. After the day was all said and done Hudson had 3 first and 3 second place medals. Great Job Hudson!

My Highlight of day two was Samantha Lionberger in her two freestyle relays. Due to a last minute change Samantha had to be in 2 freestyle relays about 7 minutes apart. In the first relay she dropped 2 seconds off her best time to help her relay get first overall. Only 7 minutes later she swam again and dropped 1.5 seconds off her best time to anchor her relay and get second place (another Canterbury relay got first 😊). Great Job Samantha!

Coach Claire: 12 and under race of the meet would have to go to the 8 and under medley relay of Hudson Spiglemyer, Carlin Stamm, Evie Kirillin, and Henry Bise. They did awesome they were so positive to each other and just had a really great attitude and there was a timing issue and it had them finishing second but they actually finished first and they handled the confusion really well!

Also a special shout out to the 11-12 SV relay team of L. Jacobs, H. Harrell, M. Bynum, and D. Hotem for winning both their relays yesterday! They were awesome and really surprised themselves after lots of talk from other relay teams!

On Day 2 I have two it was just too hard to decide. The first is Alex Bryner for being in the first heat of 13-14 boys 50 breast and dropping 3.5 seconds to get first in his division! What an incredible race and incredible time drop especially in a 50! Way to get after it in heat 1 Alex!

The second one has to go to Snake Boyd in his 100 breast by far one of my favorite races of the day. He was behind the guy racing next to him and on the last turn and 25 he got after it out touching the swimmer next to him. He dropped almost 7 seconds and ended up winning his division! There were so many absolutely incredible races it was so hard to choose! So proud of everyone who competed over the weekend!

Coach Aidan: My swim off the meet for Day 1 is Evie Kirillin’s 100 IM. She has been working very hard in practice this past week on her IM transition turns. All that focus payed off because she dropped 4 seconds and got a 3rd place! Good job Evie!

My swim off the meet for Day 2 goes to Lanie Houston and her amazing breaststroke races. She started with the 50 breast, dropping 2 seconds and placing 29 spots higher than she was seeded. Then she swam in the Medley relay, helping her relay win 2nd place by dropping ANOTHER 2 seconds. Great job in all your races, Lanie!

Coach Lizzie: Evie Krillin 100 IM, she was seeded 24th and ended up getting 3rd place! She dropped over 3 seconds. I am so proud of all her hard work this season, her dedication to swimming and her determination really shows and she had such a great meet!

My favorite race was Lincoln Harrell 100 Breastroke, it was such a tight race the whole way and he won by .2 and broke a GRAL record. It was his last individual race of the day and I could tell he was leaving it all in the pool.

Coach Emily: My favorite swim on Saturday was Lily Meyer’s 50 breaststroke! The amount of dedication she has put into her breaststroke in the last two weeks of practice is incredible, and I was so thrilled to see all the hard work pay off at champs!!

My favorite swim on Sunday was Ashley Compton’s 100 backstroke! Along with an impressive time drop this race was so exciting and captivating to watch! I am so proud of Ashley and hope she knows how much I was cheering for her!

Coach Savannah: For the 12 and under I would have to say janes 100 IM because she made such a strong comeback and was able to win her heat.

For the next day I would say Emily Law’s 100 fly because she was able to win the 100 fly and beat the twins from twin hickory.

Thank you all for an amazing season. It has truly been a blast and I feel lucky to have worked with such a great group of swimmers. Best of luck to all this year. 

Respectfully,

Zach Carroll