Gresham Magic at Summer Nationals

Photos by: Tammy Koppelberger, Valerie Powell, Kirk Nelson, Gary Campen, and Maoz Alsberg

Eleven TWIMmers returned from Gresham, Oregon this past weekend with smiles on their faces, and why not? With the exception of Zena who stood loyal to her Blue Wave Aquatics team (we forgive you, Zena), TWIMmers contributed strongly toward a 2nd place finish for Puget Sound Masters. And each of them set some fantastic marks individually or on relays over the course of four days.

Dennis Baker and the staff at the 2016 Summer Nationals in Gresham are to be commended for hosting such a splendid meet at the beautiful Mt. Hood Aquatics Center. Temperatures were hot, hot, hot, but so were the swims witnessed there including world record swims by the likes of PSMers, Rick Colella and Charlotte Davis.

Maoz Alsberg

Maoz came within 3/100ths of a second of the Israeli record when he posted 26.73 in the 50 meter free! Lightening fast! Counting relays, he placed in the top 10 in each of his three swims in what is regarded as the most competitive of age groups and events.

Vince Carmosino

With his 4 kids cheering for him in the stands, Vince stormed home in both the 50 and 100 breast events capturing the bronze medal in both instances. He took 4.5 seconds off his seed time in the 100 and an incredible 4 seconds off his 50, posting a blazing 32.15 time. Amazing!

Zena Courtney

Zena swam 5 individual races + 4 relays!  No other TWIMmer can claim as many races. She dropped oodles of seconds off her seed times in each race and captured the Bronze medal in the 200 Back. Way to go, Zena!

Jenny Ferries

Jenny swam 5 races plus the Women’s 200 Medley Relay which captured the Silver medal in their age group! Her best swim was perhaps the 400 IM on the first day when she took a whopping 10 seconds off her seed time. She captured 4th in both the 200 Breast and 400 IM and was in the top ten in two others. Awesome swimming!

Father Tom Fritschen

FT swam all 3 Backstroke events plus 3 relays. His proudest achievement? A blazing 31.85 split in the Mixed 200 Free Relay and 7th place finish in the Men’s 200 free relay. Congratulations, FT, for 3 swims that finished in the top ten!

Carl Haynie

Carl swam in 5 individual races plus 3 relays and dropped time in every race but one. Funny, that one race – the 200 back – was still fast enough to get him the Gold!! Congratulations, Carl, in attaining National Champion status in that event! Carl also captured the Silver in the 100 back (PNA record) plus got Bronze in the 50 back. COB says he practices witchcraft. Maybe so!

Betsey Kassen

Betsey could only swim two days, but did she ever make the best of it! She swam 5 individual races and a 200 free relay! She bettered her PNA record in the 800 Free after dropping 8 seconds off her old record. Simply amazing!! She also captured the Bronze in the 400 IM. Way to go, Betsey!

Frank Powell

Frank made a commendable showing at Nationals even though he wasn’t feeling well. He swam a very strong 50 Back the first day but had to skip his remaining races. Get well, soon, Frank! We need you back up on that podium!

Valerie Powell

Her dad must have transmitted good vibes to his daughter this past weekend because Valerie medaled in every one of her three races! She captured the Bronze in BOTH the 50 back and 200 back plus finished 6th in the 100 back. Backstrokers unite! What an accomplishment! Congratulations, Valerie!

Tammy Regan Koppelberger

Tammy tackled some very hard races and finished strong in every one of them including nabbing 4th in the 200 Fly! Fly, you say? Oh yes, she swam both the 100 and the 200 at this meet and to top that off, powered through the 400 free in typical amazing fashion. Awesome job, Tammy, finishing in the top ten in 3 different races!

COB Thomas Walker

No meet is official without the Chairman Of the Board present. COB Tom could be seen cheering on his compatriots when he wasn’t swimming his own events (200 free and 50 breast) or could be seen charming just about anyone who bumped into him. Thanks, COB, for being there for us once again!