They’re Going the Distance!
They’re going for speed! But they’re not going alone. Last weekend 112 Sharks competed at the inaugural NTA Distance Challenge. This meet was dreamed up as an opportunity for our athletes to get a shot at longer events less-frequently offered. And boy did they show up and show out! This meet will most certainly be coming back in the future, so for those swimmers who prefer a test of endurance over a short sprint, we look forward to seeing you come back and crush it again!
Meanwhile, 18 of our highest-level Sharks competed ferociously at the first Senior Circuit meet of the season. Drawing a parallel to our own Distance Challenge, the Senior Circuit gives high-achieving athletes from around Illinois the chance to swim Long Course Meters at a time in the season when it is rarely offered. This gives our most ambitious swimmers around the state some runway to build their chops in the long pool before looking to qualify for Olympic Trials in 2028!
By the Numbers
NTA Distance Challenge
Over the weekend our Sharks swam a combined 95,200 total yards! For reference, that’s 54 miles of swimming! Basically, if we stacked each swim end-to-end your kids made it to Racine. Racing to Racine! Is this anything?
Our swimmers competed in only 1 out of 3 possible events: the 400 IM, 500 Freestyle and 1650 Freestyle. From just those three events we saw 23 new Regional cuts achieved by Sharks, 2 Senior Champ cuts and 1 brand new Sectional cut!
Senior Circuit #1
Despite the time of year and lack of Long Course practice, we still had 4 new best times achieved at the Senior Circuit! Shout-out to the following:
- Kai Kurzynski
ducked under 1 minute for the first time in the 100 Fly, throwing down a 59.68. Quite the milestone to surpass! Hats off to Kai.
- Kyle Rechlicz
competed valiantly in the 400 IM, cutting almost 3 seconds to get down to a 5:26.62 in the 400 IM.
- Ben McDougal went ballistic, dropping over a second in the 200 Free for a 2:02.35. Closing in on a milestone of his own!
- Finally, Jack Schneider
popped off with a one-second drop of his own in the 200 IM to go a 2:26.49! Big swims, gentlemen!
Giant Drops
- Alec Rechlicz took the grand prize for biggest drop over the weekend, cutting loose 1 minute and 40 seconds from his 500 free! Think of what you could do with all that free time! Congrats Alec!
- Andrew Sullivan and Declan Prommer
rounded out our podium over the weekend, also absolutely crushing their seed times in the 500 free dropping 1:43 and 1:18 respectively. Absolutely massive swims!
Looking Ahead
This weekend there will be no competing at meets, but we look forward to our annual Real Swimmers Wear Pink event! We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to raise money for such a great cause while celebrating what makes this team and community so special. We’ll see you there!
As always, work hard in practice, and #GoSharks!
