TWIM at Nationals

Spring Nationals 2018—Indianapolis, Indiana

Seven TWIMmers ventured to glorious Indianapolis from May 10-13. The IUPUI Natatorium is a great venue with two 50-meter pools (lined with surprisingly pleasant shiny white tile that makes you feel super-fast) and a 25-yard diving pool. There was plenty of room for the nearly 2400 people who came to swim at this years USMS Spring Nationals. As part of Puget Sound Masters, TWIMmers contributed to PSM’s 5^th place finish with many points, amazing talent, and much enthusiasm. Our coaches April Cheadle and Katie Dahl-Lomatewama were awesome, well-organized, and super helpful. and the entire event was extremely well run.

Four of the seven TWIMmers opted to stay in a residence which may or may not have been inhabited by undead beings. Highlights of our stay included: The fantastic ambiance provided by the charred remains of the house next door; The pitch-black-dead-body-basement-of-hell complete with fake Christmas tree and exposed wiring waiting to zap unsuspecting victims whose souls (and dead bodies) will forever haunt the future occupants of the house; The live National Geographic experience bathroom complete with an ecosystem of insects and arachnids; The Blood Robins hovering outside; The early AM barking Demogorgon next door; The Space Rays that we should not be afraid of but we probably really should; The long trip to Nowhere, Indiana for surprisingly good Italian food in a strip mall; The scenic tours to the finest corners of town while ignoring the pleas of Siri to listen to her directions.

But I digress. We came to Indy to swim, not to battle phantasms. Though, truth be told, the effects of the possible ghastly presence may have had a positive effect on our swimming, thanks to the fight or flight mechanism. Here are a few highlights from the 4-day event:

Maoz Alsberg—Summoned with a moment’s notice, Maoz filled in for Carl, swimming back in the medley relay on Friday. His only warm up being a few choice words of complaint and a speed change into his suit, he managed to do Carl’s name justice with a time of 28.16.

The following day, after stumbling to the pool pale, sickly, and feverish and threatening not to swim, Maoz overcame illness and adversity in his typical heroic manner, swimming 100 free in 51.76 and 100 IM in 59.31. His relay with Mats Nygren, Brad Jones, and Todd Doherty was nothing short of amazing and Maoz’s split time: 22.73 may be a lifetime best.

Vince Carmosino—Vince swam his first event, 50 Breast, in 28.49 for a 4^th place finish followed by 100 IM in 1:01.42 both best times in recent history. He also swam 100 Breast, 50 free and 3 relays. Vince clearly puts heart, soul, and even some of his skin into swimming. This fact made evident when he managed to grate himself on the bulkhead wall. To add to his list of souvenir injuries he also came away with a lovely rainbow-colored toe. His dedication to swimming is expressed in many ways…and colors.

Carl Haynie—Our high point earner (18!!) for the meet, Carl swam impressively well despite his injured shoulder and elbow.  His 50, 100, and 200 back and 50 breast were just shy of his best times in USMS records.  A mere mortal may have chosen not to swim at all but the superhuman Carl prevailed at 4 individual events and 2 relays.

Brad Jones—Gets the award for swimming events that make the rest of us want to die. And this trip he did it all without sufficient taco intake! In his first event, the 400 IM, he dropped more than 13 seconds over last year. He continued to beat all of his previous times and/or seed times in the 50, 100, and 200 fly.  Brad swam on two lightning fast relays—the PSM (Not PMS!!)  Men’s 200 medley and 200 Free.

Tom Fritschen—has been working hard on stroke technique this year. His goal at this meet was to just swim it without worry of incorporating anything new and then to head back to Seattle to continue his modifications. He swam in two great relays and 3 individual events: 500 and 200 free and 50 back. We look forward to seeing what he accomplishes in the next year!!

Tom Walker— Our beloved COB, debuted his fantastic new breaststroke technique in Indianapolis. His times in 50, 100, and 200 breast showed dramatic improvement and clearly he exceeded his own expectations as he beat his seed times by as much as 30 seconds on the 100 and 200!

Kathy Pelham—When not sitting on the porch of the decrepit house keeping watch on the neighborhood happenings, Kathy was busy beating her high school times in the 100, 200, and most notably the 500 free where she not only surpassed her 17-year-old self, but with a time of 5:59.80, she broke 6 minutes—a seemingly impossible feat that has been haunting her for 28 years. She also swam in two PSM relays and dropped nearly 20 seconds in the 1650.

We will all hopefully venture to Mesa, AZ next year for Spring Nationals 2019.  Maybe we will have more ghostly encounters in the desert and maybe Kathy can seek revenge on the banana phantom. In the meantime, we hear Coach Brian has some fantastic dry land workouts planned for the 2018-2019 season…