Brothers Riley Powell, pictured at left, and Mason Powell dive in for the 25 yard breaststroke. Mason edged out Riley by less than 1 second, taking second place. The two were neck and neck in each of their three events. —Johnson Publications photo
Keegan Shaw nears the end of the butterfly portion of his individual medley, the race still incredibly close with 150 yards to go. He took second in the event. —Johnson Publications photo
Holyoke Swim Club finishes second in first meet of the summer
Holyoke swim club had 51 athletes swimming in the first competition of the summer, earning a total of 348 points and taking second place as a team.
Goodland, Kansas, won the Saturday, June 3, meet with a total of 374. Following Holyoke’s second place, Burlington scored 168, Colby, Kansas, 128, Wray 95, Oberlin, Kansas, 56 and Oakley, Kansas, 38.
Holyoke swimmers finished first in 23 of the 84 events and earned 32 second-place medals, but coaches pointed out they were also proud of those new swimmers just getting their feet wet.
Coach for the 8 and under swimmers Brenda Krueger said even her new athletes swimming their first meet did a great job, “For as nervous and scared and overwhelmed as they were, they just jumped in and swam,” she said.
Although Adria Colver coaches the 9-12 age group, she noted that swimmers of all ages improved on their times from last year. She added, “We looked good from top to bottom.” She also commended those athletes who did not score points but brought their performance to the next level regardless.
Coaching the 15-18-year-olds, Aly Brinkema said the older swimmers came to the first meet ready to race and earned personal bests, but she is excited to see what they can accomplish at the league meet after they’ve had five more weeks of training. She added that younger swimmers are motivated by the positive attitudes and support offered by the older athletes.
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