Chapel Hill YMCA Swim Club: A Team of Success and Support!   by Ashley Cox

This week at practice, the majority of swimmers at the Chapel Hill YMCA Swim Club are enjoying themselves even more than usual, competing in a few more corkscrew or dolphin dive relays, and games like the infamous “First in, last in.” But they’ve more than earned it, and with a short break to wrap up an amazing short course season on the horizon, the swimmers love every minute of it! 

CHYSC is capping off an amazing swim season with top performances at each of the last four championship meets, and is continuing to pursue its success at the YMCA Nationals meet held in Greensboro this weekend. Our swimmers have consistently performed personal best times and continued to achieve more rigorous qualifying times for higher level meets. A number of CHY swimmers won bronze, silver, and gold medals in both individual and relay events. And most of all, our team stood out by demonstrating just how important camaraderie and sportsmanship is by cheering for one another in the true family spirit that CHY embodies.

Our success at the 14 & Under North Carolina Junior Olympics was in large part a testament to the flexibility of our families, as winter storms kept everyone on their toes regarding the meet schedule. But when we showed up in Greensboro to finally swim, we were ready to go fast! Led by consistent podium appearances by Danny Qaqish and Sam Hoover, the meet was a mix of taking pictures at the medal stand, in between cheering our swimmers on as they consistently dropped their personal best times and qualified for higher numbers of Sectional cuts. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the weekend was the upset swim by the 10 & under boys 200 Medley relay, consisting of Danny, Sam, Michael Volpe, and Ayden Xu.  Seeded third and stacked against a SwimMAC relay among others, our boys found it within themselves to not only drop 3.3 seconds from their entry time, but also went on to place gold in the heart-stopping race of the season! Nothing could have wiped the smiles off of Coach Jim’s or Coach Ashley’s faces for the rest of the weekend.

Two weeks later, CHY had an awesome presence at the GYSSA championship meet in Goldsboro. With the majority of our swimmers, both age-groupers and seniors, finishing in the top ten in their events, CHY placed fifth as a team at the meet. Alena Volpe, age 6, and Joshua Riegler, age 8, both earned high point awards for their own age groups, boosting the team’s rank and score. Many swimmers, like Zöe Hannan for her 50 breaststroke and Olivia Hall for her 100 backstroke, entered into time trials for events swum earlier, so that they might have another shot at qualifying for USRY. These girls and others fought their way through the water, pushing themselves to drop their times and achieve their goals. Most of the time they made the cut, but they always dropped time!

At the USRY meet, packed with teams from all over NC, SC, VA, and GA, CHY rose to fourth place overall as a team. This would not have been possible without the major contribution of top finishes by both our senior and age-group attendees. Christopher Chao made podium appearances, as did other senior swimmers, including the gold-medal winning 200 free relay composed of CJ Eron, Josh Taekman, Oliver Hudgins, and Jake Pudik. Meredith Riegler, Mia Rose, and Natalie Jones were also regulars on the medal stand, joined by Poppy Ames in their 11-12 girls 200 free relay, where they won silver. The 10 and under girls also won bronze medals for the first time in their 200 medley relay, composed of Ann Marie Knight, Julia Earnshaw, Savannah Xu, and Mia Corrado! The 10 and under boys continued to lower their times and gain points for the team, with the infamous relay of Ayden, Danny, Michael, and Sam winning 

gold in both the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay. Their amazing performances in the pool won them praise from other coaches on deck, in addition to the 10&U Age Group High Point Award for the meet, an honor for which they were able to coerce even Coach Jim to join them on the podium for pictures. And, to top an already awesome meet off, senior

 Emery Harwell swam his 100 breastroke in 1:00.28, breaking our team record set by Loci Zsuppan in 1997 by .33! Coach Ashley recollects about the weekend, “My heart was in my throat the whole weekend! We had more swimmers setting goals about gaining a Sectional time here, an AAA or AAAA time there, or trying to place on the podium. We had split the team into two ‘fun teams’, which were competing, in numbers of personal best times. The whole weekend was about improvement, and that’s something that you always pray for as a coach. You’re with them everyday, and you ride the emotions with them, so to be able to witness the successes they’ve worked so hard for, that’s truly special for me."

This past weekend saw many of these successful swimmers place at Age Group Sectionals in Atlanta, GA, at the Georgia Tech 1996 Olympic pool. The golden 10 and under boys 200 medley relay won bronze, dropping their personal best time yet again! Pitted against teams from all over the southeast United States, they did a fantastic job representing CHY.

Even with all of the accolades our swimmers have won in the pool, the basic love of being in the water is always fundamental to the team. Coach Jillian recalls an earlier meet this season, the MOR 8 & Under Snowflake Invitational, “I really enjoyed the 8 & under meet, just working with all the kids, and they all seemed to really enjoy it. Everyone left with a smile on their face and everyone seemed to be happy with their swims.” She also echoed the emotions that many of our coaches have about the kids that we love to coach. “I in general really love the excitement that all the kids have on the team,” she wrote. “It's very refreshing that they all are so eager to jump in and I feel it's rewarding to be able to help instill a passion for swimming in them like I had/do still have. Is that too cheesy?”

It’s not at all cheesy, when you can be part of a team that has such a unique blend of success, team and parent support, and love of the sport! We look forward to seeing what amazing swims are in store for the CHY seniors at YMCA Nationals this weekend, and we wish them luck and to swim fast!