In one of the closest MSL swim meets of the year, the Strawberry Seals escaped defeat despite a very impressive effort by the Swimarin Sharks. Strawberry secured a winning record for the season. While the win-loss record of 4-3 summarizes the success of the coaching staff, it really fails to reflect the wonderful coaching job. Head Coach Anna Tarka and her very capable support staff of Steve Marais, Marta Sato, and Nick Wooters have delivered on all facets of GREAT coaching. They have successfully developed new talent, made necessary adjustments in the relays and individual events, and fostered team unity, sportsmanship and spirit. Another important attribute of excellent coaching is having athletes peak at the end of the season which is clearly happening as this week the team accumulated a remarkable 237 best times.

The margin of victory was only seventeen points (288-271) and the win did not come easy as the Sharks pursued with the same ferocity as the infamous Jaws. You could almost here the haunting music foreshadowing the shark's oceanic rampage. As the season winds down, other summer activities will fill the weekend void including trips to Tahoe or grandma's house, athletic camps, and another great tradition, summer blockbuster movies. This write-up will pay homage to the past and present summer blockbuster films with special recognition to one of the godfathers of summer blockbusters and the director of Jaws, Steven Spielberg.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Mr. Spielberg releases another sequel this summer called Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which involves another galactic battle between Optimus Prime and his Autobots against the resurrected Megatron and the Decepticons. The Strawberry Seals have some transformers of their own as several young swimmers have dramatically changed during the course of the year. Talia Tarrant (who for most of the season was 'Tala' due to a bad 'i' key on Anna's computer) has made considerable progress in her first year and she advanced further on her butterfly and breaststroke this week reducing them by eleven seconds and two seconds, respectively. Lex Von Klark and Jackson Ronald are two new boys to the team who have also been great additions. Both Lex and Jackson Ronald won their backstroke heats this week.

Two young girls following a long-standing family tradition of competing for the Strawberry Seals are Jessica Bukowski and Kalia Firmage. Jessica raced to her fastest freestyle and butterfly of the year this week. Kalia raced to three best times which featured a six second improvement in the butterfly. Arista Andrews and Mikala Krag "transformed" into Individual Medley swimmers this week. Swim Caps off to both of them!!

Seaver Dahlgren and Christian Rodriguez are two new 8 and under boys who have quickly contributed to the team. All Star Seaver completed the regular season with three best times with the largest improvement coming in the butterfly. Seaver scored big points this week finishing second in the freestyle and backstroke and first in his butterfly heat. Christian Rodriguez matched him with three best times and a seven second improvement in the Individual Medley. Christian also picked up critical points for the team.

Two boys whose swimming prowess has changed dramatically from last year are Peter Quill and Jake Glenn. They both picked up the coveted three best times sticker this week. This year, Peter has decreased his freestyle and backstroke times by around fifteen and ten seconds, respectively. His sister, Caroline Quill, also finished the year well with three best times including an eleven second improvement in the butterfly. Jake Glenn won his backstroke and freestyle heats this week.

The athletes that deserve a ton of admiration and accolades are the new swimmers who start later in life diving straight into fifty yard events including Allison Simpson, Maia Asiano, Hannah Berg, Jasmine Fairchild, Georgia Pemberton, Lucy O'Haire, Ruby Saltzman, and Kate Miekley. Kate, Jasmine and Hannah have routinely popped up as Three Best Time swimmers and this week was not an exception. Maia has taken twenty seconds off her backstroke and fourteen seconds off her breaststroke this year. Allison Simpson took twenty three seconds off her IM time and collected a three best time sticker.

Return of the Jedi
We had a special guest star appearance this week as the Yoda of Stroke and Turn, Randy Sparks, relieved Kathleen Mortimer as Head Referee. It goes unnoticed by the untrained eye, but Randy is really amazing at orienting the crew and running meets smoothly. His daughter, Shannon Sparks, must have been inspired by his work as she won her backstroke. The Forshans also returned from a week of resorting in Tahoe and the rest paid off for the girls. Olivia Forshan had her best day of the year with three best times including an All-star time in the butterfly. Her sister, Julia, swam her fastest breaststroke of the year.

As Good As It Gets
The highlight of this week had to be record breaking performance by Swimarin's Jamie Thomas. A 8 and Under Backstroke pool record fell as Jamie was pushed to the limit by Hannah Rose Grant in that stroke as well as in the Individual Medley. Always a tough competitor, Hannah Rose gave it her all to the wall and was rewarded with two best times. Hannah Rose's good friend, Annelie Miller defeated the record holder earlier in the day in the freestyle and also helped push Jamie in the backstroke. Annelie's day was certainly as good as it gets as she anchored the freestyle relay team to victory and finished with three best times.

Close Encounter of the Third Kind
There we numerous close races during the course of the day starting with the opening of the individual events, the eight and under girls' freestyle. Annelie Miller touched out the field, but Olivia Cooke went under seventeen seconds and Jada Andrews wasn't far behind. The first seven girls eclipsed the Q-time in the event including six year old sensation, Shannon Watridge. Olivia Cooke doubled her Q time pins this week adding butterfly and breaststroke to her collection.

Olivia Forshan also squeezed in a victory in a tight finish in the second heat of the 11-12 girls 50 yard free. Curtis Klopfer took second in a highly contested backstroke battle losing by only three hundredths of a second. Nicky "Nails" Chan was up to his old antics of keeping us on pins and needles in the IM just getting touched out by less than two tenths of a second. The 15-18 girls Individual Medley was also a close one as Riley Ford finished second by less than six tenths of a second. No race was closer though than Armani Roots one hundredths of a second win in the girls 13-14 50 yard freestyle. The graceful and powerful Armani had another three blue ribbon day.

Back to the Future
Although Kimi Wu faced the toughest age up this week to the 9-10 group, it was as if we were in a time warp as she continued to be a dominant force swimming some of the fastest times in the age group. Kimi also swam her fastest IM of the year bettering it by almost seven seconds. Kimi surely adds depth in freestyle, breaststroke and Individual Medley, but McKenzie Cooke and Zoey Smith aren't ready and willing to give up lane four. McKenzie has really turned it on at the end of the year especially in freestyle where she lowered her time to 33.37. Miss Cooke picked up a Three Best Times pin after the Swimarin meet. Zoey has done a great job all year long at the butterfly and Individual Medley.

Nora Reidinger and Jackson Culhane answered the calls of duty after Kimi left her throne as queen of the 8 and under breaststrokers. Jackson took over the role of breaststroker in the A-Team medley relay and definitely pulled his weight. He also had fantastic individual swims completing the day with three best times just missing out on another Q-time in the IM. Nora Reidinger filled in nicely on the individual breaststroke winning the event and landing her first All-Star pin. Nora also finished with three best times.

Gladiator
In Gladiator, Maximus fights his opponents to the very end. Some of our swimmers seem to exhibit this perseverance and courage week after week. Jimmy Thomas showed his guts, literally, losing his lunch after swimming an event. Jimmy would not be denied in the IM. When it comes to persistence, as well as consistency, Ethan Zener certainly comes to mind as he once again finished with three best times landing another Q-time pin in freestyle and winning all of his events. Curtis Klopfer faced Herculean odds in the 9-10 medley relay trailing by two and a half body lengths, but the aquatic warrior was able to overcome the deficit.

Annie Whalen also has a "take no prisoners" mentality on the blocks. She chases down her competitors like a lioness in the African plains. Annie won her freestyle and fought bravely as the anchor of the relay. Also in the 11-12 girls, Strawberry Seals "First Daughter", Michaela Firmage had a great day with three best times and a blue ribbon day in the backstroke. April Anderson also finished strong with a three best time performance most notable with an almost seven second improvement in breaststroke.

Men in Black (and Red)
Several young men in the 13-14 and 15-18 year old age groups had outstanding performances against Swimarin. The Patino boys had one of their best meets of the year this week. Daniel Patino captured three best times winning his heat in backstroke and landing an All-Star pin in Individual Medley. His wondertwin, Gabriel, also had a solid day with two best times in butterfly and backstroke. It was definitely a fantastic day to be a twin, as the Hofele pair raced well. Kate improved both her freestyle and backstroke; Madelyn tripled her personal bests this week. Little Sister, Emilie Hofele also had a good day lowering her backstroke by three seconds.

The always reliable breaststroker, Ingmar Bastian, made big strides in his IM stripping almost six seconds of his previous best. Ingmar also won the breaststroke, his signature event. New arrival to the 13-14 age group, Skylar Calandra, has grown a lot as a swimmer this year. Skylar finished with three best times including a win in his freestyle heat. Skylar's sister, Gemma, also had a good day bettering her fly by six seconds.

Miles Lundgren takes the prize as the largest improvement for the week reducing his Individual Medley by twenty-three seconds. Poul Myrner provided significant contribution with a win in his breaststroke heat shedding over a second of his personal best in the process; likewise, Julian Farr improved his breaststroke and provided additional support in both breast and butterfly.

In the Senior circuit, Wyatt Renner and Nicholas Farr led the 15-18 boys. Wyatt won the backstroke and Nicholas picked up key points in the butterfly and IM.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is another potential blockbuster sequel this summer which will be released in a few weeks. The setting of this sequel from the JK Rowling collection is Harry Potter's sixth year at the Hogwarts. Adventures unfold after Harry uncovers a book of magical potions which used to belong to a mysterious Half-Blood Prince. No relation to Harry, Megan Potter has had a solid year this year and caps of the great regular season with three best times including lowering her IM personal best by four seconds. There might not be any half-blood princes on the Strawberry Seals, but we do have a couple of Kings in our hand. Maya Homsy King had a regal day with another three best times and heat wins in freestyle and butterfly. Little brother, Noah, also won a breaststroke heat.

It was a great week for swimmers with hyphenated or double names. Shayna Bomfim-Finklestein beat her personal best time in butterfly by almost eight seconds. Will Dunkle Rogosin won the 9-10 butterfly. Micaela Robinson Duran bettered her breaststroke and freestyle. Anton Curtin-Savala picked up an All-Star pin in the last meet in the butterfly after cutting over three seconds on that event. Anton had a great week with three best times and heat victories in freestyle and breaststroke. Meya Saenz Zagar lowered her butterfly and breaststroke personal bests.

Sister Act
Two pairs of sisters played big roles in the Swimarin meet. The Went sisters went (pun intended) faster this week. Bridget lowered her IM and backstroke times and Cora picked up three best times. Alex and Katherine Takeshita continued to collect points in the 13-14 and 15-18 age groups, respectively. Both girls won their breaststroke heats this week. Katherine just missed a Q-time after swimming faster in her Individual Medley.
Bridget Lowry also had a good day for the 13-14 girls improving on all of her events. In the 15-18 girls, Alison Curtis advanced her personal bests in three events this week with the most notable improvement in the Individual Medley.

Swim Like a Champion
Finally, a special Seals thank-you to the Larkspur Tidalwaves who generously loaned us their printer when ours finally died and a suitable match for the ancient Colorado system was not to be found. Also thanks to Marcelino Nogueiro and Greg Went who helped cure what plagued the desk at our previous home meet.

So the regular season is over, but the Big Event has yet to begin. Make sure to check our Champs Link on the Meets page to review the logistics for the league's big 10 conference finale as well as mentally prepare for the meet and click here if you missed last week's special Champs article. Have a happy and safe July 4th weekend! Swim-a-thon Donations Donation will be collected during practice till the end of June, or mail to:
Wynne Mentink
62 Millay Place
Mill Valley , CA 94941

We are asking each family to donate $50. The money will go for swim team improvements such as:

Swim training equipment
Shade tents for swimmers and volunteers
Scholarships
Folding tables

You can download a donation form here