Contributed by Karen Miller
Lake Monticello Sharks swam against Farmington Country Club on Thursday, June 23, for their 1st scored meet of the season. The storms that rolled through our area on Wednesday, June 22, caused all Jefferson Swim League teams to postpone their Wednesday meets to Thursday. This can often cause a lot of changes for teams and despite missing many swimmers on the new meet date, the Sharks fought their way through and narrowly lost with a 452 to 406 score in the end. This is the first scored meet for the Sharks since the summer of 2019; due to the worldwide pandemic, no scores were tallied during last year’s summer swim season. Many Shark swimmers brought home points for the team and it is encouraging to see the swimmers improving just after the first two weeks of competition.
The meet kicked off with some high energy individual medley (IM) races where James Johnson (13), Ivan Patchett (14), and Jaxon Brooks (15) all took home points for the Sharks.
Lake Monticello had a strong showing in the breaststroke events with Norbu Barnett (7), Annelise Campbell (9), Sarah Bond (10), Lila Kate Robinson (12), James Johnson (13), and Jaxon Brooks (15) all placing in their events. Robinson had an impressive time change in this event, she entered the meet with a seed time of 49.39 and competed with a finals time of 46.97.
In the girls 15-18, 50-meter backstroke event, Diana Givens (17) brought home first-place points for the Sharks. Diana entered the meet with a seed time of 1:17 and swam her event this week with a finals time of 1:10. That is an amazing seven seconds faster!
Head Coach Fefe Nardone praised all the swimmers, saying, “Even after rescheduling due to weather on Wednesday…our swimmers had another great showing with great times and many time improvements!!” As a swimmer, improving on your individual time from week to week is just as important as bringing home first-, second-, or third-place points; and in just two weeks’ time, the Sharks have seen so many improvements in swimmers and their times. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the swimmers coming to early morning practices, late evening practices, and an outcome of a dedicated coaching staff.
As the meet was nearing an end on Thursday night, you could hear the roars from the pool deck as both girls and boys 200-meter relay teams entered the water. In the 15-18 age bracket both teams brought home first-place points for LMST. What a wonderful way to end an unpredictable week for the Sharks!
Most importantly, witnessing the amazing sportsmanship qualities of these young swimmers brings joy and excitement at every meet.
Special congratulations to the LMST swimmers of the week: Lily Dugan (9) and James Johnson (13).
The Sharks swam against the Glenmore Tornadoes on Wednesday, June 29 in their first home meet at the Shark Tank. There are two more home meets coming up. Come on out and cheer on our Lake Monticello team! Go Sharks!
