There was a wonderful group of swimmers at this year’s 31st Annual Spring Fever meet in Kendallville. There were many good races and lots of swimmers pleased with their times.
We got off to a good start and ended in record time thanks to Jim Simons, the best official/starter of all time!
Speaking of records! We were once again honored to have Susan Meyers, 75, and David Costill, 81, swimming with us again this year! Susan and David are remarkable swimmers and are so inspiring for us all. Susan now has National top ten times in the 50 FLY- #1 spot with 42.61, 500 FREE-#1 spot with 8:15.89, and her first 50 FREE split in the 100 Free was good for the #3 spot with 36.65. David broke National and State records in the 50 FLY with 33.32, and the 100 BACK (a flawless double-arm backstroke) with a 1:15.69.
This year’s meet was one of the best. We had a wonderful group of volunteers running the meet and had enough timers thanks to fellow Masters Swimmers, their families, and the Cole YMCA Bluefins age group swimmers and parents. Thanks to Jen & Peggy, Bluefins parents, for running the timing system. They were great!
We had our annual “marathon” swimmer Donald Kroeger, 71, entering in every event. He has done this for over 10 years. He calls it “just a workout”. After all these years he has inspired two other swimmers to also inflict the same pain; Ali Turfe and Linda Marvin. They all survived and are amazing!
We also had a father and two sons swimming in the meet (pictured right- father Stephen Holland and his sons, Matt and Andrew). The father and older son have been attending for years and finally talked the younger brother into joining them. We also had an 8 year old Bluefins swimmer in the 1st heat (in the warm-up lane) of the 500 Free to try and break the team record. Her father, Kevin Lowe, also swam. So, we had a father-daughter duo. There were lots of first time Masters Meet swimmers too!
AND Miss Indiana, Brianna DeCamp from Kendallville visited the meet to watch her mom, Jodi DeCamp swim her events and talked to a lot of the Masters.
Our surprise relay this year was the partner backstroke. Everyone picked up on the idea quickly and did quite well! (FYI – Partner backstroke is one arm backstroke while holding your partner’s hand with the non-rotating arm.) Fun for all!
We ended the day with lots of good food and camaraderie. It was a time to relax and watch the meet video – always one of the best parts of the day.
This was a great event and we look forward to seeing you next year!
Written by Cindy Miller, Cole YMCA Masters
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There will be a GRIN Board Meeting via conference call on Tuesday, October 24, from 8:30 – 9:30p (EDT). All GRIN members are invited to call in. The main topics of discussion will be a review of the 2017 USMS National Convention, GRIN State Meet bids, and any new business.
