Aqua Jays make strong showing at Madison
By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
The Aqua Jays went to the 12-under Short Course State Championships in Madison this past weekend, with many of the swimmers placing 10th place or better.
Amber Winter (10 yr old, Kate Goodr.) was the top performer from Merrill earning 7th overall in the high point competition in her age group. She placed 2nd in the 100 breast, 3rd in the 50 breast, 3rd in the 100 freestyle, 7th in the 100 IM, 7th in the 50 freestyle, and 10th in the 200 freestyle. She also joined together in the NLAC A relays and got 6th place in the 200 free relay and 7th place in the 200 medley relay. She made several new personal bests and already made another 11-12 state cut for next year.
Amelia Moreno (10 yr old, Antigo) placed in the 100 breast with a new personal best time taking 3rd place honors and was just out touched in the 50 breast, getting 9th place overall. Amelia was joined by Amber Winter (10yr old, Kate Goodr.) in the medley relay taking 7th place. Amelia also qualified for next year’s 11-12 state meet with her 100 breast time.
Olivia Cordova (10 yr old, Kate Goodr.), Savannah Orzech (9 yr old, Kate Goodr.) and Ally Woller (11 yr old, St Johns) had great meets as well. The competition was strong so they did not place in the top 16 individually.
Nonetheless, they all showed great effort and sportsmanship, with Olivia leading off the NLAC B 200 medley relay with a personal best backstroke time. She finished in 16th place of about 40 relays.
“The state meet was lots of fun for our Merrill swimmers,” comments Coach Kristie Winter. “They all swam well and should be proud of their accomplishments this season. It was great experience for all of them as they continue their swimming careers.”
Merrill has 14 kids who will be competing in Minneapolis at the Midwest regional meet April 2-3. Time cuts are a little easier for this meet then the state meet so there are more qualifiers.
Amelia and Amber will also compete at the National Age Group swim meet in Orlando on March 22-25. Trinity Kanitz (14 yr old, PRMS) has also qualified for the 13 and up state meet in Milwaukee this Thursday through Friday.
In addition to these swim meets, many other Aqua Jays have qualified for other meets around the United States.
The Aqua Jays are part of the Northern Lakes Aquatic Club (NLAC), a swimming club that include almost all clubs north of Wausau.
For more information about the Merrill Aqua Jays you can check out their website www.merrillaquajays.weebly.com or check them out on Facebook.