Depauw Invite / EMU Diving Invite
The Depauw Invitational has had a history of being long and tiring, by
the end of the 3 days we're gone everything is a blur. However, this
year, Depauw turned out to be so much fun! Everyone pushed each other
to do their best and everyone got a P.R in at least one event. My
favorite part of Depauw was when someone would make it back to finals
and our whole team would be standing at the end of the lane cheering
for them. There's nothing like that feeling of support when you're
about to step up on the blocks and you see your whole team waiting to
scream at you at the other end of the pool. The best part of Depauw
this year was all of the inside jokes that we created and the goofy
pictures we took. The team is really becoming a family.
~ Shaina Buhl
So this weekend at the Depauw Invite the meet went really good for
everyone. It was a long two day meet with prelims and finals, but I had
a lot of fun. The 500 went pretty well - I dropped ten seconds from what
I have been going all year, so that got me 13th. The 200 I finally got
moving fast, but was only good for 22nd. The mile went alright I came
in 9th but was hoping to go a little quicker. The atmosphere of the
meet really got the guys moving and all the relays dropped time. It was
fun to watch everyone cook, Brunner went 52.4 in they fly, max Regan
split a 21.7 50 free, Spencer was 53.4 back..The list goes on. This was
by far my favorite meet of the season. Now just a week of exams and
then to Florida for the winter training trip.
~ Ryan Tobin
The DePauw Invitational was really a treat for the whole team. We tapered and shaved so everyone swam extremely well. The drive down was really, really long and the drive back was even longer because of a snowstorm, but we kept each other entertained. Some people slept and some people played games with each other, so it was long, but definitely not boring. I’d heard horror stories about the hotel we stayed at, but when we actually got there and I saw the place for myself, it wasn’t bad at all. Apart from Ryan’s deafening snoring (which I’m apparently the only one who heard), the overnight stay was peaceful. And then the meet…I’m not sure how to adequately describe the meet, it was just fun. I think everyone put up a season best time in something even if the swim didn’t go well. My personal favorite part of the entire meet was watching Andrew swim. He did awesome in every event that he was in. After that meet he’s now 2nd on the all time list in the 100 fly, tied for 4th in the 100 breaststroke, and 4th in the 100 free. Seeing his reactions after his swims was priceless as well, he’s worked so hard all year and it’s all paying off for him in a huge way. It’s no stretch of the imagination for him to have the school record in he 100/200 fly, 100/200 breast, and 100 free by the end of the year. What’s even better is that I can’t think of anyone else who deserves it more. The entire weekend was just great, but if I had to say anything negative, I would say the only down side to the entire affair was that some random guy from Wittenburg stole my book that I was reading. He just randomly picked it up off my bag and was reading it on his team’s bench. We’re still not exactly sure how that whole thing went down. I’m just happy I got it back, I have to write a paper on that book.
~ Adam Whitfield
The DePauw invitational was a blast! It was a long and exhausting
weekend but we had a lot of fun. There were a lot of AMAZING races,
Brunner's 100 fly, 50 free, and split in the 400 free relay, Max's 50
free and his split in the 200 medley relay, Caige's 50 free, and
Spencer's 100 & 200 backstroke, to name just a few. The girls did
great too, our medley relay touched out RHIT, Madison got a PR in her
200IM, and Shaina had a PR in her 100 breast as well. Everyone did a
GREAT job and it was so much fun watching everyone swim so fast. Corey
swam twice in the 400 free relay (with not even 2 minutes rest in
between his swims) and still did amazing. A BIG thanks to Mrs. Gaskell
for the fruit and snacks for the weekend... I know we all REALLY
enjoyed the clementines :) Overall, it was a great weekend full of
lots of good times, laughs, and team bonding.
~ Christine Vicari
This weekend was fantastic! Overall, everyone was putting up fast
times. I was glad to swim personal best times in every event this
weekend, something that hasn't happened in a while. The preparation
for the meet was a huge success and couldn't have been better. Can't
wait to train in Florida next week!!!
~ Andrew Brunner
This weekend has been such an emotional roller-coaster for me I
don't even know where to begin...Coming into this meet I had great
expectations not only for myself but for the whole team, and in doing
so I put an enormous amount of pressure on myself to perform well
because I had been looking forward to this meet ever since season
began. And then there was situation with the team division. For one
reason or another, we had a couple of our team members miss this great
opportunity. I really wish I could have seen them all swim because I
know their hard work all season would have paid off and I really wanted
our team to do well.
As for the actual meet, our team started off slow. Friday had not been a good day mentally, I didn't post a great time for my leg in the 200 free relay and was wondering if this would continue all weekend. I'm the type of person to base a future swim off a previous swim so, my moral had gone way down. Then, I posted a time in the 200 back that seeded me 1st for finals. I was originally seeded 9th, so that was a great moral booster. But I came up short in finals only taking 3rd. Also, a not so rewarding swim came in the form of the 800 free relay where I had actually added 2-3 seconds onto my best. Saturday finals was the section of the meet that made the whole meet for me. I hadn't felt the excitement I should have all weekend until finals of Saturday. That excitement came when the 100 back started. Seeded second, I was determined to beat this rival kid I had been racing for the past 2 years from Wittenburg who was seeded third. With the help and support of my entire team at the end of my lane, I had an amazing race taking 2nd, beating that kid. You guys have no idea how much it means to me when you cheer at the end of my lane... And then to top off a perfect night, I split a 48.04 in the 400 free relay, beating my best relay 100 by almost a second. I was sooo excited. There were some really great swims from the team. Andrew in his fly and relay splits, Max Regan and his 21 high in the 200 relay, Shaina in her 100 breast, Sara in her mile, Ryan in the 500... the list goes on. One individual I am thoroughly impressed with and would like to acknowledge is Andrew, not just because of his abilities as a swimmer, but his mental capacity to tell himself he will go fast before every single race he swims. He is always pumped up, always prepared, and never scared that he won't perform his best, and I think that is the best quality that a swimmer can have.
From this point on hopefully we will all ban together as a team, LISTEN to what people have to say, and become the great family that I know we are.
As for the actual meet, our team started off slow. Friday had not been a good day mentally, I didn't post a great time for my leg in the 200 free relay and was wondering if this would continue all weekend. I'm the type of person to base a future swim off a previous swim so, my moral had gone way down. Then, I posted a time in the 200 back that seeded me 1st for finals. I was originally seeded 9th, so that was a great moral booster. But I came up short in finals only taking 3rd. Also, a not so rewarding swim came in the form of the 800 free relay where I had actually added 2-3 seconds onto my best. Saturday finals was the section of the meet that made the whole meet for me. I hadn't felt the excitement I should have all weekend until finals of Saturday. That excitement came when the 100 back started. Seeded second, I was determined to beat this rival kid I had been racing for the past 2 years from Wittenburg who was seeded third. With the help and support of my entire team at the end of my lane, I had an amazing race taking 2nd, beating that kid. You guys have no idea how much it means to me when you cheer at the end of my lane... And then to top off a perfect night, I split a 48.04 in the 400 free relay, beating my best relay 100 by almost a second. I was sooo excited. There were some really great swims from the team. Andrew in his fly and relay splits, Max Regan and his 21 high in the 200 relay, Shaina in her 100 breast, Sara in her mile, Ryan in the 500... the list goes on. One individual I am thoroughly impressed with and would like to acknowledge is Andrew, not just because of his abilities as a swimmer, but his mental capacity to tell himself he will go fast before every single race he swims. He is always pumped up, always prepared, and never scared that he won't perform his best, and I think that is the best quality that a swimmer can have.
From this point on hopefully we will all ban together as a team, LISTEN to what people have to say, and become the great family that I know we are.
~ Spencer Johnson
This weekend was so much fun! I really enjoyed going to Eastern Michigan and diving at a new pool. Last year we went to the University of Akron (which was also fun). I had a lot of expectations going into this meet because I did so well at our last meet. Going against some really great school's sometimes intimidates me but I enjoy diving against schools not in our conference. The few of us that went got to see some amazing dives be performed and got to meet some really cool people.
I myself did okay at this meet. 3-meter was a little nerve racking because so far this season I've only competed 3-meter once in a meet. Also I had to do a reverse 1 1/2 without a call for the first time this year (had the dive last year but it's been a while since I've actually done it on my own). Other than that I think I
did well on 3-meter. After the first day of competition Steve, Kayleigh and I got to do some platform diving! FIRST TIME EVER!!! It's a little scary but we had a lot of fun. We jumped of 10-meter a few times and Steve and I did standing front
did well on 3-meter. After the first day of competition Steve, Kayleigh and I got to do some platform diving! FIRST TIME EVER!!! It's a little scary but we had a lot of fun. We jumped of 10-meter a few times and Steve and I did standing front
1 1/2 pikes on 5 meter! It was a lot of fun.
1-meter is a completely different story. Since I scored 200 at the last meet I
wanted to see if I could do it again. Sadly I didn't. My foot slipped off the board during my first dive (inward 1 1/2) which led me to only have a one legged tuck. I still made the dive though so that was the important part. Yet again my reverse was a little sketchy (came out of the dive early). Let's just say
wanted to see if I could do it again. Sadly I didn't. My foot slipped off the board during my first dive (inward 1 1/2) which led me to only have a one legged tuck. I still made the dive though so that was the important part. Yet again my reverse was a little sketchy (came out of the dive early). Let's just say
1-meter got the best of me this weekend but I'm still glad we had the opportunity to attend the EMU Invite!
Coach always says, "One meet at a time." and I'm going to abide by this because
our next meet will be during our training trip in FLORIDA!!! (So excited!!) I'm expecting to have a lot of fun next week and to do my best during the meet against Keene State! GO SCOTS!!!!!
our next meet will be during our training trip in FLORIDA!!! (So excited!!) I'm expecting to have a lot of fun next week and to do my best during the meet against Keene State! GO SCOTS!!!!!
~ Dustin Conlin
Posted: Fri, December 5th, 2008 at 9:33AM
