Sunday, November 24th, history was made. The 2019 Puget Sound Masters Short Course Meters Championships at the venerable Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington, is where it all went down.
For swimmers, there is no other place in the Northwest that can rival it. Built for the 1990 Goodwill Games it has hosted U.S. Olympic Diving Trials, NCAA Championships, Pac-10 and Pac-12 Conference Championships, USA Swimming Winter Nationals, the Speedo Junior Nationals and countless other swim meets (which includes a myriad of high school championship meets). Over 200 world records have been set there; so the use of the word “venerable” is not hyperbole.
And in keeping with the competitive spirit of all the previous events that have taken place before, what happened there this last Sunday in November certainly did its part to fit in alongside the most celebrated; and that is not hyperbole, either. If you are thinking I overstate the facts just listen to this: 4 world records fell with 2 more missing by a gnat’s eyelash; 27 Zone records were broken, 4 national records set and 1 tied and 48 PNA records were retired. Over one hundred swims broke into the National Top 10 (for 2019 SC Meters) rankings and amazingly, 24 of those were courtesy of the TWIM contingent.
I think you get the picture.
What transpired there was just crazy; and a lot of fun to be a part of.
The event, in the wake of last year’s 2 day tilt, was condensed this year due to the proximity to T-Day. Entrants could only swim in 4 individual events and then relays, if they wanted. There was no team scoring so the relays became a muddled hodgepodge of PNA swimmers, Twimmers interspersed (consorting with the enemy), giving a go at whatever records seemed vulnerable, with other groups lining up to challenge. Those were fun but the “meat and potatoes” lay with the individual events.
We entered just 2 shy of twenty stalwarts; ready to rumble.
And thank goodness Vic was there to not only shepherd us to relays but to count laps for us!
Now here comes the “cheddar” on those elite eighteen, from A-Z:
Maoz Alsberg flew in long enough to nail down two firsts, one in the 50 Free and the other in the 50 Back. It was the swimming version of the “smash and grab”. Both were posted as Top Ten times nationally with his :26.19 50 Free marking as #6. In the 50 Back, he squared off against two others at the very top of the board, as the rest weren’t close and was able to just nip our own Carl Haynie to register top time. Now, Carl does give Maoz eight years but just ask anyone who ever’s gone up against Mr. Haynie, and they’ll say “if you beat Carl in anything ‘Back’, you done good”. Nice job Mr. Alsberg!
Brent Barnes contributed a 2nd, a 3rd, a 4th and a 6th but that was far from the whole story. In the 100 Breast he dropped over 5 seconds from his previous time, touched out yours truly by less than a half second (swimming to his inside) and cracked the top 25 nationally for his effort. His 3rd was in the 50 Breast where he had a 2.6 second drop. I’m tellin’ ya, this guy has aptitude in this stroke.
Next: Carl “Backstroke’s my game” Haynie. His 200 Back time posted as #1 nationally!! His 100 Back was 3rd nationally while his 50 Back was 5th. All three swims were firsts in this meet. He also contributed a 2nd in the 50 Breast. He posted the most points for the team, tied w/ Jenny Salmi (34pts). That’s just Carl bein’ Carl.
Brad Jones made the trip down from Bellingham and laid waste to his age group posting firsts in the 50 and 100 Butterfly. His 100 time of 1:04.75 marked up as 4th fastest nationally! His 50 was 9th in the national rank. He also grabbed a 3rd in the 400 Free. Brad is a physical therapist so we got along great as I am fluent in the therapi language (having gone to so many in my life). Oh, and the 400 Free time he posted was good enough for 4th nationally (physical therapists have an unfair advantage; they’re too smart). Very impressive!
Jason Koppelberger had swimmers in the first heat wondering who the heck he was when he posted a very impressive 2:34.16 for the 200 Free. That was over a half minute faster than his seed time! At the recent Snohomish meet (yards) he went 2:32.19!! So this time was roughly equivalent to a fourteen second BUSTOUT! Methinks he likes swimming on the lead, Petrucchio! His time nearly broke into the top 25 nationally, too (2 seconds off). That is in a very fast and deep age group. Nicely done! He also contributed a 3rd place in the 100 Free and a 5th in the 50 Free. He’s getting a feel for this surface swimming thing. The learning curve usually isn’t that steep!
Wifey Tammy skipped the 200 Free, allowing hubby Jason to shine there; she saved her energy for the 400 Free (2nd in the meet and 7th nationally), the 100 Free (1st here & 9th in the good ol’ USA) and the 800 Free (exhausting & here for a 1st and 5th nationally). I don’t know who drove home but I hope you had power steering as there most likely wasn’t a lot of left over energy fight the helm, for these two.
Holly Lickwala lit up the board in several events as well but in the 200 Breast she nearly brought down the house! She had an eight second drop (from a 3:20.51 down to a 3:12.63) for 1st place. Even more impressively, her time was third fastest in the nation for the year, a mere sixty-two one-hundredths of a second off the #2 time! Her 50 Butterfly got her a 3rd in the meet and notched her at 7th nationally and she also got third in the 50 Breast. What have you and Brent been up to?!
Senior Games record holder James Mange registered second place finishes in the 50 & 100 Backstroke events and a 3rd in the 50 Fly. His 100 Back time cracked the top 25 nationally. Nicely done!
Erin McPeak, coming off her now legendary win in the 200 Fly at Nationals, picked up right where she left off, winning 2 events and getting second in 2 others. She won the 400 IM & the 100 Fly (yes, the 100). And she just missed (by .35 seconds) a third win in the 50 Fly; so that’s how close she came to tying Jenny and Carl for team High point! Her times rank her (nationally) 3rd in the 200 Fly (she got 2nd in this meet), 6th in the 400 IM and 8th in the 100 Fly. The lady is BANK!
Now it’s time for your humble correspondent’s version of the truth (Neuhaus, Scott J.). About that DQ in the 200 Breast (which cost me a 7th place national rank! And a 1st in the meet) I was framed! I ain’t sayin’ I didn’t move. My problem is that I rocked forward, back and then went. I didn’t want to take advantage of anyone, Your Honor! Heck, I’m not the steadiest person; I am 65! Look at my R figure (reaction time), though. +0.91! I had two other swims that were +0.90 and then the swim after the aforementioned event where I made sure to not move (+0.98!!). No advantage. In fact, the evidence shows a .01 second disadvantage! I’m taking this to the World Court. Thankfully I know someone in the IT department (not the WCourt, unfortunately) so my splits? I got ‘em; so not a total loss. And I did have a 9 second time drop (the important part). There was also the 100 Breast (pushed by Brent Barne’s very nice swim) which was good enough for 10th nationally (3rd meet, darn that Colella); the 50 Free (3rd meet/19th nationally) and the 100 IM (2nd and 15th). By the way, does anyone know a good attorney.
Kathy Pelham swam to a first in the 200 Free, a second in the 100 Free and a third in the 400 Free. She and Tammy were in the same heats in the 400 & 100 and gave each other fits. Kathy’s times nationally place her 9th, 9th and 13th (100). Nice swims in a tough age group. The gal that beat the both of them in the 400 is #1 in the nation.
Valerie Powell is a veteran swimming under the TWIM banner and might I say fearless! On this day, she again made her presence known, collecting 27 total points for the team while winning the 100 and getting two seconds and a third (50 Back, 200 Free and 50 Free respectively). Way to go, champ!
And then came Jenny; Jenny Salmi. High point for the team in just your second meet!! Dang girl, you ROCK! You won the 50 Free, you won the 50 Back and the 100 Back and got 2nd in the 50 Fly. You headed to Disneyland? And national rankings in those events? Of course! How’s 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th sound? Seriously! You need to pace yourself. I mean, what are you going to do for an encore!?
Craig Tavis was right there with Jason Koppelberger in that fast and deep 45-49 guys group. He also just narrowly missed a top 25 with his 200 Free. He also had a nice 50 Free and a very quick 100 Free that nabbed him second. Very nicely done.
Valerie Thompson, as usual, logged the most competitive yards of any Twimmer in the meet, beating out Dan Underbrink by 100 meters (1500 v. 1400!) That made me tired just writing it! She won the 200 Free and while securing 2nd in the 400 Free she posted the 21st fastest time in the U.S. this year. Her 800 Free put her at #18 nationally (3rd in the meet) and she got 4th in the 100 Free. The Alabama Attacker is Back!
Ironman Dan Underbrink swam the 200 Back, the 200 IM, the 200 Breast and the 800 Free. His win in the 200 Breast was 14th fastest nationally in his age group and his 200 Backstroke was 21st while getting him a silver at this meet. In true Underbrink form, he finished the 200 IM and a few minutes later was swimming in a relay apparently using that as his warm down. I’m still looking that up in the Swimmer’s Manual and am yet to find an explanation.
And now the mystery-gal, Colleen Wahlstrom. She comes in, doesn’t say a word to anyone, and wins two events and gets second in her third event. Oh, and her win in the 100 Free; top time in her age group this year! Yep, she and Carl posted #1 times. Her 50 Free time was 2nd nationally and her 50 Fly time was 6th! By the way, she didn’t say a word to anyone because she had a severe case of laryngitis. I don’t know if she yelled too much the day before, if she was recovering from a cold or if it was something she ate. If it was something she ate, though, I want some o’ that!!
Last but not least, the Chairman of the Board, the Big Kahuna, Tom Walker. Just call him “steady-eddie”. Four 2nd place finishes in the 3 Breaststroke events and the 100 IM for icing on the top. 28 points for the team; total support mode for everyone else and there, in the flesh, from start to finish. That’s our TopDog!
In closing, I had to consult my Funk & Wagnalls to prove to myself that I did not misuse the word “venerable”. The definition is “a title given to a deceased person who has attained a certain degree of sanctity, but has not been made a saint”. This does not apply at all (I don’t think, because Father Tom just moved to Pennsylvania, being very much still among the living) so we’ll jump to the secular definition for: “accorded great respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character”. Now, the water filled halls of the aquatic center are, granted, not that “ancient”. I have boots that are older than 29 years. And they can’t be labelled “wise”. But, character? When defining “character” one must look at the entire picture. Not only were the performances IN the pool exemplary, but also were the performances of the army of dedicated officials that catalyzed the event. And let me tell ya; I was disqualified in one of my events for the first time in 30 years and if I’m saying this, they must’ve been good. Lisa Dahl, the Meet Director and Lisa Vetterlein, the Meet Referee, were both on their games as evidenced by the timely and efficient manner of the proceedings. TWIM would also like to thank the IT people and all the other volunteers without whose generous contribution of time, we would be lost.
Now my final word, I promise:
You know, a few days before the meet I was wondering aloud to my wife about how I was going to do in my events. Her reply, as she loves and is fascinated by that kind of thing, was “I know a person, that knows a person that can read the future by looking at your palm”.
“A Palmreader?”, I exclaimed.
“Exactly” came her reply.
Despite my skepticism of such things, the next day I found myself sitting down in front of that very person, over by the Shoreline Costco along SR 99, in the company of my wife. And for the price of $20, I was having my palm read. The light was dim, but not to the point of limiting vision. The “person” looked like what we’ve been trained to consider as “Gypsy” right down to the hooked nose and silk scarves and jewelry. Esmerelda’s gypsy from the Hunchback of ND, I kid you not. She put out her hand and nodded towards it. I placed my right hand in hers. She spent a considerable time allowing the light from the single lamp in the room to cast shadows this way and that on the lines of my palm as she moved my hand about, first one way and then the other. She was told nothing about what we wanted; only that I was curious about the very near future. After a few moments more she cleared her throat and declared, “Its something to do with swimming.”
A slight, pained smile came across my face, soooo not a smile of admiration. Instead, it was a smirk of derision. I withdrew my hand while standing up. “You can keep the $20”, I exclaimed, and I walked out.
My wife, astonished, apologized to the Seer and told her we would be right back. Running me down as I was just exiting the empty (it figures) waiting room, she inquired about my, what she felt was, completely misplaced reaction.
I peered back at her, equally flabbergasted, “Something about swimming!?” I exclaimed. “Something about swimming!?” I shook my head, dumbfounded that she didn’t see the problem. “It’s not something about swimming; it’s EVERYTHING about swimming. We’re TWIMMERS for cripe sakes. She’s a fraud!” And with that I left.
Okay, maybe this anecdote didn’t really happen; but it might if she makes me go.
Til we MEET again.
One thought on “Records Fall at KCAC”
Great job everyone. Wish I could have been there. FT