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ELSAH - The TCAY Tidalwaves YMCA swimming team enjoyed an incredible day as its swimmers took 38 individual events and eight relays, with the swimmers exceeding many of their personal best times, some by as much as 10 to 20 seconds, as the Tidalwaves won the Heartland Area YMCA regional championship meet last weekend at the Principia College aquatic center in Elsah.
The Tidalwaves won the meet with a total of 5,429 points, with the St. Charles, Mo., YMCA the runner-up with 4,581.5 points. Third place went to the Four Rivers Area YMCA with 2,006.5 points, the Chesterfield, Mo., Family YMCA fourth at 1,649 points, the Hannibal, Mo., Hurricanes fifth with 1,459 points, in sixth place was the Twin Pike Family YMCA at 1,124 points, the South County Family YMCA was seventh with 766, the Edward Jones Family YMCA came in eighth at 409.5, ninth place went to Wildwood, Mo., Waves with 392 points, in 10th place was the O'Fallon, Mo., Park Recreation Complex team with 300.5 points, the Kwby Sailfish were 11th at 275 points.
Veteran Tidalwalves head coach Nancy Miller felt it was the best performance her team has ever had in the regional meet.
"I've been coaching this team for 21 years, and this was the best regional meet we've ever had," Miller said. "We were just so surprised and thrilled with our results."
And the Tidalwaves became the most decorated team in the history of the meet. Literally.
"We have a tradition on the team that if a swimmer gets a best time, we take a blue Sharpie pen and make a star on their arm," Miller said. "And everyone was decorated. We had kids with stars up and down, in some cases, both arms. And in addition, we had some swimmers drop 10 to 20 seconds in an event, compared to their last best time. It was exciting."
The Tidalwaves had many multiple winners, including Stephen Stobbs in the boys 11-12 age group, winning the 50-yard breaststroke at 40.06 seconds, the 50-yard butterfly at 31.21 seconds, the 200-yard individual medley at 2:44.15, and the 200-yard freestyle at 2:27.70. Noah Clancy, who recently came in fourth in the 100-yard backstroke at the IHSA state meet in Evanston, enjoyed an incredible meet in the 15-21 age group. Clancy won the 400-yard individual medley at 4:23.41, the 200-yard breaststroke at 2:11.27, the 100-yard backstroke at 52.52 seconds, the 50-yard freestyle at 21.94 seconds, the 100-yard breaststroke at 58.07 seconds, the 200-yard backstroke at 1:57.44 and the 200-yard individual medley at 1:58.77.
Also having a big meet was Erick Humphrey in the boys 9-10 age group. Humphrey was the winner in the 200-yard freestyle at 2:25.22, the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:30.01, the 100-yard butterfly at 1:23.96, the 50-yard freestyle at 30.83 seconds, the 100-yard individual medley at 1:17.88, the 100-yard freestyle at 1:08.18 and the 50-yard breaststroke at 41.53 seconds.
Among the girls, Anna Moehn was dominant in the 15-21 age group. Moehn was the winner in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:17.37, the 100-yard backstroke at 1:01.47, the 100-yard butterfly at 1:02.58, the 50-yard freestyle at 25.19 seconds, the 100-yard freestyle at 54.51 seconds, the 200-yard individual medley at 2:17.03 and the 200-yard butterfly at 2:13.73. Claire Paule was a multiple winner in the 13-14 age group, taking the 100-yard backstroke, coming in at 1:07.95 and the 200-yard backstroke at 2:30.93.
It was a thrilling meet all around for the Tidalwaves, and Miller couldn't have been any happier for her swimmers and their families.
"Everyone was thrilled," Miller said. "The kids, the parents and the coaches."
The Tidalwaves will taper down their training now for the upcoming area meet, which will be held March 20-22 at Edwardsville High School's Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center. It's a process where the intensity and frequency of the training is reduced in order to rest the muscles and help the body recover.
"The result is rested muscles, and the kids swim fast. Very fast," Miller said with a laugh.
Miller is still excited for the team's performances over the past weekend, and is looking ahead to the upcoming area meet. She also thanked Principia College for allowing the team to use its pool to host the meet.
"I can't wait," Miller said. "It's going to be another great weekend. I'm grateful for my team, the parents and Principia College, who hosted us. Their pool is beautiful, and perfect for our meets. Arguably, it may be the best pool in Southern Illinois."
Colin Feeney also contributed to this story.
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