Stingrays on fire at Holiday Invitational

Six swimmers record qualifying times

Monday, December 14, 2009 6:27 AM MST
Special to News-Herald

Frigid conditions didn’t stop the Havasu Stingrays Swim Team from heating up the pool.

Six Havasu Stingrays Swim Team members earned qualifying times for their chance to swim against 780 other top swimmers from the Western U.S. and Virginia at the short course Holiday Festival Invitational swim meet in Chandler last weekend.

“We had another frigid outdoor swim meet this past weekend," Stingrays head coach Mike Taylor said. “But our swimmers still turned in some great performances. To swim best times in the morning qualifying and then come back into finals at night and swim even better is what we work for. And both Alex (Johnson) and Caden (Carver) had some excellent championship finals swims."

Johnson, 12, swam to two first place finishes in the Girls 11-12 year old division, the 50Y breaststroke and the 100Y breaststroke. She also swam to a second place finish in the 200Y breaststroke, sixth in the 100IM, eighth 50Y butterfly, and ninth in the 100T butterfly.

Swimming in the Boys 11-12 year old division, Carver, 11, won the 500Y freestyle and swam to third place finishes in the 1000Y freestyle and 200Y backstroke, fourth place in the 200Y freestyle, fifth place finishes in the 100Y backstroke and 100Y freestyle and a seventh place finish in the 50Y backstroke.

The Stingrays had a pair of swimmers in the Girls 10 and under division, Chloe Johnson and Bailee Liska. Liska finished second in the 50Y freestyle, third in the 50Y butterfly, fourth in the 50Y breaststroke and sixth in the 100Y and 200Y IM’s. Johnson finished sixth in the 100Y freestyle, seventh in the 500Y freestyle, 200Y freestyle, 100Y backstroke and the 200Y IM, eighth in the 50Y butterfly and ninth in the 50Y backstroke.

Mickey Scharbrough swam to a fourth place finish in the 50Y breaststroke in the Boys 13-14 year old division.

Next up for the Stingrays is the annual Ride the Wave Winter Challenge at the Lake Havasu City Aquatic Center Jan. 30-31.