Jesery Shore's Katie Flook swims in the 100 butterfly.
The Central Pennsylvania YMCA Swim League tied up their regular season with a championship meet in Williamsport this past weekend with perennial favorite, Sunbury, taking top honors. Although Jersey Shore could not match the sheer number of swimmers Sunbury entered in events and age groups, they were able to make some positive statements.
Jersey Shore’s 10-and-under girls won five of their eight events and took two seconds in two of the other three events. Their morning started off with the 200 yard medley in which they only lost twice during dual meets; to Bloomsburg Area YMCA (BAY) and Sunbury YMCA (SUNY). All four girls knew exactly the type of race they were going to have on their hands; one that left little room for error.
Kendra White started off the relay with a clean start but was in third behind SUNY and BAY, however, she quickly made up lost ground. “I saw a swimmer ahead of me kicking hard so I kicked harder” said White as she moved into second behind BAY’s Claire Hintz. The second leg of the relay was a jumble as SUNY’s Cassie Sumfest sprinted from third to the lead in the breaststroke, dropping BAY and Shore to second and third respectively. Although in third, Sam Keegan was able to keep her relay within striking distance of the leader by finishing her breaststroke a second behind Sumfest. Jersey Shore’s Gabbie Moore prevented the leader, SUNY’s Elizabeth Bason, from widening the lead by matching her stroke for stroke in the butterfly leg and moving the relay into second place. It was up to the anchors to decide how this race was going to end as only one second separated first and third.
Emma Butzler dove into the water without knowing how far her competition was ahead. “I felt nervous, so I didn’t even look at the others”. Once in the water though, she couldn’t help but notice, “I could see the other swimmers out of the corner of my eye and got mad, because we wanted to win”. Her quickened pace propelled Shore’s relay into first place, 84/100s of a second in front of BAY and 98/100s before SUNY. “These girls are intense in practice, but in the end, they come together and know what they have to do”, said head coach Patty Kennelley after their exciting win.
Before the morning session was over, Moore would go onto win the 50 yard butterfly and backstroke while Butzler captured the 100 yard freestyle and individual medley. Keegan took second in the 50 yard breaststroke and the foursome teamed up for a second place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay.
Shore was only able to secure three other wins the rest of the day, second seeded John Duda touched the wall against SUNY’s top seed in the 50 yard freestyle and second seeded Maddi Thompson beat SUNY’s top seed in the 100 yard freestyle. Top seed, Danielle McPherson, captured the 100 yard breaststroke.
Although Shore finished fifth in the team standings, Kennelley and assistant coach Steve Sheets were pleased. “We were going to start a taper for YMCA Districts, but why?” said Sheets. “A lot of these kids continue to drop times with the practice schedule we have in place”. Olivia Bellomo reduced her 200 yard freestyle time by four seconds , Riley Markley dropped over six seconds in the 50 yard freestyle, Jordon Sheets removed almost eight seconds from his 100 yard individual medley, while Kegan Wagner swam his personal best by 22 seconds in the 200 yard freestyle.
(Posted March 1, 2010)
Jersey Shore YMCA Swimmers End Regular Season on High Note
Caption: Shore’s 14-and-under Kaytie Helsel heads for the wall and a second place finish in the 100 meter breaststroke.
Towards the end of the swim meet against the Williamsport Big Reds YMCA, it appeared that a 5-5 tie was in the making. Jersey Shore’s 8-and-under, 10-and-under, and 18-and under girls plus their 14-and-under boys had commanding leads in their age groups but the age groups in question were the 14-and-under girls, 10-and-under boys, and 8-and-under boys.
Every point counted for the 10-and-under boys as they slipped past the Big Reds 35-34 in a back and forth effort. John Duda led off the individual events with a win in the 50 meter freestyle. Although Shore’s 10-and-unders were unable to win the next individual event, they picked up four points with a second and third place finish in the 100 meter individual medley by Jared Conner and Jordon Sheets. Assistant coach Steve Sheets believes this age group has improved the most. “Not only have they gelled as a team and are pushing each other”, said Sheets “but when we can’t win a race they are consistently getting second and thirds that are getting us points.” Duda again won his next race by touching the wall first in the 50 meter butterfly. Williamsport won the next race, but again, valuable points were collected as Shore’s Dylan Fox finished second in the 100 meter freestyle.
It wasn’t until the 10-and-under boys last individual event that Jersey Shore started to pull away. One aspect of the winter season that head coach Patty Kennelley likes is the learning experience for the kids. “It’s a long season and it allows me to see some of the newer kids swimming more than freestyle and backstroke”. The extended season has given her the opportunity to view these new swimmers in the more technical events. First year swimmer, Fox, has benefitted from the long season and Kennelley’s strategy to place new swimmers in events other than freestyle. His decisive first place finish in the 50 meter breaststroke was enough to create a cushion that Williamsport could not overcome. A second place finish with Shore’s 200 meter freestyle relay of Sheets, Theron Sorgen, Nash Berfield, and Conner was enough to wrap up a victory.
The 14-and-under girls don’t have the luxury of using seconds and thirds to accumulate points. As a small unit, they need to capture as many top spots as possible to block opposing teams from outscoring them with first place points. Against Williamsport, they were able to win five of the seven individual events with wins by Courtney Breon in the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly, and 100 meter breaststroke. Teammate Kaytie Helsel captured two wins in the 200 meter freestyle and 100 meter backstroke. It was her backstroke event that shut the door on a Williamsport surge. Helsel was the only Jersey Shore entry while Williamsport threw three swimmers against her. Off the blocks, she had two Big Reds to her right and one to her left. As the race progressed, they pushed Helsel and she was able to fight off the threats beating Williamsport’s Jessica Schwoyer and Megan Hepler by 1.6 and 1.8 seconds respectively. But without some seconds and thirds, the Shore girls could not have won. Kortnee Blair’s second place finish in the 50 meter freestyle and third in the 100 freestyle was just enough to secure a 32-31 win.
The 8-and-under boys nipped Williamsport, 19-14, with top finishes by Tycen Whitman and DJ Steinbacher in the 25 meter backstroke and breaststroke respectively.
One age group that coaches Kennelley and Sheets feel confident about is the 10 and under girls. They have several strong swimmers that dominate the meets but it is the depth of this age group that propel them to decisive wins. Hannah Stemler, Cassie Kitchen, Shelby Pauling and Olivia Stemler were able to place second behind their teammates in the 200 meter medley relay. O. Stemler finished third in the 50 meter freestyle and butterfly while Kitchen and Pauling finished second and third in the 100 meter freestyle respectively. Briar Lehman was able to pick up a point for Shore with a third place finish in the 50 meter breaststroke. Points piled up quickly on route to a 58-15 win.
It wasn’t until after all the final relays were swum that it became apparent the Jersey Shore prevailed 7-3 against Williamsport.
(posted Feb. 11, 2010) Jersey Shore Vs. Eastern Lycoming
Olivia Edler of Jersey Shore’s 12-and-under girls heads toward the wall in her breaststroke leg of the 200 meter medley relay.
Last year’s Milton Wildcats YMCA swim team is this year’s Eastern Lycoming YMCA (ELY) Electric Eels. The name change was made to better reflect the growth in the area. Not only is the population growing but the interest in swimming is increasing. “I recognized some faces in the water but there are kids on that team I have never seen in competition before” stated Jersey Shore YMCA coach Patty Kennelley. Her best estimation was that it was going to come down to the younger age groups.
Kennelley’s insight proved correct in that she needed her younger kids to pull out a 5-5 tie when three out of the four younger age groups won, but not without a struggle. The 8-and -under girls struggled at the start by taking a distant second and third in the opening relay. Again, a win eluded Shore in the next event as ELY’s Maegan Reitz out-touched Shore’s Taylor Fleming and Haley Shadle in the 25 meter freestyle. It wasn’t unit the 100 meter individual medley that Jersey Shore was able to secure a win with Natalie Charnego touching the wall first followed by teammate Meaghan Keegan. Wins by Fleming, Jordan O’Connor, and Jessica Creveling in the 50 meter freestyle, 25 meter backstroke, and 25 meter breaststroke respectively were enough to create a small lead going into the final relays in which the Eels could not catch up. Shore went on to win the age group 39-34.
Shore’s 8-and-boys won 12-11 with Tycen Whitman able to secure enough points by winning the 25 meter butterfly and placing second in the 25 meter backstroke and freestyle. The 10-and-under boys came out on the short end of the stick and lost a close one 30-28 while their female teammates won convincingly, 64-10.
Jersey Shore’s 14-and-under boys provided a thrilling opening relay. Evan Moore was third off the blocks on the backstroke start but quickly clawed his way back into contention by the end of his leg. His quick recovery moved Jersey Shore’s first relay team into a very close second behind Eastern Lycoming. Tallon Royer erased the rest of the deficit in his breaststroke leg and came into the wall just before ELY’s Ryan Kilgus. Butterflyers Jordan Suter and the Eel’s Wesley Moore could not create space between each other and it was left to the anchors to decide the outcome. Derek McPherson’s sprint in the freestyle was fast enough by 68/100s of a second to out-touch ELY’s Mason Moore. Wins by Suter in the 200 meter freestyle and 100 meter butterfly, Tyler Sheets in the 50 freestyle, and Talon Royer in the 100 meter breaststroke were enough to propel them to a 46-35 win.
Jersey Shore’s final regular season meet will be at the Jersey Shore Senior High School pool against Williamsport on February 6th at 1:00 PM.
YMCA Swimmers Fall To Bloomsburg
Jersey Shore’s Kendra White launches herself off the block
to start the backstroke leg of the girls 10-and-under 200 yard medley relay.
The Jersey Shore YMCA traveled down I-80 to the Bloomsburg Middle School pool, where the Bloomsburg Area YMCA (BAY) Barracud’s practice and compete. The area drips with swimming tradition as evident with the number of banners draping the the pool walls; Boys AA State Runner-Up (2009), Boys District IV Champions (2007, 2008, 2009), Girls AA State Champions (1998) and State Runner-up (1996 and 1997), and PIAA All State Swimmers (26). Then there is the Bloomsburg High School record board, riddled with asterisks which signify state records (currently 7).
Under this backdrop, Shore’s head coach Patty Kennelley knew that her kids would be in for a tough day against a very strong, deep BAY team which swam past them with a 9-1 win. Their only age group win came in the girls 14-and-under where Courtney Breon won her age group single handed with wins in the 200 yard freestyle and the 100 yard butterfly and breaststroke.
Yet despite the overall team score, Kennelley and assistant coach Steve Sheets were very pleased with their swimmers. “Bloomsburg pushed us hard,” said Sheets “we won several events but we took a lot of second and thirds in which we had our best times.”
The 10-and-under girls 200 yard relay team of Kendra White, Sam Keegan, Gabbie Moore and Emma Butzler were pushed hard in their opening relay and finished 53/100s behind BAY’s top relay team but dropped over three seconds from their best time. Shore’s same foursome again placed second in the final relay by three seconds but chopped off six seconds from their top time.
The pattern was the same for the next age group up. The 12-and-under girls finished third in the opening 200 medley with the Bloomsburg are taking the top two spots. Still, the team of Rachel Duda, Olivia Edler, Sapphire Naugle, and Reagan West dropped almost a second. Kennelley kept this same group together for the closing relay and they bested last week’s time against Bellefonte by over seven seconds.
Jersey Shore’s next meet is against East Lycoming YMCA at the Jersey Shore High School pool on January 17.
Bullfrogs Swim Team 
