SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month: May

 

 Catfish

Mercerwood Shore Club: Liam Bowen

Liam is rather new to competitive swimming.  Liam's attention at practice, knowing what drills the group is doing, and his hard work to perfect those drills, has made Liam a standout in the MSC catfish group.  Liam's breaststroke while still not 100 percent perfect has come a long way as well as his ability to master his flip turns!  We are so proud of how far Liam has come in his short time as a competitive swimmer!

Mt. Rainier: Isaiah Park

Isaiah raises the CatFish group with his spunky personality. He continuously looks to include others in the group. Isaiah has continued to develop and take feedback from his coaches.

Kent/KCAC: Warren Thompson

Warren has shown both grit and resilience at practices through his hard work during kick sets and taking constructive feedback in stride.

View Ridge: Ryan Li

Ryan has continued to make massive improvements in his stroke technique this month. He's really begun to understand the value of slowing down and making an effort to do things correctly in practice, and I have no doubt that he'll make the jump to Stroke Development very soon.

Central/MIBC: Devin ODonnell

Recently joining the team, it has been slightly intimidating for Devin seeing all of his new teammates with more refined skills. Nonetheless, he shows up every practice, gives it his all, and is slowly starting to catch up with the rest of the group. Keep up the great work Devin!!

Evergreen: Addy Macon

Addy has been working hard all year, leading her to successfully compete in an Olympic-sized 50-meter pool alongside her friend Willa!  Addy maintains a positive attitude every day during practice, and her dedication to improvement makes her an excellent teammate.  Keep up the great work!

Newport: Cara Fan

Teddy Wang is Newport's SMACtastic swimmer of April! Teddy has always brought joy to practices and swim meets, but he is taking it to another level this April bringing his listening skills to the pool deck! We are excited to see his future bloom with his new determined attitude. Great job Teddy!

Fife: Alyvia Cordova

Alyvia is our SMACTastic Swimmer of May for the Fife Catfish group. Alyvia has been working not only to improve her swimming, but also helps everyone else in the group improve. Alyvia has made big strides with her breaststroke, and also learned how to swim butterfly from scratch since she’s joined. She is consistently helping to make sure that both her and her teammates understand what we’re working on, and does a great job to keep the group on track and improving together.

Stroke Development

Mercerwood Shore Club: Stephanie Wang

Stephanie has taken her swimming to a new level of commitment.  She swam in her first long course meet this weekend and rocked her events. Stephanie was curious after her races asking her coach what she needed to work on and was always looking for ways to improve.  We look forward to seeing fast Stephanie swims in the future!

Mt. Rainier: Olivia Nelson

Olivia has grown immensely this year as a leader and swimmer. She has been growing into a leadership role with her friends in the SD group. Olivia often looks out for her teammates.

Kent/KCAC: Madeline Lopez

Madeline has been working diligently to improve her technique across all four strokes and in particular has improved her butterfly significantly. She also continues to take on long course races and improves nearly every time she swims.

View Ridge: Ryann Thuwirat

Ryann does an excellent job of running sets. She's exceptionally conscientious about making sure she understands the structure and purpose of each set, and she always, always knows what we're doing and why. In this way, she's a fantastic teammate and an asset to her group.

Central/MIBC: Frances Law

This month was difficult for me to chose SMACtastic swimmer of the month but I have to give the edge to Franses Law. It’s clear that she wants to move into age group through all of her hard work and constant attempts to maintain the changes we make to all of her strokes. Keep working towards your goals Frances!!

Evergreen SD: Scarlett Wyman

Scarlett loves to compete in swimming and is eager to race in any stroke at any time!  She is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to compete, which will lead her to some exciting races in the future.  Thank you for being a part of SMAC, Scarlett.  I can't wait to watch you race at the next meet!

Fife: Ken Huyng

Ken is the SMACTastic swimmer of the month for the Stroke Development group at Fife. Ken has made some big strides in the last month, and has been always ready to go fast in practice. Ken has particularly taken to improving and using his underwaters to get some more speed. Ken had great swims in meets this month, not only getting best times, but swimming his events better than he ever has before.

 

Age Group

Mercerwood Shore Club: Zachary Brayfield

Zach is new to Age Group recently moving up from Stroke Development. While Zach may not be the fastest, he is certainly a hard worker, always smiling and an excellent volunteer!!  Zach was the first to volunteer helping to take out the lane lines and pull the covers across the pool, he was also the last to leave the pool helping the coaches making sure all the work was done!  Thanks Zach, we are looking forward to your progress as you continue to work hard!

Mt. Rainier: Alden Printz

Alden has taken the initiative to improve in swimming by placing himself in the A send-off. He has improved his endurance. Additionally, Alden's light-hearted spirit always seems to cheer his teammates up.

Kent/KCAC: Castle Cline

Castle Cline is the May Kent Age Group SMACtastic swimmer of the month. Castle is extremely receptive to feedback and asks questions, related to technique, that demonstrate an advanced understanding. Castle enjoys challenges at practice and is always willing to step up to the difficult sets. Castle has qualified for his first PNS Long Course Championship Meet and I expect many more successes going forward. Great job Castle!

View Ridge: Benson Ye

Benson has stepped into the role of group and lane leader this month and has really come into his own in terms of his swimming. It's been such a joy to watch him grow in confidence and really begin racing in his practices, and I can't wait to see how this translates to his meets this month.

Central/MIBC: Cait Cline

Cait is the Central Age Group SMACtastic swimmer of the month. Cait has been outstanding this past month! She has been an outstanding leader to all her teammates in the group through her actions. She’s receptive to feedback, asking questions about her technique, doesn’t complain, and just simply really hard working. This has definitely had a positive effect on the group as others are starting to notice and following her example. Good job Cait!!

 

Evergreen 10 & Under: Porter Dysart

Porter has been working hard all year and is consistently pushing himself in practice to improve his skills.  He is not content with just being good - he aspires to be great and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.  Thank you for leading the group and stepping up to race on more challenging intervals.

Fife: Ivan Velichko

Ivan is our SMACTastic Swimmer of May for Age Group at Fife. Ivan swam his first meet in a long time this month, and was able to qualify for PNS Champs for the first time, along with getting two more qualifying items the same day. He has taken a renewed focus in practice, and used it to get the most out of his swimming. Ivan is always ready to race someone in practice, and is never satisfied with where he is.

 

Age Group Performance

Mt. Rainier: Hutch Uydess

Hutch portrays leadership skills through his positive attitude. He displays great attendance despite competing in multiple sports and activities. Hutch's determination to improve inspires and lifts the group.

Kent/KCAC: Joshua Buchanan

Joshua Buchanan is the May Kent Age Group Performance SMACtastic swimmer of the month. Joshua continues to show significant improvement due to his positive attitude and work ethic. Joshua has shown an improved level of competitiveness in practice that has raised the level of training of those around him. Joshua had a very successful month of competition in May with a Team Record in the 800 Meter Free and Top 5 Rankings in the 1500 Free and 200 Fly. Congratulations Joshua!

 

View Ridge: Nolan Pan

 

Nolan comes to practice each day with great attitude, which is evident to his coaches and teammates.  Over the spring, Nolan has transformed his stroke techniques to be more efficient.  Nolan experienced the benefits of his hard work in stroke improvement at the Apple Capital meet last weekend where he logged seven PR’s over many distances.  Nolan’s future is promising if he continues to refine his technique and works hard at practice.

Central/MIBC: Julia Wang

The May SMACtastic swimmer for the central/MI AGP group is Julia Wang. Julia is someone  who leads by example and in May Julia was one of the most consistent swimmers at practice, she always gave her best effort, and as a result has been leading her lane. It has been great to watch Julia race her teammates in practice and push them to be faster too. Julia has had a great start to her long course season, and I am looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish with the rest.

 

Senior

Kent/KCAC: Ashley Shadwick

Ashley has taken a big step towards reaching her goals by committing herself to prioritize long course practices. She is holding herself accountable and expanding her perception of what she’s capable of achieving. This change in mindset and attitude will pay off in the long run for her swimming career.

Central/MIBC: Reese Hardisty

New to the group but already making waves, Reese Hardisty leads with positivity, accountability, and a team-first attitude. Always smiling and eager to improve, Reese has quickly become a SMACTASTIC example of what it means to be a great teammate.

 

Viewridge: Anna Bendiksen

Anna has done a good job of remaining consistent with her practices throughout the month of May, despite the challenges of the View Ridge nomadic season. Being consistent has allowed her to continue her work on a number of skills she's been working on throughout the season, and it was so rewarding to watch her apply those skills to her races at Apple Capital.

 

Fife: Gus Lucht

 

Gus is the SMACTastic swimmer of the month for the Senior group at Fife. Gus has made huge improvements since joining the team. He has improved massively on his breaststroke technique and gotten faster in every stroke, but more than that he has continually been improving his practices. Since joining Gus has been learning what it takes to improve and be great, and has shown that he’s willing to put the work in to make it happen. With this, he swam his first meet with the team in May, and the big time drops are a clear result of his work in practice.

 

 

Senior Performance

View Ridge: Sean Kohno

 

Sean’s commitment to his craft is exemplary; he continues to refine his level of fitness and skill with technique, which gained him recognition as SMAC View Ridge’s Most Improved Swimmer this Fall.  Sean continues to do many of the little things right, which leads to his consistent level of improvement in racing.  His results at the Apple Capitol Meet showed how hard work and consistent attention to detail always pays off:  5 PB’s and one more Cut for the Senior Zones in July .
 
National

Central/MIBC: Kaitlyn Vu

Kaitlyn’s dedication to making improvements in her technique and to pushing her limits in training is paying off in her performances. With best times at both meets in June, it not only shows her physical growth by challenging herself in training but also her mental growth to face adversity. The ability and motivation to push past one’s comfort zone is a key trait of a SMAC national athlete that Kaitlyn has demonstrated beautifully this month.