Gators Shine At Divisionals, Voted Sportsmanship Award

Donaldson Run hosted Saturday's Divisional Championships, where a number of Gators made their marks.

MVP was also recognized by their Division 3 counterparts with the Sportsmanship Award -- making this the third time in the last four years that the Gators have won this coveted plaque.  Congrats to our swimmers and coaches for their approach to competition.  A number of parents on other teams congratulated us yesterday and said the team earned it, particularly by high fiving swimmers from both teams after the race -- even when the other team was winning (and that happened a lot!).

Divisional Championships is not a scored meet, but brings together the fastest swimmers in the Division to compete for plaques on the 1st through 6th place level, and ribbons on the seventh through twelfth place level.  It's a long meet, but a fun one, as Gators set four new team records -- and one new NVSL record!  (Scroll down for related story) and earned fourteen All-Star bids.

Honestly, because your dedicated blogger is pretty wiped out and ready to (nearly) turn the page on swim season, below, with no narrative, are Gators who earned top six finishes:

First Place & Division 3 Individual Champions
Sean Jansen – breaststroke
Holly Jansen – breaststroke
Cassidy Bayer – fly
Sean Jansen – IM
Cassidy Bayer – IM

Second Place
Claudia Theriot – free
Jayne Orleans – breaststroke
Sophia Passacantando – breaststroke
Sara Bertram – fly
Nick Dupuis – IM
Holly Jansen – IM

Third Place
Nick Dupuis – free
Tom Dupuis – free
Torie Bolger – back
Julia Bolger – back
Parker Blondin – breaststroke & fly
Olivia Blondin – breaststroke
Glenn Campagna – breaststroke
Anna Fracasso – fly
Sara Bertram – IM

Fourth Place
Emily Makin – back
Claudia Theriot – back
Maddy Bolger – back
Tristan Colaizzi – breaststroke
Gabby Greszler – fly
　
Fifth Place
Clark Bayer – free
Sophia Passacantando – free
Collin Sundsted – back (plaque coming)
Gus Leyden – back
Anna Fracasso – back (plaque coming)
Andrei Zaitsev – fly
Emily Makin – fly
Cole Miller – fly
Tom Dupuis – fly
Torie Bolger – IM
Maddy Bolger – IM

Sixth Place
Mike Oelschlager – back
Cage Theriot – back
Cameron Morey – back
Gabby Greszler – breaststroke
Sarah Busch – breaststroke
Dom Heratsch – fly
Jessie Bricker – fly
Congrats to all Gator Divisionals swimmers!

Ten Gators Earn 14 All-Star Swims

Ten Gator swimmers qualified for NVSL All-Stars at Divisionals on Saturday, meaning they'll take on the NVSL's fastest next Saturday just down the road a bit at Waynewood Pool.

The swimmers, their strokes, and their seeds:

Cassidy Bayer – 1^st in Fly, 2^nd in IM

Sara Bertram – 4^th in Fly, 10^th in IM

Parker Blondin – 14^th in Breaststroke

Torie Bolger – 11^th in Back

Nick Dupuis – 17^th in Free

Holly Jansen – 3^rd in Breast, 4^th in IM

Sean Jansen – 9^th in Breast, 13^th in IM

Emily Makin – 9^th in Back

Jayne Orleans – 13^th in Breast

Claudia Theriot – 17^th in Free

Congratulations to our Gator All-Stars!

(Note: Scroll down to the article on new Gator records to see more photos of Gator All-Stars.  If anyone has a photo of Claudia Theriot from Saturday, please email it to me so I can add it here.)

Jim Phalen's Divisional Photos

Are available here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/100866874414823128941/Divisionals?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKf4o6eA9fCGDg&feat=directlink

Enjoy!

(Note:  Tonda worked the whole meet -- of course! -- and Jim timed the second half, so there are no freestyle or backstroke photos.  If anyone took some, email the photos to tonda1@aol.com and she'll add them to the picasa.)

Four New Team Records (Including One NVSL) Records Set At Divisionals

Some Gator records were crushed on Saturday, and some were shaved.  Either way, there are four new team records, including one which is also a new NVSL record.  One of the records is new this year, while three represent faster records than the swimmers posted this morning.

The record-breaking day started off when Jayne Orleans smashed her own two week old record of 39.15, swimming the 13-14 girls breaststroke in just 37.98.  That is the first time ever a Gator girl has done the breaststroke in less than 38 seconds, as Jayne's record for 13-14 year olds is faster than the Gator girl 15-18 record.

Jayne's record setting swim

Cassidy Bayer provided the crowd with a thrill when she swam the 50 fly in 29.71, down 0.05 from her NVSL record set in Week 3 of the NVSL season.  Cassidy holds the 9-10 NVSL record as well as the 11-12 mark, and she definitely will have opportunities to lower the mark even further next season when she'll be 12 years old.  So there is no confusion among my readership, her NVSL record is also a team record (pretty self-evident on the face of it).

This is what the start of an NVSL record looks like.

And this is what the finish looks like.

Sara Bertram followed Cassidy's fly mark by lowering her own 15-18 fly record from 30.20 to 29.96.  That's the third time this season Sara has broken the record.

Sara looks like a Gator about to strike.

And she did, slicing her own team record.

Sean Jansen put a cap on the record breaking day with an amazing swim -- perhaps the swim of the day.  Sean has a seed time of 1:31.84.  He busted out with a four second(!) drop to 1:27.78.  That time blew through the 1992 record set by Drew Dinsick of 1:29.50.

Sean had to swim twice as far as any other Gator

record setter on Saturday, so he gets two action photos.

All total, 14 team records were smashed by Gators this season -- eight girls individual records, two boys individual records, two boys relay records, and two girls relay records.

Congrats to all Gator record breakers!

Gators Enjoy Romp in the Swamp

This article was written by Gator mom Lauren Cardillo.

The third annual Romp in the Swamp brought out all the Gators this past Wednesday morning. The final meet for those not swimming in the divisionals included multiple first place winners, junior timers, pie in the coaches’ face contest, a rainbow spectrum of ribbons, and a heavily contested grudge match race of 50 meter breaststroke between Coach Laurel and Coach Paul.  (The winner of that race is still being determined.)

First Place winners in the meet were Emma Campbell (2x), Owen Harrison, Lauren Pacious, Jack Brunton (2x), Maddie Finn (2x), Ian Neal, Chris Kelly, Rose Doerner, TJ Heck, Olivia Johansson, Bobby Kelly, Amanda Bassett, Jordan Hilko, Olivia Heck, Connor Dunn, and Abby Dittman.

Heat winners included: Mary Claire O’Brien, Olivia Heck, Ellery Reinholtz, Katya Zaitsev, Quinn O’Connell, William Mochel, Lauren Olivia Johansson, Wyatt Murphy, Grace McGee, Halle Reinholtz, Connor Dunn, George Nutt, Lucas Garvey, Layne O’Connell, and Maddie Finn. Those snapping more than 5 seconds off their personal best were: Ellery Reinholtz, Lily Palmerino, Gabby Cullo, Samuel Starr, Cassandra Burdick, Kan Neal, Jordan Hilko, Matt Barrett, Donovan Kovalsky, Ethan Brunton, Jeb Nutt, and Jack Cruz.

The Romp was also the day that several young Gators dipped their toes in the water for the first time. Among them: Ally Nutt, Hampton Brannon, Matthew Makin, and Dylan Moore.

Congratulations to all the swimmers on a great season. See you at the Awards Banquet Saturday night.

MVP Glory, Enshrined in Photos

Here's David Anderson's photos from the IM Invitational:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114682110635489328722/IMInvitational2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCIWQn5LYl-_ClAE&feat=email

Enjoy!

Thoughts on the Tragedy

Three years ago on July 27th, 2008, Mark Fracasso died in an accident. Mark was a Gator swimmer, a tennis player on the MVP team, a lifeguard, and a pool rat who spent many hours at the Park that is our second home in the summer.  His youngest sister, Anna, is on the Gators,his mom, Michele, is our Chief Marshal (wearing the orange vest), his dad is a former Park President, his brother a former Gator, and his sister is an assistant park manager again this summer.  This is an article written on July 28, 2008 for the Gator website, with comments from other MVPers, about Mark, and has run each year since. We continue to hold the Fracasso family in our hearts and minds.

Your first reaction upon hearing the news is as though someone punched you in the gut. Then there is the hopeful thought -- well, maybe that information is not quite right and there is some hope. But then, when it becomes clear that the news about Mark Fracasso is the worst possible, you are stunned into shock and tears.

For some people the tears are deep and heaving. For others, it's more of the glistening eyes (that's more for us "tough" guys).

A young life extinguished because of a split second. There was no alcohol, no drugs. Just bad luck. The worst. The "what ifs" aren't worth it. We're not Superman -- we can't make the Earth spin backs to change time.

I know what you are thinking. I'm thinking it too. No parent should have to bury their son or daughter. This isn't fair, and this isn't how life is supposed to be. Especially for a 15 year old boy who was it in for the fun. Now, I can't say I knew Mark well -- that's not the case. But I do know two things about him.

The first thing I knew about him is that I noticed that he had this sly grin on his face every time he was on the pool deck with the race about to start. It's like he knew -- "okay, I may not be the fastest, but I'm here for fun." Mark always struck me as having a smile on his face -- which is the sign of a happy, positive attitude about life. Which, after all, is the only one to have. . .but's it's also okay -- even important -- to have an interregnum for a mourning period like this.

The other thing I know about Mark is that we all feel for his parents. I'm a much better man for the years I've spent raising children. Every parent reading this knows that what they are going through is the single biggest fear that a parent can have -- and for one of our community, that fear has been realized in the worst possible way. Mark and Michele will never have the satisfaction of watching Mark grow into adulthood -- which has its own set of challenges, responsibilities, and thrills.

Life is precious. Life doesn't have to always be fun, doesn't always have to be an adventure. But, there is beauty in the everyday. Sunday morning, unaware that Mark was fighting for life, Tom Hickok and I were watching the kids rise from their chaise lounges at the sleepover, groggy after just a few hours of sleep. Tom, nursing a cup of coffee, turned to me with a simple declarative sentence that made me appreciate the day even more -- "MVP really is a special place." He had just spent the night on the ground with just a sleeping bag and no tent, and yet he was appreciating the life we are living.

Kids -- when your parents hug you a little bit tighter and a little bit long, please let them.

A few years ago, a song came out by Kenny Chesney about the pain of losing someone young in your life. Sometimes song lyrics can be over the top, but this one hits the emotion that Michele and Mark, and their children Ali, Matthew, and Anna, will always have:

Sunny days seem to hurt the most.
I wear the pain like a heavy coat.
I feel you everywhere I go.
I see your smile, I see your face,
I hear you laughin' in the rain.
I still can't believe you're gone.

It ain't fair: you died too young,
Like the story that had just begun,
But death tore the pages all away.
God knows how I miss you,
All the hell that I've been through,
Just knowin' no-one could take your place.
An' sometimes I wonder,
Who'd you be today?

Would you see the world? Would you chase your dreams?
Settle down with a family,
I wonder what would you name your babies?
Some days the sky's so blue,
I feel like I can talk to you,
An' I know it might sound crazy.

It ain't fair: you died too young,
Like the story that had just begun,
But death tore the pages all away.
God knows how I miss you,
All the hell that I've been through,
Just knowin' no-one could take your place.
An' sometimes I wonder,
Who you'd be today?

Again, kids -- when your parents hug you a little bit tighter and a little bit long, please let them. Parents, when you see Mark and Michele, it's okay to hug them. Life isn't simple, but it is precious.

**************

Recently while I have not been as involved as in the past, I have never forgotten the great sense of village we have here at our special place quietly tucked a short distance from another world. You and many others have continued to allow our kids to grow up and develop in this somewhat protected world.

 

In most respects Michele and I are very blessed. Mark on that fateful day unfortunately was not so lucky.

 

So last evening, when you chose to write about Mark we both were so very touched and grateful at your willingness to use your talent to help us, that is all of us, begin the long healing process. Providing this forum and the vigil tonight will go a long way to allow us all to join again together as a village to celebrate life Mark s life.

 

And so in closing, we so want to thank you and let you know from our hearts that while perhaps you did not know Mark as we his parents, you really do know Mark and have captured his spirit in your article.

 

Tonight we will come together in our special place and I ll be looking for my hug. Thank you and we both also want to thank the Mount Vernon community.

 

Mark& Michele

****************

I would just like to say I am soooo sorry for the Fracasso's loss. Words can not describe the heaviness that we all feel for them. They will be in our prayers!!

Love, Teresa, Bill, Kate and Natalie

*************

The Laporta family is deeply saddened by the Fracasso's tragic loss. As part of our amazing Gator family, Mark was wonderful to Peter over the years and will be desperately missed. The Fracasso's are in our prayers.

 

Cindy

*************

Perhaps readers will be comforted by this excerpt of a message sent to St Mary s altar boys by Fr John DeCelles, the priest who administered the sacrament of the sick to Mark early Sunday morning:

 

Death is a very difficult thing to bear, especially the death of someone we know, or are close to. Particularly the death of a young person so filled with hope and great prospects as Mark was. But as the funeral ritual says: for those who love the Lord, life is changed, not ended. This is what our faith comes down to: life on earth is great, but the love of God and the joy of heaven are what we re made ultimately for. Mark s death should remind us all that God calls us home when He chooses, not when we choose. We need to be ready when he calls not afraid, because God loves us, but ready. We need to live everyday with our eyes on heaven again not with fear but filled with hope and joy, trying to be the very best we can everyday so we can love each other here and live forever in perfect happiness with God, and with each other, in heaven.

 

Mary

**************
(This) tribute is a beautiful reflection of someone I have loved for many years and watched grow in so many different ways. His smile is a signature that I too often cannot help recalling when I think of him. I will treasure it always.

 

Thank you-Jean

**************

If we are lucky in life, we get to meet someone like Mark Fracasso, Jr. at least once. A young boy with a free spirit and a twinkle in his eye. Full of energy, quizzing the world about its limits, challenging the competitive edge with a smile. We look at these boys with marvel, because we instinctively know we are watching a leader prepare for a purpose that we have yet to understand.

 

We often think that leadership will be demonstrated later in life, in those adult years when we assume the world needs it. But sometimes, these free spirits are only here for a short time, a blink of time in God's eye. They are here to teach us how to live each day with joy in our own hearts. Much like a bright star in the sky, we wonder at the sparkle, and are awed and forever grateful for the opportunity to see it shine. We are all blessed to have that brief moment with Mark Fracasso, Jr.

The Bourne Family wishes to express our love and prayers to the Fracasso Family. Thank you for letting Mark shine.

***************
On Sunday morning I was going about my usual business here in Salisbury
and I received a phone call from my dad. When he told he had some bad
news I was thinking, maybe we aren t going to the outer banks anymore ,
never in a million years did I think I was going to hear what I heard.
He told me the news about Mark being in the hospital and I had to sit
down. I was in shock. For the next two hours I walked around in a daze.
I kept hoping that the news wasn t true, and if the news was true, I
kept praying that everything would be alright. I was dreading that final
phone call with the worst possible news.

Mark Fracasso and my brother were good friends and partners in
crime every summer at Mount Vernon Park. I can t even count how many
times I would hear my brother say can we go pick up Mark? , and for the
rest of that day I d be keeping tabs on the two boys making sure they
didn t get into too much trouble. It was like every summer I gained a
new little brother. Hearing that my own brother was devastated by the
loss of his friend, who he had just hung out with two days before, and
that he was planning to ask Mark to spend a week in the Outer Banks with
us the next time he saw him, made me twist and turn inside.

It is unreal that a life can be lost so young. To think of the
other Fracasso children and Marks friends who are dealing with the loss
at such a young age is an experience no child should have to go through.
Only being twenty, I am not a parent myself, but I am old enough to know
that the loss of a child is one of, if not the most, heartbreaking
things a parent would ever have to experience. You read things like this
in the paper but you never think it will hit this close to home. Of all
families this had to happen to it hurts that it was the Fracasso family.

When a tragedy like this happens, one can t help but wonder,
Why him, he s so young? For those of us that believe in Karma and
that everything happens for a reason , it makes you wonder, Well, what
exactly is the reason for this? As much as we would all like to know
the answer to these questions it s something we will never know. The
only thing we can do is try our best to be there for each other and try
to help younger members of the community understand what happened. The
Gator family has lost more than a swimmer, but a brother, son and friend
who is irreplaceable.

Ryann Doyle

*******************

It was the most wonderful day. A hot, bright high summer afternoon. Many Gator families present and congenial, some working the divisional championship meet, some taking a rare day off. Everyone enjoying the great competition provided by a slippery pool and well trained swimmers intent on posting their best times. And then, after a fabulous meet, spilling back into our very own elysian fields to honor those who worked hard and swam fast. Every year I enjoy the awards banquet so much I start feeling wistful even before it ends.

This year, as I looked out at the tree canopy line turning dark after sunset, I felt even stronger. This really was the most wonderful day, the best year for our team. So many good swimmers. So many good kids. So many new swimmers, and with them great families, new friends. A large group of parents who are now so used to working together, we re like an old married couple. (like an old married couple?) Just like the machine of a family that can get Thanksgiving dinner for 20 on the table with aplomb on Monday nights and Saturday mornings we set up a meet, put on the meet, serve a meal for dozens, break it all down into neat folded parcels and plastic storage containers and still manage a few jokes and good camaraderie before heading home. Heck, we even won the Miss Congeniality award from our fellow Division 6 teams! As I sat there with children prancing around me I thought we are all, collectively, doing something right by our kids.

 

Saturday was the most wonderful day. Except we now know it really wasn t. At the same time I was looking at the treeline turn dark, Mark Fracasso - one of our most precious our children! - was slipping away and through the grace of those who knew, we were able to sit with our warm and happy thoughts through the night, even though the most unthinkable thing was happening. Those who knew, allowed those of us who didn t, to fully inhale the beauty of a summer night, becoming fortified maybe for what we would discover the next day.

 

Here s what I know: the Fracasso family is an amazing family. I don t know every member of their family, but I know Michele, and she is part of that collective married couple that we have become at Mount Vernon Park, she is strong, she is a calm and mirthful tour de force. Michele is a person you can count on. And for Michele, and Mark, Ali, Matthew and Anna we have counted on you, and now you can count on us. Even on what appears to be the most beautiful day, the stirring of tragedy will build and erupt. And conversely on the most awful days, the most awful days like today, the beginnings of hope can, well, at least begin.

 

My hope is that we, along with the many other friends, schoolmates and family members of the Fracasso family, can knit ourselves into a security blanket to help them through the times to come.

Lisa Guide
*********************

Hi I am Peter, a good friend of Mark, and I saw that we could share good times evern humorous times with Mark. This was the first that came to my mind right away: It was after school and Mark, Richard Pastorino, and myself went to seven eleven and went into the store. Richard had got a drink but decided he didn't want it so he put it back. The people that worked at the store had noticed that Richard took the drink but never saw him put it back. So while we walk out of the store the workers had approached us 3 saying that we hid the drink and stole it. They searched the 3 of us but when Mark got searched he "made sure" they knew he had not stolen anything. Mark freely and comfortably starts stripping his shirt, yelling" Do you believe me now" then the people agreed with MArk. But of course Mark would not ended just like that, he had to make sure he left his "MARK" at 7/11. He started taking his pants of and stripped himself down to just his boxers. Everyonne even the workers were laughing so hard and Mark was happy because he made a point and was still able to make people laugh like he always did. I Loved Mark. He was a great person and a great friend. R.I.P. ************

I Am Waiting for You
Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play; smile; think of me, pray for me. Let my name be the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without effort

Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there is absolutely unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of your mind because I am out of your sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near around the corner.

All is well. Nothing is past; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before only better, infinitely happier and forever we will all be one with Christ in heaven.

Matt O'Brien
**************
We are so sad and sorry to hear about Mark's death. The Fracasso family will be in our thoughts and prayers in the difficult days and weeks to come.
Teresa, Scott, Andrew, Jessica, and Matthew Taylor

Directions to Divisionals at Donaldson Run

Donaldson Run Recreation Association
2729 N Marcey Road, Arlington, VA 22207
(703) 522-3115

From Spout Run
From the GW Parkway, proceed up Spout Run and take the first exit on the right, Lorcom Lane. Proceed on Lorcom Lane for 0.5 miles, and turn right at the bottom of the hill onto Nellie Custis Drive. In 0.4 miles, Nellie Custis will merge onto Military Road. Follow Military Road for another 0.3 miles, and turn right at the light onto Marcey Road. DRRA is 0.3 miles ahead on the right hand side.

We Are The Champions of the World!. . .Or At Least the Mt. Vernon Region!

The Mt. Vernon Park Gators compete for three trophies every year -- the Division Relays Championship, the Divisional A Meet Championship, and the IM Invitational.  On Monday night, MVP defeated local rivals Mansion House (by six points), Riverside Gardens, Hollin Meadows, and Waynewood to win the Colonial Division (that division consists of the largest teams).

It's really not very special or meaningful to beat those other local teams (don't believe what he just wrote, he's lying!).  There is no real rivalry with these teams (he's lying again).  And no one keeps track of how many times teams have won it  (Waynewood won it twelve years in a row before MVP took it in 2006). 

The Gators have won the Colonial Division three of the last four years.  There was a stretch where Waynewood won it every year, but those days of Dolphin dominance have been replaced by Gator glory.   Overall, the Gators have won it six times.  Riverside Gardens has won it five times, Mansion House once, Hollin Meadows once, and Waynewood has won it 13 times, but not since 2007.

There were a lot of great swims last night, but the 8 & unders are the reason MVP won the meet.  Yes, Cassidy Bayer took first place and set a new meet/team record (congrats!), Holly Jansen swam a lightning fast third, Sara Bertram took 2nd place with an amazing swim, Torie Bolger led a contingent of Gator 13-14 year olds to second, third, fourth, and six place, and Sean Jansen went from seventh seed to third place, but the 8 & unders way overperformed their seeds.

Parker Blondin led the way for the Gators by finishing first in the 8 & under boys despite his sixth seed.  Andrei Zaitsev gained key points by improving from 10th seed to 5th place. 

The 8 & under girls followed the lead of the boys -- Emily Makin was seeded sixth and finished third, Juliana Skopp-Cardillo was seeded 12th and finished 5th, and Olivia Blondin took 6th despite a 9th seed.

The hot streak for the Gators continued with the 9-10 boys.  Sean Jansen took seven seconds off his best time to finish third, jumping four spots.  Nick Dupuis grabbed fifth place after slicing nearly nine and a half seconds off his 13th place seed time.  Cole Miller also took ninth place.

The 11-12 girls rocked the pool -- Cassidy Bayer smashed the Meet (and Team) record by 1.24 seconds, swimming a 1:10.36.  Waynewood's fabulous swimmer, Maxine Clifford, had set the record in 2009 with a 1:12.00.  Holly Jansen took nearly one second off, and took third, while Jessie Bricker earned a sixth place with a 2.56 second drop.

Cassidy's old team record time was 1:12.77, so she knocked an impressive 2.41 seconds off her June mark.

Tristan Colaizzi took off 1.5 seconds in the 13-14 boys IM, earning a seventh place finish.

Despite the aforementioned Maxine Clifford winning the 13-14 girls IM, the Gator girls made it their own personal dance party -- Torie Bolger took second, Emily Walzl finished third, Anna Fracasso got fourth, and Jayne Orleans took sixth.  All four swam in the final heat.

Under the modified Stableford scoring system used in the meet, the 11-12 girls and the 13-14 girls scored an equal amount of points for the team -- highest of any gender/age group. 

The 15-18 girls finished the meet strongly for the Gators -- Sara Bertram beat out Waynewood sensation Reanna Dona for second place.  Sara whacked nearly two seconds off her seed time.  Maddy Bolger took seventh, and Julia Bolger earned ninth, to round out the 19 top ten finishers for the team.

Gators Complete Unlossed Season

After winning Division 6 in 2009 and Division 5 in 2010, the Gators proved this year that they definitely belonged in Division 4 for the 2011 season.  Unfortunately, the NVSL did not agree and placed MVP in Division 3, where the Gators wrapped up a 0-5 season on Saturday by losing to Crosspointe 175 to 227.

Gang Green gets ready to go.

There were a total of 14 teams that finished 0-5 in NVSL Divisions (someone has to).  The Gators have the distinction of scoring the most points of any of the winless teams, which makes MVP the best of the worst, for what that's worth.

Crosspointe's nefarious plot to distract our

swimmers during relay warm-ups by playing the

"YMCA" song was almost thwarted by the 13-14s.

Freestyle was a 35-55 loss to the Cruisers.  Backstroke was closer, but still a 40-50 deficit.  Breaststroke was similar -- a 39-51 loss.  Led by the 11-12 girls fly sweep from Cassidy Bayer, Jessie Bricker, and Emma Jones, MVP won fly 41-31, but the overall deficit was too great going into the relays (where Crosspointe shined at All-Star Relays).  The Gators won four of the twelve relays.

The obligatory in-water psyche up shot.

There were four team records set -- see related article for more details.

Cameron demonstrates ancient

religious rite for hot days.  The

Mayans called it "backstroke start."

Parker Blondin was the only double winner -- free and breaststroke.  Other winners were Nick Dupuis (free), Mike Oelschlager (back), Collin Sundsted (back), Gus Leyden (back), Sean Jansen (breaststroke), Cole Miller (fly), Jack Benson (fly), Emily Makin (back), Jessie Bricker (back), Holly Jansen (breaststroke), Sophia Passacantando (breaststroke), Cassidy Bayer (fly), and Sara Bertram (fly).

Mollie models the most fashionable Gator headwear.

Second place points were earned by Sean Jansen (free), Tom Dupuis (free and fly), Jack Benson (free), Cameron Morey (back), Joe Taylor (back), Drew Bowers (breaststroke), Tristan Colaizzi (breaststroke and fly), Josh Stein (breaststroke), Nick Dupuis (fly), Juliana Skopp-Cardillo (free and breaststroke), Claudia Theriot (free), Holly Jansen (free), Maddy Bolger (free), Sara Bertram (back), Cassidy Bayer (13-14 breaststroke), Bea Heratsch (fly), Jessie Bricker (fly), and Anna Fracasso (fly).

Liam swam up -- and in a couple years,

 yes, Liam, you'll be that tall too.

Third place points were scored by Andrei Zaitsev (free and back), Drew Bowers (back), Cyrus Adams-Mardi (back), Austin Neal (breaststroke), Cameron Morey (fly), Sheridan Phalen (free), Torie Bolger (free and back), Sophia Passacantando (free), Claudia Theriot (back), Julia Bolger (back), Gabrielle Greszler (breaststroke), Lily Penn (breaststroke), Sarah Busch (breaststroke), Emma Jones (fly), and Emily Walzl (fly).

Collin takes a peek at his time. 

Next week is Divisional Championships at Donaldson Run.

Coach Laurel's advice to Charlie: "Swim Fast!" 

We'll miss the Greszlers!

Jack Benson plans to pay for his college education

by renting out his swim cap.  Here, Joe Taylor

helps Jack out.

Nick adds flaps to improve his time.

Juliana dives in.

Finally, it wouldn't be a Gator blog post

without an intense Colaizzi breaststroke photo.

Swimmers of the Week: Mike Oelschlager, Parker Blondin, Sara Bertram

Your faithful blogger could not decide between to excellent choices for the Gator Boy Swimmer of the Week, so both Mike Oelschlager and Parker Blondin get the nod.  Breaking two individual records and being part of a record breaking relay made choosing Sara Bertram as the Gator Girl Swimmer of the Week an easy choice.

(See related article for the write-up on Sara's records.)

Despite having a name that makes this crusty sportswriter have to work hard, Mike Oelschlager earned the award by winning his very first race in an A Meet.  He swam a 23.78 25 meter backstroke (8 & Under) to start off a strong MVP showing in the backstroke.  Mike's best time going in was a 26.25, so he rose to the challenge by ripping nearly two and a half seconds off that.

Mike figures if he's swimming his

first A Meet, he might as well win.

Parker Blondin (another 8 & Under) won both of his races -- free and breaststroke -- to cap off a very strong season.

Parker's left arm points toward victory!

Congrats to all of the Gator Swimmers of the Week this season.

Directions to IM Invitational At Stratford

The IM Invitational is always local, and since this year it is at Stratford, it is no more than 10 minutes from MVP.

Location.  Meet location is Stratford, 8800 Camden Court, Alexandria, sometimes referred to as 2300 Brinitzer Way.  The meet begins at 5:00 pm, Monday, July 25, 2011.  Carpooling is always recommended if possible.  Admission to the pool's parking lot will be by name only for key meet officials, Team Reps, coaches, and a few extra spots allocated equally to all pools.  Disability parking and carpool HOV 4 will also be allowed in the lot.  A drop off area will be provided for swimmers at the pool gate.  Please remind your families to be considerate and not block driveways in the surrounding neighborhood. 

SRA Pool Phone:        703 780-8900 

 Driving Directions to Stratford:

            From Sherwood Hall Lane & Fort Hunt Road:     From the intersection of Sherwood Hall Lane and Fort Hunt Road proceed south on Fort Hunt Road for 2.2 miles.  Pass the Hollin Hall shopping plaza on your right, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on your left, and Aldersgate Methodist Church on your right.  Turn right on Elkin Street, go .4 miles and turn slight left onto Wittington.  Take the third left onto Camden St.  The entrance to SRA will be on your right.

Four Records Go Down Vs. Crosspointe

Sara Bertram broke two individual team records, and was part of a relay record smash.  Holly Jansen not only blew away the 11-12 girls breaststroke record, but she was within 0.03 seconds of swimming the fastest Gator girl 50 breaststroke ever (that's how close she came to the 15-18 girls record!).

Sara took a chomp out of

three records on Saturday

The 15-18 girls medley relay shocked themselves at the end of the hot meet by having enough energy left to break the record that three of the four set earlier this season.

The 15-18 girls exult over their new record, set

during Julia's last swim as a Gator.

Earlier this season, I reported that all of the girls relay record had now been set in this century.  Well, now there are only two individual girls records that remain from prior to 2000 (actually, prior to 2003).

Sara Bertram started all the record-breaking at Crosspointe by breaking Julia Bolger's 15-18 backstroke record from 2010 by 0.19, swimming a 32.41.  Sara also lowered her own 15-18 fly record set on July 9th by 0.23, swimming a 30.20.

In beating one of the fastest breaststrokers in the NVSL, Holly Jansen also smashed Erin Deal's 1989 11-12 girls breaststroke record.  Holly beat the mark by 1.20 seconds.  Erin used to hold all five girls breaststroke records, but there has been a relentless assault on those marks, and she is down to holding the 8 & under record (at an amazing 21.64 -- so that may stand for a LONG time).

Holly was motorvated by facing CP's Lia

Campbell, who had a faster seed time before the race.

The 15-18 girls medley relay crushed the record that had been set earlier this season.  Sophia Passacantando (breaststroke) knocked Leigh Orleans from the books, while Julia Bolger (back), Sara Bertram (fly), and Maddy Bolger (free) lowered their mark from 2:12.99 to 2:11.38.  The record time caught them by surprise -- Crosspointe's talented girls put up a battle for the first two strokes, but Sara pulled away on fly and Maddy ensured they couldn't catch up on free.  So, by having pretty stiff competition, the girls were spurred on to fast swims.

Julia gets the relay off to a strong start.

Sophia starts to pull away.

Sara flys to a big lead.

Maddy finishes it off.

So far this season, there have been a lucky thirteen team records (including one NVSL mark) broken by the Gators -- 10 girls records and three boys marks.

(Btw, thanks to David Anderson for getting good shots of all four relay leg swims -- that's pretty hard to do.)

David Anderson's Pics from Crosspointe A Meet

David is enjoying his role as Team Photographer, he came out to Crosspointe in Saturday's heat (despite having no kid  swimming in the meet) and snapped away.  Great photos as always:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114682110635489328722/CrosspointeAMeet?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ-jh_qarZP3jwE&feat=email

11-12 Girls Lead The Way As Gator Relays Shine At All-Stars

The Mt. Vernon Park Gators had another strong showing at Relay All-Stars, tallying 188 points en route to a 14th place finish (out of 102 teams).  The Gators beat out two Division 3 teams, as well as two Division 1 teams and three Division 2 teams.

Gator relays take the cake.

For a local perspective, MVP finished 52 points ahead of Waynewood, 86 points ahead of Riverside Gardens, 94 points ahead of Hollin Meadows, 108 points ahead of Mansion House, and 188 points ahead of Stratford.  But, besides me and everyone else reading this, who really cares how the Gators did in comparison to our local rivals?

There were a lot of great swims, and most of the Gator relays went a best time for the season.

The Gators were led by the fabulous fearsome foursome of the 11-12 girls, who finished 1st overall in the medley relay and 5th in the free relay.  For the medley relay, Cassidy Bayer led off with backstroke, Holly Jansen widened the lead for breaststroke, Jessie Bricker swam a strong fly, and Elaina Phalen clinched the victory with her freestyle.  The same grouping also swam the free relay -- Holly, Jessie, Elaina, and Cassidy. They were seeded 4th and 7th respectively, so they improved by a net five seeds.

Contrary to photographic evidence, Holly

was not swimming by herself.  Their lead

was just that big.

Elaina wasn't Phalen to bring home the victory!

The 9-10 boys had the second best showing -- breaking their two one week old records in the process.  The medley relay finished 9th, lowering the team record to 1:15.24, marking the third time this season they've smashed the mark.  Collin Sundsted led off with backstroke, followed by Sean Jansen's breaststroke, Cole Miller's fly, and Nick Dupuis finished with free.  All four had impressive, strong swims.  Then, the freestyle quartet (sounds like a jazz group) took seventh place with a time of 1:06.14.  The free swimmers were Sean, Cole, Tyler Dunn, and Nick Dupuis.  The 9-10 boys were seeded 9th and 8th respectively.

Cole and Collin get ready to break their own record.

Seeded 14th, the Mixed Age girls 200 meter freestyle relay team of Cassidy Bayer, Claudia Theriot, Torie Bolger, and Sara Bertram easily won their heat and moved all the way up to tenth place.

The Mixed Age Grrls showed their

backs to the first heat.

The 13-14 girls medley relay took 11th place after being seeded 15th.  Torie Bolger swam back, Jayne Orleans did breaststroke, Mollie Passacantando swam fly, and Emily Walzl finished the strong swim off with free.  The 13-14 free relay finished 13th despite a 16th place seed.  That foursome was Emily, Molly Cabral, Mollie, and Torie.

Jayne's making her move.

The 8 & under boys modified medley finished 13th overall, as Andrei Zaitsev swam back, Parker Blondin did breaststroke, and Charlie Ruppe/Clark Bayer were the freestylers.

Parker finishes as Charlie dives in.

Overall, the Gator swimmers improved a net 15 seeds, an impressive showing for eight relays.  Another great showing at All-Stars for MVP.

The 15-18 girls medley alternates didn't get

to swim, but they set a record just days later.

Tara & Michael Miller's Happy Ad for the All-Star Program

Great work.

Tonda Phalen's Photos From All-Stars

Here is the link.  We may add some more photos to it.  If anyone has some mixed age relay shots, email them to Tonda and she'll add it to the Picasa.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100866874414823128941/2011AllStarRelay?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIbbuaLxtqa2xQE&feat=directlink

June 6th Still Longest Day, But Riverside Gardens B Meet Now Second Longest Day

This article was written by Gator mom Lauren Cardillo.

This pic sums up the night -- row after row of

swimmers wait their turn in the longest meet ever.

If there was a record for the team's longest B meet, it might have been broken this past Monday night when the Gators took on Riverside Gardens.

Perfect form.

It took nearly four hours to run through all the races ... and the older swimmers didn't even tackle butterfly.

In spite of the humidity, warm water temp, and the arrival of darkness, plenty of swimmers had great races.
Nicholas Swetz, Chris Hilburn, Seth Thomson, Caroline Richard, Ella Fischer, Cole Dillaplain, Mia Colaizzi, Mitchell Shiery, Tyler Dunn, Tom Dupuis, and Tres Greszler all took more than 5 seconds off their previous personal bests.

Emily swimming fast.

First timers in the pool or for a stroke included: Michael Ienzi, Matthew Foley, Amanda Capper, Abby Tynan, Matt Barrett, Ethan Brunton, Kendall Shafer, Anika Degen, Grace Lewis, Ray Galford, Rose Doerner, Nicole Booth,  and Layne O'Connell.

While Emma's night might have been finished, her

mother's night running concessions was far from over!

Among the heat winners were: Andrei Zeitsev, Charlie Ruppe, Connor Dunn, John and David French, William Oakeley, Juliana Skopp-Cardillo, Gaby and Zoe Greszler, Cage Theriot, Leigh Kovalsky, Juliette Fore, Emma Campbell, Ellie Cullo, Cecelia Morales, Bella Van Damme, Tom and Nick Dupuis, Tyler Dunn, Drew Bowers, Joseph Ienzi, Cole Snodgrass, Lauren Pacious, Dom Heratsch, Noah Hannam, Tres Greszler, Holly Jansen, Amanda Bassett, Audrey Dittman, Mike Oelschlager, William Mochel, Olivia and Parker Blondin, Lauren Meadows, Collin Sundsted, Sean Jansen, Cole Miller, Sheridan Phalen, Olivia Johansson, Lara Miller, Sarah Mullins, Rose Doerner, Lily Penn, Jessie Bricker, and Emma and Sarah Jones.

Congratulations to all the swimmers. This was the last B meet of the season. The annual Romp in the Swamp happens next Wednesday, July 27th.