Lake Monticello swim team hosts Glenmore Country Club Squad
By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
It was a mob scene at the Lake Monticello pool on June 29. Lake Monticello Swim Team (The Sharks) Head Coach Maria Arroyo said that there are 184 Sharks this year, the most ever. The visitors from nearby Glenmore also had a large contingent of swimmers. With parents, grandparents and siblings in attendance, and younger swimmers dashing all around, there was little room to maneuver.
When the races started at 6 p.m. things settled down and at swim events there is almost no lost time, as one race follows another swiftly and efficiently. As the event proceeded, it was soon clear that the visitors had the stronger squad and Glenmore surged to a 623 to 412 win.
The meet started with relay races and Glenmore was dominant, winning nine of the ten relay events. The winning relay team for the Sharks was the girls age 9-10 medley relay team consisting of Tegan Brown, Annelise Campbell, Elliot Gehling and Georgia Comer.
After the relays, a steady stream of individual races follow, lasting well into the evening. In the first individual event the Shark’s Liam Poole won the 8 and under25 meter freestyle. His time of 21.12 was best by almost a second. The next winning swimmer for the Sharks was Norbu Barnett who won the boys, under age 8, 25-meter breaststroke by an impressive 4.7 seconds. Another breaststroke winner for the Sharks was Annelise Campbell in the girls age 9-10 event. A third breaststroke winner for the Sharks was James Johnson in the boys 13-14 event. The final breaststroke winner for the Lake Monticello team was Jayden Walding in the boys age 15-18 event.
In backstroke, the Sharks had three winning performances. In the boys 6 and under, Lucas Key was an easy winner. Unfortunately, this age group’s results are not included in the team scores. Two older backstroke winners for the Sharks were Audrey Harlow in girls age 13-14, and Anne Charlotte Robinson in girls age 15-18.
In the grueling butterfly events the Sharks claimed a number of second place finishes but their only event winner was Norbu Barnett in the boys 8 and under category. In the freestyle events, the Lake Monticello team had a single first place finish. Lila Kate Robinson won by .35 seconds in the girls 11-12 100-meter freestyle event.
Obviously, the goal for competitors at a huge swim meet like the Sharks hosted on June 29 is to swim fast and win your race, but comradery and having fun also come into play and the Sharks with their huge participation seem to be winning on those scores.
On July 6, the Sharks hosted the Hollymead team. On July 13, they will host for the third week in a row, as the Charlottesville CITY team comes to Palmyra. On July 20 the Sharks will travel to the Pantops area to take on the Key West Club.
