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Darian Apuron swims the butterfly. Jeanine Apuron | Apuron Photography
Will Newman stands on the podium to receive the third place medal.
Our local swimmers are proving they can swim with the big fish and can hold their own in the bigger competitive meets.
USA Swimming held the IM Xtreme Games Challenge in Mesa, Arizona at the Kino Aquatic Center Nov. 20-22. To qualify, swimmers in the Western Region of the USA (10 States from New Mexico to Alaska) had to achieve an IMX score of 1500 points or more in the preceding 18 months. An IMX score is obtained when a swimmer swims each of the IMX events. The events vary for each age group but in general include a 100 or 200 of each stroke (Butterfly, Backstroke and Breaststroke), the 200 Individual Medley (IM) (+ 400 IM for 13 and over), and the 500 Freestyle (200 Free for 10 and Under). A score is assigned based on the time for each event and age of the swimmer. The scores from each event are then added together to obtain the IMX Score. It is quite an achievement to complete all the IMX events and a milestone moment for any swimmer who achieves an IMX score of 1500 and qualifies for the IMX Meet. Seven swimmers from the San Manuel area qualified and swam in the meet. The top 16 swimmers in each age division received plaques.
Two girls from the Sea Lions Swim Team had great swims at the demanding 3 day event. Tabitha Kellam finished 28th place in the 12 year old girls division with a score of 2101. Darien Apuron finished in 21st place in the 14 year old girls division with a score of 2090. Both girls had a great meet with personal best times in several events and improved on last year’s overall results.
Five boys from San Manuel qualified and participated in the meet.
Nine year old Ethan Kellam achieved his IMX qualifying score at the last possible meet of the season and swam like he was proving that he belonged. His 1731 points earned Ethan a 4th place plaque in the 9 year old boys division.
Mason Stewart also swam at his first IMX Meet and finished in 11th place in the 10 year old boys division with a score of 1207.
Riley Stewart, returning for his second IMX Meet, finished in 2nd place among the 11 year old boys with a score of 2792.
Evan Apuron, also returning to his second IMX Meet finished in 3rd place in the 12 year old boys with a score of 2815.
Will Newman, who has competed in the IMX Meet for several years, finished with 3679 point on his way to a 3rd place finish in the 16 year old boys division. It was great accomplishment for each of the five boys to take home a top 16 plaque.
All five boys had tremendous swims and battled for every point against some great competitors from the Western United States. Ethan, Mason, Riley and Evan swim with the Sea Lions Swim Team in San Manuel, while Will swims with the TJCC Stingrays in Tucson.
The San Manuel Sea Lions Swim Team practices in Oro Valley during November – March while the water is too cold to hold practice in San Manuel. Anyone interested in more information on the Sea Lions can contact Alex Gort (896-2190) or check the team website, sealionsswimteam.com.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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