Hello SOMA Nation, I hope that this email finds all of you well and that your training and preparation for the biggest meet of the year, Oregon Masters Association Championships (aka, Oregon Masters State Championship meet), is going well. More on the State meet in a bit…
The Oregon high school swim season wrapped up with the OSAA State Championships on February 21-22. SOMA swimmer Matt Osborn assisted me in coaching the St. Mary’s boys and girls teams this year and we had a great season! We had 7 individual swims and 4 relays (2 boys and 2 girls) qualify for the meet. Some photos from the weekend are attached.
Our boys, with only one individual swimmer and 2 relays, ended up in finishing in 3rd place for 4A/3A/2A/1A!! I was extremely proud of the two senior boys on the squad who are not year-round club swimmers. This is my fourth season coaching at St. Mary’s and they have been with me for all 4 years. As you all know, it is very challenging to get in decent shape in a 3 month season, much less work on the technique needed to swim fast. But these boys are very athletic, hard-working, intelligent, dedicated, and extremely coachable. They both narrowly missed qualifying for state in their best individual events this year and were key to both of the boys freestyle relays (200 and 400) placing at the state meet and earning the boys team the 3rd place finish this year. I am super proud of them and will miss them greatly next year!
On to Masters swimming news – there are a few items to report and some events to make sure you all are aware of. Please continue reading below.
REGISTER FOR THE ONE-HOUR ePOSTAL SWIM
I know several of you did your one-hour swim. Congratulations and well done! Be sure to register before the March 8th deadline so that your yards count to help Oregon try to win the large team title this year.
Registration can be found here:
https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1308&smid=12699
OREGON CITY SPRING AHEAD MEET MARCH 14-15
The annual Oregon City spring ahead meet is coming up soon! Registration closes on March 9 at midnight, so if you plan to attend be sure to register soon. This is a great tune-up meet for the upcoming OMS Association Champs meet (the focus meet of the spring for most of us). There will be quite a number of SOMA swimmers in attendance and a couple of our newest teammates, Val Jenkins and Arlene Delmage, will be teaming up with other Oregon swimmers to go after some relay world records. Be there to cheer them on!
Meet entry can be found here:
https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=2199&smid=12984
***OREGON ASSOCIATION CHAMPS (STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS) — BE THERE!!***
Columbia Gorge Masters in Hood River will host the State Championships this year on April 3-5. This is the biggest event of the year in Oregon Masters swimming and one you definitely do not want to miss! SOMA has finished in 2nd place in the large team category in each of its first two years in existence (2018 and 2019 team photos with banners are attached).
We need all hands on deck at this meet to try to make a run for the 1st place finish this year!!! We have picked up quite a few new swimmers in the SOMA Del Norte group and here in southern Oregon as well. Plan on coming and representing SOMA and having fun with friends!
For those of you new to Oregon Masters swimming, and there are quite a few of you on this email list who fall into that category, this is one of two meets each year where we break up into our workout groups and compete against other swimmers in Oregon. The rest of the year at all other meets, Oregon swimmers all swim as one large regional team.
The Oregon Masters State Championship meet provides an opportunity to have some big-time fun competing with our SOMA teammates against the other workout groups in Oregon. It is by far the most fun and energetic Oregon meet of the year, so don’t miss it!
And yes, again for those of you new to Masters swimming, the rumors are true that Masters swimming offers 50s of all strokes and the 100 IM! So no excuses about not coming due to being out of shape. Everyone can swim a 50 regardless of conditioning!
Registration is open and can be found here:
https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1352&smid=13104
As of this morning, there are 5 SOMA swimmers registered, which is more than any other workout group. Let’s get more SOMA people signed up! I know that our rivals, Oregon Reign Masters (ORM) who have edged us out of 1st place the last couple of years, are rallying the troops to defend their title. There’s nothing better than a little rivalry!
Let’s pull off the upset this year!!
SPRING NATIONALS IN SAN ANTONIO APRIL 23-26
Quite a few SOMA and other Oregon swimmers will be going to the 50th anniversary of USMS Spring Nationals in San Antonio. I attended the last time Spring Nationals was in San Antonio in 2015 and the facility is one of the best I’ve been to. Come on down for a weekend of fun and fast swimming with your Oregon friends!
Entry is here:https://www.clubassistant.com/club/form/register_now.cfm?c=2529&smid=12697
More information here:
https://www.usms.org/events/national-championships/pool-national-championships/2020-pool-national-championships/2020-spring-national-championship
A full list of upcoming events, including the open water season and long course season, can be found on the OMS website here:
https://swimoregon.org/events/
2019 SHORT COURSE METERS (SCM) TOP 10 TIMES ARE POSTED
Recently, USMS posted the listings for the 2019 SCM national top 10 times. As usual, SOMA swimmers were well represented on the lists!
SOMA SCM National Top 10 swims:
Mike Dix (45-59) – 8th in 200 free, 6th in 200 back, 7th in 100 fly, 2nd in 200 fly, 6th in 200 IM, 5th in 400 IM
Barry Fasbender (80-84) – 7th in 200 free, 3rd in 400 free, 1st in 800 free, 3rd in 1500 free, 4th in 200 breast, 10th in 50 fly, 10th in 100 IM, 3rd in 200 IM
Rick Howell (60-64) – 6th in 50 breast, 8th in 100 breast, 5th in 200 breast
Dan Kirkland (70-74) – 1st in 200 free, 1st in 400 free, 1st in 800 free, 1st in 1500 free, 2nd in 200 back
Willard Lamb (95-99) – 1st in 50 free, 1st in 100 free, 1st in 200 free, 1st in 400 free, 1st in 800 free, 1st in 1500 free, 1st in 50 back, 1st in 100 back, 1st in 200 back
Matt Miller (40-44) – 7th in 400 free, 6th in 800 free, 6th in 1500 free, 7th in 200 back, 10th in 200 breast, 10th in 200 fly, 8th in 400 IM
Matt Osborn (45-59) – 10th in 200 free, 10th in 800 free, 8th in 1500 free
Mike Servant (45-59) – 7th in 50 back, 9th in 100 back
Jayna Tomac (45-59) – 9th in 50 back, 6th in 50 breast, 10th in 50 fly, 10th in 100 IM
Big shout out to our SOMA All-American swimmers who finished in the top of their age group in at least one event Barry Fasbender (800 free), Dan Kirkland (200, 400, 800 and 1500 free) and the legendary Willard Lamb (all freestyle and backstroke events).
Yet again, I am very impressed with the quantity of super-fast swimmers we have on our little SOMA squad
If I missed anyone, please let me know and I will amend the list!
That’s all I’ve got for now. I am very much looking forward to seeing most of you all in Hood River in about a month. We are going to have some fun swimming fast together! Keep up the good work until then!!