By the looks of this past month and by the looks of the soon-to-be-published 2016 USMS Short Course Meters Top Ten rankings, TWIMmers have been driven, determined, and rewarded recently!
Drive
Following in Betsey’s armstrokes, both Voni and Tammy competed in the 2017 Speedo USMS 1-Hour ePostal last month.
On February 23rd, Voni swam 3820 meters (4175 yards) in one hour’s time. What makes this swim all the more remarkable is that she swam a 3,200m warm-up immediately before. And as if that wasn’t enough, she then powered ahead to reach her goal of 10,000 meters! As Betsey put it, it was “just another lap swim for Voni; I like to think the Postal was her main set.” Simply amazing, Voni!
On Februay 25th, Tammy was next. She more than earned her piece of the pie that was enjoyed afterward at the post-swim “Pie Fair”. She swam 125 meters farther than last year for a total of 3920 meters (4285 yards). Swimming a postal event in a community pool is not without its hazards. Both “learn-to-swim” kids and a troop of Boy Scouts tried to slow her down, but she persevered through these distractions. Well done, Tammy!
TWIM will be well represented on the PSM National Team. Tammy in the 45-49 age group, Voni in the 55-59 AG, and Betsey in the 65-69 AG. Stay tuned. Nice job, ladies!
Determination
All our chips were on Father Tom last week as he was our sole TWIMster to compete at the Port Angeles Masters Meet on March 5th. The pressure was on (just kidding, this is masters, after all!). FT did not disappoint. He made TWIM proud as he gave it all he had in the 50 yard free, 50 back, 100 back, and 100 IM.
With just 69 swimmers entered, the meet ran fast with little time to recover with each next race, but Tom swam splendidly. Not only did he hit a near-best time in the 100 back, he negative-split it! He swam faster on the back half than on his first 50. Way to go, FT!
Distinction
It’s always a hit and miss proposition to make it to one of the few Short Course Meters meets each year, but several of us did in 2016 and were rewarded for it.
Cheers to Zena Courtney, Brian Guillen, Carl Haynie, Brad Jones, Betsey Kassen, Tammy Koppelberger and Kathy Pelham for placing in the Top Ten in the nation last year!
Go TWIM!!!
Women 40-44 (Kathy) Place Event Time 9 800 Free 11:14.95 8 1500 Free 21:34.53 Women 55-59 (Zena) Place Event Time 10 50 Back 36.19 10 200 Fly 3:22.75 8 200 IM 2:55.22 Women 60-64 (Betsey) Place Event Time 9 1500 Free 23:09.46 9 400 IM 7:02.89 Men 50-54 (Brad) Place Event Time 7 100 Fly 1:04.88 2 200 Fly 2:30.77 9 200 IM 2:30.16 2 400 IM 5:21.22 Men 55-59 (Carl) Place Event Time 4 50 Back 30.98 1 100 Back 1:06.27 1 200 Back 2:26.54 8 50 Breast 33.95 9 100 Breast 1:15.58 9 100 IM 1:08.71 Men 120-159 SCM Relay (Brian) Place Event Time 7 400 Free 4:07.82 Jeevan P Philip (21) Isaac Contreras Sandoval (27) Brian D Guillen (41) David L McCarty (52) Men 160-199 SCM Relay (Brian) Place Event Time 10 200 Medley 2:09.53 Max L Hanson (49) Kevin L Esko (50) Brian D Guillen (41) Michael Porter (50) Men 200-239 SCM Relay (Carl) Place Event Time 1 200 Free 1:44.87 Rick V Cardoso (37) Carl Haynie (56) Dave Hannula (62) Mats O Nygren (50) Men 240-279 SCM Relay (Carl) Place Event Time 3 400 Free 4:06.68 Bryan E Smith (49) Carl Haynie (56) Michael Porter (50) Max L Hanson (49) Men 240-279 SCM Relay (Carl) Place Event Time 1 200 Medley 1:57.52 (WR) Carl Haynie (56) Rick Colella (65) Donald Graham (62) Dave Hannula (62) Mixed 240-279 SCM Relay (Carl) Place Event Time 1 200 Medley 2:05.23 Carl Haynie (56) Shannon J McIntyre (52) Daniel L Phillips (53) Amy J Moorhead (45) Men 240-279 SCM Relay (Carl) Place Event Time 1 400 Medley 4:23.96 (WR) Carl Haynie (56) Rick Colella (65) Donald Graham (62) Dave Hannula (62) Women 160-199 SCM Relay (Kathy) Place Event Time 2 800 Free 10:20.98 Allison L Cox (32) Shelley B Reimer (47) Wendy Polidori (47) Kathy Pelham (43) Mixed 160-199 SCM Relay (Tammy) Place Event Time 7 800 Free 9:59.31 Dan L Kirkland (68) Tammy Regan Koppelberger (44) Daniel L Phillips (53) Allison L Cox (32)
