Personal Blog
On Thursday Jan. 6, 2011 the Quakertown girls and boys swimming team faced CB West in their first league meet. All of their other meets have been out of league. They have already gone up against Upper Perk, Salisbury, and Saucon Valley High Schools. Even though Quakertown has tried their absolute hardest, their team has only 15 swimmers, not enough to win a meet. The girls’ team has 11 swimmers, enough to possibly take a victory, but just not enough. The guys’ team has only four swimmers which in retrospect does not even take up a quarter of the guys on other teams. Though, they keep their spirits up and never lose hope of their ultimate goal: districts.
How does a team win a swim meet? The following breaks down the events. The events start with the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley (IM), and 50 freestyle. After the 50 freestyle, diving starts. If your team has divers (which Quakertown cannot because of pool situations) the teams will receive 15 points to split between the two teams. So already walking into the meet, Quakertown starts to lose. Next, a short 15-minute intermission followed by 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and the 400 freestyle relay. Each swimmer can compete in four events. Diving counts as an individual event if you compete for both teams. Each swimmer cannot be guaranteed to swim four events because your coach decides what you swim. The scoring of events follows below:
Individual events- 1st place: 6pts. 2nd place: 4pts. 3rd place: 3pts. 4th place: 2pts. 5th place: 1 pt. 6th place: 0pts.
Relay Events- 1st place: 8pts. 2nd place: 4pts. 3rd place: 2pts. 4th place: 0pts. 5th place: 0pts. 6th place: 0pts.
So, one can plainly see the scoring tests the Quakertown team, because they do not have enough swimmers to swim more than one person on every event, making them actually lose points.
At Thursday’s meet, the Quakertown boys lost 61 to 26 against CB West. Each boy did his part to bring their score up and the results follow. CB West dominated in the 200 freestyle relay, but the Quakertown boys came back in the 200 freestyle where Nicholas Vivian took second place with a time of 2:03.85 and George Claghorn took third place with a time of 2:18.92. In the 200 IM Parker Vivian took second place with a time of 2:16.19. Also, Quakertown’s Wayne Hailstone who has been working hard to make districts in his 50 freestyle took second place in his 50 with a time of :25.50. Sadly, he did not make districts, but his efforts won him second. After diving concluded, the 100 butterfly went underway where Nicholas Vivian took second place with a time of 1:02.69. After butterfly, Wayne Hailstone once again took second for the 100 freestyle swimming at a :56.86. In the 500 freestyle, the longest event, Parker Vivian took second with a time of 5:42.05 and George Claghorn took third place coming in at a 6:07.28. This helped in the team, in that two boys placed for the team. Lastly, the 200 freestyle relay took first place. The swimmers Parker Vivian, George Claghorn, Wayne Hailstone, and Nicholas Vivian had a time of 1:46.52. Unfortunately, the boys did not have enough swimmers for the final three events and CB West took home the gold.
The girls’ team came closer to a victory than the guys’ team, but still lost with a score of 66 to 32. Each girl pushed herself and overall the Quakertown girls looked well in the water. The results follow. The 200 freestyle relay swum by Hannah Susavage, Cheyenne Kressley, Sarah Renn, and Megan Renn won this event with a time of 2:04.16. Sarah Renn also came away with a victory in the next event, the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:11.29. The 200 IM was a tougher event for the Quakertown girls, but Leah Kaighn grabbed third place swimming at a 2:43.42. Megan Renn then brought the Quakertown girls back for a win in the 50 freestyle with a time of :26.33. She has been working hard to make districts for this event. The qualifying time Megan would need, :26.30 which one can see she came extremely close to. After diving, came the 100 butterfly and Sarah Renn took second place with a time of 1:07.01. In the 100 freestyle Megan Renn took second place with a time of :59.32. Next the 500 freestyle, where Cheyenne Kressley walked away with a win swimming a 5:44.26, her best time of the season so far.
In the 200 freestyle Quakertown took second and third. The second place team of Megan Renn, Alex Kluger, Sarah Renn, and Cheyenne Kressley came close to districts with a 1:48.89. Districts time however comes in at a 1:48.00. The third place team of Rachel Haywood, Rebecca Waddell, Alicia Keller, and Mara Ims-Donnelly had a time of 2:01.31. In the 100 backstroke, Cheyenne Kressley came in third place with a time of 1:07.39. In the 100 breaststroke Rebecca Waddell came in third place with a time of 1:26.06. Finally, in the 400 freestyle relay the Quakertown girls Mara Ims-Donnelly, Sara Reigh, Hannah Susavage, and Leah Kaighn came in third place with a time of 4:28.37. Overall, the girls pulled out a meet with amazing times and should be proud to swim on the Quakertown team.
Even though swimming can be tough for this high school team, they never give up. I, Cheyenne Kressley, am proud to be a part of it. I know our team seems small, and I know sometimes we have to try harder than most, but that’s what makes us better. Our passion for swimming keeps us moving. I get to watch our team grow every day. I see the struggles, like Megan Renn’s quest for districts or even my own relay team who tries hard and comes close. Anecdote and Nut Graph:
I remember that day, our relay stepping up to the block. We patiently wait, Megan Renn taking her rightful place on the block. The starter blows the whistle, and Megan gracefully dives into the water. Her flip turn coming out beautifully, then she continues her way back to the block. Next, I see Alex Klugar maake her way onto the block, and when Megan’s hands touch the wall, she dives in. She splashes and fights her way down the lane, water hitting our already cold faces, while Sarah Renn takes her place on the block. Alex swerves after her flip turn to regain her pace back down the lane. Her hands finally hit the wall, and Sarah makes her dive. She races to the wall and back, while I step up onto the hard bumpy feeling block. Sarah touches the wall, and I dive in. The water envelopes me, while I make my way to the wall. I flip, knowing districts means everything. I come back and finish hard. I look up at the clock, seeing the disappointing time (1:48.89); knowing districts just missed our reach. We knew how close we came, but there would be other chances. I wish people saw that when we walk by. I want them to see a team, who yes has trouble winning meets, but ultimately has heart.
*All times and places were found in The Intelligencer in the local sports section on Friday, January 7, 2011.
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