Fish in a Pond - Divisional Relay Breakdown

This is Part Two of the annual two-part Divisional Relay Blog... the meet that is SO AWESOME it takes two blog entries to capture it all. If you haven't read Part One yet, you should do that first. Here it is.

Look at that blue sky. What... no thunderstorms? 

We've all heard the age-old question of whether it is better to be a Big Fish in a Small Pond or a Small Fish in a Big Pond. Both have advantages and disadvantages. The situation matters. The fish matter. In academics, there is a study that shows student self-confidence is higher when they are Big Fish in a Small Pond (which makes sense). There is a lot of value in that self-confidence in both academics and athletics (and life).  One difference to that situation is when participants in the system (i.e. the fish in the pond) get to watch other fish grow from small fish to big fish. There is a very valuable lesson to be learned when you see others rise from the same levels as you and then achieve higher levels. Simply, it lets you see that you can do that too.

Part of being a Small Fish in a Big Pond is that you get exposed to lots of other fish. And lots of those fish become idols, or role models, or even mentors. I threw up a hash tag in Thursday's blog "#Gators4Life" to make light of the two pictures of our 13-14 Boys showing their growth over the past four years. But that whole #Gators4Life thing is real. The MVP swim team (and the NVSL) is most definitely a Big Pond. And being in the Big Pond only amplifies the number of connections all these Gators have in their summer swim experience... and in life. Most swimmers start out as small fish, but can watch the team leaders and learn their habits, and follow along in their footsteps. Thankfully, the MVP Gators have lots of great footsteps to follow in. We have had All-Star Champions, NVSL Record Holders, and even US National Team members within our ranks.

Gator Grads. #Gators4Life

To borrow a phrase from West Point, the Gators have a "Long Green Line" of leaders who have helped shape the program.  Take, for example the graduated Gators who came to watch their friends and family in the relays on Wednesday. Sitting up on the hill at Donaldson Run, those Gators watched their records get broken by their friends/family/former teammates. But they know, as we all do too, that the reason the younger Gators are where they are now... capable of breaking those records, is because of the Gators who came before them. Who inspired them. Coached them. Mentored them. It's because leaders like Elaina and Parker that we have younger Gators today able to break their records.  There are many reasons that we keep seeing so many records getting broken week after week, season after season. One of those reasons is that we swim in a Big Pond and have deep talent. Another reason is that we have Big Footprints to follow and our swimmers do a great job following in them. When you learn from the best, you become the best.

Growing Gators. #Gators4Life

So how did things turn out on Wednesday? Pretty darn good for the Gators. Ten relay teams qualified for All-Stars (as noted by the asterisks below). Six Gator records were broken (as indicated below). Here's the list:

First Place Relay Teams (Every 1st place team made All-Stars)
*Boys Mixed Age Free: Alexander North, Sam Bruce, Donovan Kovalsky, Clark Bayer (Record)
*Boys 11-12 Medley: George Schulte, Alexander North, Matthew Makin, Gavin Fore
*Boys 11-12 Free: Matthew Makin, Gavin Fore, Jack Alzona, Alexander North
*Boys 13-14 Medley: Joe Humphreys, Jack Klopson, James Piland, Donovan Kovalsky (Record)
*Girls 15-18 Free: Juliana Skopp-Cardillo, Emily Makin, Gabby Greszler, Sheridan Phalen (Record)

Another day, another record.

Second Place Teams
*Girls 8&U Medley: Elizabeth Kellogg, Hayden Ward, Natalie Crowther, Margaret Driscoll
*Girls 8&U Free: Margaret Driscoll, Kate Barber, Andrea Morales, Natalie Crowther

*Boys 13-14 Free: James Piland, Jack Klopson, Jack Dupuis, Donovan Kovalsky

Boys 9-10 Free: Liam Fore, Noah Litonjua, Anthony Sarro, Samuel Bruce

Third Place Teams
*Girls 15-18 Medley: Emily Makin, Taylor Makin, Gabby Greszler, Sheridan Phalen (Record)
Boys 9-10 Medley: Samuel Bruce, Anthony Sarro, Liam Fore, Noah Litonjua

The OMG Category
How deep is Division 3? The 15-18 Boys set MVP records in BOTH of their swims on Wednesday, yet still placed 4th and 5th in those two races.

*4th Place... 15-18 Free: Cole Miller, Andrew Baker, John French, Clark Bayer (Record)
5th Place... 15-18 Medley: John French, T.J. Heck, Cole Miller, Clark Bayer (Record)

Boom Boys.

There were five races at the D3 Carnival that produced All-Star teams from 4th place (including our own 15-18 Boys Free). That's 4 out of 6 teams making the All-Star cut... in five different events. D3 is deep.

Your Mixed-Age Free Champions.

In other Division 3 round-up notes, there were 22 total races: Donaldson Run won the Carnival and had the most 1st place finishes with six. MVP finished second and had five wins. High Point and Crosspointe each won four races, while Vienna Woods took two and Hunter Mill won one.

Of special note, all four 15-18 races broke records: Boys and Girls, Free and Medley. That's some special stuff going on at the top level of the team. Nice work big Gators! I think we may need a new cheer, "Big Hands, Big Feet, Our Biggest Gators Can't Be Beat!  Catchy.

Another interesting note, last year's 13-14 Boys broke a 27 year old record, then this group upped the ante this year and broke it again. It's a little crazy when that stuff happens, but again... it's a sign of those footsteps, when little Gators grow up watching big Gators do great things, they want to do those things too. And then when they successfully adopt those habits and training regimens, it increases the overall team performance and you see those records fall.

Wondertwin powers, activate! 

Getting 10 teams into All-Stars is among the all-time highs for the Gators, and something to be proud of. But even more remarkable is that of those 10 relay teams, SEVEN of them are going to be in the final heats at All-Stars (meaning top six). That is an all-time high for the Gators. We have had 10-12 teams in All-Stars before, but never have we put so many in the elite final heats. Seven teams of Big Fish swimming with those other Big Fish from around the NVSL. It's going to be fun to watch.

Cheering makes 'em swim faster! Go G...ators! 

If you haven't been to All-Stars, EVERYONE is invited. The D1 teams ALWAYS have the biggest crowds because members come cheer even when they aren't swimming in the races. We could use some of that cheering support, too! (Those D1 pools are pretty loud, but we could challenge with our cheers if enough people show up!) It all starts at 4pm on Wednesday- details at the link. Hope to see everyone there.

Congratulations, Gators, on another terrific Relay Carnival.

Go Gators! #Gators4Life

Fly photos are still the best Relay photos.