Havasu Stingrays swim away with 16 medals

Today's News-Herald
Published Tuesday, February 23, 2010 11:30 PM MST
Special to News-Herald

Over 900 top-seeded swimmers from eight states and Mexico couldn't stop four Havasu Stingray Swim Team members from bringing home 16 medals at the Lost Dutchman Invitational Swim Meet in Chandler last weekend.

Caden Carver, Courtney Barker, Chloe Johnson and Alex Johnson swam to personal best finishes in morning preliminaries earning their way into the A Finals in the evening for the top eight short course medal positions.

In the girls 10 and under division, Chloe Johnson (pictured to the right), 10, swam away with nine medals earning a third place finish in the 200Y IM (2:38.52), fourth place finishes in the 100Y backstroke (1:14.72) and the 200Y freestyle (2:18.57), a fifth place finish in the 100Y breaststroke (1:26.41), seventh place finishes in the 100Y butterfly (1:15.62) and 100Y IM (1:16.54), an eighth place finish in the 50Y breaststroke, and a ninth place finish in the 50Y freestyle.

Caden Carver, 11, competing in the boys 11-12 year old division, swam to a fourth place finish in the 500Y freestyle (5:34.06), sixth place finish's in the 100Y backstroke (1:05.91), the 200Y backstroke (2:19.57) and the 200Y freestyle (2:04.79). Carver also swam to a seventh place finish in the 100Y freestyle (58.06).

Alex Johnson, 12, captured two second place finishes in the 50Y breaststroke (33.15) and 100Y breaststroke (1:09.55), a third place finish 200Y breaststroke (2:35.79), and a fifth in the 200Y IM (2:23.17) in the girls 11-12 year old division.

“This was a big weekend for our swimmers who qualified to go to the Lost Dutchman meet,” said Stingrays head coach Mike Taylor. “Bringing home 16 medals was a tremendous accomplishment when swimming against hundreds of athletes of such high caliber. It was particularly exciting to see Alex drop 3.5 seconds in her 100Y breaststroke and be four-one hundredths of a second away from a Western Senior Sectional time cut where she can have the opportunity to swim against prospective Olympians. Pretty heady stuff for a 12-year-old.”

Next up for the Stingrays are Regional Championships this weekend in Goodyear, then on to the State Championships March 5-7 in Phoenix.

Build the Base . Promote the Sport . Achieve Competetive Success

Welcome to our exciting world of swimming!

By joining the Havasu Stingrays and USA Swimming, you belong to one of the country's largest, most organized, and competently coached youth sports. With a positive attitude and a willingness to lend a hand, you will enjoy one of the great experiences of your youth which you can carry through life.

Barker sets four pool records, wins four events

By DAVID BELL
Monday, February 1, 2010 7:08 AM MST

LAKE HAVASU CITY — Change the name of the Lake Havasu City Aquatic Center to Courtney Barker’s Pool.

Barker set four new pool records en route to winning her four events during Day 2 of the fourth annual Ride the Wave Winter Challenge swim meet Sunday at the Aquatic Center. She was also the first place points winner in the Girls 15-and-over Division with seven first place finishes and one second place over the two-day meet.

“I think it’s because of hard work in practice,” Barker said. “Plus, today I saw a little better competition and these were my best events.”

Barker and the Stingrays competed against teams from Anthem, Casa Grande, Kingman, Phoenix and Tempe. Barker set her records in the 100m and 800m Freestyle and 50m and 100m Backstroke.

Havasu Stingrays open home meet with nine firsts

By BRANDON ELLENWOOD
Special to News-Herald
Sunday, January 31, 2010 7:07 AM MST

LAKE HAVASU CITY — The Stingrays opened Day 1 of their Winter home meet with nine of the team’s 25 swimmers taking at least one first place finish.

Taking place at the Lake Havasu City Aquatic Center, the Stingrays’ 4th annual Winter Challenge Ride the Wave Tournament features six teams competing in short course meters races.

Tatum Liska, 8, and Mickey Scharbrough, 14, both topped the team with four first place finishes, both sweeping their individual events Saturday. Liska was first in 50m Butterfly, 50m Backstroke, 50m Freestyle and 200m IM. Scharbrough finished first in 50m Butterfly, 50m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke and 200m IM.

Approved Swimsuits for 2010 Effective 1/25/10  (1/25/2010)

The USA Swimming House of Delegates, at its September 2009 meeting, adopted new rules regarding swimwear which limited swimsuits used for competitive purposes to those swimsuits which are in compliance with specifications established by FINA, the international governing body for the sport of swimming.

On January 4, 2010, FINA issued its final list of swimsuits approved for use in 2010. The suits included on this final list were all submitted to and approved by FINA. In addition to the suits included on this list, FINA has indicated that “older suits” are also acceptable for competition. Although the term “older suits” was not specifically defined, it generally refers to suits made from nylon or Lycra that meet the following criteria:

1. Swimsuits for men may not extend above the navel or below the knee and for women may not cover the neck, or extend past the shoulders or below the knee;
2. Material used for swimsuits can be only textile material which is defined as materials consisting of natural and/or synthetic, individual and non-consolidated yarns used to constitute a fabric by weaving, knitting, and/or braiding. Simply put, this would generally refer to suits made only from nylon or Lycra that do not have any rubberized material such as polyurethane or neoprene; and
3. No zippers or other fastening devices are allowed except for a waist tie on a brief or jammer.