On Wednesday March 15, Acalanes Swimming faced the Campolindo Cougars at the Soda Center in Moraga. The Cougars won the meet drawing upon their large team and talented group of year-round swimmers. However, there were many, many bright spots for the Dons. Acalanes swimmers achieved a total of 4 NCS qualifying times (2 of those in relays) and 13 NCS consideration times (9 in relays) demonstrating the high level of competition at the meet.
Possibly the most uplifting thing about the Don’s performance was their incredible spirit, sportsmanship and support of their teammates. The Dons are a team and a family. Here’s a picture of 21 team members and coach Nick getting ready to cheer on our boys’ 200 freestyle relay:
We think the cheering helped! Highlights from the meet are almost too numerous to mention. In relays, Acalanes’ varsity team won first place in Boys 200 Freestyle Relay with an NCS qualifying time of 1:30.60, 2nd and 3rd in the Girls 200 Free Relay (consideration times of 1:43.32 and 1:46.39 respectively), and 2nd in the Boys Medley Relay (cons time of 1:42.73). There were some impressive individual swims as well, including first and third place in Girls 200 Free (Sara Archer cons time of 2:02.62 and Audrey Cox 2:04.74), 3rd place in Boys 50 Free (Christian Gotterup cons time of 22.79), second place in Girls 100 Free (Sophi MacKay cons time of 53.85), first place in Girls 500 Free (Audrey Cox cons time of 5:26.06), first in Boys 500 Free (Parker Etnyre, NCS time of 4:16.80), and 3rd place in Girls 100 Backstroke (Brooklyn Plomp cons time of 1:02.40). The junior varsity team has some up and coming talent. Jace Carter won first place in JV Boys 100 IM with a 1:04.17, and Kiana Aryana swam to first in Girls 100 Free (NCS time of 51.26).
So, what happened after this meet? The Dons were pumped up! On Friday, members of the varsity team left for the Mission Viejo H.S. invitational where they swam against 9 of the top high school teams in California. More on that soon! Don’t forget to attend Acalanes’ next meet on March 30. The Dons will take on Miramonte, away in Orinda, at 3:45 p.m.