SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month: January
Catfish
Mercerwood Shore Club: The entire CATFISH GROUP at MSC
The MSC Catfish group has had excellent practice attendance for the month of January. Many of the Catfish swimmers raced at the January SMAC meet! That meet was a big step up from the Mini Meets, as many of the events were longer and the swimmer could swim in multiple events each day. I was proud of the way the swimmers made it to staging and got behind their blocks to race their hearts out! Congrats to all the Catfish swimmers!
Mt. Rainier: Lincoln Fain
Lincoln has done an amazing job of taking a step forward in his swimming. He has become a leader in the lane, does a nice job of applying skills he has worked on in practice and applied it to his races. He brings such a great attitude to practice every day. I am looking for to seeing his continued growth.
The January SMACtastic swimmer of the month from the Kent Catfish group is DJ Embar! DJ has shown leadership skills within the group, helping teammates stay on task. She also shows a desire to improve and learn new skills that will allow her to progress forward in her swimming career. Great job DJ!
View Ridge: Abbie Wong
Abby loves the water and it shows. As an older member of the Catfish, Abbie also started at a much later age and has a less swimming experience than others. However, her ability to grasp the teaching (especially in breastroke and kicking) from her coach and learn each day points the way to Abbie having an enjoyable experience with swimming for some time. Keep it up Abbie!
Central/MIBC: Eleanor Ford
Eleanor Ford is the Central Catfish SMACtastic Swimmer for the month of January. Eleanor does a great job of demonstrating Stroke Development Skills that are needed while in Catfish. She arrives early and on time with her cap and goggles on, ready to go. She gets excited to learn new skills each day and works hard to get them right. No matter how tough it may be learning a skill, she smiles through it and doesn’t let it get to her. Good job Eleanor!!
Evergreen: Andrew Timpe
Andrew has been working hard in practice to stretch his arms into a streamline when he dives and kicks underwater, and he has also been doing a great job stretching his arms when he glides on Breaststroke. The streamline is not an easy skill to develop, because it is an unnatural position, but Andrew knows he can learn anything. This important skill, and his overall teachable spirit, will make him a great Training Partner. Thank you, Andrew!
Fife: Ganesh Budhi
Ganesh is our SMACTastic Swimmer of January for the Fife Catfish group. Ganesh has been focused in practice, and going out of his way to ask what he can do to improve his breaststroke. Ganesh swam some longer events than he’s used to at the SMAC Winter invite this month, and absolutely crushed it. He swam his first 50s in a meet, and went in without hesitation to get some of his best swims he’s done so far.
Stroke Development
Mercerwood Shore Club: Elizabeth Jiao
Elizabeth's resilience, focus, and drive make her an outstanding example for her teammates, and we’re proud to recognize her as MSC's Stroke D. SMACTASTIC Swimmer of the Month. Elizabeth has emerged as a consistent lane leader at practices, which has paid off at her meet competitions. Elizabeth pays attention to details such as practicing underwater dolphins and breaststroke pull outs at every practice. These details have paid off! Elizabeth swam her first 200 free and 200 IM at the January SMAC Meet as well as swimming best times in multiple events. Way to go Elizabeth!
Mt. Rainier: Collette Reichert
Collette has an infectious personality that makes people feel good about themselves. I am greeted everyday with the biggest Hi!!! and a very large smile. She always is leading her lane, working very hard and always trying to improve while doing it with a smile on her face. I am looking forward to seeing how she does at the end of the season.
Kent/KCAC: Arlo Outlaw
The January SMACtastic swimmer of the month from the Kent Stroke Development group is Arlo Outlaw! Arlo comes to practice daily with a great attitude, and is inclusive to all of her teammates. She has also shown great work ethic through her tackling of the 10x50s on 1:00 test set, and her recent completion of her first ever 200 IM. Great job Arlo!
View Ridge: Simon Danko
Simon has taken an unconventional path into swimming, having started at a much later age and with very little swimming experience. Simon’s hard work and real improvements in his technique has lead him to successfully complete three of the test sets required for advancement to the next level. His eagerness to learn reflects his spirit as a person and he’s learning the importance of being a good example to younger swimmers. Simons best swimming is ahead of him.
Central/MIBC: Jaimee Dong
Jaimee Dong is the Central Stroke Development SMACtastic Swimmer for the month of January. Jaimee exhibits behaviors of what I look for in an AG swimmer. She’s fearless when trying new things even if she fails, and is always willing to swim events that are 100's and longer. She understands that through failure corresponds to what she needs to work on and seeks feedback, which ultimately leads to success. Good job this month Jaimee!!!
Evergreen: Chelsea Smithco
Chelsea has grown to be a terrific lane leader in Stroke Development. She always asks questions when she needs help before starting a set, which allows her Training Group to get the most out of every practice. She loves helping her younger friends, and she models confidence well. Thank you, Chelsea!
Fife: Marcus Olarte
Marcus is the SMACTastic swimmer of the month for the Stroke Development group at Fife. This is Marcus’s first month in the group, and has taken to his new group in a great way. He is constantly making sure that he is doing things correctly and stepping up when it’s time to go fast. His strokes and technique continue to grow each practice, and always comes with a great attitude and ready to get started on working at practices.
Mercerwood Shore Club: Aaron Sutton
Aaron has overcome some medical setbacks early in the season to emerge as a hardworking and dependable lane leader. His determination shows up in every practice — from the way he approaches challenging sets to the leadership he brings to his lane. This commitment and hard work have paid off in a big way at the SMAC Meet in January, where he dropped significant time across multiple events. Congrats to Aaron!
Mt. Rainier: Alden Printz
Alden has done a great job of quietly making himself a leader in the group. He works hard everyday and has continued to improve and apply skills we do in practice. I am excited to see how the rest of the season goes for him.
Kent/KCAC: Matthew Castaneda
Matthew Castaneda is the Kent Age Group SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month of January. Matthew has quickly developed into a leader of the 10-Under Boys lane. His leadership has been key in developing a group of 10-Under Boys that enjoy coming to practice and training together. Matthew also comes to practice with a great attitude daily. His positive attitude was key in overcoming a disappointment at PNS Champs to earn his first Age Group Regional Cut at the SMAC Winter Invitational. Congratulations Matthew!
View Ridge: Elle Yamaguchi
Elle visibly improves with every week of practice, and that is because of her excellent practice habits. She follows instructions to the letter, swims fast where fast is called for, and consistently applies feedback and new skills. Her positive attitude and approach to swimming is the recipe for long-term success in this sport.
Central/MIBC: Kendall Hosking
Kendall Hosking is the Central Age Group SMACtastic Swimmer for the month of January. Since meeting Kendall, she has made some drastic improvement, tripling her IMR score and multiplying her IMX score by 5. It’s clear that she wants to get better than the day before based on how well she takes feedback and applies it, her effort level and amount of thought, and her willingness to try to do high level things no matter the outcome. Good job Kendall!!
Evergreen: Sage Lovanhill
Sage has been practicing with consistency all season, racing hard in practice, and she is dangerously close to qualifying for Regionals as a result. Most importantly, Sage is learning from her mistakes and taking on big challenges. She recently completed her first IMX score by swimming her first 100 Fly! Keep up the good work, Sage.
Fife: Hannah Gee
Hannah is our SMACTastic Swimmer of January for Age Group at Fife. Hannah is always locked in and focused in practice. Her ability to put her head down and tough it through difficult practices has helped her a ton. She’s been super tough this month, and been able to make some big progress along with it. She dropped some big time at meets, and no doubt because of the way she’s approached practices.
Age Group Performance
Mt. Rainier: Oliver Wahlborg
Oliver has done an amazing job working hard and developing his skills. He has had all the hard work pay off with his performances at meets recently. He is well liked and his teammates respond to him in such a positive way. He is an absolute pleasure to work and I am very excited to see how the rest of his season goes.
Kent/KCAC: Remington Gao
Remington Gau is the Kent Age Group Performance SMACtastic Swimmer of the Month for January. Remington has made significant progress since joining the group in September. Remington’s progress can be attributed to his commitment to challenging himself at practice daily. Remington has worked his way up to take on the “A” intervals resulting in huge time drops in 200’s and above. Remington also has a great attitude at practice every day and it is a pleasure to watch him get excited as he accomplishes goals beyond his expectations. Congratulations Remington!
View Ridge: Hawkins White
Hawkins’s practice habits have come a long, long way since September — he’s embraced getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, working on his weak strokes, and applying difficult skills during difficult sets. Although he had a great December championship season, he’s really broken through in January, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for February and March.
Senior
Kent/KCAC: Priscilla Gainer
The January SMACtastic swimmer of the month from the Kent Senior group is Priscilla Gainer. Over the past month, Priscilla has shown consistent attendance, a positive attitude, and a desire to improve. These efforts have made everyone around her better and raised the baseline of the entire group. Great job Priscilla!
Central/MIBC: Gabby Hui
Gabby is senior centrals swimmer of the month. Constantly learning, trying new things and showing up day after day, grab is consistent, and hungry to improve. She constantly has a smile on her face and is always ready to embrace a challenge.
Viewridge: Chloe Pietsch
Chloe comes to practice looking to get better at swimming. She engages with every set, takes and applies feedback well, and consistently works on newly-acquired skills.
Fife: Ryder Pickering
Ryder is the SMACTastic swimmer of the month for the Senior group at Fife. Ryder has been learning every day how best to approach his practices. He improved greatly this month on keeping himself focused and pushing on the longer and more difficult sets. This has especially helped him finish his races well to get best times in meets. With his work in SMAC practices, alongside swimming for his high school, Ryder was able to get under 50 for the first time in his 100 free this month.
Mt. Rainier: Sarah Schreder Peters
Sarah consistently shows up at practice ready to work hard. When I ask her to pick it up or if she can push harder, she always answers with “I’ll try my best”. This type of attitude will take Sarah far both in and out of the pool.
Senior Performance
View Ridge: Cole Krabak
Cole exemplifies the qualities of a grinder who pushes himself in and out of the water. This season he has embraced two major technique changes in freestyle and breastroke, which both have contributed to transformations in both his distance swims and 400 IM. He’s “Committed to the process”, one of the key qualities each SMAC coach desires from their athletes.
Central/MIBC: Ian Frenchowicz
This is a guy who brings the energy to practice everyday. His attitude is almost always in a good place, and he makes practice more interesting and fun for everyone around him. He’s really been committed to being technically better over the past few months and is the very best self-appointed member of the coaching staff we have.
Central/MIBC: Alex Menshutkin
Alex is the National group’s SMACtastic swimmer for the month of January. After a successful December at Junior Nationals and Washington State SC Senior Champs, Alex came into the new year recommitted to continuing his improvement. He has embraced making tweaks and changes to his stroke, training, and race approach and consistently tries to get 1 percent better each workout. The coaching staff is consistently seeing high level behaviors and a growth mindset from Alex and are excited to see the benefits throughout February and March.
