By Staff
NILES – On Saturday, Jan. 13, the Niles-Buchanan YMCA swim team traveled to Grand Haven for a dual meet at the Tri-City YMCA.
Niles was outscored by a mere 16 points, with a score of 555-531.
"The team is gaining depth and conditioning. The move to the new YMCA pool added lanes and five yards per lane. It was evident in the kids' performance in Grand Haven at the finish of each race. We used to have mediocre finishes because we practiced in a shorter pool," Niles coach Jacque Clark continued. "Race after race, Niles swimmers would get passed inside the flags (the final five-yards). Not this meet, it went the other way. Niles charged the wall, out touching the opponent quite often. Everyone had fun and showed improvement."
There were five state qualifying swimmers. Lindsey McCarty, 16 years-old of Buchanan, qualified in the 100-meter freestyle, as well as the 50-meter freestyle sprint.
Charlotte Bizoe, 10 years-old of Niles, went seven seconds faster than the necessary qualifying time in the 200-meter freestyle.
Buchanan's Saladin brothers, Trayton and Parker, each had qualifying efforts in the 9- and 10-year old boys age group. Trayton easily qualified in the 200-meter freestyle as his twin brother Parker equalities in the 50-meter butterfly. Parker's performance narrowly missed a Great Lakes YMCA Zone cut by seven-tenths of a second.
The Niles team had four swimmers that won all three of their individual events. Amanda Harlow and Andrew Bizoe, both 12-years old, were triple winners. Jason Furst won three races, as did Morgan Altergott. Both competed in the 8 and under age group.
The swim team will host its first home meet on Saturday at the new YMCA.