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Tabitha Kellam (birthday girl) beating her opponent out in the final 100 meters of the 400 I.M. Vince Apuron | Apuron Photography
Ethan Kellam and Johnny Smallhouse batteling back and forth in the 800 Free, Ethan just beating Johnny in the end. Vince Apuron | Apuron Photography
Over the weekend of August 22-23, swimmers from throughout Arizona came to compete in the San Manuel Beast Swim Meet. The long course meter (50 Meter Pool) meet was hosted by the Sea Lions Swim Team.
The meet was a USA Swimming sanctioned meet in which any swimmer that is registered with USA Swimming could compete. There were no qualifying times and entrants who completed the three Beast Events (the 200 Meter Butterfly, the 400 Meter Individual Medley, and the 1500 Meter Freestyle) received special awards. The majority of the swimmers attending the meet were from the Tucson area, however, a few swimmers came from the Phoenix area.
Team scores were not kept at the meet, but the Sea Lions Swimmers won more races than any other team. Sea Lions won 32 races, Oro Valley 15, Tucson Jewish Community Center 13, and Swim Neptune 9.
Evan Apuron (12) won all 10 races he swam over the weekend. Tabitha Kellam (12) won 6 races, Ben Fister (10) won 4 races, while Ethan Kellam (9), Riley Stewart (11), and Andres Valenzuela (13) each won 3 races. Johnny Smallhouse (8) won 2 races and Rocky Andrade (10) won 1 race.
Coaches were pleased with the number of personal best times at the meet. Coach Alex Gort was delighted about the strength of the 10 and under Boys. In nearly every 10 and under Boys event, a Sea Lion swimmer was battling for first place, and many times they were battling each other for the top spot. The fact that 4 different Sea Lions won those races is very impressive. Even more impressive is the fact that three other Sea Lions; Joey Castellanos (9), Mason Stewart (9), and Emerik Zovko (10) were only fractions of a second from also winning races.
Only 5 individuals completed all three Beast Events and all were Sea Lions swimmers. Rocky Andrade, Riley Stewart, Tabitha Kellam, Evan Apuron, Andres Valenzuela, all completed the toughest events in swimming earned a ‘Beast Certificate’.
Star Chavez participated in her first USA Swimming sanctioned meet. She did well in competition and swam some tough events like the 400 Free, 200 IM, and 100 Butterfly.
The Sea Lions swim team hosted the swim meet, but it was only possible with help from the San Manuel High School Swim Team, Sycamore Canyon Academy, and many other volunteers from throughout the community. Visiting teams were pleased by the small town hospitality and look forward to coming to future meets in San Manuel.
San Manuel Sea Lions Swim Team practices in San Manuel April – October and in Oro Valley in November – March. Anyone interested in full meet results or 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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