Elliott Stern / Sports Editor | Posted: Saturday, March 13, 2004 12:00 am
The sounds of summer fill the air at Santa Maria/s Paul Nelson Aquatic Center Friday afternoon.
That/s the first thing that strikes you as you enter the swimming complex on McClelland St.
Friday is cool and overcast. Not at all the picture-perfect, mid-summer-like days from earlier in the week. Not bad for a mid-March winter/s day.
The Nelson pool is filled with 30 to 40 young men and women, as young as 11 and as old as 17.
Most are members of the Santa Maria Swim Club.
Four are members of an elite group within the club 7 they/ve qualified for the Junior Nationals.
Dena Lougee, Meghan Zimmer, Samantha Kephart and Ryan Drom are getting in their afternoon workouts. They have just a week-and-a-half to go before heading to Orlando, Fla., to compete against the nation/s best.
"It/s the first time in the history of the club that we/ve had four individual members qualify," said assistant coach Steve Lougee.
Steve works more in the developmental program for 11-14 year old swimmers.
At 13 they can move up to the High Performance Group.
"The High Performance Group is a team made up of regional and national competitors," said head coach Mike Ashmore. " Most of them are in high school and most of them are training, hoping to win college scholarships. They are all excellent students."
Lougee, 17, and Zimmer, 14, are students and members of the swim team at Santa Maria High.
Lougee, a senior, will compete in the 200 and 400 IM (Individual Medley: Either 50 or 100 meters of each stroke 7 butterfly, backstroke, breast stroke and free style).
" Dena has made the CIF finals all three years that she/s been eligible at Santa Maria," said coach/dad Steve. " We/re hoping she/ll make it four this year when the competition is held in May."
Zimmer, a sophomore, will also compete in the 400 IM, as well as in the 100 and 200 breast stroke.
"I think they/re the two fastest swimmers on their high school team," said Ashmore.
Each has posted times of 4:32 in the 400 IM. Zimmer has also raced to a 1:09 in the 100 breast stroke and a 2:30 in the 200 breast stroke.
Times that easily put Lougee and Zimmer into the ranks of legitimate Junior National qualifiers.
Kephart, 17, is a senior at St. Joseph High. She will race in the 100 and 200 meter butterfly. Kephart qualified with a 58.3 in the 100 and a best of 205.6 in the 200.
"Samantha has already signed with Division III Whitworth College," said Ashmore. "She chose a small private school in Spokane, Wash., with a good swimming program."
Ryan Drom, 17, a junior at Righetti High, rounds out the four-person contingent.
"Ryan also qualified last summer so he/s not a rookie this year," said Ashmore.
Drom will suit up for the 400 IM, and the 500 and 1,000 free style.
"They will each swim in the events for which they qualified," said Ashmore. "They will also swim in two bonus events of their own choosing."
In the shorter distances, 200 meters or less, the racing will consist of a preliminary round, a semifinal round followed by the finals.
The longer events, 400 meters and up, will go directly from the preliminaries to the finals.
The team leaves for Orlando on Saturday, March 20. Competition runs Monday through Friday, March 22-26.
For more on the Santa Maria Swim Club, visit their website at www.santamariaswim.com
March 13, 2004