Sea Dog swimmer Natalie Galarza butterflied during the 200-meter individual medley race at the league championships last week. Galarza placed fourth in the event. (Photo by Kathleen Galarza)
Sea Dogs make a splash at championships
- Published: July 25, 2019
By Rachel Meyer
The Sea Dogs had an amazing season this year. This was an exciting summer, with lots of young and new swimmers. It was so much fun to see everyone improve and get faster and faster as the season went on. The team would like to thank the coaches and all of the parent volunteers. Without you, none of this would be possible.
The league championships were last week. This means all five teams in the league get together to race each other. Even at the end of the season, Sea Dog swimmers dropped time and had many great and memorable swims. Especially notable are the 8 and under girls who won their age group. This determined and speedy group of girls includes: Ava Miller, Brooklyn Talley, Claire Howard, Elizabeth Hill, Ellen Hill, Josie Noble, Kendall Newton and Pressley Ball.
In addition to the eight and under girls, there were many other magnificent individual races. We had several team records broken. Ethan Swanson broke the 25 backstroke record, Brooklyn Talley broke the 25 butterfly record and David Walker broke the 100 freestyle record.
The Sea Dogs had 27 swimmers place in the top eight in their events. This is a really great achievement, with so many swimmers competing at championships. These swimmers and their respective results are as follows: Ellen Hill won sixth place in the 25 freestyle and the 25 backstroke; Addison Reynolds won eighth place in the 25 freestyle and fifth place in the 25 backstroke; Ethan Swanson won fourth place in the 50 freestyle and second place in the 25 backstroke; Emma Miller won seventh place in the 100 freestyle and third place in the 100 individual medley; Evan Galarza won eighth place in the 100 freestyle, fifth place in the 50 breaststroke, and seventh place in the 100 individual medley; Brooke Close won eighth place in the 100 freestyle and third place in the 50 backstroke and the 50 freestyle; Lexi Noble won third place in the 100 freestyle, second place in the 50 backstroke, and fourth place in the 50 freestyle; Natalie Galarza won fourth place in the 100 freestyle and the 200 individual medley and sixth place in the 50 freestyle; Sara Zendlovitz won sixth place in the 100 freestyle and the 50 butterfly; Avery Reeder won seventh place in the 100 freestyle and the 50 breaststroke; David Walker won first place in the 100 freestyle, the 50 butterfly, and the 200 individual medley; Brooklyn Talley won first place in the 25 butterfly, the 25 backstroke, and the 25 freestyle; Elizabeth Hill won first place in the 25 breaststroke and second in the 25 butterfly and the 25 freestyle; Jackson Howard won fifth place in the 25 freestyle and eighth place in the 25 butterfly; Joslyn Herring won sixth place in the 50 butterfly and fifth place in the 50 backstroke and the 50 freestyle; Kendall Newton won fifth place in the 25 backstroke and fourth place in the 25 breaststroke; Scotty Einink won third place in the 25 backstroke and the 25 freestyle; Jillian Resch-Given won sixth place in the 50 backstroke; Ayla Arnold won seventh place in the 50 backstroke; Henry Smith-Heston won fifth place in the 50 breaststroke, sixth place in the 50 backstroke, and the 50 freestyle; Hayden Califf won sixth place in the 50 breaststroke and seventh place in the 50 backstroke; Madison Werner won third place in the 50 breaststroke, fourth place in the 50 butterfly, and seventh place in the 50 backstroke; Katie Einink won seventh place in the 100 individual medley; Bailey Close won eighth place in the 100 individual medley; Katie Cotellesso won seventh place in the 50 breaststroke and the 50 freestyle; Bradley Thomas won eighth place in the 25 freestyle; and Gini Meekin won eighth place in the 50 freestyle.
The Sea Dogs would also like to acknowledge our 18-year-old swimmers who will be too old to swim on the team next year. Many of these swimmers not only swim for the team, but also get up early to volunteer coach the younger Sea Dogs. These swimmers swim fast, work hard and will be missed. David Walker swam with Sea Dogs for 11 years and swam all four years for Yellow Springs High School. He crushed it in all of his races at championships this year, especially the 200 individual medley. Harper Mesure is finishing his eighth season with Sea Dogs, and just finished his fourth and last season with Yellow Springs High School. He was kind enough to volunteer five hours of his Thursday evening last week to help the younger swimmers at championships. Jude Meekin started Sea Dogs when she was 5 and is now finishing her 14th season. She also swam all four years at Yellow Springs High School. She has volunteered for Sea Dogs for many years. Sara Zendlovitz also swam Sea Dogs for 14 years and all four years of High School. She dragged herself out of bed to help the younger swimmers almost every practice this season, missing only a few days. Tariq Muhammad joined Sea Dogs as soon as he moved to Yellow Springs. He was on the team for two seasons and the high school team for one. He has so much spirit, and never fails to make everyone laugh. These swimmers collectively have swum for 49 seasons. Thank you for all of your hard work and best of luck on your journeys forward! You have bright futures. We hope all of you keep swimming.
*Rachel Meyer, a Sea Dog alum, is in her second year as the team’s assistant coach.
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