| | Published August 7th, 2019
| Springbrook leads the way at 8th annual Lafayette Championship Meet
| | | By Jon Kingdon |  | | Daphne Ganter of LMYA Photo Gint Federas |
With 722 swimmers, 300 volunteers and very interested families and friends, the 8th annual Lafayette Championship Swim Meet was held July 27-28. In what is becoming an annual ritual, Springbrook came away with the championship trophy. They were followed in order by Rancho Colorados, LMYA, Sun Valley and Oakwood. Springbrook also won the Leap Award as they had the highest result when dividing the current year team points by prior year team points and Sun Valley won the Spirit Award.
Springbrook head coach Ray Meadows attributed the success of his team to a couple of factors: "We have had a good run over the years. We're the biggest team and have an advantage there. We've been able to maintain our 15-18 swimmers and they have done a great job of mentoring the younger kids. Plus we have a mature and seasoned coaching staff, `Springbrook Grown' that has kept things consistent."
Rancho Colorados head coach Tom Rottici had a much younger team than he was used to and had to adjust to the start of the school dates moving up: "Overall, it's been a success. We're very happy with the way our team was swimming. We had a lot of new members this year (63 6 and unders). We graduated 10, 15-18 boys last year and so a lot of our younger boys stepped up and emerged as role models." Rottici found great satisfaction on two extremes: "Katherine Hawkins broke the all-time cumulative record at the Springbrook Pentathalon and on the other end, I got a kid that finally worked up the courage to make it to the end of the pool for the 6 and unders."
It's this meet rather than the county meet that LMYA head coach Corey Dolley points to: "We will have some kids go to county and place high there, but the team is more available here with more people cheering them on. Of course, we want the fast times and first places but it's the kids that want to come back for the next practice and the next year and, even though they're not the top swimmer in their group, that stands out for us. They enjoy being with their friends and the community that we have established here and that's what we're really looking to do."
Tryn Kaleel, Sun Valley's head coach, also points to this meet after a successful summer: "Our numbers were down, but the team has done well this season. We had a really good group of 15- to 18-year-olds that have been great leaders. Our senior group have also served as junior coaches and have been the best role models for the younger swimmers."
Oakwood started fresh with a new head coach, Carrie Roberts. Roberts took the challenge head on: "It's been a transition year with a whole new coaching staff but it's been a great summer with the team. We're a smaller team this year, but based on my feedback, a lot more team spirit and just a better camaraderie from the past. I'm really excited about that. This year, most of our swimmers were beginners and we have no 15-18's on the team. My goal is to try to build the team up and be more spirit based. We have a very young team. I am hoping to build up the older swimmers on the team and get more of a range of swimmers. As the season went on, everyone improved and it's been great to see them grow from the beginning of the season to the end."
Laura Gunderson and Aly McAlister, the co-meet directors from Springbrook, for the second year in a row will be passing on the baton to Rancho Colorados who will be providing the meet directors next year. "Our theme this year was `The Crazy '80s' since this was our eighth year of our tournament," said Gunderson. "It's been a really friendly atmosphere."
Judy Stanberg, who is on the board of directors has two daughters, Bella (12) and Ava (10), who swim for Springbrook and another daughter, Gabby, who now works as an assistant to the coaches. "We've seen a drop in the numbers with Pleasant Hill dropping out of our league and we would love to have more families come back into it. Some parents mistakenly think it's too intense. We have all levels of competition and the kids just want to have fun. They are recreational swimmers for the most part. It's great for everyone and instills such a great athletic base for the kids."
INDIVIDUAL POINT LEADERS
GIRLS BOYS
6 YEARS OLD AND UNDER
Campbell Pigeon - Springbrook Cole Carlson - Sun Valley
7-8 YEAR OLDS
Darcy Best - Springbrook Max Miller - Springbrook
9-10 YEAR OLDS
Maddie Phan - Springbrook Daniel Siu - Springbrook
11-12 YEAR OLDS
Katie Kostolonansky - LMYA Garrett Chivers - Springbrook
13-14 YEAR OLDS
Sophie MacKay - Sun Valley Andrew Sappal - Sun Valley
15-18 YEAR OLDS
Ava MacKay - Sun Valley Will Nagle - Rancho Colorados
INDIVIDUAL RECORD BREAKERS
Katie Kostolansky - Girls 11-12 year olds - 100 IM 106.47; 50 Back 30.01
Will Nagle - Boys 15-18 year olds - 100 IM - 54.89
Garrett Chivers - Boys 11-12 year olds - 50 Back Stroke - 27.81
Maddie Phan - Girls 9-10 year olds - 50 Fly - 31.07; 100 IM - 1:11.23
Claudie Dumais - Girls 13-14 year olds - 50 Fly - 27.205
Springbrook Boys 6 years old & under 100 Medley Relay - 1:33.82
LMYA - Girls 9-10 year olds 200 Medley Relay - 2:12.26
2019 Contra Costa County Championship Meet results:
Teams:
Springbrook: 4 gold, 2 silver and 6 bronze
LMYA 1 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze
Rancho Colorados 3 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze
Sun Valley 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze
High point swimmers:
Maddie Phan (Springbrook) high point leader for the 9-10 year old girls
Katherine Hawkins (Rancho Colorados) high point leader for 15-18 year old girls. |
 | | Photo Gint Federas |  | | Maddie Phan Photo Gint Federas | | | | | | | | | |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA