On Saturday Nov. 23, the Castle Valley Barracuda swim team grabbed a victory against the Moab Sea Devils. This is the Barracudas first meet of the winter season. The community swim team posted many personal bests times to secure the win.
The eight and under group kicked off the competition. Jenna Richards swam her best times in two of her three events. The best improvement was in the 25 backstroke where she trimmed six seconds off her time. Richards was part of the winning 100 freestyle relay.
Ada Bradford swam her best times in five of six events. Her best was the 100 individual medley (IM). Shaving 24 seconds off her time, she was part of the winning 100 free relay.
Six year-old Rebecca Swasey, the youngest Barracuda swimmer participated in her first meet. She finished with in third place in the 25 backstroke and placed fifth in the 25 free. Swasey also was part of the winning 100 freestyle relay.
Lilly Seeley swam three events and saw personal best times in all three, with her biggest improvement in the 25 backstroke. In this event, she cut her time by eight seconds.
Evan Lancaster swam four events and set four personal records. His best improvement was in the 25 backstroke competition where he demolished his time by 15 seconds.
Collin Fausett swam in his first meet. He placed fourth in the 25 freestyle with a great time of 27.09.
Brock Johnson swam his best time in four of five events. His greatest gain was in the 50 freestyle race in which he cut 11 seconds off his previous time.
Gabriel Ibanez swam his best times in five of six races. His biggest improvement was trimming his time by 10 seconds in the 100 individual medley.
The largest group of the meet was the 9-10 year-olds. Nicole Swasey swam five events and took first place in her division in four of these events.
Bryndee Maxfield showed she was ready for the meet by posting five of six of her best times, including two first and four second place finishes.
Katie Jones just joined the team and is improving rapidly. Jones swam in four events placing third in all three with great times.
Natale VanDyke had best times in three out of five races. Her greatest gain was made by shaving off 23 seconds from her time in the 100 individual medley.
Jezmin Presset has only been on the team for a few months and is swimming very well. She is a powerhouse swimmer who finished fourth in the 50 freestyle race and fifth in the 35 freestyle and 25 butterfly.
Ava Black swam two of three best times taking off two seconds in her 24 butterfly race.
Beverly Landcaster had five out of six best times with her most improved swim in the 100 IM.
Logan Odendahl had her best time in the 25 free and had four other strong swims.
Mollie Horsley, also new to the team swam three events. Her best finish was fourth in the 25 breaststroke and she swam a fast back for her relay.
Max Landcaster had six great swims, finishing first in the 25 freestyle, 25 breaststroke, 25 butterfly and 50 free races.
Boyd Bradford completed his best time in the 25 freestyle with a time of 19.11. He placed first in the 100 individual medley and 25 backstroke events.
Dallan Dart had best times in three of five events. His best time was reduced by 14 seconds in the 100 individual medley race.
Rusty Seeley had one of his best meets with best times in all five of his events. Seeley’s best event was the 50 freestyle in which he reduced his previous time by six seconds.
William Stoddart swam close to all his times in six events with a personal best time in the 25 breaststroke.
Ayden Greenhalgh had two of five personal bests taking off two seconds in the 25 butterfly.
According to Barracuda coach Kamera Davis, the 11-12 year-old division is the hardest and most competitive. In this division, Alexa Greenhalgh had her best time in the 50 freestyle in one of four events.
New to the team, Jacee Richards performed well getting all best times and taking five seconds off her 50 freestyle.
Also new to the team is Noah Bradford who improved in five of six races, each at one second faster than before.
Colton Martinez had two personal best times, taking 13 seconds off in the 50 backstroke.
Chad Laursen is new to the team however, he finished with three second place finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 50 backstroke races.
The oldest swimmers of the meet are the 13 and older competitors. Abby Layton competed for this group and had her best time in the 50 freestyle and finished first in the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle.
Shannon Baker participated in her first meet and placed second in the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle events.
Kaisha Lott had all first place finishes. Her events included the 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 100 individual medley.
Tyson Swasey grabbed first place finishes in the 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 individual medley and 100 freestyle events.
“With 85 best times swam this weekend by our team, I think this meet was a huge success,” explained coach Davis. “I am excited to see so many improvements in times. Our team is getting bigger and stronger every season.”